[Bubbles]

So who is under the microscope for our pathetic top order batting?
Great to see Taylor get a chance and taking it. He will probably be rested now which would be a massive blow to his confidence. Selmen gets chance after chance as does Root. Carlson batting too high. Where does the future lie?
Looks like Brown Morgan Carey will go all treated poorly. We do not need a team full of cameo performances but a consistent side 50 for none instead of 40 for 4.
Youngsters not treated fairly and soon lose confidence. We need batsmen to score runs and bowlers to take wickets. Who are these players?

[glamman]

Feel sorry for Brown who has not had much of a chance but did not score many runs for the 2s last year.
Morgan has had chances but never was a top order batsman.
Carlson has been asked to bat where he isn’t suited - not the first player in our recent history to suffer that fate.
Taylor will play the rest of the season as he is a shoe in for the T20 team.
Have to remember that Root and Selman had reasonable stats last season. They aren’t going anywhere. However consistency is the main difference between amateur and professional players and is badly needed.
As has been mentioned, this is a very inexperienced Northants team who remain well on top.
There was the retracted post about Carey leaving and I can only assume it is true given his absence from this week’s squad. Still not seen McIlroy or Walker. Shame there have been no 2nd team games but I understand it is difficult to put everything in place that is required for those games to take place.

[Nick_Glam]

I have sympathy with any player who is released, but I don't think Brown or Morgan have shown anything to suggest that they will make it. The coaches have seen them regularly in the nets, 2nd team and warm-up games and if they don't think they are good enough to get into out batting lineup, that speaks volumes.

Sticking with Selman was the right choice as he has played a couple of decent innings and he is under contract for next season. Root has been one of our better batsmen this season (which admittedly isn't saying much).

It would be a shame if Carey were to move. He'd had a couple of bad seasons before this one though, and presumably didn't impress in the warm-up games.

I guess it all depends on how money is spent over the winter.

[glamman]

I have sympathy with any player who is released, but I don't think Brown or Morgan have shown anything to suggest that they will make it. The coaches have seen them regularly in the nets, 2nd team and warm-up games and if they don't think they are good enough to get into out batting lineup, that speaks volumes.

Sticking with Selman was the right choice as he has played a couple of decent innings and he is under contract for next season. Root has been one of our better batsmen this season (which admittedly isn't saying much).

It would be a shame if Carey were to move. He'd had a couple of bad seasons before this one though, and presumably didn't impress in the warm-up games.

I guess it all depends on how money is spent over the winter.

The absence of Carey, Walker and McIlroy, especially with Smith's injury, would suggest you are right about pre-season form. Agree with everything else you say.

[glamman]

Everyone agrees that was a pretty abject display against a Northants 2nd XI allbeit they achieved promotion last season. The ease of their batting compared to ours higlights the problems we have in that department. Our bowling was also not tight enough.

Hopefully we will see a turn around in the T20s. Might suit some of our batting more. The order they bat in will be interesting. First game on Thursday so quick turn around. Don't imagine Lloyd or Smith will be back for these first 5 games.
My XI:
Selman
Carlson
C Cooke
Taylor
Root/Cullen
Douthwaite
Wagg
Salter
De Lange
TvdG
Hogan

[exileKT8]

+ Balbirnie ?

[exileKT8]

And any other bat we can get hold of at this late stage if allowed 2 overseas.

[glamman]

And any other bat we can get hold of at this late stage if allowed 2 overseas.

Wonder if any Pakistanis will be enticed to hang around.

[exileKT8]

But not Fakhar Zaman

[glamman]

+ Balbirnie ?

Quite right - Balbirnie opens and leave out Root/Cullen

[Bubbles]

The question of lack of money arises again. CEO Director of Cricket and Head Coach are all on handsome wages and worked on full wages through this period. Doing what?
Who do these people report to?
II have watched for example Douthwaite who is a very good club player from outside our boundaries but I would class him as a slogger who can bowl. No experienced cricketers to look at as exemplary professional cricketers just a bunch of bits and pieces cricketers not specialising in one aspect of the game.Yet again we will hear excuse after excuse but ALL counties have had the same problems. Time to wrap up Glamorgan and become a Welsh national team. Let's be honest boys we are dire!
I

[glamman]

The question of lack of money arises again. CEO Director of Cricket and Head Coach are all on handsome wages and worked on full wages through this period. Doing what?
Who do these people report to?
II have watched for example Douthwaite who is a very good club player from outside our boundaries but I would class him as a slogger who can bowl. No experienced cricketers to look at as exemplary professional cricketers just a bunch of bits and pieces cricketers not specialising in one aspect of the game.Yet again we will hear excuse after excuse but ALL counties have had the same problems. Time to wrap up Glamorgan and become a Welsh national team. Let's be honest boys we are dire!
I

No excuses but your plans would cause more problems than they would solve.

[Ger27]

There seems to be a belief that Glamorgan's spend on the actual cricket team is so much lower than all other counties. That really is not the case.

The way counties present their financial statements mean that it's not possible to draw an exact comparison, but a quick look suggests that Glamorgan's cricketing spend is more than the majority of the "smaller" counties.

No doubt that Glamorgan's policy has been to run with a far bigger squad that most and that shows in their cricketing costs... the problem with that policy is that it can inevitably lead to acquisitions of quantity over quality when results aren't great!

[Bubbles]

In working terms a similar analogy would be employing a gardener to cut the grass and he ends up painting the house.! Can we have a team where a batsman bats and a bowler bowls. Don't the players have a job description where they say I am going to score runs or take wickets. No direction at all. We expect better and more

[glamman]

There is nothing wrong with bowlers scoring runs and batsmen taking wickets for that matter. However even when it comes to "all-rounders" they should be able to get into the side because they are one of the top 6 batsmen or top 5 bowlers. An all-rounder is then pretty good at the other skill too. A "great" all-rounder is worth his place in the team for batting AND bowling and there have not been many of those at Test level. Kallis is the best I have seen and I am too young to have seen Sobers. May be Kapil Dev. I am not sure Stokes would be in as a bowler if he could not bat.

At the moment Glamorgan list 8 all-rounders in the squad:
Lloyd - certainly good enough as a batsman and can bowl a few overs
Labuschagne - think his batting is good enough and can bowl some leg spin
Don't think either would be selected as out-and-out bowlers

Wagg was worth a place as a bowler but not sure now and can score runs but not a top 6 batsman.

Douthwaite is probably more a batsman than a bowler but am not sure he is worth a place for either alone. Hopefully he can improve at both and be worth a place at least for one.

Smith has come on as a bowler and is a few yards quicker now. Was a useful batsman as a junior but has never been given the chance at senior level. Think he could bat at 7.

Salter was also as useful batsman but needs to get into the team as a bowler. Has done consustently well in white ball cricket but not taken many wickets in the 4-day format. Not sure he gets many pitches to help.

Morgan was given a contract primarily as a SLA bowler but has never really performed. He then had that memorable innings as a night-watchman and suddenly he became a batsman despite never batting in the top 6 in Welsh age group cricket. He has a 1st class average of 20.58 and I don't expect that to improve. Was surprised he was kept on this year.

I don't know enough about Joe Cooke. Clearly mainly a batsman who can bowl some seam. Hopefully he will come to fill one of the batting slots.

Of these 8 the only ones I would have in my 1st XI for 4-day cricket would be Lloyd, Labuschagne and Smith. Salter and Douthwaite have a role in white ball cricket where you can never have enough bowling options.