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*Official* England\UK off-season 2008/09 \ build-up to 2009 season thread

Richard

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Chubb said:
I don't know if you've read his diary of the 2003 season, but the argument was apparently sparked by what Smith wrote about Symonds in it. I can't understand it myself, because all Smith does is poke a little fun at how stereotypically Australian Symonds is- he fishes, hunts pigs, and swears if things go wrong on the pitch.
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Always struck me as Symonds just didn't like Smith because he was too smart.

It's disappointing, incidentally, that Smith did any journeyman-ing at all. As I say, had all gone well I'm sure he'd have been a one-county man.
 
Woodster

Woodster

International Captain
Yes I read Smith's diary from the 2003 season, thought it was excellent. If I remember rightly it was a real in-depth kind look at life as a County cricketer.

It's a shame he's gone, he was a more than decent batsman in full flow, who has consistently scored runs. He passed 1,000 first-class runs every season (barring his injury ravaged 2008) since 2001.

An obviously clever man and a deep thinker about the game. thought he may have made a greater impact as a skipper, maybe he would have given time, but as a batsman he was a fine player.

I'm very surprised he's decided to call it a day at 31.
 
BoyBrumby

BoyBrumby

Englishman
Woodster said:
Yes I read Smith's diary from the 2003 season, thought it was excellent. If I remember rightly it was a real in-depth kind look at life as a County cricketer.

It's a shame he's gone, he was a more than decent batsman in full flow, who has consistently scored runs. He passed 1,000 first-class runs every season (barring his injury ravaged 2008) since 2001.

An obviously clever man and a deep thinker about the game. thought he may have made a greater impact as a skipper, maybe he would have given time, but as a batsman he was a fine player.

I'm very surprised he's decided to call it a day at 31.
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On & Off The Field is a great read. Sits on my bookcase about five feet from where I type between Leo McKinstry's Boycs & Clem Thomas's History of The British Lions. Outs himself as an unlikely Bruce Springsteen fanatic and has refreshingly little truck with the team-building exercises that are so in vogue just now, reasoning that all the crap teams almost certainly do the same exercises as the successful ones.

Sad that one of the few cricketers with a genuinely interesting mental hinterland has given it away at such a ridiculously early age. ****'s younger than me!! :-O

With Alex Louden hanging up his spikes before last season one wonders if the days of the cricketer as brainbox are numbered.
 
Richard

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
I see, however, that Ian Fisher has signed for Worcestershire. Interesting signing that, suggesting Fisher is quite happy to be a reserve player, given his batting is nowhere near the level of Gareth Batty's and Batty's spin, while far from superlative, is established as OK-ish in the county game, while Fisher's isn't and never has been. And the chances of Worcs playing two spinners next season is extremely slim, with seam of the calibre of Noffke, Kabir Ali, Mason, Simon Jones and Imran Arif to call on.

Mind, I've always been a bit disappointed Fisher hasn't made more of his career. He's not remotely close to befitting the line of Yorkshire left-arm fingerspinners Peate, Peel, Rhodes, Verity, Wardle, etc. But I always thought he had the potential to be a decent bowler on a turning pitch, and was disappointed Yorkshire went with Richard Dawson (and now David Wainwright) ahead of him, as well as the wristspin of Lawson who as I've mentioned several times I don't rate and never have.

Spin is rarely much use at Headingley, but there's the odd ground this country where it is, and I've wished more than once that Yorkshire still had Fisher at such grounds. It's a shame, for mine, that he's ended-up with a journeyman career.
 
Richard

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
BTW, as the inter-county movements really start to flow, something I've been wondering when having my weekly(ish) look at Australian domestic cricket earlier...

I couldn't be arsed to do it myself, but if someone (Cribb, Smith etc.) fancied it, I wonder how many Australians are playing for their "home" state and how many for a state they've moved to as an adult. Never mind whether it's someone like Watson who's left then returned to their home state, and never mind whether they represented their home state at First-Class level or not.
 
superkingdave

superkingdave

Hall of Fame Member
Lancashire have signed Adrian Shankar, decent signing he did well for the seconds on trial this year and we don't have a surfeit of batsmen ready to step in to the first XI. Turned down a few other offers as well
 
superkingdave

superkingdave

Hall of Fame Member
Also to note that Pete Marron left as groundsman a while ago to become a 'consultant'' and has been replaced by Matt Merchant. Marron is going to be involved as a consultant in the square re-orientation though.

Although Marron was good for creating Test wickets, he continually churned out featherbeds for Lancashire which didn't help any title challenges we had so hopefully this might change now.
 
morgieb

morgieb

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Richard said:
I couldn't be arsed to do it myself, but if someone (Cribb, Smith etc.) fancied it, I wonder how many Australians are playing for their "home" state and how many for a state they've moved to as an adult. Never mind whether it's someone like Watson who's left then returned to their home state, and never mind whether they represented their home state at First-Class level or not.
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I'm pretty sure most Aussies play for their home state. Katich seems to be a rare exemption.
 
morgieb

morgieb

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Jon Lewis has stood down as captain of Gloucestershire. ITSTL. Also, Neil Saker & Richard Clinton have left Surrey.
 
morgieb

morgieb

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Richard said:
Real shame that, 31 years old, he should be in the prime of his career, not retiring. Must be said, though, he looks a hell of a lot older than that:


Always thought it was really disappointing that Smith left Kent, thanks to Andrew Symonds. 8-) He was Kent through-and-through, had served the county well and if all had continued to go well he could've been with them to 2013 or 2014. Sadly, an unexceptional overseas-player who was only at the county for the short-term forced him out.

Fulton-Key-Dravid-Smith-Wells-Walker was potentially one of the strongest county batting-line-ups I've ever seen. Such a shame Fulton and Wells were both totally out-of-nick that season.
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****. With Joyce & Smith gone, Middlesex's batting lineup will be dire.
 
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