Re: Somerset at Ciderabad 25-28 Sept 2017
Jonathan Winsky
28 September, 2017 18:50
It is very disappointing that Middlesex have been relegated, but it is difficult to feel that we deserved to survive considering we fell a long way short of the levels of 2016. Obviously I would gladly accept a situation whereby Somerset’s penalty for a below average pitch is upgraded, but it would be a sad state of affairs of we were to be reprieved by something like that.
We will have to enter next season with the correct attitude, as a lot of teams will be keen to get the better of us, and a lot of opponents’ supporters would find it satisfying if our players show an arrogant attitude without backing it up. Warwickshire, Sussex and Durham will surely be fancied to get promoted, while Northamptonshire will be very keen too, as, like ourselves, Northants would be in division one next season were it not for a points deduction due to a slow over rate, as
they suffered a five-point deduction away v Nottinghamshire, and went on to finish five points behind Notts. As Northants won two more matches than Notts, another five points would have been enough. As for the other teams in the division, they will all start the season saying they would like to push for promotion, although it sometimes happens that they lose interest in the County Championship and concentrate on limited-overs matches if their limited-overs performances are better than their Championship performances.
I don’t know how likely it is that Angus Fraser and/or in-contract players will leave. With regards to Gus, I don’t know who would take over. With regards to in-contract players, as has been said in some of the above posts, that would involve paying some players off, which I don’t know if we are willing to do. However, a clearout wouldn’t be the worst of things. Several players’ contracts expire in 2018, but it might be preferable to have a clearout this winter rather than 12 months later. We will certainly need to ensure we have enough quality to get promoted at our first attempt, although if we achieve that, our aim would then be to have a group of players who can deliver a few successful seasons back in division one. If we
do have a clearout and decide to make some signings, I imagine that we would be likelier to sign players from the upper echelons of divison two than players considered good enough to play every week in division one.