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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Yep exactly, and their specific roles as power hitters is hugely important, too. Aus have had Gardner and Harris there, and it's just a gamechanger for team balance

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Making the final was the main goal for me, to give the home crowd a proper spectacle. Aus still definitely the favourites, but I wouldn't put it past this team to put in a great performance at win it all

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

I chose not to post any optimism pre-WC, but it's so great seeing the Eng W team perform like this. It feels like several long term plans have all clicked at once. It is such an inquisitive, competitive and fun environment to work in, and I can't speak highly enough of the leadership too. 🏏

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Chris Addison @mrchrisaddison.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

So much to say about that semi-final. Mainly: What a performance. A team that has been brittle in the past showing such resilience and skill. It’s been a remarkable summer for England women. They’ve put the men to shame. 🏏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇿🇦

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

I see it's picked up the 'rudder' phrasing, which is my least favourite. Maybe our jobs are safe for a few years at least!

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Yeah, it would be great if the technology company which provides the DRS service for broadcast would explain it to the broadcasters better...

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

With UltraEdge, it's clear people still don't understand the difference between discrete video frames, and a (basically) continuous microphone measurement. Matthews has clearly hit the ball between the still frames, and the spike in the sound signal shows it #cricket #EngWvWIW 🏏

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Nice to get a shout-out on the Cricinfo live text this morning! There has been a lot of chat about 'overheads' and 'conditions' this Test, but it's always important to distinguish the pitch (the main issue here) from the other factors, such as swing, or difficult light conditions. #cricket 🏏

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Definitely! And as a cricket eco-system we currently rely on broadcast to provide us with new technology to give us our more advanced data. Plus the more people engage with data on TV, the more mainstream it's usage becomes, which is never a bad thing! 🏏

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Test Match Special {bot} @bbctms.xmirror.bot · 04/06/2026

And breathe! Here's how day one unfolded at Lord's as the English Test summer began with wickets, wickets... and more wickets 🤯

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Even better we'd have the fielding placements available to contextual all our batting data. Hard to know how well a batter scores through a certain region if you don't know if there was a fielder there or not!

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Couldn't agree more on that, but I feel the ICC's understanding of the impact of the ball is far too basic for this to be their solution. This solution feels like a sticking plaster that no one is going to choose because it doesn't solve the problem (pink balls are much harder to see in low light!)

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

That does make more sense, and seem correct from the headline. I read the BBC article yesterday, and thought it was only brought in when the light became bad... Either way, how do you know if it's going to be bad light for the next 5 days? Plus teams much prefer the red ball in general

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Ah, that makes more sense, I must've misread the previous article earlier. Either way, from what I know about the pink ball, I don't think teams are going to want to do this...

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Exactly, so you have to gamble whether you're likely to be batting or bowling at the time when this might come into play. No worth it at all, in my opinion. This is all assuming that the ball swap only happens when the light gets bad, which also isn't very clear!

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

So both team have to agree to this *before* the match starts? This feels like a massive gamble, as it will clearly benefit the bowling team far more. Also, assuming they get a 'similar age' ball, the amount of variance in ball quality will be huge. I can't see this working at all. #cricket 🏏

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Excuse me? I think we've known this for roughly 300 years... Why do golf balls have dimples? Why are cycling suits textured? Why is sharkskin rough?

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

I made a list yesterday of the 12/18 counties posting on Bluesky (some more than others) for anyone enjoying the #CountyChampionship chat on here this week: #cricket bsky.app/profile/did:...

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Yeah, definitely, I'd love to see more clips and highlights on here, it's the one thing I really miss from the other place. Looks like Warks had a page (I found an announcement on their Facebook), but deleted it at some point

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

I think I've found 12/18 counties on here too, still not a huge amount of activity, but a few clips all the same: bsky.app/profile/did:...

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Yep, I use NV Play a lot, it's just not the same as engaging with things with other fans!

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

This is an absolute ripper from Ollie Stone, glad to see counties are cross posting videos on here as well! #cricket #CountyChampionship

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Nottinghamshire CCC @trentbridge.co.uk · 03/04/2026

The first wicket of our 2026 campaign 🎯 #SOMvNOT | 📝📺 live.trentbridge.co.uk

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Yep, exactly that, not much bounce or carry in the pitches yet, little rough for spinners, rusty bowlers in cold weather etc It's amazing how much more difference a bit of sun makes!

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Well now I have to choose between reposting and assuming everyone else can't read! I knew my perfect 280 characters was too good to be true...

