Well, it's been a while since I've properly posted here. But, having had a good look at my squad, I am feeling enthused once more and am now going about restructuring it with a view to hitting Div 1 and being financially sustainable.
Best XI:
1. Christopher Shaw (24yo) exq/sens bat
2. Nigel Whitehouse (22yo) sens/exc bat
3. Ranjeet Bhutia (27yo) mast/mast bat
4. Rory Holdsworth (25yo) exq/mast bat & exq/phon bowl
5. Bob Thabo (20yo) wond/qual bat
6. Jack Allot (21yo) sup/qual bat & exq/qual bowl
7. Farhan Jahanzeb (19yo) qual/resp bat & qual w/k
8. Stuart Houlihan (32yo) comp/comp bat
9. Everett Busby (23yo) exq/sens bowl
10. Richard Appleyard (22yo) sens/exc bowl
11. Rob Mulholland (26yo) mast/exq bowl
My side is decent but probably lacks batting depth. I have Shaw (exq), Whitehouse (sens), Bhutia (mast), Holdsworth (exq), Thabo (wond), Jahanzeb (qual) and Allott (sup) as my only capable batsman. These days, in Div 3, that basically means I have 4 people who can potentially make a score, 3 who can hold down an end on a good day (basically 2 given Jahanzeb is in a permanent state of fatigue) and 4 who are no good. I feel like I've invested too heavily in too few... really, if I'd eased up on Bhutia, Holdsworth and Shaw, at the expense of a level each perhaps, I could be looking at an extra exceptional or two, plus much healthier wages. Alas - I'm now looking to offload Bhutia in the short-term to go after a younger batsman, and ideally by the season's end, Holdsworth will be gone as well. Shaw is 24, Whitehouse 22, Thabo 20, Allott 21 and Jahanzeb 19 so there is a bit of youth there, something I've always valued above nearly all else in BT.
My bowling is arguably my strong point but I've yet to make them really click. Busby should be one of my stars but averages about 80 in OD this season. I haven't bothered to change my orders but it's clear he's no opening bowler. Appleyard is having an excellent season and has been my best bowler, maintaining a S/R of 20. The rest are solid without being outstanding. I am looking to phase out specialist bowlers so they will gradually be replaced with all-rounders over time. Mulholland is 26 so I want to ensure I get a decent price before he gets too old, and, along with Bhutia (those two are my oldest players), has been listed, £6.2m for Mullholland and £6.0m for Bhutia.
With the proceeds of those two sales I'm going to look at getting a decent allrounder, ideally wonderful+ in both primaries, who is in his early 20s, and then a young project batsman, probably around 18-19 because I would like some immediate return. My nets are as follows:
1 x fitness
1 x batting
1 x bowling
1 x fielding
Jack Allott - 21 yo, BT Rating=74,095
RH batsman, RM bowler. He is a destructive player with superb leadership skills and competent experience.
He currently has proficient batting form, strong bowling form and changeable fitness.
Stamina: strong Wicket Keeping: feeble
Batting: superb Concentration: quality
Bowling: exceptional Consistency: quality
Fielding: strong
1 x batting
1 x fielding
Bob Thabo - 20 yo, BT Rating=46,485
RH batsman, RM bowler. He is a destructive player with worthless leadership skills and mediocre experience.
He currently has superb batting form, superb bowling form and changeable fitness.
Stamina: superb Wicket Keeping: worthless
Batting: wonderful Concentration: quality
Bowling: abysmal Consistency: abysmal
Fielding: woeful
1 x fitness
2 x batting
1 x wicket-keeping
Farhan Jahanzeb - 19 yo, BT Rating=29,803
RH batsman, RFM bowler. He is an attacking player with proficient leadership skills and feeble experience.
He currently has abysmal batting form, superb bowling form and changeable fitness.
Stamina: respectable Wicket Keeping: quality
Batting: quality Concentration: respectable
Bowling: worthless Consistency: feeble
Fielding: worthless
Dependant on what my next few purchases are, I will most likely take Allott's fitness net once he hits superb, Thabo's fielding net once his conc reaches remarkable and Jahanzeb's 2nd batting once he hits remarkable. That will free up 3 nets which I can give to any incoming players.
My season itself is fairly middling. I'm Div 3 in FC & OD and Div 4 in BT20. I have a serious shot at promoting in FC provided everything goes to plan (which it never does) and I find replacements for Mulholland & Bhutia reasonably quickly. Currently coming 3rd, only 1 game off the top two and really I should beat them. OD, I am coming 3rd but no chance of catching first. I'm just aiming to come between 2nd and 4th. BT20 I am coming 2nd after a disappointing loss the other week to an average side, but if I play my cards right should promote back to Div 3.
I'm actually pretty confident in my squad at present but a lot will come down to how the sales of Bhutia & Mulholland go, and particularly who I replace them with. Otherwise I'm happy with the balance and youth I've got. It's just eye opening seeing College Dropouts now in Div 1 when not long ago they were in a similar position. Bring on the transfers I say...