KingofSpain
Member
Somw thoughts from Taunton....
A good win. Somerset blamed losing the toss but we executed our skills in the field well.
Norwell was there on 12th man duties so not sure why he didn't play. OHD was superb, as was Lintott. Miles looked a bit rusty and Garrett did OK.
Barnard played an excellent innings up top and is really important to our prospects in this competition.
We were cruising until Rhodes slapped the ball straight to a fielder.
Burgess looks well out of form and isn't a number 4, so the middle order is a concern. I like Ethan Brookes but he played an awful shot across the line. Does he still bowl?
Still, Hamza had time to get himself in and played some lovely shots. He looks like a fantastic prospect.
I'm still concerned we don't have a second front line spinner, if teams go after Lintott we only have Yates as an option. If we are serious about winning this thing we need to give Krunal Pandya a call. He can bat 4 and bowl spin.
50 overs is my favourite format. The game has enough time to ebb and flow and there is a result at the end of a day's play. We should be going all out to win it after a few years without any success.
Looking at the squads I like Sussex's chances this year (I've had a flutter at 12/1). They have Pujara coming back to play and the experience of Steve Finn plus a couple of good young spinners.
I'm disappointed the Bears haven't brought in an overseas player (as yet or maybe not at all). Our squad looks a bit thin in quality and we will need big contributions from the likes of Yates, Rhodes, Burgess, Lintott and Norwell to be in with a chance of winning it. I'm expecting Ethan Brookes to be this year's break out player, and Hamza Sheikh might be ready to make an impact too.
I'm not sure why lack of "facilities" is cited as a reason not to play at outgrounds. As long as there is enough space and a decent pitch, that's all that really matters. Everything else can be brought in: seating, marquees, vendors, toilets etc.
Warwickshire is a county cricket club and it does not revolve around Edgbaston, despite its "facilities" in the members lounge.
No sign of Burgess or OHD so presume they are being rested. We are also lacking a quality overseas player, without one I cannot see us making waves in this competition.
I've long thought to realistically challenge for the title we needed to push the boat out and recruit a quality middle order batsman. This result shows where we are.
We do not have the depth of Surrey or Essex and the seconds are not awash with players ready to come in. There's a few young prospects and in the ODC we may start seeing the likes of Khan and Johal showing they are ready to earn a run in the championship team.
I'm disappointed we didn't get Jack Haynes from the Pears, it seems Notts are back to hoarding players from other counties. I hope we are at least in the market for this type of player if we want to improve.
Edgbaston is quite a soul-less place to watch championship cricket. It's probably a better experience in the members area but that's not very inclusive for the ordinary fan.
I love outgrounds, they have more character and it feels like more of an occasion. I really wish the club would invest in a cricket festival in Warwickshire rather than being wedded to play everything in Birmingham. Gary Barwell needs a break too!
Sign him up!
Woakesy talks about his future....
There should be a vacancy at Worcester with Tongue, Pennington and Brown all departing.
Streetly_Bear wrote:
I saw a list of players across the country whose contracts were up at the end of the year, I've tried to attach a link to the website (a Derbyshire blog which actually is a very interesting read) but it may not work. Amongst the fact that Surry seem to have an entire first team nearing the end of their contracts I could see that ours included messers Burgess, Hannon-Dalby and Briggs. Whilst Briggs has found it tough the past couple of years with injuries I would be most disappointed if Burgess and OHD were allowed to leave.
Quite a few interesting names available though if we were going to be looking at strengthening from outside of the academy.
http://derbyshirecricket.blogspot.com/2023/07/interesting.html#comment-form
We could do with strengthening the pace attack so I'd be interested in John Turner of Hampshire and Gus Atkinson of Surrey.
If Briggs is released a new front line spinner should be a priority. Perhaps Bess if he is available.
Jack Haynes would be a useful addition to our middle order, we can't rely on Hain forever.
A positive signing. Let's hope he hits the ground running.
Tayls79 wrote:
If there is to be an overseas who should it be?
I would like Drakes to come back to give us a left arm variation. Or an off spinner all rounder like Pandya last year. We can't just rely on Lintott and a few overs from Yates.
If we can get a quality overseas player we might be competitive with that line up. Barnard will be a key man if he finds form.
With the news that H Brookes and Bethell have been signed up for the Hundread, our squad and our prospects are looking extremely thin. At least players may be released to play for the Bears if unselected.
Which first team players will definitely be available?
If we get a 23 point win from our game in hand on Surrey then we would be level on points. Lots of cricket still to be played. We desperately need to recruit a quality bowler before the next match though.
A great win inside three days. We can only keep winning and putting pressure on the leaders. All results still possible at The Oval today.
Quite an incredible performance with their second string. James Rew is a special talent at 19.
They should be favourites for the T20 as well.