BristolBear
Member
I’m tentative in saying this because it could easily come back to bite me in the county championship match in September. But is there a player who has dropped off more in the last couple of years than Steven Davies?
Averaging 16 in the CC this year, didn’t play T20, averaging 9 in the RLODC.
He’s 36, contract ends next season, they’ve got Rew there who turns 19 in the winter. I wonder if we can expect this season or next to be his last.
Highveld wrote:
I'm sure some here will be devestated!
Shame as was actually making a positive contribution to the side, when he was fit.
He seemed to be exactly what you want from an overseas. Contributed well, in his case with bat and ball, rose to the challenge with the ball in the big moments too, and most crucially he seemed to be a leader on the pitch, always really passionate about what he was doing.
Wouldn’t be against him as a T20 overseas next year.
Am I right in thinking that if it’s rained off or a tie, we don’t go through because of Net Run rate?
Bugger.
That’s no front line spinner for the knock outs if we get through.
Lucky tomorrows match is at Edgbaston not Ciderabad.
Would be very handy to get Bethell or Mousley off the bench of one of the Hundred teams.
If he was trying to bat the other day I can’t see it being the season. Though maybe he might not be able to keep for the rest of the season.
I suspect both Burgess and Pandya won’t play against Somerset. But I think they’ll be available for the quarter finals. Otherwise at least for Pandya he would have just gone home.
For Durham they obviously loose Lees, Potts and Stokes to England. 3 to the hundred. Plus Wood is injured. They save Rushworth for CC. They have Eckersley out too. Plus in the CC they rely heavily on Bedingham and Petersen as overseas too who aren’t playing in this competition. Probably fair to assume another injury or 2 to players we wouldn’t be familiar with. So whilst it’s not all the hundred, they’re lacking a lot of players for various reasons.
Think whatever happens against Somerset I just can’t see us winning the competition. Our bowling isn’t good enough against good teams, especially without a front line spinner. Also without Pandya and Burgess we lack a top order batsman who can consistently go at more than a run a ball.
Pitch seems a weird one. Not a bad pitch to bat on as it were, but a hard pitch to score runs on.
The sort of surface where you could bat out the draw very comfortably, but never go above 2 an over.
From what I’ve heard it’s a combination of some players feeling selections don’t reflect performance and clear favourites of the DoC and coach; some players have been asked to play with knocks and niggles, whilst others are rested and protected; this has also resulted in some players feeling that the CC has been devalued as players were rested or held back in the CC but played in T20 matches; and finally the feeling that newly signed players especially those with a white ball focus have been much better treated than those who have been at the club for a while.
What you don’t want is a situation where they chase the T20 so much you end up with a bunch of white ball mercenaries, who won’t help younger players progress, and won’t be round long enough to care about the club.
I’m very 50/50 on this. He impressed on the original Indian tour but that was against a very poor England side, with zero confidence.
But, he is consistent, has the extra pace that can cause havoc, and is an intelligent cricketer. Time will tell, and results will be the ultimate factor.
I made my 3 suggested changes based on clear issues that are not going to disappear. Not just impulse.
I’d change the captaincy as I don’t believe Rhodes is a great strategic captain in terms of fielding and bowling decisions. I also believe it is negatively effecting his performances this season. He can contribute more as a player and his batting has been down the last 2 seasons.
As for the director of cricket, I don’t want someone at the club who doesn’t want to be there. Fairly consistent rumour is that Farbrace wants out, he wants to coach again. It’s well known he lost out to Silverwood for the Sri Lanka job, and is looking for a head coaching role. How can someone be in charge of the long term running of the club if they’re not planning on being there. Also both his domestic and overseas recruitment have been decidedly patchy, and the pathway hasn’t exactly been churning out players. Plus squad planning has been poor, we can argue injuries but we also all know Woakes, Norwell, Miles and Stone have well known injury issues and last years run of fitness was more luck than skill. So having a bowling unit so reliant on those players is very naive.
