GerryShedd
Super Moderator
OK - thanks for that.
BosworthBear wrote:
Not going to revisit this at length and Norman certainly had the gift of the gab but I think this one just merits the Mandy Rice-Davies response.
Go on, if you've any facts that refute what he said, let's hear them.
The reasons for the constitutional changes introduced in 2018 were related to the Code of Governance issued by Sport England. Failure to comply could have resulted in problems with big game allocation.
If you want to delve back that far, here is the full interview I did with Norman Gascoigne at the time:
https://deepextracover.com/2018/02/proposed-changes-at-warwickshire-signal-a-shift-in-how-county-clubs-are-run/
The key point (for me) is that, both before and since the changes, members have the power to compel the Club to take (or not take) a particular course of action. What is in doubt is whether the will exists amongst the members to challenge the Club. As I said in an earlier post, if the will isn't there, we'll have to accept what comes our way. I could have added "and not whinge about it" but I'm not that naive.
I'm sure that it's right that the club is not bound to follow what members want without a special general meeting being called. But you could argue that if there aren't even 250 members willing to sign to request a meeting, we deserve whatever cricket is put in front of us, even if it's an expanded Hundred played all season.
Rayb wrote:
I really like him, I bet the natives of Headingley won’t be “chuffed”….
“
Posters on the White Rose Forum are not happy. One of them claims that Thompson's offer of a new Yorkshire contract would have involved a pay cut.
He has signed a three year contract.
I agree that The Hundred is the problem - any changes to it don't feature in this review.
Regarding the power of members, I asked (ex-Chairman) Norman Gascoigne about this when I interviewed him six or seven years ago. He said about any changes that might be proposed and possibly supported by the Club but opposed by members:
"The higher of 250 members or 5% of the club membership would be needed in order for a Special General Meeting to be convened. At the meeting a proposal could be put forward for a vote of no confidence. Or a resolution could be raised for the Board to vote against the ECB proposals. If the resolution was passed, the Board would be bound by it.”
I think what he said then still applies.
KingofSpain wrote:
Nice article on the BBC on our Woakesy.
Yes, an interesting read. He doesn't always get the credit he deserves, so it's good to read: "Overall, with 1,970 runs and 181 wickets, Woakes is closing in on becoming only the sixth Englishman to do the 2,000-200 double in Tests and will probably do so as the second-fastest in terms of matches, after Ian Botham."
In theory (at least) the decisions regarding the future of first class cricket lie with the counties and therefore (in nearly all counties) with the members. But I'm not sure the energy or the will is there for members to rise up and force counties to vote for any particular solution.
The Cricketer reports that counties have now received the revised options for county cricket's future. One ray of hope is that there is an option that still offers 14 four day matches.
The report says:
"The first-class counties will now split into six groups of three to discuss the options further. Meetings start this week.
The options include a conference option, an option which retains promotion and relegation and a hybrid model which involves conference, promotion and relegation. Most of the options would involve the county champions being determined by a final, while others would also keep the existing two-divisional structure.
The majority of those options feature a cut in the number of Championship games, but one retains the possibility of 14 matches per side."
Ed Barnard would probably be first choice on my team list; but I still maintain that he bowled a terrible last over last night.
And those who disagree with me can console themselves with the words of Isaac Asimov who said:
"People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do."
Even Ed Barnard sometimes slips up - a poor last over, showing how difficult it is to bowl yorkers under pressure.
There's an article in The Telegraph today that is both informative and very moving. It's here if you can get behind the paywall:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2025/06/14/cricket-leaving-working-class-white-kids-behind/?WT.mc_id=e_DM607650&WT.tsrc=email&etype=Edi_PrS_New&utmsource=email&utm_medium=Edi_PrS_New20250614&utm_campaign=DM607650
It homes in on the story of James Minto, Durham's youngest player who, aged just 17, is his family's breadwinner after his mother's death.
On a broader perspective, it points out that:
"Last year’s announcement by Rishi Sunak of £35 million to fund state school and grass-roots cricket has not materialised under the Labour Government. It would have paid for inner-city cricket hubs but has disappeared into a spending review black hole."
I haven't seen any reports on Gleeson since it was said that he limped from the (IPL) field with a suspected hamstring injury. Hamstrings can take an age to heal, especially if you are not in your cricketing prime.
I said that "it will be interesting to hear what Warwickshire (and other counties) have to say about how they will consult their members" about the proposals.
In his Chief Executive's letter to members, Mr Cain says:
"We have set up a Member’s Committee meeting to discuss on Monday 16 June. From there, we would like to have a wider Member’s discussion during lunch at the Somerset County Championship game on Monday 23 June."
So let's hope there is a good turn out of members on that Monday.
KingofSpain wrote:
Called up by England under 19s. No young Bears in the squad, which is an indictment of our academy/pathway programme.
https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/4283424/thomas-rew-to-captain-england-men-u19s-in-odis-against-india-u19s
Before there's any more rubbishing of the academy programme (the one through which Isaac Mohammed progressed), it may be worth reminding ourselves that, this time last year, Hamza Shaikh, Tazeem Ali and Theo Wylie were all selected for England Under-19s and Hamza Shaikh captained them and scored a century against Sri Lanka.
I fully agree with the criticism that the Club should not have allowed him to get away from us but that's a different issue.
BristolBear wrote:
What a bizarre innings by Yorkshire. 32 runs short but only 5 wickets down.
They were ahead of us in the powerplay and at the halfway stage for both runs and wickets.
Malan gets out and it was like the brakes slammed on.
Thought we bowled well second half, but they made us look very good with bat and ball in the last 5 overs of both innings.
Similar performance to Northants, the difference in outcome primarily down to the quality of the opposition.
Maybe we were very good in the last five overs of both innings - just saying!
An excellent win.
An excellent win.