GerryShedd
Super Moderator
Yes, best article I've read in a long time.
Two points - Alex Davies comes out of it well.; and Liam Norwell still hasn't been awarded his county cap, despite those nine wickets?
According to the Telegraph, a "compromise" is being mooted:
"Talks are advanced on a new proposal to reduce the Championship from 14 to 12 games – two more than the original suggestion made in the high-performance review led by Sir Andrew Strauss.
Three separate divisions of six will also be on the table with two going up and two down between divisions two and three and one up, one down between divisions two and one.
A play-off between the bottom two teams in division one will determine which county is relegated, while a play-off between the top two in division two will decide who goes up to the top flight.
The decision to cut the Blast from 14 to 10 games is also likely to be reviewed, although there is more work to be done on how this will look. One proposal is to go with 12 games in the belief the higher intensity and better scheduling of Blast matches will work to the benefit of the counties in the long run."
Of course, if you want to get unpopular ideas agreed, starting off with something even more unpopular and then watering it down to what you originally hoped for is one way of negotiating.
In the unlikely event that they all stay fit, a pace attack of OH-D, Liam Norwell and Ed Barnard with occasional support from Will Rhodes doesn't look too bad. But I agree that the back-up is the worry. I think 2023 will be a key season for Miles, Johal, Garrett plus Ethan and Henry Brookes who all have a lot to prove. But it would be a bit negative to assume that they will all fall short. Who knows, we might even see something of Chris Woakes; and maybe the overseas player will be an ace all-rounder, as good as Lara with the bat and Allan Donald with the ball.
No harm in having October dreams!
Maybe the last of the current batch of leavers - and not too much of a surprise:
https://edgbaston.com/news/ryan-sidebottom-leaves-warwickshire/
A shame that he doesn't seem to have found another county.
As far as the Members Committee is concerned, the Club invites Members to apply to join the Committee from time to time. You have to fill in a form and may then be interviewed. See link from last year:
https://edgbaston.com/news/could-you-represent-the-diverse-voice-of-members-at-warwickshire-county-cricket-club/
I'm not sure what happens after you have gone through the selection process - it could be that those who have been successful have to be voted through at the next AGM; but even if so, it's stretching it a bit to say that the Members have elected them. You might think that it's not all that different from how the current Prime Minister was appointed; but I couldn't possibly comment.
Matt has joined Derbyshire:
https://edgbaston.com/news/warwickshire-batter-matt-lamb-joins-derbyshire/
I agree that it would be good to know who is going. I guess any announcement can be complicated if a player is negotiating with another county or is making approaches elsewhere and wants any statement to be about where they are going, rather than just that their contract hasn't been renewed.
There haven't actually been too many announcements yet from other counties though I assume that there will be a few more in the coming weeks.
Looks like 26 October should go in the diary:
https://edgbaston.com/news/ecb-mens-high-performance-review-further-update/
As an aside, Keith Barker was today announced as the Cricket Writers Club County Championship Player of the Year.
Full awards:
Bob Willis Trophy for England Player of the Year, sponsored by Smile Group Travel: Jonny Bairstow
Peter Smith Award: Katherine Brunt
JM Finn Women’s Cricket Award: Nat Sciver
NV Play Young Cricketer of the Year: Jordan Cox
LV Insurance County Championship Player of the Year: Keith Barker
Greater Than Gin Emerging Cricketer of the Year: Freya Kemp
Lord’s Taverners Disability Cricketer of the Year: Josh Price
Derek Hodgson Book Award: David Woodhouse for "Who Only Cricket Know"
Well, you said that the Club had no idea how to handle players; but maybe we can just agree to disagree.
I thought we were discussing Keith Barker and you were suggesting that he was badly treated but I pointed out that he had his own personal reasons for leaving so it was not fair to criticise the club.
It may not fit in with a "Bash the Club" agenda; but I have it on the authority of a close friend who knew Keith Barker at the time that Keith had strong personal reasons for wanting a move to the south coast.
Good to see Chris Woakes starring for England yesterday. Let's hope that his knee op has worked and he is fully fit again.
It's become the orthodox wisdom here to say that Welch left because of Robinson; but do we have any hard evidence to back that up?
David Hopps, not entirely disguising the fact that he is a Yorkshireman, has decided that the person responsible for Warwickshire's survival in the top flight is not Liam Norwell but - Joe Root!
To be fair he has some interesting things to say about the wider issues of county versus other cricket and some of the assumptions and assertions made in the Strauss Report:
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/county-championship-2022-joe-root-puts-golf-before-yorkshire-in-symptom-of-system-in-crisis-1337441
Reabank's analysis is here:
http://sideoncricket.blogspot.com/2022/01/warwickshire-2021-accounts.html
Highveld wrote:
Has it been confirmed Lamb is leaving?
Lots of rumours (e.g. that he's going to Sussex); but as far as I know, nothing official. If there was any substance in the Sussex rumour, the fact that they have sacked their Head Coach today might put a spanner in the works of that deal.
With the Club still owing the City Council £20 million which they have no realistic hope of ever re-paying, it's not surprising that the Council can call the shots, even though it's unlikely that they would ever put the Club out of business by calling in the loan, because of the loss of a facility that brings so much money into the City on big match days. Hence both parties dance around the debt, pretending that it will be repaid one day. It's like the patient in the dentist's chair who, when the dentist starts his drill, reaches out and gently grasps the dentist's private parts, saying: "Now, we're not going to hurt each other, are we?"
paulbear wrote:
I memory serves me correctly, wasn't last season's win v Somerset, the very last game to be completed and if so, that means Liam Norwell has bowled the last ball of the season, 2 seasons in a row, come on stato's see if that has been done before.
You could say Norwell did it twice last season - he took the last wicket to win the Championship but then, the following week, he also took the last wicket against Lancashire to win the Bob Willis Trophy at Lord's.