All well and good, but it should have happened four matches ago, not when our interest in the competition is merely in completing our fixtures.
Billy was clearly struggling and his highlight of eight matches was the blinding catch he took against Warwickshire. I said before the competition started that it wasn't his format and, having been out of nick all summer, he should have been pulled out of the firing line. He is a good cricketer, but this will have done him no good.
According to the tweet, it would have happened before but for injuries to Tom Wood and Anuj Dal. Hmmm.. but McKiernan and Hosein were fit and have been playing second team. What does that say to them? Whatever Cork's impression of them as T20 players, the likelihood is that they would have averaged more than five, scoring more quickly than 80 per hundred balls.
It's a mess.
Godleman and Alex Thomson drop out and Wood, Dal, Cohen and McKiernan come in to a thirteen for tomorrow's game against Birmingham. The other nine are the same as last night.
Congratulations to Critch on his elevation. I wish him well and, with a good cricket brain, he will do. For the club, certainly in this format, it HAS to be the way forward. Other counties pick teams on a horses for courses basis and we need to do the same.
The disappointment for supporters is that it didn't happen a couple of weeks ago.
I wish Billy well in his recuperation. Hopefully it will serve him well and the RLODC, a format he has done well in, will see a return to his best.
Postscript: my eleven for tomorrow night:
Came, Reece, Wood, du Plooy, Critchley, FHP, Guest, McKiernan, Cohen, Van Beek, Scrimshaw
I think he must have read my comment on the other post! I await your thank... ;)
ReplyDeleteEssex Fan
Duly commented, my friend. Thanks for your input and a word in the right ear.. 😉
DeleteWell said PF, can't agree more it should have happened a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully Billy is not so shell shocked he can't perform in 50 over game, he has excelled at that. We all wish Critch well in his captainancy, pity he doesn't have an old head to feed off, but we should give him our full support no matter what the results.
ReplyDeleteYes, it should have been done four games ago, Steve. At least now we have a chance at at least salvaging some pride in our remaining games. It's a great opportunity for Critchley.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, Billy will soon regain his confidence and form. It must have been desperate for him, getting out so early in every game and trudging back to the pavilion to face his team mates.
With Wood and Dal named in the squad, I'm feeling optimistic about tomorrow night.
Agree Peak Fan. Timing is terrible. More of a reaction instead of a positive piece of pro active management to try and find a winning a formula to allow us to compete in the squad.
ReplyDeleteWood and Dal come in, but both been injured, so coming in with limited cricket, but beggars can't be choosers! Let's hope they take their chances and our overall performances as a team improve to give us fans something to be positive about from this T20 campaign.
I feel sorry for McKiernan who was the most economical bowler for us in last years comp and he never let's us down in the 2s with bat or ball. Almost feels like now we have bought Thomson in, he has to play and our lads on contracts miss out, which again is bizarre.
Looking forward to the next few games. Let's hope Cork and Co allow these lads the same amount of games to develop as the others have had.
Steve A (Spondon)
I'd pick tomorrow:
ReplyDeleteReece
Came
Wood
Du Plooy
Critchley(C)
Dal
Hudson-Prentice
Guest(K)
McKiernan
Van Beek
Scrimshaw
I'd have Critchley move up to 4. Don't think you want two v inexperienced players (Came and Wood) in the top 4. So I'd go:
ReplyDeleteReece
Came
Du Plooy
Critchley
Wood
Dal
HP
Guest
McKiernan
VB
Scrimshaw
Yeah mine was an eleven rather than batting order, but Leus or Matt at 3 makes sense!
ReplyDeleteToo late this move even if it's the right one. Should've been made four matches in when it was obvious to anybody that Billy wasn't going to score runs in this format. Also I'd have drooped Mckerr from the thirteen instead of Thomson
ReplyDeleteThomson can't play against the County that holds his registration..
DeleteIt's actually a pretty strong team on paper. Throw in Madsen, Hughes, an overseas batsman and another bowler into the mix, and I think it would be competitive with most teams. I think our (justified) concern over the direction at Derbyshire shouldn't hide the fact that the signings of Came, Scrimshaw and van Beek all look like good business.
ReplyDeleteI won't retread old arguments, but as just about the only person commenting who supports the management rationale for keeping faith with Godleman, it may be a gamble that hasn't come off but form comes and goes so quickly in this format that any decision is a gamble. I'm sure if Alex Davies was a Derbyshire player, his head would have been called for after a run of 0, 0 and 7 before he made a 83* to win a game, and then continued with 4 and 0.
ReplyDeleteThe other factor in retaining him was who replaces him as captain. I've no idea if Godleman's struggle was affecting the dressing room or his relationship with team-mates, but replacing him within the current squad isn't straightforward either. In the absence of a vice-captain and with no obvious succession plan (and I would criticise the cricket leadership for that), the choice is from a number of unknown quantities. I suspect that Reece might not want to do it, as he was otherwise such an obvious candidate when Godleman was injured, and I'm not aware of anyone fit players apart from Wood and Hosein who have any captaincy experience at all. Most of those who haven't done it don't know how demanding it is even at a modest club level, and I couldn't count the number of top players with clear leadership qualities who have been unsuccessful - Miller and Taylor two that spring to mind.
Matt Critchley is the obvious choice, and would have been a much more progressive stand-in for Godleman earlier in the season. He has all of the outward characteristics of respect and leadership qualities but it doesn't come without risks. As with anyone else stepping into the role, he'll find out if he has the motivational, inter-personal and tactical skills needed for the job. He's had, you assume, no time to prepare or think through a philosophy of leadership. He is our key player and our chances of respectability aren't going to be improved if the captaincy distracts him as a hundred different thoughts spin through his head. And finally, and ironically, he's in the middle of an even worse run of scores than Godleman, with only 6 runs from 17 balls in his last 3 innings.
With all of this going on, I'd be loathe to move him from batting at 5. If Wood plays, I'd have him opening, where he's familiar with the role, and I don't think it matters much if Came bats at 3. If Wood doesn't play, I wouldn't want to see Dal or McKiernan at 3, and would be inclined to push Guest up, as he's been a little bit wasted at 7, either coming in to a lost cause or with very little time to have an impact. McKiernan presumably plays in place of Thomson, and I'd be inclined to stay with McKerr as Cohen's had a terrible mauling in his last couple of games.
Provided the team can set aside the distractions of the last couple of days, I'm reasonably optimistic about this game. We ran Warwickshire close last time and they aren't any stronger without Woakes, and provided we can get back to the competitive cricket we were playing before the Yorkshire match that could have won us 2 games more, we can keep our slim chances of qualification going.
No, I disagree on your Alex Davies comparison. He is a proven T20 player over many years and will either score quickly or get out quickly.
DeleteBilly's problem is that bar for one year he hasn't scored heavily in T20 and they sussed him out that year. And if he stays in he uses up too many balls.
I think Critch has thought about captaincy a long time. Certainly when asked about it earlier in the season he said he had aspirations for it and I suspect he will be an attacking skipper. Such a man would get my respect and support, even if it sometimes rebounded.
But we can win this. There are power hitters and we just need to manage the closing overs better than against Leics.
And fully utilise our own Powerplay..
2018 as well. 308 runs, average 51.5, scoring rate 125 (ahead of Wilson, Hughes, Critchley, MacLeod), 3 50s in 8 innings. Missed first 4 matches, all lost. Came into the team, won next 4 matches.
DeleteSorry, two years in a career of over a decade doesn't convince me..
Delete