Conditions between squads????

[Cracker]

I might be young but i'm not stupid. There is always going to be a slight difference in the lanes between squads, but the last three tournaments there has been a little bit more than a "slight difference".
We bowled the Margaret Cole/Hunter Valley Open in Maitland in July. A squad and B squad were reasonable for right handers, lanes were not real wet and scoring was ok. Come C squad all of a sudden right handers couldnt turn the ball and the lefties went crazy on the condition. Come Sunday right handers struggled to turn the ball (you know that when Billy G cant turn a dull trauma) and lefties had trouble stopping the ball from hooking.
NSW Open conditions were ok, except for the fact that most of C squad cut which i found a little strange. I think something like 25-30 bowlers out of the 39 came from C squad. It looked to me like the shot was a little more open in C squad than the other two squads. Possibly something to do with the fact that they had to dress the lanes twice (or at least attempt to twice). Then at SA Under 23 Classic the lanes were a little dry for the first squad. Then all they did was oil the heads. Top qualifier from squad two was -34, top in first squad was +235.
Now i am by no means having a whinge because two out of the three events i am talking about i have been lucky enough to pick the right squad and bowl well. But my question is when are we going to get some consistency between squads let alone at different events?? Events like SA Cup, Melbourne Cup, Rosemount Cup and Australia Cup were great events because the lanes were fair for everyone. Maybe there is something in calling a tournament .... Cup?

 

[GeorgeF]

Well Cracker you have left yourself right open here. As you know with the bigger events in Australia alot of effort and time is put into ensuring the lanes are fair for all. The Super 6 series has been like this since the first event in Adelaide, all the conditions have been the same, be it a great or poor condition. Sometimes " things " happen which is beyond the control of the staff and everyone (like a wire coming loose resulting in the lanes being dressed again). AMF to their credit did the right thing and re-washed and oiled. Some " things " can't be helped.

As for NSW favouring C squad, I don't think so. Have you ever taken into account that some squads are stronger than others? If the bowlers in C squad had a brain, which most did, they would be lining up off the bowlers in B who were already bowling and obtain the best line to bowl for optimum scoring and carry. I know I did this along with several others. You can't stop this, everyone does it, hence the one of the benefits to bowling last. It's not always an advantage but when it's there you should take advantage of it.

As for the other events you described, I've got no clue. I agree that all bowlers should bowl on the same condition, it's up to the centres to ensure this occurs. In the states they employ a " Lane Consultant " who basically ensures the machine is set to the same pattern everytime it goes down the lane. This ensures the same condition for everyone. I"m not saying we need it here but a head mechanic or manager is a must to ensure everything is the same and fair.

G

 

[Cracker]

I totally agree with you George. C squad bowlers used their brain and lined up accordingly and good luck to them. But does that mean that everyone in B squad wasnt good enough or smart enough? There was some really good bowlers in B squad that struggled. C squad seemed to be more "open" on the right than it was earlier in the day. But having said that, you would have expected some of the top players in SA to have watched the first squad and lined up accordingly. Yet the shot wasnt anywhere near the same. All i want to see is some consistency at events.

 

[scotti2hotti]

Cracker you cant expect a condition to hold over so many games it just not possible. No matter what oil you use or what amount of units you put out it will not hold .

 

[Magoo]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, ">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Cracker:
I totally agree with you George. C squad bowlers used their brain and lined up accordingly and good luck to them. But does that mean that everyone in B squad wasnt good enough or smart enough? There was some really good bowlers in B squad that struggled. C squad seemed to be more "open" on the right than it was earlier in the day. But having said that, you would have expected some of the top players in SA to have watched the first squad and lined up accordingly. Yet the shot wasnt anywhere near the same. All i want to see is some consistency at events.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

As far as I can tell,I haven't read in either post from cracker about the condition holding up for the entire squad of bowlers.What I do read is that he would like every squad to start on the same condition,NOT to have the condition favour one squad as it appeared to cracker.But hey I could wrong.
Till next time
Tryhard

 

[Cracker]

Sorry Scotti, i was in fact talking about the conditions at the beginning of the squads eg the vast difference at the beginning of a squad. I understand there is always going to be some difference but the events i spoke about, the difference was in my opinion quite substantial.