Somerset
The Run In. CC1
By Grockle et al
September 4 2015
It's been nearly 10 years since Justin Langer's side clinched the only Championship title Somerset have ever had. Will we need to win the CC2 title again to return to the top league in 2016 or can this side get its collective act together in time and keep their Division 1 status? After an awful showing at Headingley it's going to be touch and go
Somerset are presently like a ship struggling to stay afloat in a pretty heavy autumn gale. The storm is opening up some pretty obvious cracks in the hull and the new patches are not keeping the water out. The older parts are showing more wear and tear than expected, the new sails haven't really stretched to their full capacity and the recently replaced rudder doesn't seem to be working all the time. Therefore the vessel is being blown about quite a lot and forward progress is neglible. The captain's eyesight is being affected by the squall and his orders and navigation are not quite clear to the crew or the people watching from the cliffs. Will "HMS Somerset" clear Relegation Rock without problems or come a cropper and give the waiting wreckers the chance to steal it's valuable cargo before it plummets to its death in the depths of Division 2 of the County Championship never to be seen again?
Ahhh imagery. Our season has been a bit of a stormy passage to say the least and we have never really got to grips with the demands of the competitions we have been in. Matthew Maynard has had a very difficult baptism to the job of a domestic Director of Cricket and hasn't fared any better (and possibly worse) than his predecessor. The problems that have been bubbling around the surface of Somerset cricket for quite a while, inconsistency within the side, poor levels of self-confidence, players at the back end of their careers but soldiering on and so forth have all hit the county at the same time this season and although the backroom staff have managed to keep people fit there is no depth of talent in certain areas to cope with serious lack of form resulting in poor performances on the pitch.
The side have been consistently weak and we haven't had the resources to replace players in the doldrums. It is difficult to pick out players who have had a good season. Tom Abell has progressed into an opening batsman but he is by no means the finished article and hasn't found the support he probably needs to kick on. James Hildreth has been fairly consistent this season with the odd glitch and passed 1000 runs although a little later than expected. Craig Overton will probably be voted the Player of the Year for his performances with bat and ball but one decent player does not a county cricketing side make. Other than that there have been all too brief glimpses of past glory from skipper Marcus Trescothick. I for one am not all that happy that he has been extended for another year as I would like to remember him on top in all forms of the game and a kind of 2016 'Championship Only' cameo is not what I personally want to see. Eternal gratitiude for a remarkable career, thanks and move on is more my desired end to this 2015 summer for a great servant to Somerset cricket.
Elsewhere the hopes of the new DoC and his club have not really come to fruition. Tom Cooper has not been effective as a CC1 number 3 - it was a little doubtful that he ever would be but he has brought some small excitement to the short form game occasionally. Probably not enough to keep him at the County Ground next season however. Jim Allenby hasn't recreated the stubborn and effective role he displayed for Glamorgan and which was sorely needed at Taunton. He has taken on the reins of short form captaincy but with little more success than his predecessor Alfonso Thomas whose poor form in the T20 campaign seems to have created a situation that means he will be absent from any future Somerset season. Some Allenby characteristics have been welcomed but he must be a far more effective top level professional to make his mark and he has found the step up in terms of demands on his batting to be an issue especially.
The international choice of Abdur Rehman was an unmitigated disaster. He was not the man who decimated late season Championship sides three years ago and could find no form at all. He went home early by mutual consent without providing us with that wicket taking spin option we needed during his tenure. George Dockrell has been all but absent as a force in the side this year and an unfortunate non cricketing injury to Jack Leach meant we didn't get him into the season until the last third. So Abdur was all there was and that wasn't anything like enough. I haven't forgotten Max Waller but we only seem to see him as a short form speciallist, mostly used for T20 games, though he did break into a two spin 50 over attack this season with the absence of the Irishman.
