I really have no idea how they do it. Northants were crowned domestic T20 champions yet again on Saturday, dispatching glamour boys Notts and then Durham, on an emotional day at Edgbaston. It has been hailed as another triumph for team spirit and togetherness over money. Amen to that.
Notts really had no excuse for playing so poorly in their semi. Their team consisted of nine internationals and they even had the luxury of leaving out one of their overseas players. I doubt more than one or two Northants players would’ve made it into the Notts side but you wouldn’t have known it.
All the Northants players knew their roles really well whereas Notts chopped and changed in order to accommodate returning England players like Alex Hales and Stuart Broad … both of whom did sod all on the day. Maybe they should’ve stuck with Greg Smith, who did pretty well in the group matches?
It was also quite pleased to see Durham beat Yorkshire in the other semi. I’ve got nothing against Yorkshire but I know that Durham, like Northants, also have massive financial problems at the moment. The Yorkshire team was packed full of internationals and other highly rated players (Jack Leaning came in as low as 7) but it was Durham’s big guns, Ben Stokes and the really impressive Mark Wood, who won the day.
On a side note (and I know T20 has little in common with test cricket), it was interesting that both Hales and Gary Ballance both made second ball ducks whereas two of their rivals for places in the England team, Ben Duckett and Adam Lyth, both made big runs. If Mark Wood wants to get back in the England team, my advice would be to bowl like a drain for the rest of the summer.
The final itself was a little bit of a cagey affair but everyone in the crowd was too pissed to notice. They just enjoyed the spectacle. Durham’s 153 was competitive, but nothing more, and Nothants chased it down pretty comfortably in the end. Although I felt a little sorry for Keaton Jennings, who made an superb 88, there’s no doubt that the better side on the night won.
The star of Northants’ chase was Josh Cobb, who is one of the most entertaining batsmen on the county circuit. He doesn’t half give it a whack. Although good spells from Wood (again) and the reliable Chris Rushworth kept the game interesting, a fine 42 from Northants captain Alex Wakely saw his side home.
I’d be interested to hear people’s views on Finals Day. I didn’t manage to see all of the action but it looked like a good atmosphere again (although I think there were a few empty seats). With the ECB still seemingly determined to introduce a franchise T20 tournament in high summer, it’s possible that the Blast loses some of its lustre. I think this would be a shame as Finals Day has become quite a notable date in the cricketing calendar.
Although I’ve read that the ECB are planning to keep the Blast going on Friday nights (apparently the counties are insisting on this) I doubt whether running two T20 competitions concurrently is sustainable. Fans only have so much money to spend on tickets. Then again, having seen the passionate crowds at Edgbaston on Saturday, and knowing that traditional county cricket fans have little interest in supporting an artificial franchise, I wouldn’t be surprised if the franchise thingy falls flat on its face.
If fans had to choose between their county, which they’ve supported all their lives, or some ECB driven construct packed full of overseas players, I think I know which one they’ll choose.
James Morgan
Playing Hales and Broad was just stupid. Why change a winning formula just to accommodate your big ego stars who have contributed nothing to the campaign? Did the ECB put pressure on them to include them? It wouldn’t surprise me. I’m disappointed, I thought Notts were better than that.
Good T20 teams are more than the sum of their parts.
Finals day is utterly, perplexingly, awful. How the ECB came up with the idea of taking something perfect and simple: an entertaining game that lasts 3 hours and then everyone goes to the pub, and made it into a 10+ hour monster endurance marathon, is beyond the wit of man.
I love the English T20 tournament, but I’ve never watched finals day and never intend to. It always gets poor viewing figures because for some god known reason they choose to play it at the exact time when 50% of their spectator base is busy playing Saturday league cricket. How stupid is that?
Only the ECB could take something so great and make it into something so bloody shit.
“If fans had to choose between their county, which they’ve supported all their lives, or some ECB driven construct packed full of overseas players, I think I know which one they’ll choose.”
