Hi,
Seems like ages since I've been on here. Personally not getting bored of BT, but finding it increasingly difficult to stay competitive and solvent - Although in their own ways these problems are providing continued interest.
Currently positioned towards the back of tightly knotted packs in both FC and OD third divisions, with an equal chance of title or wooden spoon. I'm slightly more confident of survival in FC, despite there only being four safety spots, and having drawn four of my first six matches, (with another almost nailed on this week.) At 5th ATM, around ten points off safety and thirty or so off the leaders, I do however have more batting bonus points than any other side in the league, and if I could just persuade a bowler or two to stay fit for more than a week at a time, then I could easily pick up the three or four required victories in the second half of the season.
In OD, HDS has been the real surprise package of this season, on 16pts in 3rd. I'm really looking forward to our clash on Friday, should be fascinating, as I reckon I've got the best two or three players, but he's got much more quality in depth. Though in truth there are no stand-out sides in our league, as is reflected in the table, with six points separating 2nd/7th - (I'm 5th)
Money is a real concern, with a wage-bill of £214K, and my knackered confidence meaning that I can only attract 28 or 29K spectators into my 40K stadium. I only see black writing on the weekly statement if I have both a home OD and FC game in the same week, and I'm currently labouring under a £650K operating loss for the season.
So allow me to re-introduce you to the Cymru Gurgitaters - Or at least the 13 players worth mentioning.
1. Doug Greening-26. Prof Stam, Exq/Sens Bat, Strong Field - (1 Bat)
(I know I shouldn't really be training Greening at his age, but it's mainly a feature of my worsening financial Situation. He's already at least 3/4 up Exq, and if I were forced to sell him in the future, there'd be around a £3/£4M difference in the price for a high Exq and a low Mast.)
2. Matthew Akhtar-21. Resp Stam, Exc/Strong Bat. (2 Bat)
(Hoping he'll be half way up Sens by the end of the season, and will go on to be better than Greening. Will add a fielding net as soon as Greening pops.)
3. Alton Staveley-27. Prof Stam, Wond/Qual Bat.
(I guess you can call Staveley my Cuss. My first decent YP, way back in season 2, he was formerly The Gurs' pin-up boy. Even though others have now superseded him, he's still good enough to merit a place in the top six, most likely for the remainder of his career.)
4.+. Joe Noon-26. Prof Stam, Wond WK, Rem/Elite+1 Bat.
(My most consistent batsman, not getting the huge scores of Greening, but passing say 35 on a more regular basis. WK slightly disappointing, but not really a pressing issue.)
5.(Sometimes B5.) Bill Jeffery-28. Prof Stam, Strong/Prof Bat, Strong/Strong LHS, Resp Field.
(Could really do with replacing him, but don't have the readies, and in fairness he continues to punch above his weight, especially with the bat. With wages of nearly £7K, reckon he must be close to Sup in both disciplines, which goes some way to explaining his modest success.)
6.*. Neale Patel-27. Resp Stam, Strong/Resp Bat, Comp Field, Sup/Rem CPT.
(Again could do with replacing, hopefully via Yps in the fullness of time. In the meantime he makes an awesome skipper, albeit out of the Mike brearly mould.)
7.B3. Colin Lombard-27. Sup Stam, Prof/Sup Bat, Qual/Qual RHS.
(Not really adequate with the bat, especially at No.7, but has been a revelation with the ball, 77 OD wickets in 20 games at 16 - much better than you could reasonably expect from a Qual. Goes to show that Sup Stam must have a much bigger impact than I'd reckoned upon.)
8. (F)rank Mohammed-24. Med Stam, Strong/Feeb Bat.
(There purely to add depth to the batting, though soon to be replaced by Siyabonga below)
9.B2. Jon Wilde-23. Prof Stam, Feeb/Med Bat, Wond/Rem RM, (1 Bowl)
(Allowing him to tick over on one net until the end of next season, when he'll hopefully be something along the lines of Sens/Exc, by which time he and Bewers will form a pretty tight B4/5 finish.)
10.B1. Gene Bewers-26. Prof Stam, Feeb/Feeb Bat, Exc/Wond LM.
(Was cutting edge three or four seasons ago, still would get in most people's attack, but not really good enough to be the spearhead in Div III any longer. Hence why I'm training up two new quicks, with Bewers and Wilde eventually moving to the death overs)
11.B4. Dirk Katleho-20. Prof Stam, Rem/Resp RF, (2 Bowl).
(Like Garlic Bread, 'he's the future!'. Ragged at the moment, he'll get a fielding net at some stage next season which should address some of his worst excesses. Set to nudge Exc by the end of the season, and go on to a minimum of Mast.)
12. Keith Benamar-19. Comp Stam, Rem/Prof RFM, (2 Bowl).
(Lack of Stam means he's rarely available yet, but he will eventually be my best bowler, and Dest temperament means he'll more than likely be the main wicket-taker. Will be Wond by the end of the season, and if I train him until his mid twenties, he has an outside chance of being The Gurs' first Elite player one day.)
13. Craig Siyabonga-17. Feeb Stam, Resp/Resp Bat, Resp Field (2 Bat)
(Should hit Prof by the end of the season, and will replace Mohammed in the 1st XI by mid-way through next season, although my ambitions for him by no means end there. In four or five seasons time he'll rival Akhtar for the mantle of best bat.)
Not entirely happy with the changes announced on Sunday. I, I don't always have access to a computer on the weekends, so I won't be able to check training and Stam ahead of Cup and friendlies. II, personally I prefer the subtlety of FC to the bish bash bosh of BT20, which is over by lunch time, leaving me nothing to do in the afternoon but work! And III, shortening the season lessens the potential of trainees, and knackers up my training regime, as I was using those three or four weeks down time as a stamina fat camp.
Well good to be back, I'll try not to leave it as long next time. So now the rest of you pull your fingers out of your arses and post your own mid-season reports.
Later, Trev
