Right, I hate the fact we're called Birmingham Bears, always have done, but it's not the reason we keep losing Blast 1/4 finals for goodness sake.

People seem to be inferring that Alex Davies should no longer be at the club...clearly those people don't follow us in the county championship...I'd still back him in the role as captain and let him grow. I admit I've not always been a fan either.

Ultimately we have too many mercenaries in our Blast side, and it's crept up year on year, Garton, Gleeson, Moeen, the overseas players, Foulkes bowled ok last night but he ain't a player. Our Blast XI differs far too much from our XI in other formats. It would appear to affect team chemistry and harmony.

More specifically on players, Sam Hain doesn't look right, hasn't looked right all season, even when he's done well. He's body language looks off, somethings up.

I think Mousley will end up batting 7 or 8 despite the decent contributions he has made this campaign. Just looks increasingly like a bits and pieces cricketer. The Hundred does him no good at all.

Lintott, great lad but low key he's had a bit of a poor campaign, he's gone for quite a few.

Felt sorry for Benjamin last night, he tried, he really did, but he just ain't got the quality overall. Looks a very good club player clinging on at pro level.

Garton, loads of natural ability, but mentally that guy is weak, just doesn't have the stomach for it. With a bowling action like that when it goes wrong it really does wrong.

I'd do away with Moeen, Garton and Gleeson, they all offer something but probably quite enough and if you ain't on a full contract I don't think you should be here at all.

A word on D. Briggs, he did so much of the heavy lifting this campaign. Credit where its due.

It's in the mind no though, right from Garton slinging them 6 waist high no ball wides down you thought "here we go..." and playing out the first over of the chase as a maiden you felt the nerves ramp up in the crowd, a lot of sideways glances.

Fair play to Gloucs, they've not had it easy on or off the pitch for a few seasons, but the bulk of their squad has been together a good while now and because of that they have excellent team spirit and perfect role definition. Every single one of their players did something good last night and made a difference.

Robbo, I'm not one for a sacking, but it's hard to see how he survives this let's be honest.

FWIW, great crowd last night.

Good rational points Andy, I agree with pretty much all of what you say.

I’m not sure about the length of the contracts for those you propose releasing though, if they are multi year deals then it would be expensive to jettison them all.

Andy wrote:

Right, I hate the fact we're called Birmingham Bears, always have done, but it's not the reason we keep losing Blast 1/4 finals for goodness sake.

People seem to be inferring that Alex Davies should no longer be at the club...clearly those people don't follow us in the county championship...I'd still back him in the role as captain and let him grow. I admit I've not always been a fan either.

Ultimately we have too many mercenaries in our Blast side, and it's crept up year on year, Garton, Gleeson, Moeen, the overseas players, Foulkes bowled ok last night but he ain't a player. Our Blast XI differs far too much from our XI in other formats. It would appear to affect team chemistry and harmony.

More specifically on players, Sam Hain doesn't look right, hasn't looked right all season, even when he's done well. He's body language looks off, somethings up.

I think Mousley will end up batting 7 or 8 despite the decent contributions he has made this campaign. Just looks increasingly like a bits and pieces cricketer. The Hundred does him no good at all.

Lintott, great lad but low key he's had a bit of a poor campaign, he's gone for quite a few.

Felt sorry for Benjamin last night, he tried, he really did, but he just ain't got the quality overall. Looks a very good club player clinging on at pro level.

Garton, loads of natural ability, but mentally that guy is weak, just doesn't have the stomach for it. With a bowling action like that when it goes wrong it really does wrong.

I'd do away with Moeen, Garton and Gleeson, they all offer something but probably quite enough and if you ain't on a full contract I don't think you should be here at all.

A word on D. Briggs, he did so much of the heavy lifting this campaign. Credit where its due.

It's in the mind no though, right from Garton slinging them 6 waist high no ball wides down you thought "here we go..." and playing out the first over of the chase as a maiden you felt the nerves ramp up in the crowd, a lot of sideways glances.

Fair play to Gloucs, they've not had it easy on or off the pitch for a few seasons, but the bulk of their squad has been together a good while now and because of that they have excellent team spirit and perfect role definition. Every single one of their players did something good last night and made a difference.

Robbo, I'm not one for a sacking, but it's hard to see how he survives this let's be honest.

FWIW, great crowd last night.

Excellent post.

Streetly_Bear wrote:

Good rational points Andy, I agree with pretty much all of what you say.

I’m not sure about the length of the contracts for those you propose releasing though, if they are multi year deals then it would be expensive to jettison them all.