Our T20 international signings were no more useful in the long term plan of the county. Many many supporters enjoyed the massive talent of Chris Gayle as he tore through county attacks while wearing Somerset colours but his time at the club was short and finacially motivated and we simply couldn't put a competitive unit around him to take advantage of his monsterous hitting. Tanvir was a strange man with an even stranger action and although he contributed, he was never going to break any records or win any trophies for us. Anderson never got to Taunton to do any domestic work and Ronchi came too late to make any difference to an already dead assault on short form silverware.
So MM's expectations were not fulfilled, the new signings did not fit into the gaps and solidify our brittle batting, the old guard showed their age, our spin options were limited and poor, Craig Kieswetter would not be returning and our young replacement Alex Barrow could hardly buy a run. The seconds offered some hope as we drafted in Mike Bates, an excellent keeper, in order to let Alex find some form if it was there to find. It also brought us a young prospect by the name of Hose a tall batsman from Hampshire who added interest to the 50 over competition and became an effective partner in it for Tom Abell I hope, like many others, that he has a future with the club after his development contract. Unfortunately Josh Davey did not take a permanent place in the short form side for the county, though when he was used he did have the uncanny knack of taking early wickets. Maybe his time is yet to come and again I hope he has done enough to secure a place into the next season.
Once again inconsistency at the wrong times put paid to our 50 over ambitions and we failed to reach the later rounds, but we had hope, as this was as much down to weather intervention as our shakey batting and we nearly scraped in. That left Somerset with one main objective - survive in the Championship. Given the much reported plans of the ECB for yet another ill informed and money driven shake up of the domestic game, provincial sides in particular need to be in the first class game at the top level. Somerset have been flag bearers of the 'non urban' version of County Cricket for most of the last decade. We have competed with the best without the riches and making the most of our local talent. We were what everyone thought was the model of a county cricket setup with a predominently English rosta and few kolpaks. But that seems to be in the past and now it is all about Urban televised city based short stuff as the future of the game. The Championship form is under attack once more, seen as a slow boring and non profitable aspect of what is wrong with the sport from a commercial viewpoint. There is a whole article on this but maybe later.
Somerset are hanging on to Division 1 status by their fingernails. A much better overall performance at Worcestershire ended in a 'winning draw' but a dire batting display in Yorkshire where we struggled to get over 150 in one innings while scraping three figures on the other has put our future in the balance once again. What does failure mean you may ask? No Somerset in Division 1 means a weakening of the argument that good cricket does not need an urban population to flourish. We may maintain our good short form gates in 2016 on the back of what less informed punters saw in 2015 but how can we maintain the good parts of our squad if we can only offer them mediocre cricket? How loyal to their roots are the Overtons? Lewis Gregory? Tom Abell? Where will the money come from later for the exciting international stars? How will we keep the promising talent presently in the seconds and school systems of the South West? Surely they will be attracted by the bright lights, better cricket and increased salaries of the top county sides and we won't be one of them. We have problems now because of our lack of exciting city life, if we lose our excellence as well what will motivate young talent to come or stay in the South West playing for a lowly provincial side already overlooked by the international selectors on a fairly regular basis?
I considered looking at one of the last few flats above the Somerset Stand as a possible location for my return to England in the next few years from the far flung shores of the Gulf of Oman. I asked myself....what happens to the view from the balcony if Somerset fail to maintain their status in the highest ranks of English domestic cricket?
I'm not keen on paying the kind of money Pegasus want for a view that takes in a Tesco car park so I'll put that plan on hold until Somerset sort themselves out..... if the ECB and the players presently wearing the colours of my adopted county allow the time to get this mess into some kind of organised revival. First move in the right direction? Solid competitive performances against Hampshire, Sussex and Warwickshire this September. Come on boys, get the pride back in your game.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015:09:09:11:52:47 by Grockle.
In Div 2 I would let all the old guys go and rebuild with Hose, Byrom, Green etc. Maybe one or two signings only. If we stay up, if we are serious and honest we need at least 5 changes but the problem is can we get better in?
Yes, probably.
Why?
