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Today's the day
04/04
One more sleep and for Ben Slater that will be in his own bed
03/04
Two more sleeps
02/04
Three days to wait
01/04 Four days to wait
31/03
Five days to go...
Five days to go...
... and welcome back BST.
If the 2023 season's primary objective was retention of Division 1 status, what are 2024's goals and expectations for the Green and Golds?
Considering the heavy investment in new playing staff, some degree of "kicking-on" has to be expected and to be seen surely, in order to justify that influx of players. Yes we've lost the services of Stuart Broad, Jake Ball and Samit Patel, but let's be honest, which of those could you count on producing a performance for Nottinghamshire in recent years? Samit had already been excluded from the Championship in recent seasons in any case and the other two's availability was sketchy at best for various reasons, so new Pears: Tongue, Haynes and Pennington have to do better! Add to that trio, Mr Stone the invisible man of 2023 who made a fitting like for like replacement for a Zak Chappell of 2021 vintage. However, it was pleasing to see that Zak had a better turn of fitness and form down the road in 2023, so let's hope Olly can turn his fortunes around similarly in 2024 and not just be company for Josh Tongue in the physio's treatment room. Sadly to my mind, any games for Notts from Josh Tongue are going to be a bonus.
In the County Championship, we must look to be challenging the likes of Hampshire, Lancashire and Warwickshire and make strides forward from 2023's hanging-in against performances (gripping as they were). At the Oval, we showed that we could compete against the best and that credible draw could have been a momentous victory had not been for injuries and the odd momentum-sapping on-field decision not going our way, so in 2024 we have to expect more and show that we can boss a few more teams and not just the relegation fodder.
Legacy?
If 2024 is coach Peter Moores' last hurrah (his contract ends this year, one of several extensions since this first as head coach in September 2016), another relegation scrap would signify that his stay has already been too long and fresh ideas are urgently required if Nottinghamshire is a be a force to be reckoned with ever again. Do we have an improving squad, or is it a case of swings and roundabout where we lose one player and replace with another? The Cricketer Magazine has Notts finishing 6th in their predictions, but is that a strong 6th or one battling with the basement 6th? For Moores (and Newell), the pressure is on, rightly or wrongly expectations are high, so no one should get an easy ride and a free pass into the side (yet we do know that that will be the case). What will Moores' legacy be, silverware or nothing since the (what now feels like a distant nightmare) pandemic!
Dilemma, as an aside
The selection of Calvin Harrison ahead of Liam Patterson-White has to be addressed, LPW had been earmarked by the ECB by his England Lions selection at the back-end of 2022, so if Calvin continues to get the nod ahead of Liam on merit, there has to be a mind shift at the top and the eleven must be made to accommodate two spinners if that is the case. SEC cricket won't do either any favours at this stage of their careers, if they are to fulfil their true potential, just look what's happened to Matthew Carter, he's just a one trick pony now. Both Harrison and Patterson-White had shown to have promise in their batting earlier in their careers, but both's batting has tailed-off in recent seasons, why is that? Batting and depth in our batting has been our achilles heel certainly during Moores' time at the club (Chris Read did so much to paper over the cracks) and for most of Newell's. A return to being considered a future all rounder by either Calvin or Liam would go some way to heal our achilles complaint.
Prediction
My fear for the coming Championship campaign is that there will be an improvement but the results and final postition will be much the same as last season. The boot will be on the other foot, teams will be hanging-on against us on the last day of games, so the season will be accompanied with much frustration and a lot of what ifs.
30/03 D-day minus 6
Are you ready for the off?
Are the Green and Golds ready?
How will Notts get on in 2024?
Where do you expect Nottinghamshire to finish in the Division One table at the end of September?
No reason not to expect an exact repeat of last summer. Maybe lower in Championship. But that's of no interest to Notts ccc.
