Glamorgan, champions of Wales

[cde]

Last match of the season, Worcestershire away.

Some bounce and a lttle spin in the pitch, they win the toss and bat first.

David Jenkins, a new youth player, top scores with 65 as we bowl them for 178. We find ourselves 13-3 then 73-5 before Labuschagne (122) and Wadlan (69) make a stand before Wagg's 60 bring us to 374 all out and clearly in charge.

Libby and Cox put up an 80 partnership but van der Gugten takes 6-75 to bowl them for 245, setting up an easy run chase.

A great end to a great first season, we finish third in the table.

[cde]

Season review

First Class

Position: 3rd, Division 2 (13 overall)
P14 W7 L1 D6 205 points, 24 batting 39 bowling.

We finish exactly where we would like to be, as high in the table as we can be without qualifying. Only the bottom two placed teams have less batting points than us and with three teams on 38 bowling points we sit just above them. Our main strength has perhaps been in being able to not lose when is bad positions, the positive side of having few attacking batsmen available to us.

Labuschagne tops the competition's FC averages with 67.71, van der Gugten the bowling averages, Hogan coming in at 8th but with the best economy by a good margin.

The batting has been brittle. Selman has excelled himself, Porter has done well enough but through lack of options has played when his form required him to return to the 2nd XI to rebuild. Labuschagne's early season form was poor outside of his big century on a flat pitch against weak bowling, however his end of season runs were vital in turning a finish at 6 into a finish at 3. Outside of him there is no middle order batsman who demands inclusion in the team.

Wagg was below his best with the bat but exceded his bowling averages. Wadlan had a good first full season, his bowling would not merit him a place on it's own but his contribution with the bat has proved vital. Wagg's retirement (he is now 36) must be imminent so Wadlan is likely to be playing for a few seasons.

Our main three bowlers excelled themselves. Even if the 39 year old Hogan retires van der Gugten has proved he could step up, though Hogan's economy will be badly missed. Smith and Carey did well when van der Gugten was called up but are not first-choice material. There is no spin option you would choose over fielding you pet dog.

If both Wagg and Hogan retire we will essentially have to rebuild the squad.

Two good bowlers will be required since we will occasionaly lose van der Gugten to internstionals. We also need to find a wicket-taking spinner for pitches when it turns and to build up ready to take over from Wadlan in a few years.

The batting attack is eaven more of a concern. Selman can open but we need another opener, more reliable and aggressive than Hemphrey. Porter can start at 3 but we could do with back up for when he is struggling. If we replace Labuschagne, or another international middle order player to open we will have no middle order batsman worth much. Much will depend on the transfer markets and possibly bringing in a older, cheaper player who can fill a spot for a year while we build a squad.

[cde]

Challenge Trophy

Position: Winner
P 11 W9 L2

Could it have gone any better? Even without three key players we performed well, though were reliant on the bowling of Hogan, Wadlan and Wagg to get into low scoring positions. Labuschagne and Root had very good averages but their strike rates made chasing high totals difficult, a few players put in cameo knocks when our we were up against it.

Competition wide, Hogano took the most wickets, had the 2nd best bowling average and third best strike rate, Wadlan the 7th best average and 4th best strike rate, Wagg the 10th most wickets.

The batting is weak but Selman, Labuschagne and Root fairly reliable. We need some players who can hit the ball, especially opening the batting.

Outside of Hogan, Wagg and Wadlan only de Lange bowled well when available, van der Gugten struggling and the trio of Smith, Carey and Bull all poor. If Hogan and Wagg retire we are in trouble.

Next year might be rebuilding. We need good hitters of the ball, at least one opener, a three, five and six. Maybe another all-rounder if Wagg retires. We can manage with one middle order plodder but not two, weakening the case for re-signing Labuschagne, though Root is weak in the other formats.

[cde]

Twenty Over Trophy

Position: Winners
P17 W14 L3

Again, a perfect start to taking over at the club. The style of play was exciting if you like wickets being taken, less so if you liked hig hitting. Our wins rested mostly on the miserly and effective bowling attack, though Guptul, when present was fantastic and the middle order of Ingram and Cook performing well.

Guptil topped the national batting averages, Cooke came in 10th. Hogan cane in 2nd in the bowling averages with de Lange close behind in 5th, had the 2nd highest strike rate and the 4th most wickets he also set new club records for number of T20 wickets and best bowling in a innings. Most importantly for our strategy the top three most economical bowlers were Hogan, Wagg and van der Gugten.

