Some time ago, I joked that the search for shorter boundaries and greater capacity would inevitably lead to the Competition-that-shall-not-be-named finding a home at St Andrews. Now we discover that the minority stake in the current Birmingham franchise has been bought by Tom Brady's consortium. Is the franchise about to become Birmingham City (to the immediate disgust of half the potential audience)?

Our seam bowling needs all the help it can get.

JW had a spectacular debut, scoring a big hundred against one of the Universities. I recall it being said that the umpire that day (Bill Alley?) was moved to remind him that he was allowed to score in singles and not just boundaries.
Good county player who did a lot for Warwickshire but, I agree, not really England class.

Ditto.

I'm still not convinced that Stokes and McCullum are geniuses in selection but one area where they seem to be exceptional is in instilling self belief in the players they choose. That, clearly, goes a long way.

paulbear wrote:

A Test average of 60, can't complain there can we.
Great start. Now go on and beat Ian Bell who was averaging 297 after his first three Test matches.

First rate signing that fills one of the batting holes. Reliable seamer required next and we could be competitive. But then I guess Rob Yates is going to be doing a lot of the spin bowling next year.

Yes Scarborough is about the only hint of excitement in the rest of the fixtures, even if it is only a one day game.
For those of us who live south of Bristol, there are no CC visits to Southampton or Taunton. Just a one dayer against Somerset. So the closest the Bears will come to me is, er, Edgbaston.

Exiled Bear wrote:

Really hope it goes well for him. But picking him to bat at 3 when he hasn’t made a century in professional cricket and has never batted higher than 4 in first class cricket is quite a bold move.

Has he ever batted through an entire 2 hour session of first class cricket?

I hope there is somebody looking after Jacob because there's a lot for a 21 year old to process. Just a few weeks ago he was a county player of promise but with a rather threadbare record of actual achievement. Now, after a handful of (admittedly eye-catching) short knocks in slogball, he's a Test player with an IPL contract. He'll be constantly travelling and changing environments. I hope he does well but I also hope there's someone there to guide him through the inevitable ups and downs.

Ouch! That is desperately bad news for the Club. He has been an absolute rock for the County Championship side and there is nobody on the horizon that could replace him.
There's no denying that he has earned the right to make his own decisions and it is always impressive when somebody chooses to go out at the top. Best wishes Michael.

The romantic in me (yes, there is one hidden deep inside) had hoped that Wisden would make him one of their cricketers of the year after his 9 wicket haul. It would, IMHO, have been justified but the editors didn't share my opinion. Great shame that it should have been his swan song but what a way to go.

Interesting thought that people are not as naturally fit now as they used to be. Perhaps that plays a part in our seam bowlers breaking. The Andersons, Woakes and OHDs of this world are from another time.

I have to agree with Bristol Bear: great for Jacob but (if this is true) what are the England selectors smoking? Picking someone with potential in order to give them experience is the sort of thing you might do at club level but Test match cricket is supposed to be for people who have already sorted out their game, know what they need to do and know how to do it. As it is we have Smith learning to be a wicketkeeper, Bashir being so far down the pecking order at Somerset that he wasn't even guaranteed a place in their One Day Cup side and now (perhaps) a specialist batsman who is yet to score a century in any form of professional cricket. No wonder we are in the lower half of the Test Championship table.

Donald, Munton, Small, Benjamin. Makes you weep.

GerryShedd wrote:

Here's my review of the season:
https://deepextracover.com/2024/10/warwickshire-season-review-2024/
As usual, kind and constructive comments welcomed and the other sort tolerated because I believe in free speech!

It's a first rate review but I think our coach is MARK Robinson rather than that guy from Neighbours! Maybe Paul could do a better job.

If I were being facetious (moi?), I'd ask how long it would take Danny Briggs but I know it's a different game now.
The length of Quaiffe's career is legendary and, back then, it would have been six days a week. I wonder what his strike rate was?

W G Quaife
Eric Hollies

I fear we could have problems in all areas next year. The batting should have been ok but we're losing Rhodes and, if England maintain their interest, could see less of Bethell & Mousley. That leaves rather more holes for Sheikh and Wylie to fill than we might have expected. We also have to hope that whatever was troubling Sam Hain doesn't recur.
Our luck with seam bowlers needs to change. Will Hasan Ali come back? Will he be fit and available? Has Rushworth got another season in him? It's hard to see Ethan Bamber as the Messiah but a pool of OHD, Bamber, Rushworth and Ali could be decent.
What worries me most is the absence of a wicket taking spinner. It is no credit to our bowling stocks that Rob Yates was our third highest wicket taker in the CC. Perhaps the short term answer is to put some coaching effort into upskilling him. The chances of finding a Lyon or a Harmer on the Overseas market aren't great.
I can't see us challenging for the top half of the CC next year.

Highveld wrote:

Looks like Notts are aiming for a total of about 500 and then try to bowl Warwickshire out twice in four sessions.

I'd say they were making absolutely sure of at least the draw points.