It must be a worrying time to be a fan of the former, who play Derbyshire at the Central Co-op County Ground, starting tomorrow. Last winter they saw virtually their entire seam attack disappear, not so much through revolving doors as a one-way system. Having acquired the services of Ajeet Singh Dale, no doubt for a pretty penny, Lancashire have gone back for Charlesworth, a talented opening bat and perhaps occasional bowler, rather than genuine all-rounder. He will want a batting average of 30 to go northwards, but I would query what the announcement does at both ends of the deal, so early in the summer.
Lancashire have a number of players out of contract at the end of this year and the news could be unsettling for the likes of Harry Singh, Luke Wells and Josh Bohannon, all out of contract, as far as I can see, in September.
It will be the start of June before counties can officially speak to players in the final year of contracts, but no doubt the traffic down to Hove will be heavier than usual at that time, with Sussex under ECB special measures and having to shave £400K from their cricket budget.
They have done remarkably well to put this behind them so far, having made a great start to red ball cricket, yet several high-profile and talented players will be sought after when their deals expire there, including Henry Crocombe, Danny Lamb, Tymal Mills and Fynn Hudson-Prentice. I would expect cheeky approaches for the services of James Coles too, even though he is under contract until the end of 2027.
For Derbyshire, this is the final year of deals for Ross Whiteley, Mitch Wagstaff, Pat Brown, Anuj Dal, Wayne Madsen, Yusuf Bin Naeem, Nick Potts, Joe Hawkins and Jack Morley. Some of these will be offered new deals, others won't but there will be pressure on all players to perform and they will hope for the opportunity to impress.
All you can do is your best and the hope for all is that their bodies remain fit enough to show their best form. I still think there is a player in Mitch Wagstaff and the frustration for him is that what looked a gilt-edged opportunity to impress in last year's One Day Cup came to naught, because of injury. He has started this year well and he must hope for a chance to shine at senior level. All he can do is keep scoring runs and taking wickets, because there is much to enjoy in a left handed opener, who bowls more than tidy leg spin.
The same goes for Pat Brown. His first year for us was very impressive in the T20, but last year he struggled, mainly because of a shoulder injury. I understand he has had two operations over the winter and he will hope that his body repairs in time for him to show what he can do, in the format to which he has so far proven best suited.
I wish everyone the best, but the inevitability of professional sport is that there is always someone waiting to take your place. No matter what level you are playing at, the new arrival at the club could see you dropping down to the seconds, or not getting the new ball, or opening in your place.
The only hope is that when the die stop rolling, the team is in a better place than it was before.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please remember to add your name. Avoid personal comment at all times. Thanks!