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Thanks to JAG for making brief notes at the forum and making them available:
Monday
saw the first members forum of the 2019 season in the Derek Randall Suite.
A
very large number of members were present but surprisingly given the recent
championship performances where the team have not won for over a year there
appeared to be a poor turnout from the Club Committee to hear the grave concerns
of the members who had elected them to represent their views.
Peter
Moores (PM) stated that things had been extremely hard, and that the team had
not played well in matches. They had had excellent training days, but he
admitted that they had not got it together as a side out on the pitch. They had
lost players. And it was very frustrating that the players could not play
better for longer periods, and the players were impatient. He stated that given
their current position they are currently favourites for relegation.
The first question posed was ‘Why not give
youth a chance, and are there players who cannot be dropped?’ PM responded that
Liam Patterson-White is close to the team, but the team already contains a lot
of youngsters, and then went in to detail about how the team had lost the top
seven of the team from 2017 {He had seemed to have forgotten Mullaney and Patel
were regulars two years ago]. .
The
next question posed was ‘Are the club planning to reduce membership costs next
years now that the 50 over competition will become a development competition?’
Lisa Pursehouse (LP) stated that only a
maximum of 96 players will be selected for the ‘100 Competition’, and that the
club would not have bid to host the final for the next five years for a ‘Dud
Competition. She also stated that the current Nottinghamshire membership was
the cheapest on the circuit’.
The
next question posed was ‘Having had two years of inept batting, had the club
considered having a specialist batting coach?’
PM stated that this had been discussed but
dismissed because the team can get coaching with Andy Flower and had access to
the facilities at Loughborough.. He went on to repeat how the team line-up had
changed from the previous stable batting team. The club had invested in players
in the hope that they will come through.
The next question was ‘In any other business,
given the recent results changes would have been made, therefore where is the
real problem, and why are the coaches not bring out the best in the players?
PM stated that we plan for the next two
seasons and that you have to expect changes. PM also stated that there is not a
problem in the dressing room, and that we have signed players from the second
division and that they do care. Last year we struggled as we lost key players.
Paul Coughlin has been terribly unlucky with the injuries that he has received.
If players were not committed then he would say something, but the players are
committed but he does feel the frustration. .
Is there anything in the whole setup that is
wrong?
PM
stated that there is nothing wrong but that the team lacks confidence and are
under performing. Bilal Shafayat has
been brought into to coach the youngsters in the lower age range of the Academy
set up, and during the last few days Ant Botha has been added to the first team
training squad to help out.
Richard
Tennant (RT) stated that there was no complacency and that the players were
doing their best. The committee had asked similar questions last week.
The
next question was ‘Has anyone in the committee got the guts to sack anyone if
they do not perform?’ This grew very loud applause and cheering from the
disgruntled membership, RT responded that all are committed to getting the club
back on track.
There was a question about the use of
out-grounds in recent poor weather. LP stated that both Grantham and Welbeck
put in a lot of time and effort to host those games and that it was impossible
to control the weather, and that we would not have played at Trent Bridge on
those days, and that to retain ‘International Status’ then the club must
continue to use out-grounds.
There was a question about whether there was a
possibility of opening up empty corporate boxes on extremely cold days like we
experienced in April 2019?
LP stated that this was being looked at by
Michael Temple.
The next question was ‘Are the off field
antics of Alex Hales and Joe Clarke affecting the team?
This question was answered by Mick Newell (MN)
who stated that Alex Hales will be playing two second eleven T20 matches next
week and that Alex will give one hundred percent. The recent court case has had
an impact on Joe Clarke but he should be given a chance to show what he can do.
The next question was in relation to the
performances of Will Fraine, Matt Milnes and Billy Root since leaving the club.
MN stated that both Will Fraine and Matt Milnes had not been released but had
been offered three year contracts with the club, but chose to leave. In the case
of Will Fraine he comes from Yorkshire and was offered a contract by them so it
was difficult to persuade him to stay.