Because according to George Dobell the utterly worthless collection of fools known as the County Chairmen have stabbed us (and their own CEOs) in the back by voting to cut the CC to 14 games for next season. This would apparently be followed by the formation of an 8 team top flight in 2016 which would probably be achieved by promoting only one team from Div Two. In the meantime there would be an utterly absurd assymetrical fixture list which will make a mockery of the competition.
If our Chairman voted in favour of this, then he should be run out of town on a rail.
According to GD, the CEOs had the sense to oppose the cut in the CC.
I bet the ECB got the Chairmen drunk or something. What was it Botham said about the England selectors of his time? 'A bunch of gin-slinging old dodderers.'
IF we stay up, then in my ideal world we'd need to sign FOUR more new players, including our overseas.
We could go with:
Tres
Abell
New signing one (Horton)
Hildreth
New signing two (overseas batsman)
New signing three (Kolpak Morne Van Wyk if possible)
Then Van Der Merwe/Trego/Allenby would be competing for one place at seven
Cove
LG
New siging four (sans Alf, I don't believe we have another seamer good enough to support Cove and Lewis). Maybe Footitt?
Leach
I still wouldn't bother giving Cooper a new deal.
If we went down team might have to look like:
Tres
Abell
Hose or Byrom
Hildreth
Overseas batsman
Van Der Merwe/Trego/Allenby competing for one place still
Cove
Gregory
Bates
Groenewald
Leach.
CC2 might be a wholly different matter.
That, surely, defies any kind of logic..
IF we survive in Div One, do you or do you not believe that the squad - and most especially the batting part of it, needs significant strengthening for us to be any kind of force in CC1?
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm doth bind the restless wave,
Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee,her
For those in peril on the sea!
My problem is I am not sure who the Father is whose support we need to turn to while enduring the present choppy waters. Is it Trescothick, MM, a suited figure in the pavilion or one of the Machivellian devils at the ECB?
Maybe AGod has a direct line...
LoL
Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter
I remain hopeful that Somerset can get out of this mess. They do have their fate in their own hands with a game in hand and 2 of their remaining games against other endangered teams. If they cannot escape relegation from this position, then they should have no complaint about it.
CC2 is not desirable (though it may actually help younger players find their feet in the short-term) and single team promotion would make it even trickier to bounce back. If the higher division is closed off it may sound the death knell for cricket more generally. Like the dismantling of the NHS people likely won't realise what they had until it has gone.
I like the idea of Horton and Footit. I hope that whoever is added is given an opportunity rather than considered a squad player. I also hope that players understand that places should be earned rather than assumed and that continued poor form will result in the loss of their place. I think MM has done this to an extent already but it would be good to see a response from the players.
Because Cooper has made runs in home games then Allenby or Trego should be in the gravest danger of missing out vs Hants.
Arguably, Pete's extremely poor bowling on a bowler-friendly pitch in Leeds should possibly put him ahead of Allenby for the axe.
At Hove, I think I'd gamble on Adam Hose to bat at number three instead of Cooper.
The 2015 season is nearly over, and as we look to next year my intuition tells me that we will then be playing in Division 2.
I hope that I am wrong, but I cannot envisage us winning any of our final 3 CC games. I don't see the fight, resolve and determination in our side to avoid the 'drop', so that is why I have no confidence that they will do so.
Old Boy!
It seems to me that the chairman's are voting for the clubs financial positions and not given a thought for the supporters.
there has got to be a happy medium and not always thinking on maximum profits. the clubs that are manage well are paying for those that are not.
Graves won't be Chairman for ever, and someone from the ranks of the County Chairmen will presumably have to step up to the plate whenever he steps down.
Jostling for position maybe.
P S - C P you are a cynic!
If the focus was on profits then I'd think the CEOs would be expected to support the ECB but George Dobell says that they did not.
Perhaps none of them wish to become ECB Chairman..
Inspiration, leadership, dynamism, motivation, uplifting body language and a burning desire to win ?
Sorry, but I really don't see much of that in our present skipper. His legacy and massive career batting achievements surely risk being diluted by trying to stay in a position to which he is ill suited ?
