It was always likely to be so, of course, for a man who carried our seam bowling in four-day cricket over many years. Just as it was when Les Jackson, Bill Bestwick, Harold Rhodes and Cliff Gladwin retired.
Don't get me wrong, the young bowlers have tried hard and done well. Sam Conners, Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Ben Aitchison have progressed and bowled good spells. Yet there are times when an old head counts for a lot on a cricket field. Losing Palladino and Ravi Rampaul left the bowling exposed when the opposition get going and there is no easy replacement of such skills. Don't underestimate the value of a man who can put an arm around your shoulder out there and advise when the going gets tough.
What has made it more acute is my gut feeling that Luis Reece is carrying an injury. Whether it is a recurrence of the stress foot fracture he had a couple of seasons back, or the ankle injury he had last year, his bowling isn't carrying the same 'nip' that it has previously.
I have seen him pull up a time or two and his front (right) foot/leg appears to be giving him problems. He has carried on, as such a fine and willing player will, yet the impact on his game, as one would expect, has been substantial. He isn't going past the bat so often and if he is having to 'favour' that foot, it is understandable.
I understand that the radio commentary mentioned he was unlikely to bowl in this game, which pretty much confirms a problem. It may well be affecting his balance in batting too, so any concerns about his form need to take that into account.
Perhaps resting him ahead of the T20 might be an option? Or at least playing him as a batsman only? Certainly a landing foot injury is unlikely to get better by playing through it and Luis is a key component of any one-day side. Whether it impinges on his deal for the new competition we will need to see (and is of no concern for Derbyshire supporters) but the reduced effectiveness of our most experienced remaining bowler has placed an additional burden on the rest.
Hopefully he will be back to his best in due course.
Such is his importance to the side, we must all hope so.
As I write, we're eight wickets down in our second innings at Chelmsford...
ReplyDeleteAs ever, Peakfan, you've identified a couple of issues here: we are lacking a senior bowler in the side, and Reece appears to be carrying a leg injury.
To the latter, I didn't manage to see much of the home fixture against Worcestershire but I did happen to see a questionable bit of fielding from Luis.
April was a very dry month in the Derby area. I was, therefore, extremely surprised to see a couple of our lads attempt some fielding by sliding - as is the modern trend - past the ball, so that a rapid gather and throw can be made, so as to restrict them to running one, or two.
Memorably, on the opening morning of the '02 Ashes series Down Under, poor Simon Jones did himself a nasty knee injury; misjudging the dry outfield conditions at The Gabba.
I might be entirely wrong, and in due course either Luis or the Club might comment on the cause of his leg injury. It just struck me as a poor bit of thinking. The risk factor, even on a slightly damp green carpet of an outfield, of an injury arising far outweighs the importance of trying to stop them from stealing a run. I'd like to think the backroom staff would be keen to remind the players, for their own safety.
I'm pretty sure I saw Luis pull up at least once during his next over from the City End, reaching for his right knee.
I wondered why Palladino retired
ReplyDeleteHe was still bowling well until the end of the 2019 season and as you say we relied on his wholehearted effort and ability for so many seasons.Darren Stevens is still running in and bowling for Kent and he is 8 years older than Palladino.
There is a somewhat gaping hole in terms of experience within our bowling unit.
ReplyDeleteMind you there is experience in our batting and it's been woeful outside of Critchley, Hosein and perhaps Guest now with only sporadic glimpses from others who are more experienced.