Somerset
First or Second string?
By Grockle et al
October 28 2015
What is Somerset now? Under Matthew Maynard have we turned a corner or are we accepting our limits and operating at a lower level of expectations and targets for the 2016 season. Some supporters are already questioning whether we can compete in the new season before the last season is cold in its grave... is MM one of them?
While sat in Wahiba Sands in the last few days (a desert area of the Oman hinterland) I had a bit of time to think about the last season and our reported plans for the new one. I'm not sure how I feel about statements made that seem to suggest that my county is setting its sights lower for 2016 than recently. Maybe that is a level of realism that Maynard is bringing to the party but I've not heard those kind of statements before and I'm personally not sure whether I like it or not.... I really don't think I do.
2015 was NOT good. I've read a number of things about personal achievements James Hildreth, Marcus, Jack Leach, Tom Abell and a few others. Unfortunately it didn't really make the season all that much easier to watch, though there were moments. It won us nothing and our only team achievement was to beat the drop in the last game of the season.
We've talked a lot about the players who came and went and we;ve talked about the plans for the replacement of certain weakness with new strength but do we see it?
Chris Rogers is an undoubted strength. Everything about him suggests he will make our batting more solid and productive. With the development of Tom Abell and with the resurgence at the end of the season of Marcus Trescothick it bodes well for the top 3, a real weakness in the summer. James Hildreth was the best thing of the season. He confirmed that he is the best non international Englishman in the county game time and time again and at times he was simply brilliant. Another season like that and he will elongate the batting line up.
BUT where is Number 5? Tom Cooper has gone. Alex Barrow is unconvincing. Johann Myburgh may be something but he is a gamble. Jim Allenby was not the solution during the whole season. Craig Meschede does not seem to have made the move up to a front end batsman during his time with Glamorgan though it is good to see him back. Welcome Reolof van der Merwe but I don't think he is that batsman either. I put my faith in Adam Hose. I liked him a lot and I think he can make that step up to four day cricket.
The middle order is still unconvincing overall, there are more of them but they are all inconsistent bits and bobs people. Allenby, Trego, Gregory, Meschede, Barrow and young Davis - new but untried. Will they be a powerhouse of batsmen building on a stronger front end and taking the side over 300 more often before the 6th wicket goes down? It's all a bit uncertain, the talent is there, the experience is there but the results are not always what they should be. Will they be up to being the extras in the batting AND the bowling? These are the men who will add the cream or create the hole.
We have moved along on the bowling front. We have nailed our colours to youth, out goes Alf - a move I appluad though how we will miss those days of brilliance the man provided many many times. We put more experience pressure on Tim Groenewald but we demand from the new crop. The Overtons are now fundamental to our future. After the lack or resurgence of George Dockrell, Jack Leach IS our spinner - I'm excited about that, he was such fun at the end of the season and took to the role with panache and commitment. We must be looking to Max Waller to back him up in more than a few games and Josh Davey needs to come to the party in the new season because I don't see others........ Our bowling has been missing a significant seamer for a while to help Craig Overton hold the line. I don't see them yet... some prospects but no concrete 'lay your money down' player. MM seems to want a lefty, Footit was an option but he's gone. Where do we go next and when?
I like a lot of the names in this squad but it seems like the management are prepping us for a season that may not sparkle.... do they have faith in the names? I have a lingering message that says... we may not do much in the CC but I'm afraid I am not willing to accept that as a stance.
Somerset MUST compete in the premier domestic tournament. It is their future - without it they are nothing but a marginal side. One day success and T20 titles are welcome and progress BUT they are not stature and they do not confer the status the county needs.
I hope to see a bolstering of our four day CC possibilities as well as re-signing the likes of Gayle for the T20 and talking up our short form cricket. I want four day success, we need four day success and supporters will be demanding four day success. We will not be an international ground without it and we will not be the side we want to be if we put it to one side.
Hope you are listening Matthew
Digg
Delicious
Facebook
Reddit
Stumbleupon28/10/2015 13:26
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015:12:19:11:16:19 by Grockle.
I imagine RvdM has been signed to bat at 5, which at least means we have a bit more competition for 5-9 than in 2015.
PS welcome back everyone 😊
OLD BOY!
Nevertheless welcome back everyone. Hope you coped.
I tend to the view that RvdM will do better than expected at number 5, and also that the Overtons + Jack will cause a few headaches for the opposition.
All in all, felling more optimistic about 2016 than over recent years.
Would still like to see the Captaincy changed, and please, please let us start a whole load better next season !
Grizzzly
But I'm also glad to say that I think the man is wrong anyway.
He is saying that we have a relatively better chance in the white ball cricket but I personally think we'll be stronger in the CC than in the white ball stuff, particularly with the addition of Rogers.
Most of our players (Roelof may proven an exception) are better red ball cricketers than white ball ones, IMO. Therefore, Maynard's stance on the relative likelihood of success in the various competitions makes no real sense to me at all.
Tresco - better in red ball
Rogers - better in red ball
Abell - better in ref ball
Hildreth - better in red ball
Gregory - better in red ball
Craig O - better in red ball
Jack - probably better in red ball
Maybe Roelof and Josh Davey will be better in white ball but I think that's about it? Oh and I suppose Allenby.
We usually managed strong first-innings totals at home (albeit with a collapse sometimes thrown in once we'd psssed 200 or 250 or so).