No I agree mate, more just trying to highlight the fact that we've released guys who maybe had potential and given 3 or 4 year deals to some of those others who I mentioned. We've always been a weirdly run club when it comes to contracts etc. I should have been clearer.

I have to cringe whilst reading the comments Davies made after the ridiculous and at times, 'Stupid' performance last night. You can go around praising the opposition captain but the actual team selection has to be right. On what basis was Garton picked, he has had more games than wickets in T20 and an economy rate of 9, is not going to make other counties bang at the door and yet WE decided he was good enough and at number 7, he is not worthy of that position, when we won it in 2014, our 6-9 in the order were Woakes, Javid, Ambrose and Patel. Yes we were blessed with such a side but Garton has obviously not recovered from that dreadful game v Worcestershire and here he was at the expense of Barnard and at 6, we had a player who has done nothing all tournament, so I ask anyone, why can't they see what we can see. What is it about getting a left-arm bowler into the side, he should not be picked on variation, but whether or not he is any good. I would sooner have been drubbed by a Somerset or Surrey side who at least have good players but not being able to chase less than 7 an over to beat that lot, very embarrassing. I nearly bought a ticket for the final in between innings, thank God my phone lost charge or I could be in possession of a ticket I really don't want.

Glouc only had a 'Together' team because they are, no one really picks their players for Lions or Hundread teams because they are just journeymen, which makes our insipid performance even worse. No one said the name of the club is to blame but it is changing things from whatever means you have to just to try start fresh and it was stupid at the time in most peoples eyes and no one thinks any differently. What annoys me and probably many others is not being able to get big names in from overseas or players who do things in other T20 competitions. Did anyone know who Foulkes, Rae, Garton or any of the other player who comes in, is. If all the management were doing, was trying to build a T20 winning side, surely they can come up with tried and trusted players and look at overseas leagues to see who is making waves consistently. When we bring someone in, it's Moeen Ali who has been doing nothing in T20 leagues all around the world and at international level, made people scratch their heads at his inclusion. Only briefly has he made a difference and even if he goes missing for the Hundread, is he really good value for all other forms. Gleeson, his first-class record is good, has no one ever considered him for a CC game or two.

My expectation of a win fell when I saw the team selection. Why change a winning format? Why drop batsman that have performed?

Once again the team has been changed to accommodate Moeen and once again we have lost with him in the side. He has achieved very little and certainly no better than players he replaced.

Reading through this forum thread made sad reading - because there is not one word unjustified.

As for the name of the team I find the name not only stupid I find it embarrassing - what is a city doing playing against a group of counties - it does not make sense. Last night I was at a local rugby match in Coventry. In the bar they had the match on allowing me to follow on screen about 10 overs in to the Bears inning. While the bar was quite full I was the only person following the game. I am sure that is because Coventry people will not be interested in a team called Birmingham - and why would they!

Quite what I said when all the names for The Hundread came about, how many Lancashire fans who come from Blackburn or Preston, will want to associate themselves with a team called Manchester, the same as a team called 'Oval invincible's' will hardly be followed by fans of Essex or Middlesex. I think there was talk at the time of people from Warwick, Coventry and other parts of Warwickshire, feeling they were discarded from the conversation, a case of "Here you are, here is what we are giving you as a name, like it or lump it".

I feel like Ed Barnard's bowling would be cannon fodder in T20 cricket to be honest, has no change up deliveries, no yorker etc hence he doesn't bowl at the death in the ODC. I've never really championed him for the Blast side personally. His T20 career record is extremely mediocre at best. Case for him as a batter only of course, I'd have rather Kai Smith in Benjamin's role though. And I'm a huge Ed Barnard fan.

Re. contracts and player recruitment/retention etc, we let Olly Stone (currently playing back to back Tests for England) walk but signed Moeen Ali, Gleeson and Garton...who the hell signed off on this stuff?!

Yes the name is stupid. What sort of Club alienates its supporters?

I’m not totally sure the consistent failure isn’t connected in some way either as a jinx or just pure lack of passion for such a Mickey Mouse operation.

I walked away think meh rather than gutted.

I was more angry, all the hard work again only to be knocked out. That is why I always think it should be the same way as the 50-over cup, if you top your group, you go straight into the semi-final rather than lose because of one game against a team who scraped through in their group. Either way, it's infuriating but most people on here are fed up with the team selection which looks amateurish at best, not covering all basis and just seemingly hoping to win rather than putting out a team that would be hard to beat. Lots of reasons for Friday apart from team selection, trying to keep clearing a long boundary and being caught inside, panicking because we scored hardly anything from the first 3 overs and unprofessionally trying to get the total with time to spare instead of just knocking it around seeing as the rate wasn't even high, the fact that we lost without being bowled out is ridiculous in the face of 139. The amount of red-faced fury from fans as I left the ground was too many to count with shouts of "Every *** year", "Against a poor side like that", "Is this the best a club of our size and stature can do". I understood it all and I was one of those shouters.

