Northwalesbear wrote:

This is a huge blow, especially being so sudden. That batting line up is looking wafer thin, at the moment its Hamza in for Rhodes and Kai in for Burgess, which on the one hand is exciting, but I think will leave us vulnerable. The need to recruit of an experienced top order bat is now desperate.

That doesn't bear thinking about really given that we have flirted with relegation in 2 of the past 3 seasons. There is a lot of rebuilding to do before the season starts, including improving our aging bowling line up.

A real shock that Burgess has jacked it in. Another big hole to fill with our recruitment. We now need two front line batsman, wicketkeeper, spinner and fast bowler.
I hope Larsen is well down the road with these signings but at least there's still plenty of time.

Yet another huge blow to the side. Burgess must have really wanted out, to go at such a young age. Maybe the route he is taking seemed so much better than playing for Warwickshire but surely there must be something more to it. If I was him, I would have been furious about being left out of the T20 side whilst a lesser batsman in no form had a place in the side whilst being a much more inferior wicketkeeper as well. A decision that left so many on this site, totally baffled and in my case, just bloody annoyed. Can't help but think the way the club is operating at the moment and strange team selections, won't have had some bearing on all this but then again, I am just speculating. So Sibley, Rhodes and now Burgess, all terrific players in their prime, all gone and much work for the management to deal with. We need strong replacements, not "Oh we THINK this player has potential and we THINK he could be what is needed for the team....". Too many players at the club have had potential but you cannot keep talking about the potential a player has, 5 years later.

paulbear wrote:

Yet another huge blow to the side. Burgess must have really wanted out, to go at such a young age. Maybe the route he is taking seemed so much better than playing for Warwickshire but surely there must be something more to it. If I was him, I would have been furious about being left out of the T20 side whilst a lesser batsman in no form had a place in the side whilst being a much more inferior wicketkeeper as well. A decision that left so many on this site, totally baffled and in my case, just bloody annoyed. Can't help but think the way the club is operating at the moment and strange team selections, won't have had some bearing on all this but then again, I am just speculating. So Sibley, Rhodes and now Burgess, all terrific players in their prime, all gone and much work for the management to deal with. We need strong replacements, not "Oh we THINK this player has potential and we THINK he could be what is needed for the team....". Too many players at the club have had potential but you cannot keep talking about the potential a player has, 5 years later.

Indeed, and if I was Ed Barnard I would be disgruntled for the same reason. We need to build a single squad that plays across all formats, but I suppose that is an old fashioned view.

I think if he had just wanted to get away from Warwickshire, there would have been a queue of counties wanting to sign him so I believe it is much more to do with wanting a career outside the game.
Whilst I agree that his absence from the T20 side was strange and disappointing, I also know that, when he had a few personal issues to deal with a year or so ago, the Club was very supportive to see him through the situation.

Notwithstanding what I said above, it may be significant that in his farewell message, he thanks members, fans and the players but not the coaching staff.

The coaching staff seem to have sucked all of the joy out of playing. They have created a toxic environment and a culture of underperformance.

It may be the entire coaching staff, or just a toxic individual or individuals who may be coaches or players.