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Day 1 of the County Champ, lunchtime mythbusting: 1. April is actually one of the best months for run scoring, statically 2. The ball doesn't actually swing more when it's overcast, or seam more when the pitch is green 3. Only ~20% of CC seamer deliveries are >82mph vs ~60% in Tests. Pace matters

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

We've had this for years in cricket where HE arbitrarily took 'half a ball diameter', because of the predictive component, and everyone seems kinda okay with it..? I've never seen any justification or reasoning, though

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Absolutely gutting, felt like he went for it to make up for giving away the corner first time round. Wasn't a great header either, felt like the equaliser was coming for the entirety of added time

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

The 'we only need one big play to get back into this' mentality only ever works in the narrow scenario where the other Super Bowl quality team also doesn't score any points. Personally not an outcome I'd be counting on in the biggest game of my career

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

What would be your thoughts on why Fraser might contribute to conceding? He's replaced three very different players here, so it often comes with a significant personelle or formation shift?

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

In the second example, some spinners over-angle the seam so it's more forward-square/backward-point, and you get 'in-to-in' off-breaks, which drift in and turn in. I think it's rare to get an off-break arm-ball that swings in, apart from Ashwin (which I have re-posted in the past)

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

Hi Ian, thanks for the kind words. Yes, that's a good assesment! If you think about a right-arm off spinner, their arm ball often points straightish, but to the slips, and that swings away from a RHB. For a stock off break, itthe seam is a lot squarer, aiming at deep-square, also drifting away

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Carse making great use of the perfect overhead conditions early up to find some serious hoops #TheAshes 🏏

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

It seems the mantra is to empower players to avoid 'fear of failure', and to play cricket that puts pressure back on the opposition. It's much more about leaning into players' natural skills (which have become more attacking over time) rather than just being gung-ho all the time 🏏

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

A great session for England so far, Stokes and Jacks managing to put some pressure back on the bowlers by... *checks notes* ...not getting themselves out for a bit. It's likely far too little, too late, but it's nice to see that it can be done #Ashes 🏏

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

I hope anyone who was calling for more 'traditional English bowlers' is seeing how placid the non-Starc seamers are looking with this pink ball. The fact is, you *need* higher pace in Aus to make the bounce count, and it looks like England have the better arsenal in this Test. #cricket #Ashes 🏏

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

I enjoyed chatting to The Athletic a few weeks ago about the context around the next day-night Ashes Test: www.nytimes.com/athletic/683... There's only a small sample size for pink-ball Tests, so it is always fascinating to see how they play out (in hopefully more than 2 days!) #cricket #Ashes

nytimes.com

Welcome to the Twilight Zone: What makes pink-ball, day-night cricket so different — and difficult?

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

Fair enough, but I think young players are allowed to make mistakes and say the odd stupid thing, without it undermining the whole project. I think there has been a concerted effort to get better at that, I agree

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

The funny thing is, they really, really aren't, it's very media overblown. The main principal is to empower players to play positive, entertaining cricket without fear of failure. Doing anything different in cricket always comes with heavy scrutiny every time it isn't perfect

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

I've seen a lot of criticism of England being too aggressive during a flurry of wickets (and in general), which I didn't want to pass judgement on. I need to watch the full 2nd session, as painful as it might be

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

Not to defend England's performance with the bat, but this innings from Head shows you *exactly* how damaging an aggressive approach can be in a low scoring game. No-one is criticising Head's shot selection because it's working. Execution, not intent, is the issue. #Cricket #Ashes

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Glossing over the first innings, it was VERY FUN to see England looks so threatening with the ball in an away Ashes series Pace, accuracy, skill. It's been a long term plan to have this many high quailty options, and it's finally coming to fruition #Cricket #Ashes

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

If I get time, I'll post my 5 Things to Watch Out For in this series too, but that might be a 2am kind of post

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

With the #Ashes round the corner, and some new followers as a result, it's time repost this from the 2023 Ashes: swingdoctor.substack.com/p/2023-ashes... Your guide to navigating talk of conditions, the 'new Kookaburra ball' and other theories on swing bowling! #Cricket 🏏

swingdoctor.substack.com

2023 Ashes Preview - A guide to watching swing bowling

Things to look and listen for in the next few weeks while watching the best series in cricket!

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Beth Cooper 🏏 @bethcooper.fyi · 19/11/2025

Boosting these as The Ashes fast approach. 2 cricket starter packs including official accounts, journalists, bloggers, enthusiastic amateurs and passionate followers. We don't like cricket, we love it! Check out the Cricket feed too, use the 🏏 to help separate from the insect or #Cricket #TheAshes

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Aaron Briggs @aab1871.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

Really enjoyed chatting to The Athletic on the (lack of) impact of 'overhead conditions' in cricket: www.nytimes.com/athletic/675... A pleasure meeting @nallum.bsky.social too, who approached the problem from a different perspective, but firmly joins the 'Look Down, Not Up' brigade #cricket

nytimes.com

The science of swing bowling: Do overhead conditions really make a difference?

Traditional thinking dictates that the cricket ball will swing under cloud cover, but data suggests the reality is rather different

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Nick Friend @nickfriend.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

Linsey Smith out in the middle for England at No.10, which makes her the first left-handed batter to face a ball at a World Cup for England Women since Lydia Greenway in 2013. By ending 5*, she becomes England's fifth-highest left-handed run-scorer at Women's World Cups, ever.

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