From my perspective, it has been the 'elephant in the room' for at least the last three seasons, and whilst it's far too late to do anything about it this year, I can't help wondering whether a different leader wouldn't have blended the youth and experience that we have to achieve a far better outcome that we have seen.
Instead we have soldiered on with some sort of misguided loyalty to someone manifestly unsuited to the role.
Until we can find someone to actually 'lead' us on the field, we will continue to perform well below the theoretical sum of our collective parts.
All i.m.h.o. of course.
Grizzzly
The young players will respond, of that, I'm certain. Whilst we are talking younger players, remember Lords 2 seasons ago when relegation threatened? Well it was the youngsters who won the match for us...let them do it again for the next three matches and gain confidence going into 2016.The second team players have been superb all season, Byrom, Barrow, Hose have all scored big runs, Davey Dockrell have given their all..take two.three of these guys for the next match.They are used to winning. Ronchi as the overseas...what were they thinking?
It makes no sense to continue with him on a purely logistical level. As I said in the intro he is only going to provide a CC 'cameo' anyway so he can't be the captain in all formats.
Even if they go for different long and short form skippers he surely cannot be a candidate for the long format IF 'change' and 'progression' are the watchwords.
So quite soon people you will all be able to leave him alone and find another obsession.
It is highly doubtful that they will re-return to James and far more likely that they will look to attract an international using the captaincy as an extra incentive. But we've been wrong before and so have they so anything could happen.
If we get relegated then, IMO, Marcus might be a little more likely to be of the view that he should stand down.
I cannot, personally, see the club actively deciding to relieve him of the CC Captaincy against his will.
I'd be very surprised if Mr Maynard does not err on the side of conservatism, however. Witness, for example, his comments earlier in the season when LG was left out of the team about wanting all of his experienced hands on deck. Not that I'm saying that LG will be left out this time, just that I'm not sure he'll be brave enough to bring anymore younger players into the team.
The one exception, is that I suspect that Jove will play in both of the remaining home games, assuming that we are expecting good batting tracks. I think they see Jove as offering something "a bit different," and thus being worth selecting when playing on a track that they expect to favour the bat. I don't think he is trusted for games that management expect to be low-scoring. Therefore I expect Jove to play vs Hants and Warks, but TG to play at Hove.
I think you have a good point re: confidence. What happened in 2013 is that the seconds suddenly started gaining great results from the mid-point of the season onwards and guys like Gregory and Meschede took that confidence with them when promoted to the firsts at season's end - and this saved our bacon on that occasion.
However, I do conceded that LG and CM, not to mention AB, had more first-team experience by some distance than guys like Hose or Byrom would have if brought into the team this season.
Nothing to lose, though, IMO by trying Hose at three at Hove.
If we go down, then possibly he might fall on his sword (or be persuaded to cede the Captaincy).
I would note, though, that the team's problems have overwhelmingly revolved around batting rather than performance in the field and I personally don't think a Captain has all that much influence on a team's batting. The Captain, IMO, has much more potential to influence matters in the field.
No DoC in his right mind would let him be a bit part player on the pitch and any more than a senior professional off it. We need a dynamic change of impetus across the playing board in Division 1 or Division 2 and I have no doubt at all that both Matthew and Marcus are fully aware of that.
Besides the fact that I think they would face a supporting rebellion if something so fundamental as that was not seen to be changing by those watching the club.
Thanks AG
Surely it's all about making the right (but difficult, albeit perhaps less so now)decision for the Club, which has been seemingly bottling this for at least the last three years.
Have we progressed or gone backwards over that period ?
Grizzzly
For most of the time he has been captain there was no alternative in the club but that didn't stop people putting everything wrong with the side at his door.
