Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2015 7:44:52 GMT
... according to Kent sources.
Brilliant white ball player who scored more than 300 runs in T20 this season at a strike rate of 167, which was the fourth or fifth highest I think behind the likes of Gayle and MacCullum.
But he is apparently demoralised by not even being considered for red ball cricket (he last played a f/c game in 2012) and fed up with Kent only offering him one year contracts so that every season he is playing for his job.
Word is that he hasn't yet accepted the Sussex offer and is in on-going negotiations with Kent, so his agent may simply be using the Sussex offer to try to force the hand of his current employer into coming up with a two year deal with promises of more chances in CC cricket; heaven knows the Kent batting has been poor enough in the CC this season that there should surely be room for him.
Sussex have presumably told Blake that he would be given a chance to fill the retiring Yardy's shoes in the top six of the CC side. His CC record is spotty but he's never been given an extended opportunity and certainly can play red ball cricket. I recall seeing him score a brilliant 96 v Surrey at the Oval when marshalling the tail after coming in at something like 80-6, and he deserved a ton but was run-out by a brainless number eleven calling him for an idiotic run that wasn't there.
He is also one of the best out-fielders on the county circuit.
|
|
|
|
Post by jonboy on Sept 5, 2015 8:05:45 GMT
And he made a brilliant 97 not out against our seconds earlier in the season. Incidently BM, does he still bowl, his recent stats show that he's done no bowling, even at second eleven level
|
|
|
|
Post by fraudster on Sept 5, 2015 8:13:13 GMT
Yeah it would be typical of us to sign a player who can't get into a poor div 2 side instead of giving a chance to our own lads to fill the Yardy void. Very typical and very tiresome. Finch is the man in waiting. Let's try the lad we've been pushing through the age groups for ten years who is already at the club before wastefully signing from outside, for once.
Both Jackson and Finch are at the stage where they need to be played now otherwise you may as well let them leave. Jackson should have been playing ahead of both Brown and Cachopa from the off in the one-day jobbie this season. It's called future planning and maximising potential. Or, not wasting your Academy.
|
|
|
|
Post by jonboy on Sept 5, 2015 8:21:24 GMT
After losing RHB, Prior and Yardy from our top six, we do need to strengthen that area. With only one opening bat, or at least, one opening bat who wants to do it, I thought that might be where we wanted to recruit. I wouldn't have thought Sussex see Blake as someone to fill that particular vacancy.
|
|
|
|
Post by fraudster on Sept 5, 2015 8:42:46 GMT
This bloke is 26/27 and he still can't get into Kent's p**s poor 2nd division batting line-up. Unless he is Kent's very own version of Will Beer he is not worthy of blocking the progress of our own youngsters. My prediction is that he Kent's very own version of Peter Burgoyne.
If we're gonna make signings they need to be marquee ones only - Prior, H-B and Yardy were pretty marquee so why not? We have the players to make up the squad numbers and push for places already in place, so long as the mugs who run the show are sacked or finally wake up.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2015 8:44:09 GMT
Yeah it would be typical of us to sign a player who can't get into a poor div 2 side instead of giving a chance to our own lads to fill the Yardy void. Very typical and very tiresome. Finch is the man in waiting. Let's try the lad we've been pushing through the age groups for ten years who is already at the club before wastefully signing from outside, for once. Both Jackson and Finch are at the stage where they need to be played now It depends how competitive you want Sussex to be over the next two seasons. With Prior, RHB and Yardy gone, Joyce coming to the end of his career, Cachopa found wanting and Wells not advancing, there is an argument that the batting urgently needs strengthening with a little more experience than Finch, Jackson and Salt offer. They will not progress by being thrown into a struggling side. With a top seven of, say, Wells, Nash, Machan, Finch, Wright, Jackson and Brown with Salt as first reserve, Sussex will struggle to stay in what is likely to be reduced to an eight team first division in 2017. The batting probably also needs an injection of fire power if Sussex are ever going to get to a finals day again in one-day cricket. I'd say Blake is definitely more Beer than Burgoyne, by the way. Like Beer, his banishment from the four day side appears to be down to one man as it only started when Jimmy Adams arrived as Kent coach. Adams' predecessor Farbrace rated Blake very highly... |
|
|
|
Post by Wicked Cricket on Sept 5, 2015 9:03:54 GMT
The retirement of Yardy frees up a six figure sum for wages, so surely, if
possible, we need to attract a batsman of known established class, just like
when Sussex wooed Joyce from Middlesex. It is vital that we strengthen
the top order and signing up other County rejects or looking at a youngster
won't do that.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2015 9:15:44 GMT
