CRASH, bang, wallop! Is the art of batting changing for the better?

Last weekend I watched a game on Saturday and participated in one on Sunday, and they suggested to me the old adage 'bat the overs' seems to be a dying art.

The days when the opening batsman's job was to tire out the opening fast bowlers so the middle-order flair players could take advantage later seem to be over, and where a dot in the score book used to be a victory for the opening batsman is now considered a crime on the iPad.

The advent of T20, bigger bats and the ECB rhetoric that technique is no longer coachable seem to me to have changed the skill of batting forever.

Saturday saw me venture out to the idyllic setting of Higham Park for the much-anticipated clash of last year's First Division champions and one of this year's favourites for the Premiership title, Bradshaw.

The home team won the toss and decided to bat.

Their two new antipodean signings walked out together to face the new ball, the burlier of the pair taking a distinct liking to the opening bowlers.

Only with the intervention of spin did the game change. Five wickets fell inside two overs and the home side were on their knees, finally whimpering to a measly 111.

The total proved a formality to surpass for the away team, with the opening batsman showing how an innings should be played: solid in defence and driving serenely through the covers when the bowlers over-pitched.

It was a lesson the home side's batsmen will need to adhere to if they want to remain in the Premiership next season.

Sunday saw me don the whites for the first time this season.

Unfortunately, again it was not for my third team as insufficient players were available, so I offered to help out a depleted second team.

A score of 170 was admirable on paper but all out with 11 overs to spare proved costly as the target was surpassed with six overs remaining.

With the season still in its infancy the divide between the old BCL powerhouses and the old Association clubs still seems apparent, be it in an extra quality, spending power or mindset.

And unless it is bridged we are going to keep seeing the big clubs on top and, I fear, the eventuality of certain clubs dying away.

I hope I'm wrong.