In their latest press release, the ECB get excited about the "Supers" which begin this weekend in Loughborough, pitting the top England players against each other in a short, sweet series of T20 and OD matches.
I quite like the concept of this competition, and Clare Connor is absolutely right when she says it is important because it bridges the gap (more of a yawning chasm, if we're honest) between domestic and international cricket.
But it's this quote that I found most... er... 'interesting':
"Over the years the competition has been very effective in unearthing
fresh new talent, with the likes of Natasha Farrant and Natalie Sciver
being the most recent examples of players who have performed well in
Super 3s and as a result been called up to the England Women’s team."
[My emphasis!]
Really ECB? Because that's not quite how I remember it!
I do remember a competition called the 'Super 4s' which has been going, on-and-off, for several years; and which last year was down-graded to Super 3½s - with a schoolboy team making up the numbers.
This year, not only has it been down-graded again, but the ECB are now trying to pretend it was always a Super 3s.
As George Orwell wrote in 1984: "Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia."
Come on Syd, that's being a bit tough on Clare. I think she was using the term "super 3s" to mean "trials" and I, for one, certainly noticed Sciver for the 1st time in the 2012 version (granted I didn't think Farrant really stood out in 2013 but then I'm not a coach, they are and she's proved herself).
ReplyDeleteDo such trials tell us anything about those already capped, well probably not but its the likes of the U19s (so this year that GL Adams, LCN Smith, A Hartley, BN Patel, IBP Noakes and P Scholfield) that have not even been playing at Academy level, that are really exposed and of great interest. Have the "Supers" unearthed another gem in Paige Scholfield ? One gem a year and I'll be delighted.
You are right - I was a bit tough on CC personally - I have re-worded slightly :-)
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