Just one reaction to the Forum:
The players are all working hard. The coaching staff are all working hard. This was Peter Moores message during yesterday's Members' Forum. What he never addressed was why no progress was being made and that performances and results are, if anything, getting worse and are certainly predictable. (before the outcome of this current one-sided fixture - where hopefully all our fortunes will be reversed by the close on the fourth day)
During the Forum, Peter Moores as good as declared that Notts will be playing in Division 2 next year!!!
So let's use that and make something positive come from it!
Let's get the squad ready for Division 2 cricket now!
Announce the objective to get at least four "new players" into the first eleven from the second eleven by the end of September. Wouldn't it be wise to blend a team together, get a game plan to suit those players, hone that plan and develop those players this year, ready for next year? I can't see any reason not to.
Currently I don't see anyone occupying a berth, that on performances in 2019, should be keeping Liam Patterson-White out of one place in the first eleven. Aren't we short of runs, week in, week out in 2019? Lyndon James appears to be statistically scoring freely at the moment, so shouldn't he be given a chance to cement a place; give him the same opportunities that struggling Joe Clarke or Ben Slater have had and I'm sure he would have scored many more runs.
Untried and very young Joey Evison has risen to the task, achieved and been successful at each and every level of cricket that he has been thrust into; why think now he has reached his personal ceiling, at Second XI standard, that doesn't make any sense to me?
I came away from the Forum wondering:
- What are the club's ambitions and objectives for the rest of the season?
- Does the elephant in the room, scheduled for summer 2020, have any bearing on the planning for the rest of this year?
You have to assume that if the Championship has been written off now, that all eggs are now in the T20 basket and that how Outlaws fare in that competition in 2019 will impact on all the players going into the future. The Hundred and the 96 or so names expected to be drafted for it in October; will see our players staking their whole careers on stellar performances in this year's Blast in order to make that draft.
How many once drafted will seek to pursue exclusive white ball contracts?
Rumours are abound that Tom Moores will be the next to throw in the towel with first class cricket, not that that will sadly be a great loss as he has failed to make the necessary significant improvements in his glove-work or his batting technique (having shown that he can't play time). He did however, show great power and rapid run accumulation in the ODC this year and perhaps a white ball career is all he will be able to achieve at. Sad because three years ago, Tom looked to be a "real prospect".
Others could be leaving...
Samit Patel interests the Bears apparently; why keep on playing him in that case? Luke Wood is being pursued by multiple counties, including Lancashire, Northants and Worcestershire, but want to keep him, but then again Notts won't pick him to play. Mark Footitt is out of contract at the end of season, would anyone notice if he moved elsewhere? Alex Hales' white ball only package deal ends this year; what are his plans? Will Alex continue his white ball only cricket at Trent Bridge or will he take himself to somewhere with longer boundaries to clear?
T20 and even shorter formats
This is regrettably the future for cricket; the drafting of which our own CEO managed to escape questioning about and as to why Nottinghamshire CCC appear to be such a driving force for the unwanted new format at every stage of its conception...
Questions for another time .
Good job they went for the second day, It might have not made it to the third day....
ReplyDeleteYes, that is so they know that Essex will be batting at the time (on resumption after the lunch break) and so our bowling coach will be otherwise engaged, tweaking his cartel - unable to defend himself from questions about his own competency. Wobble seam my ar..
DeleteShame about the unfortunate timing. Many members who have jobs will be at work - and that includes me. Would have been better on the Sunday. I too hope the members present question the bowling performance / tactics employed. It's not just the batting that has been (more obviously) an issue.
ReplyDeleteI have no doubts that the Coaches have been saying all the right things and trying to make sure individual players did the right things - the question, though, is is it a lack of talent or is it something more about senior management at the Club? IF the talent is there then it is vital that it is nailed down as exactly what the problems are. Is there friction within the Players? Is there friction between certain players and certain Coaches? Is there friction between the Coaches? Is there friction between the Coaches and senior management? Something significant is very clearly wrong.
ReplyDeleteSo the main Questions tomorrow will have to be who is going to resign or be sacked and when? The Club needs to begin a complete re-build and that has to mean a number of high profile Staff in both Admin and Cricket Performance going and bringing in some fresh blood with fresh ideas. I would certainly retain Paul Franks but release Andy Pick and clearly Mick Newell now has to go. I would only consider giving Moores a last Season as Head Coach if Newell left. On the playing Side I think that we need to make some wholesale changes - Division 2 'imports' are not the answer - and in the longer-term reinstate the Academy as it used to be before Ant Botha took over.