ReplyDeleteWas a little alarmed at how easy Cardiff scored their runs but you can’t read too much into yesterday and have seen Chris Gibson for the Notts Academy/2s and he can clearly bat
ReplyDeleteJust cannot see us playing on anything resembling that deck we put out for this practice match, we will clearly want something to offer help to our seamers as per usual
Concerned over the fitness of the bowling unit - Fletch is struggling, Josh Tongue out for who knows how long and Olly Stone(who walked past me in entering the Pavilion yesterday) - again who knows ?
Someone told me that Duckett will play on Friday as if not and untill Will Young arrives, think the batting is clearly suspect, with little competition for places
I have lowered my expectations for this current squad and will be happy if we match last season in the red ball and blast
I’m at hopeful we can do better in the 50 over competition but am not convinced we will take it as seriously as we ought to
Let's hope Peter Moores throws a bit more caution to the wind in his predictable team selections, and his unwavering unjustified support to certain individuals.
ReplyDeleteFor Notts to compete in the 4 day stuff, they have to find some runs from 6 to 11, otherwise it could well be another battle to stay in division one.
We need to use Brett as a strike bowler, not the containing role. He saved us last year, and is key again. We need fit bowlers, and someone else needs to do that hard slog, "Ealham" role.
ReplyDeleteWould be happy with top 3 place in The Championship, but we could lift a white ball trophy ?
Like your optimistic outlook Rich but have no idea why you believe any of that.
ReplyDeleteAlways been a dreamer !
DeleteWe’ve got to hope the Hit Man and the Great Dane both stay fit, as it’s anyones guess what we’ll get from Big Fletch at this stage of his career, The Rolling Stone and Josh Tongue
ReplyDeleteHead Coach Peter, also seems extremely reluctant to give a chance to Hayes or Pettman either
LPW is a curious case to me, having watched him for the Notts Academy and then the 2s he played as a top order batter which was his main strength scoring hundreds regularly batting no4 before seleted for the first team, who also did the spinning role similar to what Samit Patel did for years. His role seems to have completely reversed since making his Notts debut and now finds himself not selected in favour of Calvin Harrison who doesn’t seem good enough with either bat or ball in red ball cricket 🏏 at the present time.
If our batting was stronger, you could possibly not select any of them for home 🏡 matches in April as there certainly won’t be any spin in those seamer friendly pitches we favour, especially if it continues to be wet and unsettled ?
Harrison was outstanding at the Oval last year and so PM is rewarding that by having his name engraved, along with the special select cabal names, on the team sheet for the whole season.
DeleteI think mid-table is all we can hope for.
ReplyDeleteToo much money spent on crocked players, and too much nepotism within the management. Not a recipe for winning.
But we should enjoy Div 1 cricket at a lovely ground while first class cricket is still played in England.
Mid-table, but is that looking ahead or over our shoulders?
DeleteIn a ten-team division, and with a potential 24 points up for grabs each match, it's very easy to slide up and down the table at great pace, especially for inconsistent sides. One week a win and the top half looks likely, next week a bad defeat and the bottom two beckons.
ReplyDeleteFifth or sixth looks a realistic target. If Hutton and Paterson stay fit and in form, Pennington might prove a useful acquisition as first change. Having Young available for a decent spell improves a Duckett-less top order, while Haynes will hopefully add a bit of middle order quality and consistency.
The LPW/Harrison conundrum is an interesting one, they both strike me as players who need regular matches if they're to develop. Are they to be viewed as potential genuine all-rounders? Does two into eleven go, even in high summer?
Perhaps the most interesting factor will be the new captain, who will hopefully settle into the role and stamp his mark on the team. Fresh ideas, a clear vision, and not being afraid to try things - these might be just the things needed to help the team achieve more than we think it might. Or will the same old coaching tail still wag the playing dog?
Just a small point - the Cricketer didn't make any predictions about any county's finishing positions. The Championship 6th place highlighted in the Notts preview related to last season's performance.
ReplyDeleteDJP
The prediction of SIXTH for 2024 is in top right hand corner of page 65 of the April issue
DeleteThanks, MAG - had completely missed this. In my (flimsy) defence, it was partly hidden by Joe Clarke's bat escaping from the picture at the top of that page!