If he had captained the short form stuff this year Matthew would have been much happier because most of the criticism I'm sure would have been directed at Mr Trescothick
I see his captaincy as one of necessity because there were no other leaders in the side for much of the time. Last year was to be a caretaker role and that didn't work through no fault of his and MM's decision to keep the stability this year may have been a year too long for a no more than a medium strategist. Some have implied he has stubbornly held on to the role. While I do find his opener stubbornness disappointing I don't think he relishes the captaincy and will be quite willing to stand aside for a better candidate....when we find one.
People can criticise his ability by all means but don't criticise his willingness to take on the role when there are few other alternatives to choose from.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015:09:05:15:03:38 by Grockle.
But I highly doubt that Marcus himself believes that we need some form of dynamic change in terms of Captaincy and I cannot see the club actively taking the Captaincy from him.
In terms of him being 'a bit part player,' in 2016 I'm not sure how that's different to 2015 in which he has been Captain and has been a bit part player if, by that, you mean few appearances in white ball cricket. The only difference would be that the club stupidly selected Tresco for a handful of T20s this season but I would think they've now realised that was rubbish thinking on their part.
Marcus doesn't have as much power as you seem to think he has in the organisation I'm afraid AG.
He didn't start this season as a bit player. He will do that in 2016 for the first time.
Of course you can't see the club taking the captaincy from him... fully expect it to happen on that basis.
You also seem to think that the process is that Somerset will 'rip' the captaincy out of his "cold dead hand" or something like that. I have to say you seem to have Marcus Trescothick pretty wrong if you think he would fight a better candidate for the title.
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2015:09:05:17:33:50 by Grockle.
Even if you are right MT's idea of a 'better candidate,' might be significantly different to your idea of one or, indeed, that of any other poster.
I "know all this" because I ask the odd (some of them very odd) question of people who may have a few answers at the ground that they may be willing to share. I also talk to some of the people you psycho analyse with such confidence AG.
I don't actually have all that much time for interpreting third hand the opinions of those who got their info second hand as if the interpreter had first hand knowledge when that is probably unlikely to be the case.
My info isn't all that much better than others on general things and I tend to not pry if I can help it but on more long term aspects of this club and in some cases on prominent issues I do have channels of communication that give me access to certain things. Confidentiality usually puts the block on using any of it but occasional pontifications tend to make me think it's worth clearing things up if I'm allowed.
I'd ask you the same question AG - How do YOU know all you seem to think you know?
You can take anything I say with a pinch of salt if you like (especially if it doesn't fit your particular perspective) but I'll put it out there if I believe it to be worth it, believe the source is valid and I'm not breaking the trust of anyone.
If you know better then ignore it all boys.... you probably will anyway.
Just putting each posters opinion in perspective you understand and not trying to make a point or anything !
The place I watch and work from at the ground tends to be somewhere where snippets come and go. Some I could use and some I can't or won't because of the fact that others there earn their living from them while for me it's a hobby.
In that role, as Mike is, we are party to some events that the mainstream supporter isn't - can't say I attend many but I have in the past. You create networks and you get on nodding and chatting terms with people when you're there a lot and report on public sites. Some like what you say, some don't so comments chats and discussions come in all shapes and sizes.
I don't for one moment think I'm the only one on here with any kind of insight. I have no great importance in things Somerset but occasionally some things need saying and as I see it if it does no harm and I have some information to impart then I will.
I don't know what Christmas cards have to do with anything but I'm glad you still get them as I am sure you follow the same rules as the rest of us and put posters opinions in perspective with relevant detail from decent valid sources when you feel the need as you have in the past.
It all adds grist to the mill so as long as the info comes from those valid sources we can all discuss things in an enlightened and better informed universe
Quote:old boy!
If our Chairman voted for 14 CC matches then there should be a vote of no confidence in him at the AGM to shift him on to other play areas away from real cricket.
Old Boy!
Having seen how Nash was cosying up to Graves and Harrison at Taunton a few weeks ago and given the fact he is on the ECB management board I think we could all hazard a good guess at what he will vote.
IF Mr Nash voted in favour then I would feel sufficiently strongly about that that I would join as a member even though it makes zero financial sense purely to try and help force him out.
I am sure that he will be present.