Selman's average of 34.3 is good his strike rste of 96% is more at home in OD matches. Porter struggled at 3, Ingram's average was weak and Root's poor. Cooke did most of the heavy lifting with a few cameos from other players here and there.

The bowling was superb, only Bull in his two matches averaging over 23. This was the basis of our campaign, and it was good.

Yet again, if Hogan and Wagg retire we are rebuilding, but with three excellent bowlers to keep continuity. The batting is very weak, without Guptil we often struggled with even the lowest totals and needed a bit of luck or a miracle innings to chase a big total. We need an opener at least and if Wagg goes another all-rounder. Guptil performed well but he only ended up playing 5 matches.

[cde]

Player review

Jamie Porter
FC 943 runs @ 34.93, 6 50s and 1 century
OD 362 @ 32.91 & 76.7% strike rate, 2 50s
T20 210 @ 16.15 & 118%

A good start from the 19 year old. A big dip in form throughout the T20s and should have been replaced by squad limitations kept him there. Improved his general form early in the season and should be able to improve more. Another year at 3 should get him ready to open.

Martin Guptil
T20 228 @ 114.00 & 128.8, 3 50s

Our one T20 signing and he played just five matches. Not worth 31,000.
Charlie Hemphrey
FC 554 @ 26.38, 3 50s

Below even his modest average, kept his spot since the competition was even worse. Not even considered for limited overs duty

Nick Selman
FC 831 @ 39.57, 6 50s and 1 century
OD 347 @ 34.7 & 66.0%, 3 50s
T20 343 @ 34.3 & 96.1%

A good year, well above his average and a dependable if plodding limited overs opener. His plodding run rates caused issues for the limited overs teams but at least he got runs. One of the players to build around next year.

Conner Brown
FC 77 @ 18.75
OD 18 @ 18 & 42.8%

A player eating up 20,500 a year for being the opener of last resort. Will be jettisoned at the end of the year.

Colin Ingram
OD 34 @ 34 & 147.8%
T20 209 @ 26.12 & 116.1%

Has been a very good player for us in the past but no longer plays FC cricket and was away for both the hundred and the West Indies T20s. 43,500 is a lot to pay for 15 underwhelming performances. Tempting to let him go a year early but there is the feeling he could be useful next year.

David Lloyd
FC 18 @ 9
OD 152 @ 16.89 & 76.8%
T20 296 @ 21.94 & 101.7%

His form was awful throughout but the other options to open in the limited overs matches were either worse or away. His career averages aren't much better and he will be moved on but is cheap enough to keep in the squad short term

Joe Cook
Unused

Marnus Labuschagne
FC 1007 @ 55.94, 7 50s and three centuries.
OD 341 @ 48.20 & 78.2%, 1 50 – 3 wickets @ 7.33 and an economy of 8.25
T20 n/a

Except for his big hundred against weak opposition his early season FC form was poor. He picked up and scored some vital run , especially as we strove to get from 6th to 3rd. His OD average is great but boosted by 3 not outs in eight matches and his economy is far too low. Despite his FC runs we will probably look for a more all round batsman for next year.
Billy Root
FC 600 @ 30.00, 3 50s and 1 hundred
OD 324 @ 46.29 & 76.2%, 3 50s
T20 109 @ 18.17 & 145.3%

Struggled and does not promise to improve too much more. 600 runs for your first choice no.5 is nowhere near good enough and was poor in the T20s he played. His OD average will save him from an early termination of his contract but if he is still our first choice 5 next season then promotion is a pipe dream.

Kiran Carlson
FC 110 @ 27.50, 1 50
T20 34 @ 6.8 & 89.5%

His three day 2nd XI average promises much, he does not deliver. To be terminated.

Rob Evans
OD 61@ 20.33 & 58.6

That we threw a 2nd XI promoted player we have no intention of keeping into the OD team says everything about the form of the other batsmen.

Ken Owens
Another 2nd XI promotion we will not be keeping

Chris Cooke
FC 662 @ 27.78, 5 50s
OD 45 @ 45 & 118.4
T20s 348 @ 49.7 & 112.7, 1 50

Club captain, a poor year with the bat but was often put into the position of having to bail out the middle order or bat at 4 or 5 where he struggled more. His T20 average is skewed by by being not out in 6 of his 13 innings but his strike rate was equally skewed by having to rebuild after a collapse. Was missed in the OD cup.

