Jake Ball has broken a bone in his foot, side-lining him for an estimated 6 weeks. Mick Newell admits this is a set back for his T20 plans.
Perhaps this set back will prompt an exploration of the overseas market by Mr Newell(?)
With no Siddle, Fletch or Andre for the T20 Blast, their services being reserved for Championship games (Newell) – it means Outlaws must use Carter, Gurney, Shahzad, Mullaney and Patel with no safety net of any part time bowling options when one or two bowlers become expensive - Dave Hussey and his off-spin hasn't been replaced (previously replaced by Adam Voges' Chinamen) - the balance again is awry.
Other counties have / are recruiting one or two overseas players whereas Notts aren’t for the re-vamped T20 competition, why?.
T20 debuts look, currently, to be on the cards for either Brett Hutton or Luke Wood at some point in the coming weeks.
Broad Aims
Stuart Broad at a function in London today let it slip that he would not be available to play England’s T20I nor their ODIs against Sri Lanka and that he was working towards being fit and ready for the Test series – 7 back to back tests against Sri Lanka and India. As part of that preparation process, Stuart will be expecting to play for Notts against Durham (starting 25 May) and in the game at Hove against league leaders Sussex..
Horses for courses
Horses for courses might serve as Notts' or Mick Newell's motto for the coming fixture at Taunton.
Alex Hales has previously had success there and might be due a recall, the competition for his place of opener being Steven Mullaney (Jaques probably booking his place in the XI for a couple more weeks with the losing knock against Bears). Will Shahzad replace the England recruit Gurney or might 2nd XI form player, Brett Hutton, get a deserved second championship game?
Chief wicket takers in the seconds have been Luke Wood and Ben Kitt, neither of those are in the frame but should they be?
Traditionally Notts have fielded two spinners on visits to Taunton, does this prompt a Keedy debut or a Tillcock one .......................... possibly neither.
However, early afternoon (Friday) despite acknowledging that Alex Hales had been in the frame for a return to the Nottinghamshire XI at Taunton, Hales' 3 LV= match loan to Worcestershire, as substitute for Moeen Ali (England squad), was announced. The loan is competition specific so a return to TB is expected for the uber-hyped Blast clash with Lancashire flashes.
In Gary Keedy's last game for Surrey he took 9 wickets in the game at the Oval against Middlesex, last September.
The last time Keeds played at Taunton was for Surrey 2nds and he had figures of 0/45 and made a duck too and a 0*(July 2013).
Out of balance
It is good to see one of the openers get a substantive (relatively) knock in the middle but in the circumstances of the Warwick game, the damage had been done the night before.
As MAG has said in his reports, the balance of the side is all wrong. The tail as it stands is too long. The selection has to be adjusted; the same eleven have lost two games on the bounce, and badly too.
No Notts player should be selected on form for any International duty at the moment unless Newell can be ultra-persuasive so any changes will have to made without Mick being forced to make it.
Come on Notts and come on Mick, earn your corn!
Continuing opening dilemmas
Following the debacle of the final hour on Sunday where Warwickshire made a mockery of the supposed class of Notts’ upper order batters; Michael Lumb’s leaving of 75% of balls faced was a major miscalculation of judgement and the Samit Patel / Fletcher comic tragedy at the end was just icing on a mouldy cake; questions need to be asked.
With rumours that the out of sorts Alex Hales might be farmed out to rivals Northamptonshire whilst his expensive replacement is failing to deliver with bat and crucially yesterday, in the field (the dropping of Ian Bell in the context of the day's play was monumental), a question for Mick Newell to answer – why not send Jaques to Wantage Road until he finds his feet and
instead let Alex Hales bat down the order until he gets “that innings”, what difference will it make? Jaques’ appearance is only because of his past reputation, he is not at Trent Bridge beyond June and isn’t contributing and his selection looks just like a face saving exercise by the Director of Cricket until he can turn it around in the second innings.
Riki Wessels was probably unlucky to be given LBW last night and perhaps is the one player that is in form with the bat. Promote him to opener, like he was acquired to do originally. Michael Lumb bats at 3, why bother? Michael is usually in when the ball is still very fresh anyway, so he too might as well open like he did for Yorkshire and Hampshire (so prolifically).
Now that Steven Mullaney has found a yard of extra pace to his bowling and presumably is still tinkering with off spinners as well for later in the summer, perhaps he deserves his place down the order rather than play in his stonewall fashion at the top of the order.
Fingers crossed and doubly crossed for the second innings.
Jake Ball has broken a bone in his foot, side-lining him for an estimated 6 weeks. Mick Newell admits this is a set back for his T20 plans.
Perhaps this set back will prompt an exploration of the overseas market by Mr Newell(?)
With no Siddle, Fletch or Andre for the T20 Blast, their services being reserved for Championship games (Newell) – it means Outlaws must use Carter, Gurney, Shahzad, Mullaney and Patel with no safety net of any part time bowling options when one or two bowlers become expensive - Dave Hussey and his off-spin hasn't been replaced (previously replaced by Adam Voges' Chinamen) - the balance again is awry.
Other counties have / are recruiting one or two overseas players whereas Notts aren’t for the re-vamped T20 competition, why?.
T20 debuts look, currently, to be on the cards for either Brett Hutton or Luke Wood at some point in the coming weeks.
Broad Aims
Stuart Broad at a function in London today let it slip that he would not be available to play England’s T20I nor their ODIs against Sri Lanka and that he was working towards being fit and ready for the Test series – 7 back to back tests against Sri Lanka and India. As part of that preparation process, Stuart will be expecting to play for Notts against Durham (starting 25 May) and in the game at Hove against league leaders Sussex..
