and here's my post from 4 months ago disputing that claim.
I think Gilkes has one or two shield matches as a keeper
I'm not really sure sacking the coach does much of anything. NSW has essentially been failing for close to a decade now regardless of coach. We have a couple of shields in that time, mainly due to test players helping us to wins earlier in the season and then some big knocks from Henriques to help get us a couple more wins over the season. They've failed at both being a good team and identifying talent. The institution seems to be broken as it's happening regardless of the big names in change.
What's forgotten sometimes is that NSW for a long time basically refused to pick youth. We instead brought back Ed Cowan, Nathan Lyon and Chris Tremain. We somehow gave shield caps to two spinners who would go onto play international cricket for other countries. Daniel Solway and Harry Conway debuted years after they finished in the junior pathways. Nick Larkin was a sick joke, a 30yo averaging 29 over 35 games. There was that season in maybe 2018/19 where Sean Abbott batted 7 for most of it and I think averaged about 7.
Sangha and Edwards are the two we can point to, but even, they had a season where they got picked for basically every game...and then the next season they basically refused to pick them. Which is a classic NSW move, stick and pick, and then dump at the end of the season and find a new stick and pick. They only really returned to being picked all the time after NSW was bowled out for 32 in the 2020/21 season. Even in morgieb's post, it's worth noting that Hunt, Ward (and I'd add Solway as well as he should have been given a lengthy shot at opening) were not fighting with Sangha and Edwards, they were fighting with Hughes and Larkin. (After the 32ao, they then went full youth and used Gilkes as opener for a little bit)
edit and of course, there was that time they seemed to decide that they simply couldn't be ****ed with MadDog and didn't offer him a contract.
and my post from 2021 when people tried to pretend Daniel Solway being delisted was problematic
But really, your post is all wrong. It's twisting the narrative around. [Solway] didn't get dropped for Sangha/Edwards until he played 6 games this season for an average of 24 and NSW got rolled for 32. Hardly a shock he got dropped after that. Teams tend to make changes when they suck all season and get embarrassed. It's something to do with making them earn it. Solway made a ton on debut, and then over the next 12 games averaged 32. He missed some games and got shuffled around the order when Aus players came back to the team, which is perfectly fine. It's hardly a hard luck story. This ain't like when NSW just decided Mad Dog was too hard to handle.
If there's one hack player, one once a season knock player that screwed Solway over, it ain't Sangha, it ain't Edwards, it ain't Gilkes. It's Nick Larkin and just because he's a old **** doesn't mean he can avoid the blame. Larkin should have been cut yonks ago because it was perfectly clear he was barely shield standard despite 2nd XI and Grade runs and we wasted game after game into him. Solway could have possibly made the opening spot his own if it wasn't for Larkin wasting everyone's time. Now, I will absolutely agree that there's an element of Solway being thrown out with the bathwater here because Larkin and Hughes sucked eggs last season and made every single innings for NSW difficult, but Solway sucked too.
NSW has spent most of the past 10 seasons completely ignoring youth, bar one season when Edwards and Sangha got games, and then they got ignored for the next 18 months anyway, but the results aren't actually there for NSW. Larkin averaged under 30. Hughes is slipping to mid 30's with most of his runs from the last two seasons coming from two games. Solway averaged 32 over his last 10 games. And NSW have won two shields in that time, one in 2013-2014 and one in the Covid affected season, which we got early wins when we had Warner and Smith around, and would have probably struggled in a final. We've been saved recently by having Steve Smith and David Warner play a few more games than usual, and Mosies Henriques batting like a God. It's not a surprise NSW are moving in a new direction because the old direction wasn't taking them anywhere anyway.
They've given way too many contracts to OD/T20 folk, and I kinda figured Copeland would get the tap on the shoulder. Not sure what the point of recruiting Tremain was, I figured he was going to be the steady vet replacing Copeland but now there's a 50/50 chance they both disappear next season.
NSW has been rotten for close to 10 years now. It seems to happen no matter who the coach is, who the head of male performance is, who the captain is. For as long as I've been following NSW they seemed to have a pick and stick approach: you're in the team/around the team this season, therefore you will be in the team/around the team no matter what. In a way this is cool. any **** can have two bad games in a row and get dumped. giving time and patience is great. until it turns out you've wasted a season or two on a **** ****.
the current 'youngsters' get the blame, even though Jason Sangha being kept around isn't any different to Tasmania keeping Jake Doran or Caleb Jewell in the team. You look around and you see Victoria keeping Travis Dean around, who I see has now passed the Nick Larkin marker: his age is now higher than his FC average. Jake Lehmann has now been named captain of SA. I get NSW should expect better but even mighty WA kept around Hilton Cartwright a few years ago when he had 2-3 shithouse seasons when he should have been approaching his prime
Nic Maddinson and Kurtis Patterson are the key to NSW's malaise. They came in as teenagers and scored tons on debut....and over 10 years later one is gone, and the other probably needs to have serious questions asked about him, and both have NSW averages under 40 and 2-3 test careers. And then Maddinson goes onto average 18 more for Vic than he did NSW. Patterson didn't sacked like Maddinson did, instead he got the captaincy...and his average has kept on slipping. People moan about Henry Hunt and Tim Ward (and 10-13 years ago, it was Daniel Chirstian, Ed Cowan, Jackson Bird and other NSW players who pushed for international careers outside of NSW the subject of this concern) but the reality is we don't know if Hunt and Ward perform like they initially have for TAS and SA if they get NSW opportunities., the place is rotten, particularly for batters, and it affects players of all ages. It's simplistic to assume Ward or Hunt comes into NSW and perform like they have (and again like my point 2 years ago, it was
older players to Ward and Hunt that kept them out of the NSW team)
Nathan McAndrew got games for Thunder for years and I think everytime he came in people cited him as an example of how the BBL sucks. It's great he's taken a step-up but he was hardly 17yo Pat Cummins. And I do think it's **** that games are going to Chris Tremain instead but that's a key NSW problem, I think Peter Nevill 15 years ago or whatever is the last non-NSW/ACT player to be recruited for NSW...well him and Mason Crane, but we've recruited Ryan Carters, Nathan Lyon, Ed Cowan and Chris Tremain to "bring them home" or whatever