Tom Cullen
FC 28.@ 9.33
OD 178 @ 29.67 & 74.5, 1 50
T20 85 @ 85 & 145.8, 1 50

Our only keeper when Cooke is away. Put in two match winning performances, one in each limited over format but was otherwise nowhere near good enough. Will probably be re-signed at the end of the season as we would otherwise have to find two new wicket keepers.

Daniel Douthwaite
FC 44 @ 14.67
T20 n/a – 0 wickets @ 0, economy 14

Will be terminated at the end of the season.

Graham Wagg
FC 441 @ 23.21, 4 50s – 36 @ 30 & 3.37
OD 120 @ 24 & 105.2% – 19 @ 24 & 4.18
T20 68 @ 13.6 & 106.2% - 16 @ 23.25 & 6.56

A poor year with the bat but still some useful 50s in FC cricket and a great year with the ball. Exceeded all his career averages and was the third most economical T20 bowler in the tournament. Would be a shame to see him go but he is now 37 and might call it a day on a high.

Andrew Salter
Unused

Callum Taylor
Unused

Brad Wadlan
FC 693 @ 34.65, 3 50s – 38 @ 31.42 & 3.12
OD 104 @ 14.86 & 66.7, 1 50 – 25 @ 20.14 & 5.15
T20 82 @ 16.4 & 134.4 – 19 @ 21.68 & 7.08

A good enough first full season. His FC bowling isn't good enough to get in the side but heis batting makes up for it. Seems to take wickets when not trying too hard. Very good limited overs bowling but his batting is too weak to be considered an all rounder in those formats. If Wagg retires he could be our main spinner in all three formats again next year.

Prem Sisodiya
Unused

Owen Morgan
Unused

Marchant de Lange
FC 166 @ 13.83, 1 50 – 59 @ 27.68 & 3.42
OD n/a – 9 @ 10.67 & 4.84
T20 22 @ 11 – 46 @ 9.76 & 7.22

A great year for our only real quick. Opened in all formats and lead the T20 tournament bowling stats. Took 5 wickets on the bounce to set a new club T20 record of 6-15. Also registered a FC 50. A nailed on member of the team for next year.

Michael Hogan
FC 161 @ 11.5, 1 50 – 57 @ 22.3 & 2.34
OD 29 @ 5.8 – 26 @ 15.73 & 4.18
T20 25 @ 12.5 – 35 @ 12.34 & 5.94

This year's most economical bowler in FC and T20s and up there in the OD matches. Our best bowler, thrown the ball when we need to stem the runs and taken wickets regularly in all conditions. Now 39 and retirement must be calling after a brilliant year.

Timm van der Gugten
FC 139 @ 13.9 – 63 @ 18.24 & 2.78
OD 103 @ 34.33 – 17 @ 32.29 & 4.49
T20 8 @ 2.67 – 28 @ 15.04 & 6.58

Our best FC bowler and great in the t20s but struggled when opening the bowling in the OD matches. This is a worry since if Hogan retires he may have to step up to opening the bowling. Missing through international call ups is also an issue if de Lange plays in the hundred and Hogan has retired.

Ruaidhari Smith
FC 13 @ 13 – 6 @ 21.83 & 4.03
OD 11 @ 11 – 3 @ 38.88 @ 4.26

2nd XI averages suggest he could be very expensive. Picked to play through lack of choice he did well in his one FC match when the ball was hooping.

Lukas Carey
FC 30 @ 30 – 3 @ 24.33 @ 2.43
OD 43 @ 43 – 2 @ 98.5 @ 5.32
T20 n/a – 2 @ 6 & 4

A little more promising than Smith, but not much more. A back-up option if he is cheap enough to keep on.

Jaimie McIlroy
Unused

Roman Walker
Unused

Kieron Bull
OD n/a – 3 @ 33.67 & 5.05
T20 n/a – 1 @ 56.00 @ 7.00

Used as a second spinner when the pitch was turning in LO cricket. A stop gap.

[cde]

Finances for 2021

Through winning the T20 and Challenge trophies we boost our income by a whopping 142,000. We will also be terminating contracts worth 162,500 so while we will release an additional 81,500 we will lose that from our core budget.

