His side didn't show up. They weren't allowed to show up, but we all know they are better than they showed last night in front of the nation's TV cameras.
But as I alluded to last night and he said in the interview, some of his squad have reached their ceiling. He knows who they are, I do, a good few of you will do. No names, because that isn't fair on people who have given 100% for this club, but motivation and tactics will take you so far, the requisite skill sets and mental toughness take you to the next level.
The trick now is for the club to back their ambition in recruiting a world-renowned coach with the additional budget to bring in players to take us on.
The absence of Hayden Kerr last night was a factor, losing a Powerplay and death bowler. So too the loss of their captain and leading scorer. But then losing Suranga Lakmal wasn't part of the plan either, nor the absence of Tom Wood for the summer so far.
We have a small squad that has punched above its weight but the Head of Cricket will know, especially after last night, the scale of the challenge.
Shorn of HIS players, the side reverted to the bad habits of seasons past with the personnel to match. It would have been interesting to see how Masood as skipper handled Rossouw, his team mate in the PSL, but the South African had the bit between his teeth and was pretty much unstoppable last night.
I maintain we can do well in the RLODC, but for now focus switches back to four-day cricket. I had hopes of making some of Chester le Street, but my wife and I have to go and attend to the more pressing needs of my parents down south, so I won't see much of it.
Leus du Plooy may be a doubt because of the blow taken to his elbow last night, but in a squad rapidly running out of players, I expect the following side to take the field.
Godleman, Came, Guest, Madsen, Reece, Cartwright, Dal, Thomson, Watt, Aitchison, Conners
Hayden Kerr is going back to Australia with a side strain and will miss the rest of the summer, so we will see if a replacement can be found at short notice.
I think the young Australian did pretty well without delivering the spectacular and seemed to learn quickly in his first overseas experience.
I wish him well for the future.
Maybe I was over critical with my comments late last night but I just found that performance so disappointing. I think Derbyshire's players heads go when they are chasing a huge total, seems to be no belief that they can reach it and the white flag is raised. We saw the same thing a few seasons ago against Hampshire in the quarters, we got battered chasing a huge total. Why has Anuj not been included in this T20 campaign, a real mystery to me, the sort of player who would be a real asset in this tournament, a player who can bat and bowl. Let's bounce back against Durham now
ReplyDeleteYou do tend to be very hasty, CB. We all hurt after such a display but it wasn't done on purpose. Who chases 260 in 20?
DeleteHonestly don't think Nuj would have made a difference. I would have him in, but a shortage of experienced seam cost us
It was a humiliation.
ReplyDeleteI feel particularly for three players this morning; Leus du Plooy in his first game as captain; Mattie McKiernan - that one over; and Ben Aitchison - the dropped catch and the what ifs.
I hope the three of them, and the team as a whole can recover quickly, but I fear that that result will stay with them for some time, possibly years.
On the other side of the coin, how well did George Scrimshaw do? To be honest I was a bit surprised when he was selected for the England Lions. I'm not surprised any more.
They will recover, David. That's what we all do in life when hit by setbacks. You move on, as you have to.
DeleteYes, Micky was candid about the performance and he didn't make any excuses. He almost seemed to be in shock at what he'd witnessed, as I was. He said a couple of times that he'd learned a lot about the players. I interpret that as, "I now know that there are some players who cannot handle pressure and execute their skills. So we need to find players who can."
ReplyDeleteBut let's not forget that the Bears, who hit a record 261-2 against Notts, were skittled out for 82 against Hampshire on Thursday. It happens.
Let's hope a replacement can be found for Kerr.
So onwards and upwards. The squad now have to put the T20 behind them and focus on beating Durham.
Look at Yorkshire. Called all sorts for losing twice to us. Now at Finals Day. Teams win and lose matches, play well and horribly. All teams do that, not just us
ReplyDeleteLast nights game doesn't take away the achievement of getting to a quarter final. T20 is unpredictable in its nature. More generally I think the schedule is making things really tough for the teams with smaller squads though. It seems to be a constant battle to maintain a fit team.
ReplyDeleteSteve in Alsager, Cheshire
Looking at the Somerset team ….basically England ,England Lions,Scotland and strong overseas .They had 4 fast bowlers going hard at 80mph+….we had 13 overs of slow medium and spin which just didn’t work . Kerr and a fully fit / confident Conners and Aitchison may have helped BUT highlighted our lack of depth and experience . Also Masood and Kerr good for 70+ runs on average ….it was too big a gap to close ….Mickey will know this already and I’m sure has a view on future requirements . ….Anyway I’m off to Durham for 2 days so let’s hope the depleted squad can go again .I think we need to recruit to support the team through to the season end .
ReplyDeleteWe've been punching above our weight in the T20 and I didn't expect us to win last night but to see what a catastrophic defeat it turned out to be was a dreadful shock. Totally outclassed hardly describes the gulf between the 2 sides. It seems that the rich counties - and Somerset must be among them - and can attract and afford any number of top class international cricketers thus creating a gulf between them and us. It's getting like the top Premier League
ReplyDeleteclubs against those at the bottom. It's unfair but we have to live with it and continue to support our team for those unexpected victories that come along once in a while. Back to real cricket tomorrow. Let's beat Durham!
Beyond a joke now carrying on playing Billy G, failure after failure this season, last was not much better. Anybody could do a better job so why the heck is Mickey Arthur continuing to play him?
ReplyDelete