Robinson seems to have created a big divide in the dressing room, and I’m not entirely sure how big a role he played last year. It was Troughtons squad. We’re losing players this season like Hose and Sibley. Also his character pushed Welch out the door as Welch couldn’t work for him and we’ve seen the effect that’s had on the team. He also has apparently alienated a number of players this season, who are unhappy with their treatment. Rumours are abound about Lamb being gone this season, and Rhodes, Burgess, OHD and even Hain going into their final years next year.
So it’s not impulsive, I think the club is in a very unstable place, lacking a clear plan, with the 3 figure heads in very different places with very different priorities, and it’s at the long term detriment of the club.
1) Captain
2) The coach
3) The director of cricket
180 needed off 14. We’ve barely made an attempt to chase this. Truly bizarre.
Have been saying the same this whole tournament. Without Pandya and Burgess we really lack that ability to drive the score. Even when they don’t hit the fence, they push the running between the wickets. The others don’t quite have that same ability to hit big or push the fielders. Smith seems that sort of cricketer though, so will be interesting how he goes.
Sibley on the other hand seems to be of the belief we can bat out for the draw.
Tayls79 wrote:
I have just seen Micky B in the nets while queing for a coffee. Looked to be hitting well but grimacing and grinning in equal measure. I don't think he'll miss much CC but not sure how he'll go today.
Interesting Lamb is in at 4, suspect that’s entirely to do with Burgess not being fit. You wonder if it’s a case of Burgess only batting if we can win, and not risking him if we need 150 off 10.
More concerned about how bad the injury is. Whether he’s going to be able to bat or if he’s out for some time. Don’t need him missing for the championship matches.
Smith looked good. With then begs the question why is he down at 8, and his first opportunity to perform is after 4 matches?
Think I’d consider dropping Sibley or Brookes for the next match. Brookes hasn’t really fulfilled that all rounder spot, needs to offer more with the ball.
I’d consider moving Smith to 6 or 7 and play another bowler (think Miles is back).
On Lamb, hate to say it but I don’t think anything he does now will matter. I think the clubs made up its mind on him.
That’s the issue isn’t it. He’s playing but not given an opportunity. He’s playing again today in a 34 over match, unlikely to need a specialist batsman at 8. And when he has batted he’s had a couple of balls or got out quickly.
I’ve said it from the start, it’s nothing against him, and it’s no comment on his ability. But if you’re going to play a young player, actually have them contribute and develop.
All his inclusion does currently is make it harder for the team to win, which then makes it harder to give young players a chance, and also prevents a Johal, Simmons or Shaikh playing and developing.
It’s one of those days where Leicestershire played it perfectly.
Win the toss on a flat pitch, let the bears cook in the field, build a big lead, and then bowl to defend rather than take wickets, as they knew chances would be created by scoreboard pressure. It was Englands go to approach under Eoin Morgan so often, build huge scores and let the opposition implode under the scoreboard pressure.
I will say though that chasing 300 out there would have been much easier than 340, and I hate to flog a dead horse but picking Kai Smith instead of Simmons or Johal has arguably resulted in a tie and a loss from 2 winnable matches.
But also apart from Burgess and Pandya, if sides bowl defensively, we struggle to find the boundary. Rhodes and Lamb of late have especially been guilty of this, chewing up balls, and dragging the scoring rate down.
And if so, fair enough. But we saw Johal perform well last year.
This game is just another example of the limited bowling options causing issues. Brookes obviously isn’t seen as a true 6th bowler, so if they can steal a couple of overs from him and Yates, great. If not, it’s the same 5 bowlers having to bowl no matter what. Which is never great in limited overs cricket. And I’m not entirely sure Rhodes is particularly good at rotating his bowlers and changing his plans depending on the circumstances.
It’s clearly a flat pitch and fast outfield so a 300 plus score is to be expected. But from 200-5 with 15 overs left, you’d have though they’d scrape 300, not motor to 340.
It’s just bizarre at this point. You’ve got Shaikh, Sidebottom, Simmons, all sat there ready to offer something and yet they insist on playing a specialist number 8. Just one of a number of bizarre selection decisions this season by Robinson.