Horses for courses
Horses for courses might serve as Notts' or Mick Newell's motto for the coming fixture at Taunton.
Alex Hales has previously had success there and might be due a recall, the competition for his place of opener being Steven Mullaney (Jaques probably booking his place in the XI for a couple more weeks with the losing knock against Bears). Will Shahzad replace the England recruit Gurney or might 2nd XI form player, Brett Hutton, get a deserved second championship game?
Chief wicket takers in the seconds have been Luke Wood and Ben Kitt, neither of those are in the frame but should they be?
Traditionally Notts have fielded two spinners on visits to Taunton, does this prompt a Keedy debut or a Tillcock one .......................... possibly neither.
However, early afternoon (Friday) despite acknowledging that Alex Hales had been in the frame for a return to the Nottinghamshire XI at Taunton, Hales' 3 LV= match loan to Worcestershire, as substitute for Moeen Ali (England squad), was announced. The loan is competition specific so a return to TB is expected for the uber-hyped Blast clash with Lancashire flashes.
The last time Keeds played at Taunton was for Surrey 2nds and he had figures of 0/45 and made a duck too and a 0*(July 2013).
Out of balance
It is good to see one of the openers get a substantive (relatively) knock in the middle but in the circumstances of the Warwick game, the damage had been done the night before.
As MAG has said in his reports, the balance of the side is all wrong. The tail as it stands is too long. The selection has to be adjusted; the same eleven have lost two games on the bounce, and badly too.
No Notts player should be selected on form for any International duty at the moment unless Newell can be ultra-persuasive so any changes will have to made without Mick being forced to make it.
Come on Notts and come on Mick, earn your corn!
Continuing opening dilemmas
Following the debacle of the final hour on Sunday where Warwickshire made a mockery of the supposed class of Notts’ upper order batters; Michael Lumb’s leaving of 75% of balls faced was a major miscalculation of judgement and the Samit Patel / Fletcher comic tragedy at the end was just icing on a mouldy cake; questions need to be asked.
Appointment
Congratulations to Mick Newell on his appointment to the England selection panel following Ashley Giles' resignation. Mick says that County coaches and umpires are in the best position to judge the up and coming players and so he his in an ideal job to perform the role of selector.
Opening dilemma.
So what does Mick Newell do?
The batting failed against
Middlesex at HQ last week twice as well as the bowling unit’s inability to
winkle out Sam Robson and John Simpson , the latter being no better than an average
county pro.
Mick has played the then (at Lord's) absent Alex Hales against the
youngsters of the MCCYC in a Second Eleven Trophy game, he managed 31 in
another embarrassing defeat. Mick also played Samit Patel in the same game; he
made 34 but the MCCYC couldn’t be contained and won with 6 wickets to spare.
Sam Kelsall top scored for Notts with 62.
In a Second Eleven Championship game, Alex Hales was
given another opportunity against the same opposition as the day previous. Put
in Hales, playing unannounced in the media, made just 1 this time, in tricky
conditions. Mick was looking to Andre Adams and Ajmal Shahzad to show some
fitness and form in this game as well as giving Jake Ball a game.
In the LV Championship victory over Lancashire; the
bowling unit came under extreme scrutiny towards the end as Ashwell Prince
almost took the game to the wire on a flattening track where in the third
innings Notts’ batsmen again failed to impress; Patel and Hales showing
characteristic inconsistencies after first innings optimism.
So who does Mr Newell select to open for Notts on Sunday?
- · Steven Mullaney does appear to be able to hang-in there at the top of the order but can’t score at a rate to put teams under pressure when he’s in that mode.
- · Phil Jaques has started each innings so far well enough but hasn’t got beyond first base as yet, getting out much too earlier.
- · Riki Wessels appears to be in form. Riki is looking to be the best of the bunch, though he has been batting down the order and not in the firing line when the first new ball is in use; it might be worth playing him as opener but then who will protect the expansive tail if Gurney and Carter are in the eleven.
- · Michael Lumb is penned-in on the team sheet at 3, but hasn’t produced the goods as yet, worrying as he is usually the most dependable of all batsmen.
·
Alex Hales says (to Mr Bracegirdle) that he
feels a big score is there and that he feels in good nick, he just needs to
show some evidence – opportunities have been provided.
In form, Alex has to
open and not hide down the order and today (Friday) in difficult batting conditions (and bowling) he did accumulate fifty odd in the second innings for the Seconds, against teenagers, but didn't open in this innings.
Another worry after the Lord’s game, after Ready’s
injury, was the wicketless Australian, but hopefully that situation will be
remedied at Trent Bridge should we win the toss on Sunday.
It might all be a matter of it being early season
rustiness; which begs the question about the trip to Barbados, what was the purpose
of it?
The squad for Sunday includes the eleven that lost at Lord's plus Hales, Shahzad and Ball (Mick Newell on Radio Nottingham). Andre needs another run out with the Seconds.
The Bear squad for the game starting Sunday:
The Bear squad for the game starting Sunday:
Ian Bell (Captain)
Tim Ambrose (Wicket Keeper)
Keith Barker
Varun Chopra
Laurie Evans
Oliver Hannon-Dalby
Ateeq Javid
Jeetan Patel
William Porterfield
Boyd Rankin
Jonathon Webb
Chris Woakes
Chris Wright
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