November 2005

Batting frailties

Two doses of relegation were hard to bear. The coach Mark Alleyne lays the responsibility squarely with the batsmen, whose resolve, he feels, ought to have been stiffened by pitches he sees as increasingly amiable. The fleetingly imported Ramnaresh Sarwan aside, the captain Chris Taylor was singular among the top four in the Championship side in reaching 80. Domestic troubles beset Craig Spearman, whose 2004 average and aggregate were both cut in half.

"It's been a very frustrating year," says Taylor, who missed most of the second half of term with a dislocated shoulder. "When teams are on a roll, you usually notice that they have a settled side. It's not an excuse but the injuries to the fast bowlers in particular didn't help. But we've completely underperformed. The guys haven't gelled.

"Squad changes were a factor. We had to take a step back, find new ways of playing, of winning games. It's a transition process. We handled the change well last year but not this. The results are fair."

Consolations came courtesy of those short in the tooth. "Despite comparisons with Jack Russell, Steve Adshead came on in leaps and bounds. Mark Hardinges [rewarded with a new three-year deal] developed well in his first full season. And Alex Gidman found some form with the bat - the responsibility of captaincy seems to have helped." Taylor's own part in that process was greater than he might have wished.

Player of the Year Steve Adshead
High Was there one? OK, Jon Lewis's Twenty20 frolics against the Aussies.
Low Ending up with the fewest batting bonus points in the Championship.

© Cricinfo