I think there will be a number of counties interested in signing Chris Nash, who announced yesterday that he was leaving Sussex.
Perhaps we are one of them. Wayne Madsen suggested today that we may be looking to add an all-rounder to the squad and Nash, one of the most dependable batsmen on the circuit, is a handy purveyor of off-spin. With a first-class average of just under forty, respectable averages in other formats and over 170 first-class wickets, he would fit the bill, for sure.
At 34 he has a few years in him and the only barrier to his signing would be that we already have three good opening batsmen. Unless the plan would be to play him down the order, where I am sure he would do a good job, it would seem an undue concentration of resource.
All conjecture of course and I would think around half of the first-class counties would fancy his services. I suspect that his future will be announced in the next week or so, as he would not have asked for his release from the final year of his Sussex deal without having somewhere lined up to continue his career.
Elsewhere, it was interesting to see Neil Broom released from the New Zealand squad with the instruction from the coach to 'learn to bat at number five'. Broom had some success on his Kiwi return, but their top four is fairly fixed and the technical issues that were noted as problems in his game over here don't appear to have been resolved.
Likewise Jimmy Neesham has been told to go and play cricket, score runs and do plenty of bowling. I think Neesham a genuine talent, capable of brilliance with bat and ball, but at this stage of his career he doesn't do enough with either to make himself indispensable to a side. If he can turn some of these flashy forties into something more substantial, he could yet make the top international that he has looked for some time.
Similarly, anyone who saw his bowling against Lancashire in the T20 a couple of summers back will know his talent with a ball. I still think he would have been a better option for us last year than Matt Henry, but like him he has work to do to become an established player of international pedigree.
All very interesting and worth keeping an eye on over the coming weeks and months.
Think he would walk into our team at the top of the order to be honest Peakfan but as you say I think there will be a number of teams after him and maybe he fancies the captaincy after being overlooked at Sussex.
ReplyDeleteNeesham wouldn't be a bad bet for an all rounder if he committed to a full season. It would probably do him a lot of good as well as he seems to have been pigeon holed into a T20 player when he seems to have a lot more talent, although clearly he will be making decent money from all the T20 gigs
Interesting idea. I’ve said a number of times in an ideal world I would like an experienced RH opening bat. I would move Reece to 3. Slater would be a good option be we need competition for places and he would be in the mix and could bat 1-3. Madsen I prefer at 3 but he seems to prefer 4 so let him bat where he wants. Hughes 5. Thakor 6. Keeper 7. Then tarting season 4 seamers. Likely overseas, Viljeon, Rampaul and Davis. We then have Qadri and Critchleyf for later in the season and depth. Both are very capable. Palladino and Taylor backing up the seamers and rotating when necessary. I think then later in season you finish with the Overseas seamer and go for a spinner. We could do worse than Mendis again he got 30 wickets in a not so favourable time of the season. Would like to see what he could do in the summer. Not overly fussed if we are not in for Nash as we have Reece and Slater but like I say I see Reece as a 3 ideally like in t20 and i know it’s a minor issue but I like LH/RH opening partnership. Exciting times anyway. Couple more at signings and we are looking good.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really sure signing another 'veteran' would be right for us at the minute Peakfan.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'm not worried too much about the seam bowling. We now have Viljoen, Rampaul, Davis, Taylor, Palladino and Thakor? Add in Hughes and Milnes, plus the youngsters, and we should have more than enough.
Spin wise, we have inexperience in Qadri and Critchley. Also, I think many DCCC supporters think Madsen is under used. Add to this that Tahir has been replaced in the South African test side, so how long before he makes himself a Kolpack?
I have said before, that I would like our oversea's to be a top order batsman. Not a 'flash cat', but a good, solid top three/four bat.