*Official* UK off-season 2009/10

[zaremba]

Is James Kirtley still under contract Mr Z? - can't imagine he's going to be around much next season - looks like there may be a few changes at Hove

Yes JK is hanging on I think. Assuming we sign Pushy rather than (say) Chairman Arafat next season, the pace-bowling cupboard looks bare. There's no shortage of seamers (Kirtley, RMJ, Smith, Liddle, Aga, Sandri, Wright). The problem is they're not very good.

 

[fredfertang]

It has to said that Sussex's seam attack is about as impressive as Lancashire's batting lineup

 

[Beamer]

Yes JK is hanging on I think. Assuming we sign Pushy rather than (say) Chairman Arafat next season, the pace-bowling cupboard looks bare. There's no shortage of seamers (Kirtley, RMJ, Smith, Liddle, Aga, Sandri, Wright). The problem is they're not very good.

Dwayne won't be around next season for 4 day or 1 day cricket either and if you look at the scorecards he has been bowling an awful lot of overs for Sussex.

Surely an overseas seamer with express pace is the order of the day? It would make a huge difference to the attack and would allow Sussex to give Will Beer some 4 day experience as the teams designated leg spinner.

 

[zaremba]

You're quite right, Dwayne won't be coming back but we can add Collymore to the list in his place. Whether or not that pace attack will be good enough for Div 2, and whether its deficiencies can be made up for by the spin department, only time will tell.

 

[zaremba]

The highly promising young English all-rounder Tom Smith has signed for Middlesex on a 3-year deal.

In other news, Carl Hopkinson (who hit a century against the Aussies this summer) has retired from cricket at the age of 28 to join the coaching staff at Sussex, but may be available to play in case of emergencies.

 

[fredfertang]

That was a worrying few moments - as ours arrived on the scene first that one should either be called Tommy or Thomas or required to change some part of his name completely

 

[Richard]

Jason Lewry has retired from Sussex. There's an interesting article from the Argus here.

On his England chances:

“If I had been good enough I would have played. I felt I had the ability but I would never have been strong enough to cope with the pressure of stepping up to the next level. I don’t like travelling or being away from home for long – Manchester is long enough away for me. I found my level at Sussex and was happy with that.”

He took 621 FC wickets @ 27.

Also he was injury-prone a fair bit inconsistent in his earlier years.

Superb bowler when all was right though and one I enjoyed watching bowl well more than most.

Probably about the right time to retire TBH.

 

[Richard]

BTW must say it's disappointing to see Stubbings and Birch forced-out of Derbyshire by South African Madsen, but perhaps inevitable. Same story with several Middlesex stalwarts last season (and still a little this). Good, on the other hand, to see several ex-Kolpak departures already - hopefully many more to follow.

And out of all the retirements so far (Lewry, Pipe, Gallian, Wharf, Crawley, Saggers, Nash, Ealham, Gazzard, Caddick, Butcher, Vaughan) the only ones I'd describe as potentially premature are the two wicketkeeper-batsmen (Gazzard is merely a wicketkeeper), Nash and Pipe - neither that old and both still good. I guess they both have new interests to be pursuing. The rest all were either excellent players whose time has come or never that good ITFP.

 

[superkingdave]

Hopefully Nash's retirement means Simpson will be gettign opportunities at Middlesex next year, he never got a fair go at Lancs

 

[Anna]

Are Tom Smith and Gareth Cross returning to St Kilda?

If only Tom Smith would come to Warwickshire....

other interesting news from Lancs. We have signed Gary Montgomery

He's been playing for the seconds the latter part of the year and did well, presumably why we signed him (he's a seam bowler). But the interesting part is he is 26, and he's a former professional keeper with Grimsby, Rotherham and Coventry.

He also played a few games for Warwickshire 2nds this season, but I think their view is that they have plenty of seamers to be getting on with at the moment.

BTW must say it's disappointing to see Stubbings and Birch forced-out of Derbyshire by South African Madsen, but perhaps inevitable. Same story with several Middlesex stalwarts last season (and still a little this). Good, on the other hand, to see several ex-Kolpak departures already - hopefully many more to follow.

And out of all the retirements so far (Lewry, Pipe, Gallian, Wharf, Crawley, Saggers, Nash, Ealham, Gazzard, Caddick, Butcher, Vaughan) the only ones I'd describe as potentially premature are the two wicketkeeper-batsmen (Gazzard is merely a wicketkeeper), Nash and Pipe - neither that old and both still good. I guess they both have new interests to be pursuing. The rest all were either excellent players whose time has come or never that good ITFP.