I just think we lack some guts, but also a bit of intelligence in that middle order especially.
When I think of players I want in a batting crisis from our club, it’s Hain, Burgess and Barnard.
Hard to do from 3 or 4 in a T20 for Hain. But do I back Mousley or Benjamin in those situations. No. Their MO is ‘smash it’.
But I look at the amount of times over the last few years in championship and one day cricket, that I’ve seen Barnard and Burgess play the situation perfectly. They’ve battled, played smart, can clear the fence but also Burgess is superb at just manipulating the field, keeping the runs coming. That was all we needed and we just brainlessly kept trying to smash it. Then when we realised that wasn’t working, we then went at 4 or 5 an over for a few overs. Which made it harder again.
With that many fielders out you can go at 7 an over without really trying, if you’re smart enough.
It all screams of a tactical naivety, which we’ve seen in all formats. Too often the coach and captain don’t have a proper game plan. There’s no understanding of what we’re trying to do in different periods of the game.

I was pretty gutted. Lots of things to say. The point about group winners going straight to finals day is fair enough but the south division is a lot stronger than the north; they would have to mix the two for automatic qualifiers and that causes problems with the local derby matches.
I'm not sure Gloucestershire are such a bad side, I might have a crafty fiver on them if they are 4th favourites for finals day.
I was speaking to a non - Warwickshire supporting friend whose take on the finals was we lacked batsmen in positions 7 - 9 with good strike rates. Not really why we lost this game where the onus was clearly on one of the top 6 to steer us past a low total. But as a general point I think he might be onto something - perhaps next season we should acknowledge Dan Mousley's USP is as a short form bowler and encourage him to concentrate his batting on playing very quick 4 or 5 ball knocks down the order.
Finally I'm still baffled. In the last four years we have lost 5 quarter finals and one semi - final. In that time we won one quarter final where we were done for all money but Kai Smith scored a hundred. So how does he not get into the team for this match?

Having a stronger South group than the North makes no difference as plenty of side have won the T20 whilst scraping through (We had to rely on Notts beating Yorkshire to get through in 2014 and won it) and they manage it in the 50-over cup, you just qualify if you are in the top 3 of each group.

Larsen needs to be ruthless. Northants sacked their coach immediately after their T20 quarter final loss. Robinson needs to go now so we can start rebuilding.
An interesting point previously made about signing cricketers from other counties who need an opportunity, which was a successful policy when we recruited the likes of Chopra, Clarke, Ambrose Rankin etc.
Gilo was a specialist at doing this and he is replicating it at Worcester bringing in players like Hose, Ethan Brookes and Rob Jones. Alan Richardson is doing wonders with the coaching plus they have homegrown players coming through. That is the template for us.
The policy of spending our playing budget on mercenary players for one competition led by a weak head coach and supplemented by poor batting and bowling coaches needs to be ended.
Time for a fresh start.

KingofSpain wrote:

Larsen needs to be ruthless. Northants sacked their coach immediately after their T20 quarter final loss. Robinson needs to go now so we can start rebuilding.
An interesting point previously made about signing cricketers from other counties who need an opportunity, which was a successful policy when we recruited the likes of Chopra, Clarke, Ambrose Rankin etc.
Gilo was a specialist at doing this and he is replicating it at Worcester bringing in players like Hose, Ethan Brookes and Rob Jones. Alan Richardson is doing wonders with the coaching plus they have homegrown players coming through. That is the template for us.
The policy of spending our playing budget on mercenary players for one competition led by a weak head coach and supplemented by poor batting and bowling coaches needs to be ended.
Time for a fresh start.

Totally agree with all that, KoS. Larsen does need to act - and quickly - my worry, is that he is in 'Robinson's pocket', is a 'yes man' to him and won't have the balls to do anything of the sort. Unless the Committee tell him - but can you see that either?!

There is some really sensible comments on this forum, I just hope that the club reads them and takes notice.
There really is something in the comments of "growing" our own players rather than buying in mercenaries. Finding a "Patel" should be the focus, committed, team player and available for entire tournament. Getting in players on silly money, only to find they cant play parts of the tournament, is madness.