cjav1874 wrote:

Scathing, accurate and concerning.

As a sidenote, the management of the women’s team has been atrocious in comparison to that of other clubs. It screams of unprofessionalism that they become one of the inaugural tier one counties and fail to employ the staff that a proper professional setup deserves to the point where players leave as a result. It gives the impression of being treated as a side hustle rather than elite sport.

As for the men’s game, it’s been on a spiral for a while. The turning of heads to our own Academy talent in favour of repeated external recruitment without return. The “footbalisation” of the club with the arrival of James Thomas, picking and choosing which players we want from other conties, has undermined the plethora of blooming talent we had on our hands. Shaikh gone, Ali will end up the same way. Theo Wylie, Ben Blakemore, Isaac Mohammed. It’s no way to sell a pathway to players if countless example of talent moving on after the county missed the opportunity to see it shine.

Thomas should be praying that we win the Championship.

Exactly, the most exciting crop of youngsters we've had for ages and we just havent properly backed them. And it's happened before (2011-2016, Gilo then Dougie, the academy just totally stalled). We're just not the sort of county that supports locally developed and academy produced talent.

Recent example, Ethan Brookes.

We literally let our own academy talent drift away but will give a triallist a contract on the back of a good month, most recent example Isaac Mohammed and Vansh Jani.

Its depressing that Hamza has felt the need to leave and yet Jani and Malik are still here. And like you say, Taz will be gone too. In the ODC he's been dropped after one bad game essentially.

We'll let Taz walk and sign someone like Tom Hartley who will be average at best but stay in the side because he'll have been recruited from elsewhere and will get preferential treatment.

Remember in 2022 when Craig Miles took just 11 wickets from 7 matches at an average of 63 and got given a 3 year contractextension? Matt Lamb averaged 48 with the bat that year with 2 tons and a 70 and got released. And we got Henry Brookes straight out the door not long after. Neither Lamb nor Brookes may have been a world beater, but just look at how the outside recruit was backed so much more strongly, and he'd performed no better.

We also have an incredible amount of turnover in backroom staff too compared to other counties, every 2 or 3 seasons we're changing bowling coaches or DoC or fitness coaches etc

mad wrote:

Why did we not sign Rory Haydon?

Probably because some triallist came along and attentions went away from Haydon. Terrible isn't it, he was one of the very few academy bowlers we had who was actually performing quite well. He'd outperform Garlick for example.

We've always been a weirdly run club im afraid. Stuart Cain has tried hard but he hasn't got a clue unfortunately and he simply doesn't get 'county' cricket. I wince everytime im reading his emails or quotes from other articles, just embarrassing. The appointment of James Thomas, and we all said this at the time, was ridiculous. No other county would have such a thing. I do feel sorry for Westwood, he's copping flak here but Thomas is the one who should be getting stick, he's got Westwood doing the job with his hands tied.

I can't comment on the Phoenix stuff.

Yes we fielded poorly today.

Why on earth were our first 3 games away from home?!

Looking at schedules etc, Dan will be available for us Friday if he continues to be on the bench in the other comp?

paulbear wrote:

I hope, like the T20, we don't end up looking back at a really poor start in the first 3 games.

Agreed. What could we have done though? During that period there was no prospect of getting any of our guys back from the Hundread. Several seam bowlers injured. And why on earth were our first 3 games all away from home?

Yes. Unless anything has changed from previous seasons?

cjav1874 wrote:

Supreme from Bobby Yates. He's so dismissive square of the wicket when he's in touch. Really pleased for him to get a first ton as skipper.

That pull/swipe sort of shot he plays off the front foot is brutal. Outstanding knock, brilliant player.

Another excellent win, just shows what we can do with even just 1 or 2 of our guys back who were missing at the start.

Gloucs chose to bat.

Thompson and Booth in for Barnard and Taylor.

Theo Wylie must have chinned someone...

Jordan Thompson is available tomorrow. If selected it will be just his 2nd List A match. He is 29 years old.

Nathan Gilchrist is also available.

No Barnard? Wonder who will replace him.

Gloucs have no players at the Hundread.

I mean, you would be wouldn't you to be fair...

Someone at the club definitely reads this forum too, no doubt.

Yeah read it, interesting. He's the most 'Alan Partridge' bloke ive ever come across. I don't really feel as though he 'gets' county cricket. I appreciate the effort from him though.

Signing these 2 does give us options but at the same time it also rules out selecting Michael Booth.

Yates
Young
Mousley
Hain
Barnard
Zen/Jani/Kai/Wylie
Davies
Suthar
Seamer
Seamer
Seamer

???

Don't think so?

Was Clarke, Hepburn and TKC named.

Can I be controversial? I was slightly, ever so slightly, underwhelmed by Suthar's bowling. I acknowledge it was only 2 games.

Young, he gonna open with Davies down at 7? Or go 3?

Can't knock the ambition.

Can they both play Sunday?!

Thing is Davies is a really, really decent gloveman, nobody seems to acknowledge this. Can't quite understand what the manoeuvring is, maybe Davies is finished with us? Maybe they don't see Kai as keeper? Neither Simpson or Cox will be long term solutions and as has been pointed out Cox never been a prolific run getter. Simpson a superb bat but will be 39 next season...

Ive noticed quite a bit of it in there over the past 4 or 5 seasons.