We're going to Lords | Vital Football

We're going to Lords

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Straightbat

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Oh sorry. Apparently cricket talk is the preserve of Kent online so it must be beneath us to celebrate the performance of the century here.
 
Glad Hampshire smashed Yorks. Revenge for '92 (I think) coming up, one of the many finals I've seen us lose.

We have a very well balanced 1 day team imo.

Should Billings be picked I wonder?
 
Gills 58 said:
Glad Hampshire smashed Yorks. Revenge for '92 (I think) coming up, one of the many finals I've seen us lose.

We have a very well balanced 1 day team imo.

Should Billings be picked I wonder?
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Billings doesn't know which way up to hold the bat at the moment so no.
 
Problem is he's played little cricket this year. He wasn't used much in the IPL, mainly a reserve team player, and his team got to the final which meant he didn't get back until late May. In June he's been with the England one day set up and again until Sunday barely used. Like any professional he needs a run of games under his belt which hopefully he'll get between now and the final.
 
bamber said:
Problem is he's played little cricket this year. He wasn't used much in the IPL, mainly a reserve team player, and his team got to the final which meant he didn't get back until late May. In June he's been with the England one day set up and again until Sunday barely used. Like any professional he needs a run of games under his belt which hopefully he'll get between now and the final.
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Even more reason to leave him out imo. Kent have got a settled functioning side at the moment, why change it for someone who's played little cricket and when he has has scored very few runs.

Who would you leave out? Stevens, not a chance, Blake, not after his knock the other day, Rouse,not on current form, again his knock was crucial in getting Kent to the final.
 
Wayne.Kerr said:
With Sam Northeast finding form with Hampshire, it could be a great final.
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Or one sided if Vince plays like he did against Yorkshire and we revert to a once customary collapse. Kuhn is due a failure and Bell Drumond and Denly bat superbly when in but tend to be vulnerable early on.
 
Highly delighted with Kent's recent run and performing in front of the Sky cameras on the big stage for once! Sadly, I'm on holiday so won't make the final - might not be a bad thing as the I was in attendance for the three previous Lord's finals and we lost them all!

As for Billings, he has talent, but is woefully out of form. He also doesn't deserve the place as let the team down in choosing to "play" IPL rather than fulfil his captaincy duties foir Kent. Rouse played well in Sunday - why should he be dropped for someone out of knick, who has contributed nothing to the team this season and just turns up when it suits?
 
You'd turn down huge amounts of money in favour of staying at Kent for the opening few games? IPL is financially life changing for cricketers, you can't knock him at all for setting himself up for the future. Cricketers don't earn huge amounts, especially those without central contracts.
 
The only way I can see them including him is to replace either Rouse or Dickson, and Sam to keep either way.

I'm almost certain he will be included given he is captain, and though out of nick, clearly a very talented cricketer.

Rouse getting that 70 certainly made the decision significantly more difficult however, as he'd barely scored a run before then.

IMO, if we're in a run chase, Blakey may well be our most important player, as he really can hit a long ball, and is the only really on form destructive batsman in the team, so should be untouchable.
 
PapaBurgundy said:
You'd turn down huge amounts of money in favour of staying at Kent for the opening few games? IPL is financially life changing for cricketers, you can't knock him at all for setting himself up for the future. Cricketers don't earn huge amounts, especially those without central contracts.
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If i was from a family of millionaire farmers, and had just taken on the Kent captaincy, as a Kent born and bred and a kent fan, yes, I would turn down the £75k Billings got for playing in the IPL. If he wants to go and play IPL, then fair enough, but don’t take on the kent captaincy if you’re going to miss the first two months of the season. I’d add that I equally blame the club for allowing it to happen.
 
SteveTreacle said:
If i was from a family of millionaire farmers, and had just taken on the Kent captaincy, as a Kent born and bred and a kent fan, yes, I would turn down the £75k Billings got for playing in the IPL. If he wants to go and play IPL, then fair enough, but don’t take on the kent captaincy if you’re going to miss the first two months of the season. I’d add that I equally blame the club for allowing it to happen.
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He's a white ball specialist, and the IPL is the biggest T20 league in the world. If he wants to become a Jos Buttler type player, then he needs to take opportunities to do so.

It's a shame for Kent, but making him captain and not someone like Denly for instance was the county's fault, not Sam's.
 
MedwayModernist said:
He's a white ball specialist, and the IPL is the biggest T20 league in the world. If he wants to become a Jos Buttler type player, then he needs to take opportunities to do so.

It's a shame for Kent, but making him captain and not someone like Denly for instance was the county's fault, not Sam's.
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I definitely agree that it’s the county’s fault, but sorry, for me, Billings ian not without blame. If you take on the captaincy, you should fulfil your duty. If he wants to go to play in the IPL (and let’s not forget this is not international cricket), he should not have accepted the kent captaincy.
 
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