One week after scoring a century for the Unicorns, Matt Lineker has scored another for them, this time against Leicestershire. Hundreds, they're like buses - you wait for one to turn up then they all come at once...His 132 from just 104 balls contained seventeen fours and two sixes and has given them a chance of a win over the Foxes. He's just taken three fours and a six from an over by Anthony Ireland, who most will remember dismantling our batting in the T20 a couple of weeks ago.
I know there were valid reasons for dispensing with his services and engaging an opener with greater first-class experience in Billy Godleman, but Matt has shown that at 28 he still has possibilities in first class cricket. I know that Leicestershire haven't the greatest attack in the game, but Yorkshire's isn't the worst and they were put to the sword last week.
In his last dozen or so innings for Lincolnshire in the Minor Counties and for the Unicorns, Lineker's scores have gone 53, 27, 56 not, 44, 109 not, 72, 2, 62, 50, 41, 11, 107 and 132 .
At the risk of being in a minority of one, I'd suggest we were hasty to release him.
In fact, while his first-class average at the time, just under twenty, wasn't the strongest argument to retention, he has done as much as he could this summer, with a List A average of sixty, to prove one simple, but at this stage undeniable point.
We were wrong.
Postscript - Gary Park also scored 31 and took four wickets...good day for Derbyshire old boys.
He was a sitting duck really,whose career was decided over the space of half a dozen games. Having seen him bat in several of those games,I always felt he was on the verge of breaking through and just needed a score behind his name.
ReplyDeleteHe certainly didn,t posess the obvious weaknesses shown consistently by his replacement and in the end was unlucky to be cast aside. I,m fairly sure he never got a shot at batting in limited overs,something he has since proved he,s quite good at. There is probably a good case for re-engaging him,something which has happened on more than one occasion in the past but unfortunately we are stuck with Godleman for another year. A similar situation we had with that other useless opener Weston.
Whats the betting peakfan,matt ends up at Leicestershire next season.
ReplyDeleteI'd say the odds were very much in his favour..unless we accepted a mistake had been made and got in first, which wouldn't be the worst idea in the world as things stand.
ReplyDeleteStruggling to understand why people want Linker back he couldn't score runs in division two!
ReplyDeleteGodleman needs to be released at the end of the season, simply dreadful
need to make a decision where Borrington fits into the team. We pick him in one day games but not CC games, play him for rest of season I'd suggest
Mk
I feel sorry for Lineker as I do for any player who is released, whatever his shortcomings - but he's nearly 29 and has scored one first class half century. Godleman has had a rotten season, but is four years younger and has five first class centuries at a much higher average. So the decision made was understandable, and it's debatable whether two good centuries against teams who were out of the running really change things that much. Re-signing Ben Spendlove didn't work, and it seldom does with a former player unproven at first class level. Wayne White, on the other hand, does have a decent track record at first class level, and is younger than Lineker.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Martin.
ReplyDeleteMatt was released because he didn't make runs in division 2 like Borrington. The only reason he didn't go the same way was he had a contract and Matt didn't.
Godleman has been poor this year but still averages more than Durston and Redfern. Don't hear the same negativity about these 2 who have longer contracts than Billy who of the three is the only one who has scored runs successfully in division one at some stage in his career. Seems as though Billy is the scapegoat !
Surely at the end of season there will be better options than Lineker who at 29 isn't suddenly going to become a run machine ? Let's face it these recent runs have been in one day cricket where there are few close fielders. Does this not sound like Durston who has also done well again in one day cricket but not achieved a long innings in CC.
Interesting to see Whiteley fail again tonight for Worcester. One good innings so far and they don't even risk bowling him - wonder why?
No let's have a look what's around out there and back our judgement rather than go back to previous failed batsmen.
Also work on Godleman during the winter and let our batting coach earn his salary and get him back to the player he was at Middlesex
Lineker's century against Yorkshire was against a much depleted attack, but nonetheless a fine effort to score two centuries against county opposition. In my opinion though, releasing him was the correct decision.
ReplyDeleteWith the benefit of hindsight releasing Wayne White was possibly the wrong decision.
On a separate note with regard to tomorrows game against Middlesex I would expect us to make two changes to the line up that beat Sussex. Durston for Johnson and Palladino for Higginbottom, who can consider himself unlucky as he did nothing wrong against Sussex.
Good comments gents. Will there be better options? Hopefully, as we need to sort the opening berths for next year. I think Matt will earn a deal at Leicester.
ReplyDeleteWas ten innings enough to make a fair decision? He scored a stack of runs in the twos and maybe just needed time to acclimatise at a higher level. Like a few others, the ECB grants (or lack of them) for over-26's did no favours.
I suspect he may have been retained had we not been promoted, but life's full of ifs and maybes.
Point taken about Billy, but he doesn't seem to have settled and I'm not sure he will get back in the side too easily.
No point going back for him at the age of 28. He didn't do enough when he had the chance and sadly he missed his chance. As a Derbyshire lad I hope he gets picked up elsewhere though I think we can get better and crucially younger.
ReplyDeleteThe reason players like Linekar and Park were released was a simple one. Derby CCC wouldn't get the ECB funding... both players are better and would still offer far more to a derby side than a couple of current players who's names I won't mention.. youngsters have abundance of talent but EXPERIENCE is far more valuable if you want to achieve consistency....
ReplyDeleteThat's just an opinion....