Grizzzly
Presumably the four Chairmen on the ECB board are supposed to reflect the views of the Counties as a whole rather than just vote on a whim?
Quote:Maybe some concerned member could ask him at the Q & A session to be held at the County Ground later this week?
I am sure that he will be present.
I cannot remember seeing Mr Nash at the last Q & A session.
And Club's members invite does not quote he will be in attendance, MM & GL only.
Here was the article. Admittedly GD does not use the word 'vote,' but says that the CEOs rejected the proposals whilst the Chairmen 'agreed them.'
He then adds that the proposals will now be 'rubber-stamped,' at the vote that Dave alludes to.
If, as GD implies, CEOs and Chairmen from the same Counties are voting in opposite ways, then I'd love to know where the hell the Chairmen think that they have got their mandate to support this nonsense from?
If the Counties are all membership organisations then surely the job of a Chairman is to represent those views, not to simply make their own mind up. And as Clarence rightly alluded to some of the Chairman probably have a vested personal interest in brown-nosing the ECB.
Andy Nash was elected as one of two representative Chairmen of the Non Test Match playing counties.
Old Boy!
Quote:Sloop John B
There is a petition to retain 16 match championship on change.org. I have signed.
Can't find it John.
Old Boy!
We'd better hope they do not make it five vs Worcs.
LoL
Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter
Somerset (from): M Trescothick (capt), T Abell, T Cooper, J Hildreth, J Allenby, P Trego, L Ronchi (wkt), L Gregory, C Overton, T Groenewald, J Leach, J Overton, A Barrow.
Notably no Thomas who was not in the seconds match starting today either.
LoL
Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter
Michael Carberry, Jimmy Adams, James Vince, Will Smith, Sean Ervine, Adam Wheater, Liam Dawson, Gareth Berg, Mason Crane, Fidel Edwards, James Tomlinson, Ryan Stevenson, Ryan McLaren.
Hampshire are unbeaten in their last nine away fixtures against Somerset.
I am expecting Carberry to get a bucketful of runs.
I tend to incline to LoL's view re: 'body language.'
MM is trying to give this game a 'ball will definitely turn billing.' Nevertheless, I will be far happier if we bat second and last.
Even if MM is right and the track does take increasing turn later on, I'd wager that that effect will be more than cancelled out (by way of advantage to a team batting first) if it's the usual Taunton deck where it does a bit in the first innings of the match and then much less in the second innings.
LoL
Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter
Quote:AGod
Mason Crane is, I think, a wrist spinner and an interesting name in their party.
Crane and Abell...
😉
Old Boy!
Durham are in shocking form, but then so are Worcestershire, really.
But the worry is, as always at this time of year, that one team has something to play for and one does not.
One thinks of the disgraceful Lancashire surrender versus Notts in 2010 - although, of course, Durham deserved full credit on that occasion for giving us their best shot.
No great surprise to me that Yorkshire appear to be getting nowhere. Looks like it might be another "after the Lord Mayor's show," performance from them.
Our game with them may have been particularly poorly timed.
I wouldn't rule out them capitulating twice with the bat, either, due mainly to lack of motivation having already won the CC.
Intensity is often as important a factor in deciding cricket matches as actual skills and Yorkshire, I fear, no longer have any of the former commodity for this season.
But for a side that have been laying waste to all and sundry in the CC to give up and becoming whipping boys for teams like Hants and (next week) Worcs (I think?) would be extremely frustrating.
It's a shame England did not hold off on naming the party for the UAE until the end of the season because that would at least have given the likes of Lyth and Ballance a personal incentive to succeed. But now they are no more incentivized than the rest of the Yorkshire squad, which is to say not at all.
As I said before this round of games, if I was Maynard I would have done a Ferguson and publicly "cast aspersions," on whether or not we could rely on Yorks to give their all in the hope that that might rile them up and get them to focus a bit. Probably wouldn't have worked anyway, but would have been worth a try as them getting dominated by Hants was all too predicatable, I'm afraid.
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