Next year we are hoping to finish in the second promotion place and reach the semi-finals of both LO tournaments and budget for our core squad accordingly. This breaks down as:

Championship 12th place – 35,000
Challenge Trophy semi-final – 30,000
T20 semi-final – 40,000
Total: 105,000

If we add on the 81,000 lost through terminated contracts the bonus from winning both LO cups is just limited to just 4,000. The additional money from the LO triumphs allows us this year to build a core squad whose finance is secure for at least two years, allowing us a solid platform on which to build.

If Hogan retires we will have another 39,000 available, if Wagg retires abother 35,500

[cde]

Signings for 2021

Hogan and Wagg announce their retirements.

We offer new 3 year contracts to Selman and Chris Cooke, both on slightly reduced terms. Lloyd re-signs on a year's contract at 5,000 less. We offer the same to Hemphrey, who leaves. We let J. Cooke amd Taylor go.

We sign neither of the batsmen promoted from our youth team.

We terminate the contracts of Brown, Douthwaite, Salter, Sisydosa, Morgan, Smith, McIlroy and Walker. Carlson and Bull are kept on because we have now reduced our squad to just 12 players and I panic a little.

We need a long list of players:
An aggressive opener, preferably two for the LO matches
A back up at 3
At least one average aggression batsmen to bat at 4
A wicket keeper so we have two choices if Cooke plays in the hundred and to find a replacement for him.
Two aggressive batsman to bat at 5
Two all-rounders
An experienced seamer – preferably a MF but a FM bowler will do – two would be ideal
A wicket-taking spinner, preferably an OS

The hope is to sign either an opener or middle order batsmen with some experience, a couple of young middle order batsmen to bring on this year and to fill the other batting slot with our international signing. The same is true for the two bowling slots – an experienced player and couple of young hopefuls. All-rounders are hard to come by but we will be on the look out, Wadlan filling that spot this year if we can not find anyone.

With Wagg gone we will look for all-rounders for our T20 signings. We could do with a very aggressive opener too, so maybe one of each or two all-rounders and an opener depending on finances and other signings.

[cde]

We hit the market with a sack full of cash. Looking for an opening or middle order batsman good enough to hang an innings around is fruitless. There are no openers of much ability and the best of the middle order batsmen average in the mid 30s. Slightly regretting letting Hemphrey go when another thousand might have secured him. There are similarly no decent bowlers, however a gazillion youth players of all abilities available.

We immediately alight on two very expensive young players, Michael Waites from Durham and David Jenkins from Worcestershire, who have sky high averages in 2nd XI cricket and have already carried those into FC matches and have been snapped up by the Birmingham 100 franchise. We also sign promising Northamptonshire RF bowler Andrew Todd. There are a couple of other youth players I would like to go for.

As more players come onto the market we sign Ben Sanderson, also from Northamptonshire as our new opening bowler. We two more young quicks, Graham Mills from Derbyshire and Mark Foyle from Nottinghamshire and a young leg spinner, Steve Remmington from Gloucestershire. We also sign a part-time wicketkeeper from Worcestershire, David Waites and Scotish opener Andrew Ummed as back up for Selman. With cash left over we also give young wicket keeper Tom Netercott a year's contract.

With no openers on the market we had to look to fill the gap with our international signings. We sign impressive 21 year old Indian opener Shubman Gill. Since he will not always be available we also sign Bangladeshi veteran Tammil Iqbal.

For the T20s we sign three all-rounders to make up for just one in the core squad. We sign Australian James Faulkner, young South African Dayyaan Galiem and Bangladeshi Mohammad Saifuddin.

We also have a spare 60,000 to bost our coaching, youth and physio budgets.

While we have not got all we may have wanted we now have some exciting young players to take us forward.

[cde]

2021 Season Preview

We enter the new season with some excitement. Through extensive hiring we now have a squad with plenty of young blood with some older, seasoned players. Our batting line up is greatly improved and while it's hard to say our first choice bowling attack will better last year's performances there is far more promise in the choices we have.

Despite the feeling of optimism there are areas of concern. The back-up for Selman, Umeed, is fairly unpromising and was signed for just a year as a just-in-case. There is no like-for-like backup for Porter though John Warner could make a defensive 3. Our first-choice middle order looks exciting but this would be their first FC season in Britain and they will be missing for the 100. Our next choices are weaker. There is just one all-rounder, a big concern in the OD matches since Wadlan will be playing in the 100. The seam attack looks good but while Wadlan is away or if he can't play we have a promising but untried leg spinner or tried and found wanting off spinner. In all we will lose seven of our players to the 100 and all, except Root central to our LO ambitions.