Er, he does bat too.

On another matter, what do people think of Murali Kartik's chances at Somerset next season?

 

[superkingdave]

Steven Mullaney has turned down a 2 year contract to look for somewhere else. Would hope he's been offered a deal somewhere where he'll get more first team chances because i can't see why he'd turn down a 2 year deal otherwise.


Would not at all be surprised to see him at Worcs next year. Also wouldn't be surprised, but extremely dissapointed from a Lancashire point of view, if Cross was to move to new road.

 

[zaremba]

Slurrey reportedly seeking to sign Rob Key and Luke Wright. Apparently Slurrey are offering to treble Wright's Sussex wages. However he has a year left on his contract and I can't see Sussex releasing him without substantial compensation.

There are also reports that they want to sign Pushy.

Slurrey have also offered huge amounts of money to another Sussex player who I'm not allowed to name, but who's not interested (it's not Chris Nash, contrary to CMJ's assertion in the Times last week).

 

[Richard]

Er, he does bat too.

Well yes but so do I, just very poorly. Gazzard (though he's obviously miles better than me) is by county standards a very poor batsman indeed. So thus he's merely a wicketkeeper.

On another matter, what do people think of Murali Kartik's chances at Somerset next season?

Not good, terrible career move for any bowler, especially a spinner, to choose to play on that postage-stamp.

 

[Richard]

Slurrey reportedly seeking to sign Rob Key and Luke Wright. Apparently Slurrey are offering to treble Wright's Sussex wages. However he has a year left on his contract and I can't see Sussex releasing him without substantial compensation.

There are also reports that they want to sign Pushy.

Pushy?

Would be ridiculous for Key to leave Kent for Surrey. Just can't see anything much in that for him.

As for Wright well I don't rate his chances whether he plays for Leics, Sussex or Surrey, so I can't really say I'm bothered about that.

 

[zaremba]

Pushy?

Piyush Chawla

 

[zaremba]

Would be ridiculous for Key to leave Kent for Surrey. Just can't see anything much in that for him.

I agree, but the money they're apparently throwing around is enormous, and he has to look after his future. Those modelling contracts won't last for ever.

 

[Richard]

Piyush Chawla

Ah I see. Well Surrey have a tradition of mysteriously indecipherable subcontinental spinners as overseas-players; Sussex have much more of a tradition for classically brilliant Australian batsmen (thinking Bevan and Goodwin there of course). So I'd not be sorry to see that particular move.

 

[Richard]

I agree, but the money they're apparently throwing around is enormous, and he has to look after his future. Those modelling contracts won't last for ever.

I'm surprised if Surrey can offer a substantially larger amount than Kent; had always imagined that, Test ground or no Test ground, Kent were a well-off county (especially if they can afford to employ 5 or 6 high-class overseas former\future-international players - think van Jaarsveld, Dexter, Kemp, McLaren, Azhar Mahmood, Yasir Arafat, Parnell; the less charitable would argue Geraint Jones and Amjad Khan as well) and Surrey have hardly excelled in recent years.

And yet again it's baffling to see Surrey forgoing the one area they remain, presently, competent in home-grown development (ie, opening batsmen) in favour of imports. At least, unlike Michael Brown, Key is a serious class player. But you'd think they'd do better to focus on getting hold of some vaguely decent bowlers (they've a more than acceptable imported middle-order in Ramprakash, Walters, Afzaal and Davies) than in investing in something that's already one of their few strengths.

 

[Jarquis]

There are also reports that they want to sign Pushy.

Slurrey have also offered huge amounts of money to another Sussex player who I'm not allowed to name, but who's not interested (it's not Chris Nash, contrary to CMJ's assertion in the Times last week).

Don't like the sound of that. Logic would suggest big money = big player.

 

[zaremba]

Wonder if those Australians the Crooks will start playing for Northants again regular like now.

Steve Crook has been released by Northants. Andrew Crook left the Northants playing staff last season and I think took up a coaching or development role of some sort at Northants. In 2009 he played for Woodhall Spa in Lincs Premier League cricket, scoring 1,126 runs at 70+ and taking 42 wickets at 22. There has been interest in both of them from other counties but I don't think a cricketing return to Northants is particularly likely just now.

Steve Crook also has interests outside cricket: his band Juliet the Sun released their single, "Time For Heroes", on Monday. The video is online here. According to trusted source The Sun, the song inspired the England team to victory in the Ashes.