The retirement of Yardy frees up a six figure some for wages, so surely, if possible, we need to attract a batsman of known established class, just like when Sussex wooed Joyce from Middlesex. It is vital that we strengthen the top order and signing up other County rejects or looking at a youngster won't do that. Someone who scored more than 300 runs in the T20 at a strike rate of 167 and single-handedly won several matches this season from what appeared to be nailed-on losing positions is hardly "another county's reject" and word is that Kent are fighting hard to keep Blake. Of course if there is another Ed Joyce available that would be a better option. But how often do quality Div One batsman who you can rely on to score 1,000 runs a season move counties? Compton did it when he left Somerset to return to Middx but I cannot think of many other recent examples and basically you're talking about players who are disaffected with their current employer for whatever reason. The other option is to lure a proven run-scorer from the bottom half of Div Two - Derbys, Kent, Leics, Northants - with the promise of Div One cricket. Willey and James Taylor are two such recent examples. But for how long can Sussex promise Div One cricket? |
|
|
|
Post by jonboy on Sept 5, 2015 9:22:24 GMT
The retirement of Yardy frees up a six figure sum for wages, so surely, if possible, we need to attract a batsman of known established class, just like when Sussex wooed Joyce from Middlesex. It is vital that we strengthen the top order and signing up other County rejects or looking at a youngster won't do that. I'd certainly like to see us invest in some genuine quality in this area. It's right at the top of the order, where we have a problem, with only Wells resembling a genuine opener. Even he might want to drop down the order, as his spin bowling develops. So the only three players who can do the job, Wells, Joyce and Nash, might all prefer to play in the middle order. At S&F econd eleven level, it's the same problem, with no genuine opener on the staff, so we've had to use the likes of Finch, Jackson and Hudson-Prentice. To be fair, Jackson has made a decent fist of it at that level. Looking at our likely batting resources for next season, there is definitely room to bring in a couple of new batters. An experienced opening bat, and perhaps another youngster. Young Salt has done OK so maybe he might get one of the places, or more likely, he'll be offered an academy plus contract. |
|
|
|
Post by fraudster on Sept 5, 2015 9:27:31 GMT
Exactly S&F, and Prior - so not quite exactly.
I wouldn't entertain starting with Finch, Jackson and Salt in the Champ BM unless we had serious injury problems. These lads are our back-up and they have it all to prove. I'm saying unless we sign the likes of Joyce/H-B we can't keep wasting money on other side's rejects, we have the players within to take punts on. They're young, home grown and full of potential rather than having a track record of struggling, as well.
|
|
|
|
Post by Wicked Cricket on Sept 5, 2015 10:38:37 GMT
Bm,
I accept it won't be easy. Getting Joyce was quite a coup. But if Sussex can remain in Division 1 this gives us the chance to find
a talented and disaffected ambitious batsman from a Division 2 side, particularly if the revamped championship only allows one team
to be promoted/relegated.
|
|
|
|
Post by jonboy on Sept 5, 2015 12:56:46 GMT
The retirement of Yardy frees up a six figure some for wages, so surely, if possible, we need to attract a batsman of known established class, just like when Sussex wooed Joyce from Middlesex. It is vital that we strengthen the top order and signing up other County rejects or looking at a youngster won't do that. Someone who scored more than 300 runs in the T20 at a strike rate of 167 and single-handedly won several matches this season from what appeared to be nailed-on losing positions is hardly "another county's reject" and word is that Kent are fighting hard to keep Blake. Of course if there is another Ed Joyce available that would be a better option. But how often do quality Div One batsman who you can rely on to score 1,000 runs a season move counties? Compton did it when he left Somerset to return to Middx but I cannot think of many other recent examples and basically you're talking about players who are disaffected with their current employer for whatever reason. The other option is to lure a proven run-scorer from the bottom half of Div Two - Derbys, Kent, Leics, Northants - with the promise of Div One cricket. Willey and James Taylor are two such recent examples. But for how long can Sussex promise Div One cricket? Thing is BM, who is there in that division who offers guaranteed runs at the top of the order? I think the only batsman to reach a thousand runs, is the soon to be retired, Ashwell Prince. What a signing he's been for Lancs. To my mind, the best of the rest would be, Madsen at Derbys, Robson at Leics, and perhaps Westley of Esssex. In fact there were some rumours that the latter is not at all happy at Esssex. The other two, I believe, have recently signed long term contracts. All of those might be useful, but they are not of the same calibre as Joyce was, when we signed him. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2015 13:36:30 GMT
I agree. The name missing from your list of decent bastsmen at the bottom of Div Two, though, is Sam Northeast, 1000 f/c runs this season at 42 and another 600 runs in the T20 at an average of 50. But he's recently signed a new deal and has taken on the Kent captaincy.
