Durhamfootman wrote:this year our preferred 3/4/5 averaged 21
looking ahead to next year, we have already taken steps to improve our opening batting pair, and Ben Raine will come in as our genuine all rounder no.6. Poynter at 7 seems popular with JJB, so I reckon that for all the talk of needing to bring in a couple of middle order batsmen, we are actually done in that area. Bancroft Lees and Steel seem set to become our top order, meaning we have Smith, Clark, Harte and Richardson fighting for 4 and 5. We might not be too happy with that arrangement, but I suspect JJB will be
So I can't see any more signings, tbh, particularly since both Wood and Weighell (depending on who is fit and available) provide batting cover at 8, and Rimmer (if he plays CC) and Potts (if fit) are more than adequate bats at 9
We need to do something about the pitches, because with this uncontested toss bollix, we are giving ourselves absolutely no chance to either garner batting points, or get ourselves into match winning positions. I absolutely don't buy this 'can't do anything with the pitches' rubbish. We used to have the opposite problem when they first banned the use of the heavy roller. Somewhere in the middle (no pun intended) there is a happy medium which we have to find or we will spend a very long time in div 2.
According to Colly the other night he thinks that the batch of Duke balls this year were abnormal and seamed around all over the place. He actually praised the groundsman and said bowling with the White kookaburra balls made the pitches seem good for batting but the same pitches with the red ball were almost unplayable.
Players might be inclined to look for excuses but the lowest average runs per wicket across the competition in around 45 years might back him up.
Then again if that is the case the bowlers must have been hopeless to register the fewest bowling points in the division and another argument against blaming the Dukes is even our hapless lineup managing to register some big scores in the third innings.
The pitch certainly seemed iffy for the last game - Colly out to a shooter in his last innings and Richardson in the first innings playing nicely to get to 50 and then trapped lbw trying to play a pull shot only for the ball to keep low and have him 'adjudged' lbw.