Of course, for most fans there won’t be a choice, because a county will be within a realistic drive for them, but a franchise won’t. Why would you drive past 3 county grounds hosting T20 cricket to get to a 4th one just because the franchise names are snazzier?
Sack the entire ECB management structure, they’re criminally incompetent.
Voice of doom here – I watched the Final but not the SFs and a few thoughts:
1) Was scheduling the day on the penultimate day of the Olympics a great idea? They’ll say the ground was sold out – but it doesn’t help a supposed flagship pull in the floating TV audience (beyond the pre-existing cricket hardcore).
2) The ground looked 60-70% full by the time of the Final. Not a great advert, part 2.
3) A couple of the Northants’ players looked seriously out of shape (the change in Kleinveldt since I last saw him was quite shocking). I’ve always liked that cricket can accommodate different body shapes – but it’s difficult to imagine that floating viewers would be impressed they were watching a pinnacle of athleticism seeing opening bowlers and batsmen looking like they did.
4) Mark Wood has been getting rave reviews for his bowling for the Lions and in the SF. In the Final I kept a close eye on the speed-gun and he was at 87-89 mph until his last over and was then down to 84-85 mph (annoyingly, Cricinfo don’t have Hawkeye date up for the match to confirm this). He over-balanced once in delivery and I swear at one stage he was limping. Maybe there was a reason why what happened in the Final was different (the footholds may have been damp – there was some sawdust put down) but I didn’t see the 93-94 mph bowler I’d been hearing about. I hope greatly all is well with him – but from what I saw, I’m not at all convinced it is.
Other point about the crowd I forget to make – I saw very few children (unlike the BBL).
Would you take a child to a 10 hour all-day drinking marathon?
Its a shame that the T20 blast peaks at the quarter final stage only to be followed by the perpetual farce that is finals day.
It’s not for the family.. It’s for beer heads who want to get drunk, swear and gob off. Football fans basically
It’s 2020, anyone can beat anyone in that format. That’s why it’s not a great format for anything other than beer heads.
Apart from Worcester who’ve never bloody reached one :-(
I’ve asked the question a lot of times over the years and the answer is always the same.
People are overwhelmingly in favour of finals day and think its an excellent day.
I wouldn’t fancy going myself , especially in Saturdays conditions.
I only saw the 1st semi final and it looked pretty full to me. Perhaps Notts & Yorkshire fans left before the final. On a warm summers day they may have stayed for it. But trust me I was in Brum on Saturday evening and it was like an April evening and very windy.
Is that why no-one ever watches it? Because they think its so great?
Suspect a lot of replies come from TV viewers.
I don’t think I’d go, but I’d certainly watch it on TV.
But finals day traditionally gets very poor tv viewing numbers, and its not surprising. Who on earth has the time or inclination to spend an entire summer day in front of the tv? If it were 3 consecutive evenings, now that might get a few viewers.
Can’t say I’ve ever seen any viewing figures. Sky don’t freely give that info out.
Finals day was a virtual sell out by the way.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/county-cricket-2016/content/story/1044513.html
http://www.cricketmalaysia.com/press-new/t20-finals-day-figures-slump-to-record-low/
The semi finals get less than a decent group game. Surely that must tell you that something is badly wrong with the scheduling?
What the graph tells me is that its a rollercoaster. So it may very much depends on what its up against.
The report you linked too is from last year, when finals day was the Saturday of the bank holiday weekend.
However I think if sky could get their way they’d prefer a Sunday afternoon final before the football season starts.
I was there! Given the dodgy weather the ground staff did a brilliant job getting in all three games. Shame Durham couldn’t finish the job, but Northants were worthy winners.
I’m obviously biased but Wood was breathtaking. Yorkshire’s much vaunted batting line up simply had no answers – Root looked shell shocked by his opening burst, Bairstow and Ballance made to look very ordinary, and the dangerous lower order hitters Bresnan and Plunkett cleaned up by perfect yorkers. He was almost as good in the final – only reason his pace was down in his last spell is that it was raining steadily by then and he couldn’t risk his dodgy ankle.
