GerryShedd
Super Moderator
For those who have any interest:
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/tom-brady-stardust-cricket-birmingham-phoenix-acquisition-1471284
He seems almost to have made the grade but not quite:
https://edgbaston.com/news/amir-khan-leaves-warwickshire/
No sign that another county has picked him up yet, which is a shame.
As for what influence a member of the Committee has, it would be interesting to talk to Marina Dorward who used to post occasionally on the old Bearfans forum and has been on the Committee since 2019. I presume that she wouldn't be standing for re-election if she thought it was a waste of time.
I do, however, understand that the pleasure of being outside the tent peeing in can be greater than that of being inside peeing out.
Setting aside last season's abbreviated effort, he has taken wickets at just over 20 apiece for Lancashire and Warwickshire in 2022 and 2023. If he can play a full season and continue to take wickets with that average, it should certainly contribute to some positive results. But he does have to prove his fitness and get back to where he was a couple of years ago. The fact that, whilst not an all-rounder, he can bat a bit helps to reduce the length of the tail.
Time will tell!
More power to his elbow (the dodgy one, hopefully cured).
According to Cricinfo::
"Warwickshire's head coach, Mark Robinson, said they had been in contact with the PCB about securing the player, who is no longer centrally contracted, for an unbroken spell.
Robinson said: "His call-up last May came out of the blue and took Hasan away from our County Championship start. We've had reassurances this year from the PCB that Hasan will be able to focus on the Bears which is great news."
We all have a moan on here from time to time about how the Club is run. Here is a chance to get more involved:
https://edgbaston.com/news/members-committee-vacancy-2/
Unfortunately, I am over the age limit but maybe there's someone else on here who has the time and the commitment.
Interesting article here about past Aussie Bears:
https://edgbaston.com/news/webster-joins-roll-call-of-aussie-bears/
Not sure who wrote it, though it has a Brian Halford feel to it.
I had totally forgotten about E. F. Waddy, an Aussie schoolmaster at Rugby School. It seems that a century ago, he was doing exactly what it has been suggested should happen now - sending Warwickshire's way cricketers from the school, though none of them achieved very much. In later life, as well as being vicar of the Littletons in Worcestershire, he was a beekeeper and an expert conjuror. Not a lot of people know that.
The article also mentions one half of my favourite Bears related quiz question - who are the two players who played together in the same first-class team and were not related but no-one else with the same surname has ever played first-class cricket?
No mention in the latest edition of The Cricketer of the results of the supposed end-of-season review.
For some reason, there are no George Dobell articles in this edition.
He is speaking at the Cricket Society meeting at Edgbaston next week:
"Steve Perryman, Edgbaston, Birmingham, Tue 21 Jan, 2.00pm
Former Warwickshire, and Worcestershire cricketer in conversation with Brian Halford."
Well worth attending.
I never thought that John Whitehouse was quite good enough to play for England, though worse players have done so.
Signed for the first part of the season until the end of July - could be a good signing:
https://edgbaston.com/news/aussie-test-allrounder-webster-signs-for-warwickshire/
Just a postscript on his career - Michael Burgess apparently holds the record for the most runs in a first-class innings all made in singles - 22 for Sussex v Middlesex in 2018 (according to the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians, who never lie!)
For such a fine stroke-player, that's an unusual record.
I think Chris Woakes is the last bowler who came through the junior ranks and made the grade with the club - and he made his debut in 2006.
The latest county cricket census carried out by Wisden makes depressing reading for Bears fans who would hope that a club of the size of Warwickshire would be able to produce more than its fair share of home-grown talent. But:
- in a table of what percentage of players were born in the county or an adjoining one, Warwickshire came 12th out of 18 counties
- in a table showing where county players learnt their cricket, Warwickshire came 13th
- looking at the % of home-grown players, Warwickshire were 15th; and in the table of who had signed the most from other counties, the Bears were second
- overall, Warwickshire were 17th out of 18 in looking at the balance between creation and purchase of players
The New Year report card must say "could do better".
Very true!
Glad my "Happy New Year" post only took a year to get a response!
The latest edition of The Cricketer doesn't throw much light on what is happening at Edgbaston.
It says that it is "difficult not to be sceptical about the timing" of Larsen's departure in that it was timed "just hours before the results" of the review were due to be published. It suggests that the departures of Burgess and Rhodes indicated that "all was not well in the dressing room". At the same time, it quotes Larsen as saying that Edgbaston is "as positive an environment as I've been involved in." And Stuart Cain says of him that he has "worked tirelessly to improve the high-performance environment at Warwickshire."
Other than Rhodes, no-one with a surname beginning with the letter R is mentioned in the article.
Make of that what you will.
In his Cricketer article, George Dobell said:
"It is too early to say for sure if Larsen will be the only member of the administrative or coaching staff to leave or to comment on who may replace him. While former club captain, Jim Troughton, would be a popular appointment, he is thriving in his current role on the coaching staff at Surrey and may prove tough to lure back. Equally, Ashley Giles has his hands full at Worcestershire and is unlikely to return at this stage.
If Larsen really is to oversee the transition, he will, no doubt, suggest a New Zealander replace him."
Liking a joke, George adds: "A return from Mark Greatbatch, however, seems most unlikely."