Goals:
FC – Promotion
OD – initially to reach the semi-finals bit with just the one all-rounder and seven players lost the 100 just to make it to the quarters would be a good finish
T20 – Obviously we want to win it given last year but after the quarters anything is possible so a semi-final knock out would be acceptable

The players:

Shubman Gill, 21
Aggressive opener
FC – 63.26 OD – 44.13 T20 – 35.95
21 and an impressive record, only available for 65 % of the season but promises to be a formidable sight for the opposition's bowlers. Will be playing the IPL early in the season and India are touring from late July and although he has only played a couple to international OD and T20 matches a good run of form may see us lose him. Even if we see little of him this year we have only paid him 45,000.

Jeff Porter, 20
Aggressive opener
FC – 34.93 OD – 32.91 T20 – 16.15
Looking to improve on last season and with better batsmen above him should succeed. Would like to see a big improvement on last year's LO performance. Will bat at 3.

Tamim Iqbal, 32
Ave. Aggressive opener
FC – 45.09 OD – 37.31 T20 – 31.01
A fine player over many years. Will probably be away with Bangladesh from late June to mid July. Would have been our main overseas signing if Gill wasn't such an exciting prospect

Nick Selman, 25
Defensive opener
FC – 31.95 OD – 31.00 T20 – 31.25
Will hopefully only have to play in the FC matches and will, just as hopefully, be closer to last year's average than his career average.

Andrew Umeed, 24
V. Defensive opener
FC – 22.29 OD – 19.40
Only signed because tried to push Hemprey down too hard on his contract. Hopefully will not have to be used.

Michael Waites, 18
V. Aggressive batsman
FC – 42.23 OD – 32.73 T20 – 39
An exciting prospect and just 18yo. Bought on his excellent start to his career with Durham he spent the winter stacking up runs in India and ripping it up in the BBL in Australia. Already signed to the Birmingham 100 side. A future prospect for England, will bat at 5 across the formats.

Colin Ingram, 35
V. Aggressive batsman, occasional LS
OD – 47.61 T20 – 30.65
Bowling OD – 33.62 @ 5.45 T20 – 32.90 @ 7.91
Like last year he will be playing in the 100 , so a LO specialist who will miss the OD tournament and if he plays in the WI20 league again will miss the T20 finals stage too. Was held on to because it was not sure we would be able to replace him in the T20s.

David Lloyd, 28
FC – 28.16 OD – 23.28 T20 – 22.87

Only kept on at the end of last year because I got the jitters about reducing the squad so much. The LO opener of last resort but will probably play.

David Jenkins, 22
FC – 57.61 OD – 43.89 T20 – 62

Our other exciting prospect in the middle order, this time at 4. A really good OD campaign and FC start with Worcester last season and a very successful winter spent in South Africa playin FC and OD cricket. Another batsman lost to the 100.

Billy Root, 28
Ave. Aggression Batsman
FC – 31.78 OD – 47.7 T20 – 21.24
His FC average barely qualifies him as a back up middle order batsman but because of his OD average was kept on despite a poor FC season last year. He has, inexplicably, been given a 100 contract so is now looking of little use.

Kiran Carlson, 22
Ave. Aggression batsman, LO opener
FC – 27.03 OD – 22.73 T20 – 19.44

Only kept on because of a fear of making our squad too small. Probably just as well given how many batsmen we will lose to the 100.

John Warner, 23
Defensive batsman / wicket keeper, T20 opener
FC – 40 OD – 40 T20 – 1.67
2nd XI – 39.95 OD – 43.84 T20 – 34.10

Primarily signed as LO back up for Cooke but did well enough coming in at 3 in the couple of FC matches he played for Worcestershire. Not a great strike rate and may not be a long term option.

Tom Nethercott, 21
Wicketkeeper / Aggressive batsman
OD – 50.25 T20 – 41.00
2nd XI – 42.21 OD – 27.77 T20 – 28.07

Signed for a year with spare money. A good OD campaign with Durham last year and in his two t20 matches. Hopefully closer to these than his 2nd XI averages. Could be a useful no. 5 second choice.

