Why force him into a style of batting that doesn't suit him? His talent is hitting the ball, not occupying the crease.
As mentioned in the tweet, he's only ever played one List A game so it's not as if anything's been lost by making this move.
Team selection and overall strategy for Test matches and limited overs cricket have been diverging for sometime. More and more teams are realizing that trying to keep the same XI together for all three formats is a quick ticket to being the best at none of them.
There will always be players (like Stokes, or Root) who can easily make the shift between disciplines but for the players who can't, I don't see a cricketing downside to moving in this direction on a wider scale.
Why force him into a style of batting that doesn't suit him? His talent is hitting the ball, not occupying the crease.
As mentioned in the tweet, he's only ever played one List A game so it's not as if anything's been lost by making this move.
Team selection and overall strategy for Test matches and limited overs cricket have been diverging for sometime. More and more teams are realizing that trying to keep the same XI together for all three formats is a quick ticket to being the best at none of them.
There will always be players (like Stokes, or Root) who can easily make the shift between disciplines but for the players who can't, I don't see a cricketing downside to moving in this direction on a wider scale.
It's certainly not a bad thing for the lad but, as I have been mentioning, as a result of the then directive from Strauss to counties some eight or so years ago, there has been a massive switch from red to white ball at county age group level. Net sessions in that time have never been about preservation of wickets but targeting scoring areas, scenario batting and range hitting. You mention that players can easily switch codes but that simply isn't the case as evidenced by the fact that we cannot find a single opening batsman of proven quality in Test cricket but have them queuing outside the door in white ball. Even the likes of Stokes, Root and Bairstow who switch between the two are in their 30s.
That realisation by Strauss has now meant that there is now a correction going on - my lad recently went for a professional trial at Worcester where they did not want to see any shots from the trialists. All they wanted to test was whether they had a sound defence and whether they knew where their off stump was to a moving ball at 75-80mph. That is not something that I have ever seen happen previously at county trials be it at age group or pro level and I have been going to them for the last decade. Unfortunately, it is going to be a while before we see the fruits of that - if we do at all because the lure and immediate financial returns from playing T20 will, I fear, be greater.
'‘I still have aspirations in all three formats,’ said Smeed. ‘Potentially my practice time will be limited depending on when I’m in Taunton but I still want to play everything.’'
And less than three months later this is what he said today:
“Before I made a decision, I made sure I was 100 per cent sure it was right. I didn’t want any regrets from it. It’s not been made overnight, it’s through years of thinking what I want to do and envisaging how I see my future going.”
Was it that he couldn't fit the time in or the realisation that his technique does not stand up to the scrutiny that red ball bowling offers and how many others will come to that decision too? There are far better financial rewards for those players playing franchise cricket at the IPL, Big Bash, The Hundred, CPL, BPL etc etc than playing for Somerset.
Why force him into a style of batting that doesn't suit him? His talent is hitting the ball, not occupying the crease.
As mentioned in the tweet, he's only ever played one List A game so it's not as if anything's been lost by making this move.
Team selection and overall strategy for Test matches and limited overs cricket have been diverging for sometime. More and more teams are realizing that trying to keep the same XI together for all three formats is a quick ticket to being the best at none of them.
There will always be players (like Stokes, or Root) who can easily make the shift between disciplines but for the players who can't, I don't see a cricketing downside to moving in this direction on a wider scale.
It's certainly not a bad thing for the lad but, as I have been mentioning, as a result of the then directive from Strauss to counties some eight or so years ago, there has been a massive switch from red to white ball at county age group level. Net sessions in that time have never been about preservation of wickets but targeting scoring areas, scenario batting and range hitting. You mention that players can easily switch codes but that simply isn't the case as evidenced by the fact that we cannot find a single opening batsman of proven quality in Test cricket but have them queuing outside the door in white ball. Even the likes of Stokes, Root and Bairstow who switch between the two are in their 30s.
That realisation by Strauss has now meant that there is now a correction going on - my lad recently went for a professional trial at Worcester where they did not want to see any shots from the trialists. All they wanted to test was whether they had a sound defence and whether they knew where their off stump was to a moving ball at 75-80mph. That is not something that I have ever seen happen previously at county trials be it at age group or pro level and I have been going to them for the last decade. Unfortunately, it is going to be a while before we see the fruits of that - if we do at all because the lure and immediate financial returns from playing T20 will, I fear, be greater.
To me, that process at Worcester sounds perfectly sensible even if, as you say, it might take a little while to see the fruits.
The same kids who have a talent for knocking the ball all around the park are not always going to be the kids who have a talent for digging in, holding onto their wicket and knowing where their off-stump is. If we can potentially split those two groups at an earlier age and focus on honing their skills towards the areas in which they are already showing talent, I think that could be a bright future for everyone.
The majority of young kids playing cricket in the street with their mates have always preferred smashing the ball as hard as they could and of course when they grow up, it's hard to resist the financial lure of T20 if you're good enough for it. But I'm sure there's enough young batting talent under the surface that could benefit from time in the nets that's specifically geared towards defending your wicket instead.
'‘I still have aspirations in all three formats,’ said Smeed. ‘Potentially my practice time will be limited depending on when I’m in Taunton but I still want to play everything.’'
And less than three months later this is what he said today:
“Before I made a decision, I made sure I was 100 per cent sure it was right. I didn’t want any regrets from it. It’s not been made overnight, it’s through years of thinking what I want to do and envisaging how I see my future going.”
Was it that he couldn't fit the time in or the realisation that his technique does not stand up to the scrutiny that red ball bowling offers and how many others will come to that decision too? There are far better financial rewards for those players playing franchise cricket at the IPL, Big Bash, The Hundred, CPL, BPL etc etc than playing for Somerset.
