sloandog wrote: ↑Sun Jan 02, 2022 1:26 am
This is mainly aimed at googly and secretzimbo. What are these boys seriously like? The batting looks strong on paper. The Bennet boys are getting a lot of hype, Matty Welch sounds like he's as good as his brother was at his age and then Bawa we all know about. Throw in Saul and Wollhutter and it sounds like there's a bit of depth there.
Are they as talented as the last batch? The 2018 squad was alarmingly underwhelming after so much hype, yet the 2020 boys looked strong.
It's hard to make comparisons. These lads have missed out on 2 years of school cricket, not that the standard would have benefitted them greatly, but it would have certainly made a difference. The Bennets, Saul and Welch have been good since they were kids, but they have missed out on age group tours, school cricket, T20 festivals etc. I would doubt they put in the extra practice during that period either. Hard to do that on the off-chance that things return to normal, the incentive just wasn't there.
Bawa is quite a good yardstick. He looked good last WC and these guys are probably as good as him now. He played quite a bit of cricket in the UK so should theoretically be well ahead of them but I think they're all quite similar. We will see as this WC unfolds.
Mitchell is another- he went to SA and was quite a good bowler, he's obviously played quite a lot of cricket there and has come back as a handy batsman. It just shows that it's all about the general standard you're exposed to, and that's the insurmountable problem we have here.
If these good guys had been playing elsewhere there's no telling how good a couple of them might be now. Look at Gibbs- now been offered a Dolphins contract. He was damned good when he was at school here, but there were a couple of bowlers that edged him.
It's not too late though, they could catch up. But who will be better after 2 years of pro cricket- Gibbs and Matigumu playing in SA or our youngsters playing franchise here?
Nick Welch and Sam Curran probably had about 25 centuries apiece, maybe more, by the time they left school, and against much better opposition. Let that sink in for a minute, it's extraordinary. NW scored a club 100 against proper bowlers when he was only 14, played franchise when he was 15. Muyeye was probably better than both of them as a schoolboy. Only people that really know cricket understand how good these guys were at school. A few years go by and people forget what they were watching. Guys were excited about Madhevere at school, but these 3 were next level.
Batsmen develop at different rates though. Welch and Byrom haven't delivered on early promise, although Welch has been unlucky with bad injuries, its early days but Muyeye hasn't stormed it either
You get early starters that may not go on. KP wasn't even considered a batsman at school. Byrom looked good at school but didn't really deliver on his talent, but he's a serious player now. It's not a race, it's a journey. The hardest part is continuing that journey, especially in this country. Dog fuck and determination plays a massive part.