GerryShedd
Super Moderator
He has made it clear in interviews that he wants at some stage to have a head coach role, possibly as a prelude to the England job. So I'm not sure that a full time batting coach role would suit him. He has gone out of his way to take on as many part time roles as possible - last year he coached England Lions in red and white-ball cricket, Derbyshire in the County Championship and Vitality Blast, Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred, at the T10 league in the UAE, and was an assistant for New Zealand on tours of England and Bangladesh. He is currently coaching Melbourne Renegades.
Anyway, it will be interesting to see what his next move will be.
Ethan making an impact Down Under:
https://wccc.co.uk/worcestershire-signing-ethan-brookes-smashes-146-in-t20-fixture/
It's interesting that he said nothing about the captaincy.
Mark Robinson gives an update on injuries, team selection etc.
https://edgbaston.com/news/bowler-is-top-target-as-robinson-plots-2024-campaign/?utm_campaign=14289425_WCCC%20Newsletter%20-%20Robbo%20%285.1%29&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=DotDigital&dm_i=1AFS,8I9SH,8II8VY,Z6IAP,1
Happy New Year to all Bearsfans!
Looks like it could turn into a Tasmanian holiday for Sam
Regarding use of an out-ground, Mr. Cain's latest email says:
"We’ve now identified a venue which we think can host some Metro Bank One Day Cup fixtures next season and just going through the operational and logistical considerations with a view to announcing in the New Year, all being well. In addition to the games themselves, we will also try to sow the seeds of future community initiatives to get more people playing and watching cricket alongside the games."
The latest email from the Chief Executive contains one or two bits of information:
"We’re investing a significant sum of money to improve the outfield drainage and hopefully prevent the disappointing scenes experienced on the final day last season.
We’ve learnt the lessons of last year and will be managing the fulfilment of Membership Cards in-house with plans to begin sending them out earlier than ever, well ahead of the start of the County Championship in April.
Off-the-field, we are freshening up the David Heath Suite with graphics and memorabilia celebrating the Club’s white ball history and replacing the seats on the balcony in front of the Lounge.
We are also replacing the big screen on the South Stand and introducing LEDs ribbons to the third tier. We know our screens have been poor for a couple of seasons so the new one will be bigger and sharper, with the LEDs also providing in-game information. As we re-develop, we will then move the new screen to a better long-term position."
He's now signed a contract extension:
https://edgbaston.com/news/rushworth-agrees-contract-extension-until-2025/
Hope for the future:
https://edgbaston.com/news/bears-trio-impress-in-england-u19s-odi-series/
If we follow the Middlesex model of playing at Chelmsford - Worcester, here we come! (Only joking - I think.)
Regarding out-grounds, I agree that it will be interesting to see which locations are chosen.
Middlesex are so strapped for cash that they are playing two of their T20 matches at Chelmsford on dates when Lord's is unavailable. According to The Telegraph, this will save them "a six figure sum" even though they will pay Essex a hosting fee.
Considering the mess that Middlesex are in, I wouldn't have thought that they would be the first choice of anyone looking for a move.
I hope it works out for him; but since Chris Woakes all of a decade ago, the Club haven't brought a single quick bowler through the youth system who has made the grade and stayed.
The Btookes brothers, George Garrett, Manroj Johal - all gone in the last month or so.
More on the regulation changes for 2024:
https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/3792756/changes-approved-to-2024-domestic-cricket-regulations-and-playing-conditions
I suspect that Gary Barwell will be keen to try out hybrid pitches for the Championship.
The PCA are not happy with the schedule:
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/pca-calls-action-over-unsustainable-122321526.html
If David Payne is unhappy about playing a T20 game one evening in Cardiff followed by another the following evening in Bristol, how does he feel about the Bears playing one evening in Durham and the next at Edgbaston?
Cricinfo says:
"A higher threshold for batting bonus points, a reduction in the number of points available for a draw, and a two-round trial of the Kookaburra ball, are among the tweaks to the County Championship ahead of the 2023 season, in a bid to keep the domestic game aligned with the aggressive approach of the England men's Test team.
This season, five points will be available for a draw - a return to pre-pandemic levels after an increase to eight was introduced in 2019 as an incentive for counties to prepare better pitches. And though 16 points will still be available for a win, teams will now need to score 250 inside 110 overs in the first innings (an increase from 200) to achieve one bonus point, rising by increments of 50 to 450 for the maximum of five - which, if achieved, would require a rate of more than four an over."
Exiled Bear wrote:
Seems a little strange to me that "blast off" won't be our first T20 match of the season
I agree that it makes a bit of a mockery of the whole "blast off" idea. It's a bit like having a ship launch when the ship has just got back from its maiden voyage.
Also the team will be playing in Durham on the Friday evening and then having to be back at Edgbaston the following day - hardly ideal preparation.
Having come up with such a good idea this year, the authorities seem to be going out of their way to mess it up next year.
Several counties are saying that the 2024 domestic fixtures will be announced next week on Thursday 23 November.