Chris Cooke, 34
Wicketkeeper / Ave. Aggression batsman
FC – 36.28 OD – 36.08 T20 – 26.06

FC and T20 captain, playing in the 100 during the ODs. Not a good year in FC cricket last year but but is still our first choice wicket keeper.

Tom Cullen, 29
Wicketkeeper / Ave. Aggression batsman
FC – 21.20 OD – 29.67 T20 – 85

A wicket keeper who can put in the occasional performance. Faces competition as Cooke's back up from Warner and Nethercott and been pushed down the pecking order.

Dayaan Galiem, 24
Ave. Aggression batsman, RMF bowler
T20s – 18.70
T20s – 21.56 @ 7.32

The first of our three T20 all-rounder signings. Less of a batsman than Faulkner but a little more economical and more of a batsman than Saifuddin but less of a wicket taker. Will probably be with South Africa for a couple of weeks from in June.

Mohammad Saifuddin, 25
Ave. Aggression batsman, RMF bowler
T20 – 14
T20 – 19.77 @ 8.15

A real wicket taking option for the T20s, his batting not up to much and his economy a bit high but a batsman sent back to the pavilion can't score runs. Probably missing at the start of July when Bangladesh tour Zimbabwe.

James Faulkner, 30
Ave. Aggression batsman, LFM bowler
T20 – 20.44
T20 – 23.95 @ 8.05

More of a batting option and with almost the same strike rate as Galliem, probably our first choice .

Brad Wadlan, 32
Aggressive batsman, SLA bowler
FC – 32.74 OD – 18.00 T20 – 16.4
FC – 23.24 @ 3.06 OD – 24.02 @ 4.57 T20 – 21.68 @ 7.05

The only all rounder in the core squad so will ill be vital. Needs to be closer to his career averages in FC than last year while a repeat of last year's LO bowling performances will be very welcome. Another player to be missing during the OD campaign thanks to the 100.

[cde]

Marchant de Lange, 30
RF bowler
FC – 15.39 OD- 15.62 T20 – 9.65
FC – 29.48 @ 3.45 OD – 24.54 @ 5.46 OD – 21.07 @ 8.57

Did well last year opening the bowling with Hogan. Will open again this year with Sanderson but now has some competition from new signing Todd in the FC matches at least. Playing in the 100.

Andrew Todd, 20
RF bowler
FC – 40 OD – 5.60 T20 – 8.33
FC – 22.00 @ 2.54 OD – 22.53 @ 3.98 T20 – 12.80 @ 6.53
2ND XI – 18.16 @ 2.84 OD – 18.89 @ 4.46 T20 – 20.48 @ 7.09

A great start to his career with Northamptonshire he looks like and economical and potent bowler. Will be pushing de Lange for his place in all formats. Looks like someone we will be seeing plenty of for years to come.

Ben Sanderson, 32
RMF bowler
Bowling: FC – 22.20 @ 2.75 OD - 32.24 @ 5.78 T20- 22.08 @ 8.63

Signed from Nottinghamshire with the aim of getting two more years out of him while we bring up our young MF bowlers. Will open the bowling in FC and T20s with de Lange but his OD record isn't that good. A real no.11 batsman.

Mark Foyle, 18
RMF bowler
OD – 102.67 @ 4.74 T20 – 35.00 @ 8.75
2nd XI – 15.32 @ 2.95 OD – 17.35 @ 4.55 T20 – 14.05 @ 7.53

A poor first LO season with a poorly performing Nottinghamshire last year but his 2nd XI averages indicate an exciting prospect. Will come in as 2nd change with van der Gugten, hopefully progressing to opening in a couple of years’ time.

Gerald Mills, 21
RMF bowler
FC – 36.00 @ 2.20 OD – 48.87 @ 5.27 T20 – 29.50 @ 8.34
2nd XI Batting – 32.09 OD – 24.17 T20 – 14.00
2nd XI Bowling – 20.63 @ 2.97 OD – 18.48 @ 4.52 T20 – 15.83 @ 7.52

Our third exciting young seam prospect. Not as much of a wicket taker as Foyle but looks useful with the bat. Will be brought on with Foyle and his runs could be useful in the LO matches. Was with Derbyshire last year who had a weak OD tournament.