Delete80NOTOUT
ReplyDeleteWith the way the weather is these days I wonder if there will be any play at all this season .
Batting down to Number 11 can make all the difference to a teams season . All rounders in the Mark EALHAM mould are worth their weight in gold .
What Notts would give now for a pair like Hadlee and Rice in the side.
Never to be repeated golden days .
Cant see old timer Fletch bowling many overs in the first team this year. Patto and Hutton must not be bowled to death . Both have to remain fit if at all possible.
How important is the county championship to most players these days? With one eye to greater , more lucrative opportunities ?
Don’t think elite players like Rice and Hadlee would be playing much County Cricket for any English side these days
DeleteSince the the start of T20 the game has changed beyond any comparison with Rice and Hadlee's 1980's heyday, As the previous comment mentions neither of the aforementioned would play little if any County Champioship cricket, Just think of how much they would have earned playing in IPL, Those who saw those two talented players can consider themselves very lucky,
DeleteOver time everything evolves.Cricket is certainly not an exception, Much as I hate to say it if we had not had T20 would we still have 18 counties ? For some of the poorer counties it's been a.lifeline , Like many others I prefer the longer version of the game but I am also a realist if the price of county cricket is T20 then it's not even a question that needs asking.
I can’t see a case for us doing better than last season in the CC. Duckett will surely hardly play. But let’s look for reasons to be cheerful. Hameed might find captaincy suits him; Sevem matches from Young will help. Haynes might add some middle order competition.
ReplyDeleteThe bowling and later order batting is the worry. Can Moores apply himself? I like the sound of James LPW and Harrison as 6, 7&8!
But to expect the same from Paterson and Hutton as last year is over optimistic. Who will step up to help? Tongue? Pennington (who I liked at Worcester), Stone, Fletch? Or time for one of the second xi lads to have an extended run?
Hope - unlike the weather - springs eternal
Jim G
Will we do better ? Hopefully, Although a lot depends on the new signings Haynes so far seems to be settling in well , Of the two bowlers Pennington should do well , Tongue however is only likely at best to play infrequently given his awful injury record and his likely involvement with England ,Perhaps Notts see a future for Toby Pettman given he seems to have been in and around the first team recenly, Will Young is a sensible choice of an overseas player, Given Notts batting it makes sense to strengthen that area.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the captaincy does not hamper Hameed,Notts really need him back in the form of previous summers,They also need Tom Moore's to show some common sense when batting ,He has the talent to score well but all too often gives his wicket away with a brainless shot. Notts could also do with sorting out who they see as the first choice spinner, Neither Harrison or LPW would be happy with a diet of second team cricket, Although in Harrison's case he will be playing a lot of limited over games .
Notts should at the very least match last season CC finish , A couple places higher would be nice and certainly impossible to achieve,As for the shorter versions it's difficult to see success in the 50 over games,But we should certainly be competitive in T20.
At the end of 2023 they were talking-up the scenario where LPW replaced Samit in the T20.
Delete*Not impossible , I should really proofread before posting 😄
ReplyDeleteI think Tommy Moores being sensible whilst batting might be impossible, however.
Delete80 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteSome well thought out comments on this thread .
Hope springs eternal .
One thing is a racing certainty . Looking at the possible team sheet combined with Notts ccc resources it would appear impossible that we end up in the Div 1 relegation zone .
Can I remind you of Twenty Nineteen.
DeleteWould we have Moores as first choice? I might keep with Clarke, field 2 spinners and James as my 6-8 (not in that order) and play the fittest seamer along with Brett and Dane. That would give us 4 seamers and 2 spinners. Don’t want to play 2 spinners in April ….then play the extra batsman (Hayes)
DeleteNo evidence from what I saw last season that the gloves affected Clarke’s batting - although easy for me to say of course
Jim G
80 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteJust out of interest , the Bookies have Notts at 8/1 to win the Division 1 championship . Reckon the true odds should be double that . Surrey are a poor priced 7/4 to win the title