No 37, Dec 9 - The Grumbler's County Cricket Newsletter
Yorkshire look to rebuild | Lancashire's new ground | Coaching changes at Hants | Northants and Derbyshire overseas signings | All the latest player moves | Delay on 2022 fixture announcements
Rather boldly, I tweeted on Tuesday afternoon that this newsletter would be out before the Ashes started. It is now Thursday afternoon and the English pessimist in me is feeling our chances of bringing back the urn have already gone. Either that or I am cheesed off I missed a self-imposed deadline. Whatever the case, here’s another fortnightly slice of county cricket news. Aside from the low rumble of the Yorkshire saga and a couple of major overseas signings, it is pretty sparse. We don’t even have the fixtures to keep us interested over the festive period, see below.
Still, please share and enjoy this newsletter and hopefully I’ll squeeze in one more before Christmas.
News, Views and Interviews
Update from Yorkshire CCC - December 3 (Yorkshire CCC)
Yorkshire Post editorial calls for Gary Ballance axing following coaching staff clear-out (Wisden)
Gough named as Yorkshire’s Director of Cricket (Cricinfo)
DCMS chair backs Yorkshire coaching clear-out amid reports of player unrest (Wisden)
Wasim Akram shocked by English cricket racism scandal but says his own experience differs (National)
The Yorkshire racism saga has moved into the phase of clearing away the rubble and starting to rebuild. Darren Gough has joined as Director of Cricket but 16 staff have gone including Martyn Moxon and Andrew Gale. There have been further stories about Azeem Rafiq and the county game has been jolted into action. While David Hopps' piece (see directly below) argues that a lot of good (or at least likely innocent) has been thrown out with the bad and others have mentioned the standing down of Michael Vaughan from media work as a case of 'guilty until proven innocent', in my opinion all this is the price of previous actions. Or more to the point, inactions. Yorkshire prevaricated in the hope the issue would go away so they have lost staff, Tests, sponsors and, in all likelihood, Division One status. The charges against Essex are individual not institutional but they have also responded much more quickly with the departure of the Chairman and an internal investigation. Of course, this still cannot be lip service but it all proves that the waiting is over, nettles must be grasped in county cricket. As for Vaughan being likened to Piers Morgan. That is the precisely the reason he has so little credit in the bank with the wider cricket fanbase.
It seems that Rafiq was not a model professional but that does not undermine his evidence, especially when so many have spoken up after him. And remember, the likes of Michael Carberry were talking about the issue well before this. Wasim Akram's quotes (see story above) are illuminating but then, as we all know, employers act very differently when they want you and sport is particularly cruel when you are no longer critical to the team's success.
Sacked staff seek legal action after racism crisis prompts Yorkshire purge (Cricinfo)
Here’s the key passage from David Hopps’ piece:
“Among the other casualties are Paul Grayson, the batting coach who returned to the club less than three years ago, when Rafiq had already left, and so unless other evidence comes to light he can hardly be implicated in his allegations; and Dr Nigel Mayers, the club's medical officer, who has served the club for most of the century and who has committed much of his life to working in Kirkstall, a diverse Leeds ward. Wayne Morton, head of sports science and medicine, has gone, too - a man who once had to be pulled out of the crowd at Scarborough for his own safety after confronting a group of spectators who had been throwing bananas at the black Gloucestershire fast bowler, David 'Syd' Lawrence.”
Delaying the fixtures is a big blow to the counties, who have started marketing their 2022 Memberships in recent weeks. Yorkshire's position, Division One or Two, is a major issue but adding a fourth format to an already crowded schedule distracted a barely competent ECB last year.
The Daily Telegraph has reported that “the number of rounds of matches from June to August could be increased from two to three. Currently, the plan is for the Championship - which is returning to a traditional two-tier system next year - to take place regularly between April and the end of July."
Lancashire Cricket Club unveils new Farington ground plans (Lancashire CCC)
From the pictures this looks very nice and the concept of a 5,000-capacity second ground out of town seems beneficial. Could we ever see Championship games played here? The report says "Lancashire will continue to use the club's current grounds in Liverpool, Southport and Birkdale, Blackpool, and at Sedbergh School once the new facility has opened" in 2024 but the county game could be very, very different by then. Just look at what has happened in the last three years.
Essex County Cricket: Victim of coach Matthew Hyam speaks out (BBC)
A horrible, horrible case.
Murder Mystery: The Spying Game (Worcestershire CCC)
"Join us for an evening of murder, mystery and fine dining". There is a punchline in there somewhere.
One of the few upsides of the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named is the benefits it can bring to the women’s game. The metrics (not that any from this tournament are truly trustworthy) suggested it was a proper attraction not an ‘add-on’ or token. Their pay rise is justified. But how the men can get a 20 per cent bump when the tournament made a loss (again, accounting tricks aside) and its launch costs have virtually cleared out the ECB’s previously healthy reserves I don’t know. Perhaps we should ask the county staff who were laid off in the pandemic or, better still, the 60 ECB staff who were made redundant in its wake. But hey, as long as the execs get their bonuses and the stars can add another zero on the end of their salaries…
Please file this under B for bollocks in the bulging file of Pietersen nonsense. Perhaps he is just after attention again but it annoys me that someone who cares so little for the wider game is continually given such a platform. The word 'undercooked' has been used about this England team in Australia. Why can't we just use 'underprepared'. Some of it is Covid-related, some of it is on-field decisions and talent but the lack of recent red-ball cricket is utterly self-inflicted. Frankly we have prepared to fail and how this became a criticism of the county game I just don't know.
Players and Coaching Moves
Coaching: Thomas (Hampshire), Welch (Hampshire), Smith (Northamptonshire), Benkenstein (Gloucestershire)
Players: Shan Masood (Derbyshire), Salter, Cullen, McIlroy (Glamorgan), Cook (Essex), Young (Northamptonshire), Organ (Hampshire), Zahar (Gloucestershire), Van der Merwe (Somerset), White (Middlesex)
Tweet of the Week
The Cricket Supporters Association has made a little breakthrough. Join up, it’s free
Let’s interrupt this newsletter for a game of county cricket
Wasim Akram, mentioned above, was in the wickets in the Roses clash in the Sunday League at a packed Scarborough in 1988. Martin Tyler was on the commentary and it turned out to be a decent game. But I loved the crowd shots and the scenes at the end when spectators come on the pitch. Can we ever get this sort of county cricket back?
I fear, like so many aspects of life, we cannot recapture the past and so we should not try. It is best to move forward and attempt to build a positive, yet different, future. But always, always, always keep in mind your heritage and history.
Links I like…
Join the Cricket Supporters Association, it’s free
County Cricket Matters - Buy the magazine direct or on Kindle
Tweet of the Week 2
It is NOT casual. He is literally running as fast as he can and stretching as far as he can.
Finally…
Love Chance to Shine and this is a nice video on their Secondary School of the Year.
Finally, finally…
Yes, I am still plugging my book on county cricket and midlife.
Buy through Amazon or through me for an autographed copy
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