GerryShedd
Super Moderator
Highveld wrote:
With Gilchrist and Thompson joining there is no need to waste the money giving Hassan Ali another paid holiday at the clubs expense, and the club will be able to sign an overseas player who intends to fully honour his contract with the club.
You know that this is one of the few matters on which you and I disagree.
Hasan Ali had a serious elbow injury and has also been called up several times by Pakistan; but when he has played, he has always given 100%, taken wickets and (occasionally) scored important runs.
It doesn't seem to have reached the Bears website yet; but Nathan Gilchrist is signing from Kent:
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/sport/gilchrist-to-make-kent-departure-327501/
I think I'm normally one of the least pessimistic posters on here. But I have to say that I am very depressed about the future of the county game that I have loved and followed for so many years.
I was reminded recently that, all of six and a half years ago, I wrote an article setting out three alternative scenarios for the future of county cricket. In the most gloomy scenario, I said that "county cricket, as we have known it, will slowly die over the next five years." I concluded: "Just like Blockbuster Video Hire shops, steam trains, red telephone boxes and Woolworth’s Pick ‘n’ Mix, county cricket’s time will have come and gone."
Sadly, I think that I was not far wrong.
Apparently it is to do with the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which caused the Indian team to withdraw in protest.
https://www.onmanorama.com/sports/cricket/2025/07/20/world-championship-legends-india-pakistan-match-cancelled.html
It's announced that this will be Samit Patel's last game for Derbyshire.
Exiled Bear wrote:
What’s the progress looking like towards getting an SGM?
I suspect that the numbers aren't there, which is a great shame.
To be fair, I don't think that OH-D is doing favours for his county bosses. As Chair of the PCA, he is expressing the views of his members, with which he may or may not agree.
mad wrote:
As each sob story is trotted out one wonders why they don't have it written into their contracts as individual players that they'll only play a certain number of games in a certain timeframe. Then let the county clubs arrange salaries, fixtures and squads to cope with what players will or will not tolerate being able to put their bodies through. Squads are massive now, the loans system used like never before, rotation of playing squads is surely the answer as is unblocking the schedule so there is less travelling to do in mid season
I agree with this; and it is in line with what I quoted the Somerset Chair as saying:
"We are very sympathetic to this [player workload], particularly our players who play all formats but see this as a situation for the Club to manage in partnership with players and coaching and science and medicine staff – it is not the job of the fixtures."
Information re the Derbyshire squad:
https://cricket.derbyshireccc.com/2025/07/pre-match-pack-friday-finale-double-header-h/
George Dobell in The Cricketer says:
"At the time he moved to Warwickshire - a move which coincided with Liam Norwell's move in the same direction - Miles was seen as a potential England prospect."
Maybe that's stretching things a bit.
And in conclusion, I agree that we all wish Craig well in this third phase of his career.
I would say that Norwell and Miles were much of a muchness for Gloucestershire - Miles 255 wickets at 26.88, Norwell 248 at 26.97.
There were always doubts about Norwell's fitness/resilience. Just after he joined the Bears, I spoke to one of the Gloucestershire coaches and explained that Liam was currently injured but would be back soon. His reply to me was: "Don't hold your breath."
I don't go with the view that Miles was only ever seen as a back-up/support bowler. At the time of his signing, he was thought of as one of the most promising young pace bowlers in the country. He made his debut at age 16 and was described by Gloucestershire coach Mark Alleyne as "a precocious talent." For Gloucestershire, he took 255 wickets in 68 first-class matches at an average of 26.68.
Admittedly, that was in the second division; but the potential was clearly there.
So I think that this is another instance where the Bears bowling coaches haven't done a great job in bringing on a young bowler.
It looks as though Warwickshire players are leading the way in the call for less cricket.
As well as OH-D speaking up as the PCA Chair, we have the following:
England allrounder Chris Woakes, the PCA's England Men's representative, said the call for change was not about playing "less cricket because they don't want to - it's about being able to produce the best cricket on the field as possible".
"Welfare is extremely important and not just players but coaches and staff," he said. "We need to get the scheduling right to give players the time to prepare, recover and make sure they're in the best state physically and mentally.
"The game is now played at a greater intensity and faster rate, especially in white-ball cricket. When you're having to play back-to-back games it's almost impossible to be at 100%. Having gaps between games and with safe travel is very important."
Three wickets in his first over.
Even Durham who were defeated semi-finalists have an on-line report now:
https://www.durhamcricket.co.uk/news-and-media/sam-conners-takes-3-11-durham-second-xi-fall-short-against-warwickshire-second-xi-at-t20-finals-day/
I don't thinkthe Club has got round to reporting on the win; but here is the Notts report:
https://www.trentbridge.co.uk/news/2025/july/t20-runners-up-spot-for-seconds.html
Excellent effort at the end by Bamber to bring home the trophy.
Somerset's Chair is outspoken and makes some interesting points:
“We don’t want less Blast matches ...we like the Blast and the players like the Blast.
If you take a home game away from us we not only lose substantial revenue, but also a key opportunity to inspire the south-west through cricket, so we are against reducing the number of Blast games, even if we turned out to be the only county who believe that.
Regarding the County Championship proposals we are also opposed to a reduction in the number of matches played. On this subject we have one or two supporters among the other counties.
A catalyst for change has been PCA player survey data indicating workload concerns. We are very sympathetic to this, particularly our players who play all formats but see this as a situation for the Club to manage in partnership with players and coaching and science and medicine staff – it is not the job of the fixtures.
There are also a number of players in our squad who would like more cricket rather than less."
Move confirmed by the Club - but remember you read it here first!
https://edgbaston.com/news/miles-leaves-warwickshire-after-six-years/
BosworthBear wrote:
Here’s the report
I think the report as a whole is much more balanced than the quotes in The Guardian from one of its authors.
I quite liked this summary:
'Amid a global game increasingly centred around short-
form franchise cricket, and with an uncertain outlook for
the sport’s finances, questions have grown over whether
county cricket will remain relevant and can prove financially
sustainable.
Yet, compared to elsewhere in the world, in many ways
domestic cricket in England and Wales is admirably strong,
helping explain why – following investment from IPL team
owners, US tech billionaires and private equity firms into The
Hundred – a key question within the game is how the future
of the 18 first-class counties can be preserved, in the ECB’s
words, for “generations to come.” '