Poor turnout for the final was mainly down to grumpy Yorkshire fans heading for the exits as soon as they lost their semi final. Durham only had a few fans – I met many others from counties who hadn’t qualified but had bought tickets well in advance and decided to go anyway. There were a fair few kids in the family stand, but the Sky cameras probably paid them little attention as they were no doubt focused on the party in the Hollies stand.
As to whether finals day’s format is the right one, on balance I would probably leave it as it is. Yes it’s a long and boozy day, but an ODI or a day of a Test isn’t that much shorter – not sure you’d fill a ground if there were only 2 county sides (especially the less well supported ones) and only 3 hours play.
eh? 2 county sides regularly sell out group games, why wouldn’t they sell out a final?
Most people would much rather go to a single game than have to sit through 10 hours. Test match days are a long haul even for dedicated fans, can you imagine that + another 3 hours? The fans that are still awake at the end deserve a bloody medal.
Main difference from group games is that neither side is playing at home in the final – only supporters of the bigger counties travel in numbers. The 40/50 over final at Lord’s used to be a sellout, but it’s been barely half full in recent years.
I think that’s more because no-one is really interested in domestic 40/50 over cricket.
There is also an underlying issue that county cricket clubs are very poor at attracting fans from beyond their immediate vicinity.
It’s a decent game for beer head footy fans. It’s a good game for giggle. It’s not really a serious game though when you consider the lack of techniques needed in it and how it’s artificially manufactured to ensure its a slug fest.
It’s not going to save the game of cricket in any way because most players I know don’t actually like it. So you’ll lose half at least of your player base as leagues shorten the overs. Less people play, less interest … It dies.
Sad but true
Could the Semi Finals and the final be played at home?
Based on finishing positions and points in the Group Stages? If the team with home advantage thought that it would be financially advantageous to move it somewhere else then that’s up to them.
It makes every game in the group stages even more vital and then gives added interest to the home crowd.
And makes it more accessible to the away fan too as they don’t need to plan a whole day away.
T20 is a strange game. And I can’t work out what I think about it.
I do not like the atmosphere in the ground. If I wanted such, as was eloquently described above then I could return to watching football twenty years after I stopped.
Old Trafford has a family stand. Completely and utterly useless. A tiny bit of it is no alcohol. It’s all supposed to be no bad language but I am not convinced that the stewards (or many of the patrons) know what this means. I heard a woman telling her husband on the way out of one game this year that it was no place for their daughter. Quite right too.
On the other hand despite its many deficiencies it’s still a much better game than football and it’s easier to fit in (live or on tv) to a much busier life than I had when most of my holidays were spent at Old Trafford. Except for the two trips to the West Indies and the occasional Lancs away game. I would love to have the time to watch a full five day test match (I managed that 8 consecutive years when free and single) or even a 4 day county match. Not going to happen at the moment though. It’s so much easier to go to on a Friday evening with the occasional day’s (or part day’s) championship cricket thrown in.
I’ve heard far, far, far worse things every time I go to watch a Test Match than I ever have at a domestic T20 game, which in general seems very family friendly (the Oval excepted). I take junior cricketers to watch T20 cricket every year, they love it and the atmosphere is perfect. If I took them to a test match I’m afraid they might learn some new swear words.
Interesting. Disappointing as far as Test Cricket is concerned, but then it is a long time since I have been to any international games at all, and probably nearly 20 years since I ended my stint of 8 consecutive years.
You are excepting The Oval though from your praise, but do wonder whether you have been to Old Trafford as I suspect you might be excepting that too if you had.
Most recently I’ve been to Wantage Road, Edgbaston, Trent Bridge, Headingley, Taunton, Chelmsford, Grace Road and the City Ground. Haven’t been to Old Trafford in about 5 years. All the places I’ve been to have been a) very busy and b) a good family friendly atmosphere.
I also go to the Oval occasionally and for the most part appear to be the only person in the crowd interested or even aware that there is a cricket game going on just 70 yards away.
Thinking about it, to be fair, I would say that the language in the Pavilion at OT is better than that in the “Family Stand”.