ReplyDeleteWhy is this on a Monday. It should have been today when more could attend.
ReplyDeleteWhy would they want more Members there!!!???
ReplyDeleteYou couldn't get more Members in there today. Nice question Philip BTW to Mr Moores, were you happy with his reponse?
DeleteHello 'Dave G' - I am absolutely satisfied, and having watched him Coaching in the past, that Peter Moores is fully committed to Notts. I was also at Grace Road the other day (when the Seconds beat Leicestershire twice in the T20 Games) and spoke with Paul Franks who was equally open and honest with me. There is no doubt that injuries and their impacts have played a big part - so I was very interested in the member who asked about psychological inputs for the players. The major injury that Jake Libby suffered and the head injury to Stuart Braod both seem to have resulted in adverse levels of performance afterwards - with Clarke I think that the emotional impact on him may be equally immense. Coughlin's injury history was well described by Mick Newell. BUT, we expect better. Either the playing talent just isn't there and so some players need to be released OR there is genuinely a 'Development Programme' in place which may prove positive in the next couple of Seasons. As it seems accepted that we will be in Division 2 next Season the DANGER is that playing against less talented players may give a false perception of any improvements when, in reality, perhaps there haven't been any. The Director of Cricket has to accept responsibility for his new signings and if they have not proven to be wise ones then serious consideration of his continuance in that role have to be taken - and the Chairman was as clear as he could be that if serious steps have to be taken then they will be. So, yes, I was satisfied with Mr Moores response and would like to see him continue to the end of the Season when it should be a little clearer whether the efforts of himself and the Coaching team are beginning to pay off. I found Andy Pick's comments on today's play on the main Web Site unsatisfactory - the fact that the bowling appeared to be economical and so we must have been bowling in the right place is not the answer - the QUESTION is why can't be bowl out the opposition? Essex demonstrated how to build up a good score with the aim to amass a hefty lead and bowl us out on Day 4 - to me Day 4 will be crucial to see if Notts have learned some lessons from seeing just how to bat long and patiently.
DeleteYou were 100percent spot on with your questioning Sir Philip and argued your points extremely well to the top brass. Couldn't believe how easily and quickly Princess Pursestrings lost her cool yet again. We haven't won a game in red ball for a year, look like being thrashed yet again in this game, so us loyal fans ain't gonna be too happy with events down there. Wasn't overly happy with Moores regarding the dropping of senior players, Duckett, Clarke&Tom Moores are walking wickets at the moment yet LPW still can't be risked. Perhaps he will never be Div One standard but when the batting is failing every time in the first innings at what point do we actually try something a bit different?
Delete"Don't look to me with that face"
DeleteI have to say that I totally agreed with Lisa re. the Clarke situation - the Chairman, who I believe to be a totally honest individual, would not have confirmed the lack of information that the Club had if the opposite was the case. From my own professional background there are certainly legal constraints that come into play and the Club, or any of its senior Officers, could be in serious trouble for speaking out at certain times. Clarke would now best benefit probably from appropriate targeted 'Awareness' training aimed at better understanding gender-sensitive issues, above all about the respect we all ought to have for each other. As for Hales Lisa was correct about 'recreatinal' drug use - again education is the best response. In reality what 'drugs' had any of the Members consumed within the 24 hours prior to the Forum? 'Recreational' drug use / mis-use is, as Lisa said, a societal problem. Notts, though, deserve immense credit for the community outreach initiatives that they are engaged in. We need to separate our concerns about the Team's performance from other issues and Lisa was safeguarding the Club from some perhaps unwise comments although made out of genuine concern. The laws against slander and libel are very real ones and, as Members, we have to take them very seriosuly - hence why I make postings under my own name because that also keeps me in check!