However, if he has England ambitions he probably needs to move to Div One and show he can do it against the best attacks. Watching the England v Australia game on TV from Lords just now, it struck me that with Lancs and Surrey getting promoted the entire England ODI team now plays for Div One counties (although Moeen Ali may be about to move in the opposite direction). What's more,I think Moeen Ali and Ali Cook in the Test side (and I suppose Chris Jordan on the fringes) are the only England players not playing at TMGs so the message to the likes of Willey, Footit, Northeast, Coles, Westley et al, is that if they want to progress in the game, they probably need to find a Div One and/or TMG county. County cricket is increasingly becoming a world of the haves and have-nots and Reece Topley's move to Hants suggests that he's got the message...
|
|
|
|
Post by jonboy on Sept 5, 2015 13:49:08 GMT
I agree. The name missing from your list of decent bastsmen at the bottom of Div Two, though, is Sam Northeast, 1000 f/c runs this season at 42 and another 600 runs in the T20 at an average of 50. But he's recently signed a new deal and has taken on the Kent captaincy. However, if he has England ambitions he probably needs to move to Div One and show he can do it against the best attacks. Watching the England v Australia game on TV from Lords just now, it struck me that with Lancs and Surrey getting promoted the entire England ODI team now plays for Div One counties (although Moeen Ali may be about to move in the opposite direction). What's more,I think Moeen Ali and Ali Cook in the Test side (and I suppose Chris Jordan on the fringes) are the only England players not playing at TMGs so the message to the likes of Willey, Footit, Northeast, Coles, Westley et al, is that if they want to progress in the game, they probably need to find a Div One and/or TMG county. County cricket is increasingly becoming a world of the haves and have-nots and Reece Topley's move to Hants suggests that he's got the message... I deliberately left him, and other Kent players off the list, as I think he is crucial to what I believe they are trying to do there. Despite their lowly championship position this season, I can see things starting to come together there. A good young squad, of largely home produced players, they are perhaps just a couple of players short of being a formidable side in all formats. As much as I would love Northeast at Hove, he seems to be enjoying his cricket much more, and I simply couldn't see him moving. There was a rumour of Dexter returning from Middlesex, so that might squeeze a batter out, especially as I expect Dickson to play next season. If they can add an overseas quick, I fancy them for promotion next season |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2015 14:35:48 GMT
If they can add an overseas quick, I fancy them for promotion next season I'd love to believe that, but while they have most of the attributes of a decent one day side they have none of the attributes of a good four day side. In the red ball game they are way, way off the pace with Northeast as the only consistent batsman. Ultimately he will need to decide whether he is content to spend his career as a big fish in a little pond or if he wants to test himself at the highest level. The rest of the batsmen are dashers whose ration is two or three spectacular innings a season (Stevens, Billings) or moderate players who will never average more than high20s / low30s (Denly, Harmison, Bell-Drummond, Cowdrey). That's why Kent have hardly got any batting points all season. Dickson should help, but in a struggling side there is also the chance that he could just as easily go the same way as Cachopa. The only potent edge to the bowling is Coles, who is going to wilt under the load unless they find some back-up. The one other consistent wicket-taker is Stevens with his dibbly-dobblers but he's 40 before the start of next season, which will surely be his last. Frankly, I fear for them.They've won just 14 CC games in the four years Jimmy Adams has been in charge (only Leics have a worse record) and unfortunately seem to keep their very worst for when they are playing at Canterbury, where they haven't won a CC game in 15 months. |
|
