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25/09
The Notts Squad:
24/09
Preview
The last match of a disappointing season and yet there are a few faint glimmers of hope in the shape of the young lads now being given an opportunity to play.
Lunch on Day 1, we are told, the triumphant Second Eleven will be presented their SEC winners shield. Several of what should be in the announced squad for this game, have made positive impacts during the Seconds' dominant season - Liam Patterson-White, Freddie McCann, Dane Schadendorf, Farhan Ahmed, dare I suggest Sammy King and coach Steven Mullaney wouldn't want Tom Moores to miss out on a mention.
For the players hopefully being allowed to progress into the first eleven, first division survival is imperative, such is the chasm between the two divisions now (or at the least the top four teams in division one and the rest).
If Notts are to be seen to have made any year on year improvements, we have to close that gap as Somerset have done. Our head coach has had eight seasons [this season is his 9th] now to close that gap but we are as far away now as we were when the now Director of Cricket stepped away from team playing matters in 2016. All those hopes of 2016 have been dashed, we've gone backwards on more than one occasion over that time and only thanks to the positive spin of the Trent Bridge propaganda machine have senior staff kept their jobs. The so-called Top Table at Trent Bridge have now become a cosy, so comfortable with eachother, institution and it isn't working for the club on the field as results in 2024 have shown. Bottom of the North Group in the counties' shop window event the T20 Blast, nowhere near qualification for the knock-out stages of the One Day Cup and clinging on in the Championship to our Division 1 status. The success of the second eleven has to be built upon and player development must not be allowed to be stifled anymore by the signing of inadequate stop gap players from other counties, the DoC has so much [too much]history of doing this in his decades at the helm. It is time for long over due CHANGE at Trent Bridge.
There will be a lot of members that will support the CEO, the DoC and the head coach to the hilt. But, I would suggest to those members that the three people [The Top Table]in question have been in positions so long [too long], and that they can't differentiate their support now between that for the Top Table and that for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club.
I don't think I'm alone in believing that the environment created at our club, that of cronyism and nepotism, where conflicts of interest are just ignored, is in anyway good for the future success of our club or for cricket in general within our county borders. It is time for a CHANGE of leadership.
Enough of the soapbox ranting, as nothing will change whilst there's a prospect of huge sums of money heading the Trent Rockets' way. Talk about conflicts of interest...
Can Notts blow a fifteen point cushion? It would require Lancashire to almost probably win, and Notts to lose without gaining any bonus points [something that Notts have managed to do before in Septembers past during the reign of our now DoC]. But, we're better than that now aren't we, and we don't want to be relying on the weather either do we?
A win would push us above Warwickshire, who have had "an underwhelming season", and this has started a lot of media speculation about their own head coach's job security.
This our second season, probably, of staving off relegation. Are we, as a club going to cling to this weary cricket management ? With relegation fights, if the club pushes it's luck too often, relegation will happen in the not too distant future.
ReplyDeleteYou know the answer. No change to management same old results. Worse of all zero pleasure. Go on renew that membership!
ReplyDeleteHow does the head coach keep his job?
ReplyDeleteHis record in FCC for Notts:
2016 Div 1 Relegated
2017 Div 2 Promoted
2018 Div 1 Survived just by vertue of more wins than relegated team on same points
2019 Div 1 Relegated bottom
2020 Bob Willis Trophy finished 4th in group of 6
2021 Conference and then Div 1, finished 3rd but with most points over all
2022 Div 1 Promoted
2023 Div 1 6th
2024 Div 1 ????
Notts are hardly thriving under Mr Moores stewardship
DeleteNotts under Peter Moores:
DeleteWon. Lost. Drawn
2024. 2. 4. 7.
2023. 4. 4. 6.
2022. 8. 2. 4. (Division 2)
2021 7. 4. 3 (Covid Season)
2020 0. 2. 3 (Bob Willis Trophy)
2019 0. 10. 4.
2018 4. 8. 2.
2017 7. 2. 5. (Division 2)
31. 36. 34.
I can't imagine that Hameed would be overjoyed with the prospect of working with Moores for at least another year. You would love to be a fly on the wall in that dressing room to hear the players conversations when the two Moores's are absent.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many .or if any of the players, still believe in Peter and his methods My guess is, very few.
We need to stay up but with Yorkshire looking like coming up and it seems they're finally sorting themselves out I can see another struggle for us next year. Is it still 14 matches again next year?
ReplyDelete81 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteExcellent comments Dave . Thoughtful and very reasonable summing up of the Top Table and “best mates”
Something to ponder !
If some regular Second 11 players had been allowed to play many more games in the First 11team then a weakened Seconds might not have won their Championship title? On the other hand the First 11 may have had a better season with more appearances by up and coming and eager Seconds ? In other words we might have won an extra game ( or two) and thus not be threatened with relegation to Div 2
It’s just a thought.
Wrong team selection throughout the season ( with little imagination during the first 10 four dayers) has put us in a position we really should not be in . Have not managed to put this view using the right phrases but hope it makes reasonable sense?
It's Warwickshire's turn now to use "We just have to gather ourselves, dust down and get ready".
ReplyDeleteThere's an ECB course for coaches that teaches such meaningless responses to the media. It runs along side the players' "Definitely" course.
DeleteAs winter approaches, Notts have one final hurdle to negotiate.
ReplyDeleteIrrespective of their own efforts, I expect the weather to come to their aid, especially at Worcester who host relegation rivals, Lancashire.
Don't expect a green top result wicket at at Trent Bridge tomorrow.
A boring draw with a few batting points will do just fine.
We do need to put some points on the board, in case of a shock Lancashire win. No collapses, though please
ReplyDelete