Timm van der Gugten, 30
RFM bowler
FC – 14.65 OD – 18.87 T20 – 9.32
FC – 24.32 @ 3.15 OD – 34.47 @ 5.20 T20 – 19.79 @ 7.60

Our leading wicket taker at 1st change and a role he will reprise this year. Can also hang about with the bat.

Lukas Carey, 23
RFM bowler
FC – 16.15 OD - 33.40 T20 – 7.00
FC – 33.49 @ 3.45 OD – 68.00 @ 5.51 T20 – 36.83 @ 8.53

Kept on because we had otherwise stripped out squad of all our seamers except van der Gugten. Just as well since despite his poor figures there wasn't anyone less worse on the market. Will unfortunately play when van der Gugten is on international duty.

Kieron Bull, 25
OS bowler
FC – 39.14 @ 3.50 OD – 37.25 @ 5.20 T20- 56.00 @ 7.00

Kept on in case we couldn't find any other spinning options on the market.

Steve Remmington, 23
LS bowler
2nd XI – 19.98 OD – 7.28 T20 – 10.04
2nd XI – 25.42 @ 2.84 OD – 24.26 @ 4.26 T20 – 20.06 @ 6.67

Really our sole back up for Wadlan. He looks economical and can take wickets, a good prospect who it will be difficult to bring on with our reliance on Wadlan as our core all-rounder.

A squad with some weaknesses but some exciting talent. Our first choice FC line up would be Gill, Selman, Porter, Jenkins, Waites, Cooke, Wadlan, de Lange, van der Gugten, Sanderson and Foyle.

We should average about 341 with the bat in about 110 overs, 323 with Iqbal instead of Gill. Not majorly higher but with a higher percentage from specialist batsmen rather than an aging all rounder and bowler, making the batting less fragile.

Our bowlers should be seeing them off for about 270, finishing them off with the new ball.

We have to see who is available and in form come the LO matches.

[cde]

We give Dutham MCCU a thrashing before we kick off the season away to Middlesex. A turning pitch with cloud cover and rain on day 3. Gill is playing in the IPL so we field Iqbal, Selman, Porter, Jenkins, Waites, Cooke, Wadlan, de Lange, van der Gugten, Sanderson and Remmington.

We are asked to bowl first. Nick Gubbins makes a half century but the wickets are shared around as we bowl them for 228. We make a solid start in reply before Iqbal (144) and Jenkins (106*) put up a 164 run partnership to take control. Waites is taken out by a short ball. We take a risk and declare on 336-4 to make the most of the overcast conditions.

Gubbins puts in another good innings but we bowl them for 239, Sanderson taking 5-56. The spinners struggled despite the pitch turning sideways. We casually chase down the runs to win by 8 wickets.

Almost an ideal start, the injury to Waites a fly in the ointment.

[cde]

We welcome Northamptonshire, the first day is clear but there's patches of cloud and rain forecast. The pitch is bouncy with some spin. After some hesitation we go for Nethercott to replace Waites, wanting a more aggressive player. We are asked to bowl first again.

They make a solid start, a 50 for Vasconcelos and Wakely fullingnjust short of a century but we bowl them for 286. We start batting in difficult conditions and lose Selman early before Iqbal and Porter start to build a strong partnership. The skies clear and with the score at 143-1 the settled batsmen go for them. Porter is taken out by a short ball on 85 and we ease off but it is the breakthrough they need and once Iqbal falls we go from 174- (3 with Porter) to all-out for 223.

Another good opening partnership but we bowl them for 212 with two and a half session remaining. Selman falls for a duck but Iqbal and Jenkins start to slowly build. A clatter of wickets and we are clinging on for the draw.

The second match in a row where we have lost a key player. Our lower middle order is of concern, both Cooke and Wadlan struggling so far this season.

[cde]

The game suddenly stops working while syncing with dropbox. The file is corrupted and all is lost.

[Lynx54321]

The game suddenly stops working while syncing with dropbox. The file is corrupted and all is lost.

Ah devastating. Work flogging to Sureshot via the bugs thread though for investigation.

[Sureshot]

The game suddenly stops working while syncing with dropbox. The file is corrupted and all is lost.

Okay, there might be a workaround.

Find the corrupted file in Windows Explorer, my Dropbox is here:

E:\Dropbox\Childish Things\cricket captain 2020\saves

Right click on the corrupted file and select version history, this will open your dropbox folder in your browser, on the right hand side you can restore to a previous version.