DeleteWell done Philip you were spot out with your views and they were presently excellently, you were cheered wildly!!! I still think either LPW or Lyndon James should have been given a chance in the first team line up in the last few weeks. What Notts need to do is show some evidence of progression as a team and in certain players in the remaining championship games this season; otherwise changes have to be made. Only Luke Fletcher to my opinion has pushed on his game this term. That is not good enough. Others have to push on and if we are a younger team we must improve our fielding. Another point to consider if we do not need a specialist in-house batting coach as PM suggested, why in that case do we need an-house bowling coach?
DeleteHenry VIII will send you to The Tower for making such a suggestion
DeleteIt was very well attended & you could feel the frustration of all members, the cricket ain't good enough
DeleteI think if we do well in the T20 then secretly they (those at the top table) will be very happy....kerching
Thank you 'mag' - the solution is not an easy one. Are the players, as Peter Moores says, talented and with potential or not? He is the expert and I would be reluctant to disagree with him BUT if we are relegated and do well it will not be until we get back into Division 1 that we will ever really know. I do agree that we have nothing to lose in giving Liam or Lyndon a 'taste' of Division 1 cricket and I also believe that we need to try Jake Libby again - he does demonstrate class and technique. Sadly, I do not feel that Luke Wood has made the grade - is he a 'work in progress' or not? Looking back to Chris Reed's captaincy perhaps he had just the right balance - not too close to the players but respected by them and he led by example - many times he rescued us out of some awful situations and proved that it could be done. I know that the Committee are genuinely concerned BUT are they part of a more 'systemic' issue in cricket which is seeing the longer formats of the game we love downgraded to more 'popular' entertainment> Gone are the days when each Side played each other twice in the Championship and now the 50 Over Competition is also being down-graded. The 'message' to players is loud and clear - the real money is in the T20 / 100 ball formats - so little wonder that they need to demonstrate big-hitting especially BUT what about the majority of players who will never reach the dizzy heights of world-class Limited Overs Competitions - are we doing them a dis-service? Ought we to UP-GRADE the longer formats and see the game as being played in 2 quite different formats?
ReplyDeleteYes English cricket as we know it will change with the advent of the “100”, although I am not convinced it will be a success. But whatever happens younger players are increasingly only interested in playing limited overs cricket. That is the way of the world and market forces always dictate, like or not. The Notts batting line up is much more suited to the short form game. Big mistakes have been made in the upper echelons of Notts structure, the playing staff is too small, there has been too many short-term fixes in signing average cricketers from rival counties and not enough money/time has been invested in supporting local cricketers the Academy/Second XI. The dropping of the Academy team out of the NPL was in my opinion a poor decision, it encouraged teamwork and created a bond between youngsters learning the game. These players given the right opportunity would have made it at Notts but sadly likes of Milnes, Hasan Azad and Hutton are blossoming at counties willing to give youth a chance. All very sad! Hopefully with the likes of Shafayat, Lucas and Hindson all good men now helping out at junior levels thins will change soon. We as members can force our concern and force the committee to make appropriate changes for the betterment of Notts CCC and local cricket. The committee should be representing the members views.
DeleteI totally agree with all of those views MAG
DeleteI received this in my messages:
ReplyDeleteDear Committee
Why delay anymore, time is not going to fix it. You need to bring about change from top to bottom of the organisation.
Yes this will involve people losing their jobs but your job is to represent the membership of Nottinghamshire CCC and our views were unambiguously made on Monday at the meeting in the Randall suite.
Failure to act now, and the membership could possibly lose confidence in the committee itself, formally.
Garfield
Where do I sign?
DeleteIn answer to an earlier query somewhere the number of Members needed to call an Extraordinary General Meeting is 100. Do you think that 100 would sign something like: "WE, the undersigned, call on the Committee of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club to set clear Performance Targets for the Director of Cricket and the Head Coach / Bowling Coach to achieve within the next 3 months and failure to reach such will result in their dismissal from the Club."
ReplyDeleteThe next Members Forum is set for Tuesday 17 September 2019 - make a note in your diaries!!!
ReplyDeleteContrary to what some believe the next Members forum IS Tuesday 17th September 2019 as far as I can ascertain.
ReplyDelete