Just about recovered after nearly crashing the car yesterday listening to the last few overs...amazing stuff and what a thrilling end to an otherwise forgettable season, almost trumped the feeling of winning the Championship last year! Take a bow Liam Norwell, who will forever be a Bears hero from now on, let's hope he manages to stay injury-free next year and beyond.

I think GS made some excellent points about giving credit to others; I'd add Dom Sibley to the list, despite his impending departure he showed commitment right to the end, he'll be missed and hard to replace. Although I can think of at least one poster on here who would doubtless disagree, I'd also add Yates and Davis to the list too. Both had otherwise pretty miserable seasons but they each contributed to this win, Yates with a fabulous century and Davis who, given that fact that only two extras were conceded in Hants second innings, must have done a half decent job keeping wicket.

I was very pleased to see Rob Yates get a hundred after a miserable season. If we could play every day like it was the last day of the season - we'd lap the field.

I memory serves me correctly, wasn't last season's win v Somerset, the very last game to be completed and if so, that means Liam Norwell has bowled the last ball of the season, 2 seasons in a row, come on stato's see if that has been done before.

Found Olly's championship stats
Bowler, Balls bowled, maidens, runs, wickets, best bowling, average, 5-wickets in an innings
OJ Hannon-Dalby, 2834, 141, 1256, 53, 6-40, 23.69, 3

2834 balls bowled equates to 472 overs across the 14 games

Carried that team

paulbear wrote:

I memory serves me correctly, wasn't last season's win v Somerset, the very last game to be completed and if so, that means Liam Norwell has bowled the last ball of the season, 2 seasons in a row, come on stato's see if that has been done before.

You could say Norwell did it twice last season - he took the last wicket to win the Championship but then, the following week, he also took the last wicket against Lancashire to win the Bob Willis Trophy at Lord's.

Full averages for the championship are here

https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/averages/batting_bowling_by_team.html?id=14444;team=1479;type=tournament

Averages look interesting. I'm amazed we did as well as we did (8th!) with the bowling. Only OHD and Norwell really having a good year and the latter only four games. Batting looks superficially good but two of the top four seemingly frozen out. In my minds eye Rhodes had a good batting season and Davies poor though actually have very similar records.

Davies's record looks better than it truly was due to having two decent innings towards the end of the season, overall he was consitantly bad, and Yates was even worse. Rhodes may not have had any big scores but contributed consistantly.

I actually think Rhodes has looked in decent nick all year just found ways of getting out. Yates, a horror season really. Sibley strong, what a player. Hain, Atlas like. I've said my piece on Davies many a time.

The release of Matt Lamb just looks totally bewildering.

It's harder to judge bowlers going off stats alone.

OHD was Herculean, obviously. A real talisman.

Has it been confirmed Lamb is leaving?

Highveld wrote:

Has it been confirmed Lamb is leaving?
Lots of rumours (e.g. that he's going to Sussex); but as far as I know, nothing official. If there was any substance in the Sussex rumour, the fact that they have sacked their Head Coach today might put a spanner in the works of that deal.

Gerryshed, trust me, I totally forgot that game, might be because it was in October. Madness. A wise sage like yourself obviously picked up on it straight away.

Lamb is off. I was chatting to him in the members bar yesterday after the game. He seemed genuinely distraught, it was quite sobering actually.

So we are letting go the batsman who came second behind Hain! Madness.

A local player, who developed at a local club and always gave the club 100%

It's worse than madness, it's deliberate and gross incompetence by whoever made the decision, but continuing to pick a specialist batsman who was averaging under 12 all season, shows their inability to make logical decisions. Thats not mentioning their short term overseas player signings, or the appointment of very poor bowling coaches for the first and second team bowling coach positions.

This needs raising with the club at the first opportunity. Normally I would assume the management know better than those watching the game from the stands. But this defies logic and members deserve an explanation IMO

How, even in the brutal environment of professional sport, can any club can offer more loyalty and support to someone like Davies who’s been there for 5 seconds, looked like he couldn’t care less half the time, and played poorly, than to someone like Matt Lamb? A player who’s been at the club since he was 10 or 11, plays with passion for the club every match, and performed well. It’s just bewildering.
It’s the sort of decision making you see in failed businesses all the time. People too arrogant, stubborn or deluded to admit a mistake, so they double down on their error by backing it further. And by the time it’s so obvious even they can’t deny they’ve made a mistake, it’s too late.
I’m just hoping it’s not too late, but I look at the loss of Stone, Hose, Sibley, Lamb, Sidebottom, potentially Burgess. And I see the players who are lined up to take their places and be big parts of the side; likes of Davies, Yates, Bethell, Mousley, Benjamin, Johal, Ethan Brookes, and at this moment I can’t see an improvement. The likes of Yates and Davies need a complete turn around in form. And the younger players need to come of age and start delivering more than just potential.

The idea of losing Lamb is totally insane if it wasn't for the FACT that we had someone like Davies who has been there just 1 season and has played badly. It isn't just that Davies has had no form, it's the way he has been dismissed. If he got a few absolute 'Snorters' or unplayable deliveries I could have some sympathy but he has played some of the most atrocious shots I have ever seen on a cricket field. Not just that, but he has played some of those shots AGAIN, the very next game and not surprisingly, WITH EXACTLY THE SAME RESULT. It must be heartbreaking for a local boy like Lamb to have to move on. I almost hope he plays for another county and makes runs against us so that the management here can hang their heads in shame.

The judgement of Robinson/Farbrace has to doubted.
They appointedade Mason & rSheik as bowling coaches, a very significant downgrade on the previous bowling coach, who looked after all of the clubs bowlers.

Long term contracts were given to Yates, Johal, Davies & Lintott none of whom did anything to justify the value or length of contract this season.

Their policy on overseas signings is a failure, with some of the worst overseas players to come to the club ever. Over the past two years only McAndrew and Malan actually made a useful contribution. The policy shows a lack of research into who is available and just taking a quick option, that turns out not to even honor the contract. That is madness both in cricketing terms and financially with the costs involved in signing non UK players.

paulbear wrote:

The idea of losing Lamb is totally insane if it wasn't for the FACT that we had someone like Davies who has been there just 1 season and has played badly. It isn't just that Davies has had no form, it's the way he has been dismissed. If he got a few absolute 'Snorters' or unplayable deliveries I could have some sympathy but he has played some of the most atrocious shots I have ever seen on a cricket field. Not just that, but he has played some of those shots AGAIN, the very next game and not surprisingly, WITH EXACTLY THE SAME RESULT. It must be heartbreaking for a local boy like Lamb to have to move on. I almost hope he plays for another county and makes runs against us so that the management here can hang their heads in shame.

It's the Warwickshire way sadly. We're not a county that values its homegrown players as much as it should. Not as much as other counties do anyway. Recruits from elsewhere will always get better backing seemingly.