Until County Champo Cricket is funded at a level close to the white ball competitions i fear this is always going to happen.
If you are an English batter looking to play test cricket ( which is where the big bucks are for red ball players ) there is only a few slots open. In the meantime you are playing in front of one man and his dog across the country. Contrast this to the white ball circuit where you don't have to be anywhere near the top 2 or 3 batters in the country to earn a fortune.
'‘I still have aspirations in all three formats,’ said Smeed. ‘Potentially my practice time will be limited depending on when I’m in Taunton but I still want to play everything.’'
And less than three months later this is what he said today:
“Before I made a decision, I made sure I was 100 per cent sure it was right. I didn’t want any regrets from it. It’s not been made overnight, it’s through years of thinking what I want to do and envisaging how I see my future going.”
Was it that he couldn't fit the time in or the realisation that his technique does not stand up to the scrutiny that red ball bowling offers and how many others will come to that decision too? There are far better financial rewards for those players playing franchise cricket at the IPL, Big Bash, The Hundred, CPL, BPL etc etc than playing for Somerset.
Until County Champo Cricket is funded at a level close to the white ball competitions i fear this is always going to happen.
If you are an English batter looking to play test cricket ( which is where the big bucks are for red ball players ) there is only a few slots open. In the meantime you are playing in front of one man and his dog across the country. Contrast this to the white ball circuit where you don't have to be anywhere near the top 2 or 3 batters in the country to earn a fortune.
The CC clearly isn't supported to the same degree as the Blast but I think there were more than the "one man and his dog" that actually watched the CC last season and there were thousands that followed it on the livestream too. I believe that Surrey, for example, had in the order of 15,000 paid up members and that membership entitled them to go to CC matches as well as the other comps.
If Smeed had been good enough at red ball then Somerset would have offered him a full contract but, from what I gather, he has never shown up particularly well even in the 2nd XI and hence never having played a First Class game. The really interesting aspect of this is that Smeed has signed a white ball contract with Somerset but, in reality, he will only be playing for them in The Blast because when the Royal London is going on he will, of course, be at The Hundred. We have a 50 over World Cup next October so how does he force his way into that squad? He opened for the England Lions in his one and only 50 over game and was stumped off the second ball. Equally, his average of 29 off 20 balls in T20s isn't going to stand him in good stead in that longer form of the game. The same rules will apply to any up and coming white ball player so will we see the 50 over game disappear too? It's already a second class competition after all.
Comments
Playing 3 games of cricket isn't exactly tough going is it?
Love Mo but this is a bit tone deaf imo.
Why force him into a style of batting that doesn't suit him? His talent is hitting the ball, not occupying the crease.
As mentioned in the tweet, he's only ever played one List A game so it's not as if anything's been lost by making this move.
Team selection and overall strategy for Test matches and limited overs cricket have been diverging for sometime. More and more teams are realizing that trying to keep the same XI together for all three formats is a quick ticket to being the best at none of them.
There will always be players (like Stokes, or Root) who can easily make the shift between disciplines but for the players who can't, I don't see a cricketing downside to moving in this direction on a wider scale.
That realisation by Strauss has now meant that there is now a correction going on - my lad recently went for a professional trial at Worcester where they did not want to see any shots from the trialists. All they wanted to test was whether they had a sound defence and whether they knew where their off stump was to a moving ball at 75-80mph. That is not something that I have ever seen happen previously at county trials be it at age group or pro level and I have been going to them for the last decade. Unfortunately, it is going to be a while before we see the fruits of that - if we do at all because the lure and immediate financial returns from playing T20 will, I fear, be greater.
'‘I still have aspirations in all three formats,’ said Smeed. ‘Potentially my practice time will be limited depending on when I’m in Taunton but I still want to play everything.’'
And less than three months later this is what he said today:
“Before I made a decision, I made sure I was 100 per cent sure it was right. I didn’t want any regrets from it. It’s not been made overnight, it’s through years of thinking what I want to do and envisaging how I see my future going.”
Was it that he couldn't fit the time in or the realisation that his technique does not stand up to the scrutiny that red ball bowling offers and how many others will come to that decision too? There are far better financial rewards for those players playing franchise cricket at the IPL, Big Bash, The Hundred, CPL, BPL etc etc than playing for Somerset.
The same kids who have a talent for knocking the ball all around the park are not always going to be the kids who have a talent for digging in, holding onto their wicket and knowing where their off-stump is. If we can potentially split those two groups at an earlier age and focus on honing their skills towards the areas in which they are already showing talent, I think that could be a bright future for everyone.
The majority of young kids playing cricket in the street with their mates have always preferred smashing the ball as hard as they could and of course when they grow up, it's hard to resist the financial lure of T20 if you're good enough for it. But I'm sure there's enough young batting talent under the surface that could benefit from time in the nets that's specifically geared towards defending your wicket instead.
If you are an English batter looking to play test cricket ( which is where the big bucks are for red ball players ) there is only a few slots open. In the meantime you are playing in front of one man and his dog across the country. Contrast this to the white ball circuit where you don't have to be anywhere near the top 2 or 3 batters in the country to earn a fortune.
If Smeed had been good enough at red ball then Somerset would have offered him a full contract but, from what I gather, he has never shown up particularly well even in the 2nd XI and hence never having played a First Class game. The really interesting aspect of this is that Smeed has signed a white ball contract with Somerset but, in reality, he will only be playing for them in The Blast because when the Royal London is going on he will, of course, be at The Hundred. We have a 50 over World Cup next October so how does he force his way into that squad? He opened for the England Lions in his one and only 50 over game and was stumped off the second ball. Equally, his average of 29 off 20 balls in T20s isn't going to stand him in good stead in that longer form of the game. The same rules will apply to any up and coming white ball player so will we see the 50 over game disappear too? It's already a second class competition after all.