Following on from the signings of David Lloyd, Pat Brown and Mohammad Amir, the squad is taking shape quite nicely. Yet with the departure of Leus du Plooy, one of the decisions of the winter will be who takes over as captain.
The expectation for some time has been that Lloyd, a player and captain of experience at Glamorgan, will be the natural successor. I think it likely that he will be the captain for the long form of the game, but he may have rivals for both the 20 and 50 over competitions.
I also think the niche for Lloyd will need to be settled. When he was signed, it appeared likely that he would be the opening partner for Luis Reece. Yet the arrival and great success of Harry Came has meant that position isn't very likely.
He may slot in at three, but Brooke Guest has let no one down there and, despite the workload, may be keen to continue in that position. If the player is happy, then I don't think many supporters would argue. Which would then leave Lloyd to slip in at number five.
Samit Patel, whose signing will surely be announced sometime soon, is one good and experienced option for one day captaincy. He has played T20 around the globe and would bring vast experience, but to my knowledge he has never been captain. It may be that he still remains in demand for The Hundred, which might then mean a captain for each format.
Alternatively, having done a good job during this year's one-day cup competition, where I thought he led the side intelligently with limited resources, Guest could be the captain for all one day cricket.
I understand that he opened, captained and kept wicket in Australia at under-19 level, so being busy is not alien to his nature! He would likely bat down the order in T20, but having seen some of his innings last year there could be a good argument for him staying up the order and taking advantage of the Powerplay. He can certainly hit a ball and, with Anuj Dal, he is probably the best runner between the wickets in the club.
Plenty of food for thought over the winter months.
Lloyd captain 4 day, Guest 50 over and Patel T20, is most likely. We also need a leg spinner, unless Wagstaff is going to be that option. Certainly we need a finger spinner and a wrist spinner in T20. Kris
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