Away from home we often collapsed right from the start of our first knocks. We did well, late season, at Hove, and got a surprisingly good first-innings score at Trent Bridge. Other than that I doubt we scoted very many batting bonus points on our travels?
But our home surfaces were so good that we piled up home batting bonus points and ended up with a relatively high total partly by dint of having eight home first innings in TA1 vs one for every other team.
Tres
Abell
Rogers
Hildreth
van der Merwe
Tregs/Allenby
C Overton
Gregory
Davies/Barrow
Groenewald/J Overton
Leach
We have Hose and Myburgh as back up in the batting, which does feel a fair bit stronger with Rogers and van der Merwe in there. I think Tregs should play at 6 and is pivotal to our success if he can continue to chip in with wickets and runs. This means I find it hard to manoeuvre Allenby into the team, although I do have a hunch he is capable of much better than he showed last year, especially with the bat.
As much as I like the idea of having a specialist keeper, not having one capable of batting in the top 6 nowadays is definitely a disadvantage. It rather begs the question, why get rid of Bates if our options this year are unlikely to average significantly higher than him, at least initially, with the bat? Maybe Maynard has pulled a rabbit out of the hat with Davies. We'll have to see. Good luck to the lad anyhow, it's a big opportunity for him and I'm willing him to take it.
Meschede is good all-round back up but with our bowling, a lot rests on the shoulders of the inconsistent Gregory and the erratic Jamie Overton to step up and show their best form. If they do, we suddenly become a very dangerous side. As ever in the Championship, consistency will be the key.
IF the bowling comes good we are very dangerous. IF it doesn't 20 wickets looks a long way off against most sides. It's why I'd like to see some seam investment before the start of April because I don't want to rely too much on Jamie, Lewis and Josh to support Craig and the occasionally consistent Tim.
The batting looks better than people give it credit I think. I also believe that Hose is going to come good - I'd have been happy to see a gamble on him at the end of last season, I don't think he would have let us down.
Also agree about Bates - unless Davis has something we seem to have replaced something we had a level of certainty about with a complete gamble. They MUST have seen something surely.
Abell
Rogers
Hildreth
van der Merwe
Tregs/Allenby
C Overton
Gregory
Davies/Barrow
Groenewald/J Overton
Leach "
I suspect that we will find that Mr Maynard will probably continue to pick both of Trego and Allenby - at least at the start of the season. I wouldn't be surprised if - early season - we went in without a specialist spinner on the basis that Roelof can "do a job," with the ball. Therefore Allenby would presumably be at 6 and Pete at 7 and everyone else bar Leach would move down one place from your team, Mr Dredge.
Later in the season, I think your team above will probably be roughly what we end up with, although I could see Trego missing out with Mr Maynard being keen to keep picking Allenby, in whom he seems to have a lot of faith.
Personally, I would like an extra pace option in the squad as I think we need to replace Alf, and have yet to do so. Jamie seemed to come on rather well towards the end of last season, which is promising, but I'm afraid that I don't see TG as a CC1 wicket-taker other than when conditions are loaded in favour of the bowler.
If Craig Meschede could regain the bowling form that he showed at the end of the 2013 season (where he was our best bowler, bar none, IMO) then that would be a huge boost for us, bowling options wise.
Let's hope that Josh Davey can bring something to the table in red ball cricket too.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2015:11:01:18:27:52 by stevecav.
Trescothick
Abell
Rogers
Hildreth
VDM
Allenby
Trego
Gregory
Davies
Overton
Leach
I really don't think it is essential to have a top 6 wicketkeeper when we have so many all-rounders.
Each year my health becomes the major factor in my seeing SCCC as champions.
Always hopeful of course but...................
LoL
Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter
LoL
Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter
Personally I believe Matthew is deliberately playing down our CC chances, a cunning Welsh like tactic that has worked wonders with the national rugby side for decades.
From where I'm sitting we have an exciting blend of experience and untapped, some may say raw, youth....the perfect combination in anybody's book.
If managed properly.
Whatever the score I agree with LoL, it's absolute insanity to write off our chances for the new season before the first Lidl Christmas advert has hit our television screens.
When I go to the 20/20 games my first priority is to find a seat where the ruddy tannoy can't reach me!!
Old Boy!!
More Somerset headlines
- MetroBank Game 3 - v Warks and a change of Weather
- Metro50 Game1 - Welcome to the next stage - Notts at Welbeck
- Blast Finals Day Semi 1 - It's Northants Again!!
- Blast Quarter Final Here We Go at Headingley
- Blast Game 12 - Simple Beat the Pears!!
- Women's Blast Game 12 - Fanx Tara Towie
- Blast Game 11 - Northants Part 2 - Gregory Back?
- Women's Blast Game 11 - Blazing Away\!!
- Blast Game 10 - Derby to the Wire as well
Somerset latest threads
- MetroBank Game 3 - v Warks and a change of Weather
- Poll: 2026 Best Blast Player
- Poll: Best CC1 Player Part 1
- Metrobank 50 Game2 - Home Derby
- Members online forum - the future of SCCC
- Metro50 Game1 - Welcome to the next stage - Notts at Welbeck
- Blast Finals Day Semi 1 - It's Northants Again!!
- RIP the GREAT Gary Sobers
- Metro50 NOT "Developmental" by choice
- Blast Quarter Final Here We Go at Headingley