September 2008 Archives

Lunch: Warwickshire 78 for 3 (29 overs). Trott 33, Troughton 10.

Openers Maddy and Poonia missed out, then, but KD Smith could empathise with them. When Glamorgan visited Edgbaston for this fixture in 1979, he opened the batting for John Whitehouse's side and perished for a duck.

Lbw to Tony Cordle.

Warwickshire 73 for 3 (26 overs). Trott 33, Troughton 5.

It is always a surprise when Frost gets out this season and even more so when he does so to a leaky shot. After reaching 23 from 69 balls he attempted to steer his 70th, from Gillespie, to leg but diverted it instead on to his middle stump.

Trott looking solid as ever though. Now can Troughton bat for a long time?

Warwickshire 45 for 2 (20 overs). Frost 21, Trott 13.

These are two batsmen who relish a battle and possess deep reserves of good, old-fashioned grit and they have knuckled down, left the ball intelligently and middled most of those deliveries at which they have played as the sphere continues to deviate sharply from the straight at times.

Kenneth Williams spent September 24, 1967 at Pinwewood filming 'Carry on Doctor' and finding Frankie Howerd "a very boring man".

Warwickshire 23 for 2 (11 overs). Frost 8, Trott 5.

Shantry could not have asked for better conditions in which to bowl against his former colleagues. Having switched from Pavilion to City End after two overs, he bends an inswinger past Maddy's defence and wins an emphatic lbw decision.

Warwickshire just need to bat some time here and hope the sun comes out and conditions ease.

Frost, 8 from 28 balls so far, has just struck Shantry to the cover boundary.

Warwickshire 6 for 1 (2 overs). Maddy 2, Frost 0.

To his fifth ball, from former team-mate Shantry, Poonia leans forward and edges to Wallace.

Bowling conditions are good with grass on the wicket and cloud overhead. The Bears might have their work cut out to get the four points they need for the title without recourse to bowling.

On September 24, 1979, Kenneth Williams travelled by train from London to Poole.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. It is a cloudy morning but in an unthreatening way without apparent danger of rain and with the weather set to get better as this match lengthens the final home game of 2008 should be the first four-day game here this season unaffected by rain.

On a wicket tinged with green, Carter returns for Warwickshire in place of Martin who has, it appears, played his last game for the club. Botha again misses out.

Warwickshire: Maddy, Poonia, Frost, Trott, Troughton, Ambrose, Clarke, Salisbury, Woakes, Carter, Rankin.

Glamorgan won the toss and will field - so if the Bears have a good day they could clinch the Second Division title today.

It seems odd to discuss the captaincy as an issue arising from a season in which Warwickshire finish top of the championship Division Two - but it's a valid debate. To thrive in Division One next season, the Bears will have to improve in certain areas. Batting (greater consistency required from more top-order players). Bowling (more potency needed from more bowlers). Fielding (too many catches, notably in the slips, dropped).

And then there is the captaincy. What should be done? Darren Maddy is a fine player and an eminently decent chap - superb senior-pro material. But is he a skipper? His supporters point to the championship table and, barring defeat to Glamorgan, an admirable unbeaten record. His critics refer to strange decisions in the field, particularly in one-day cricket where key bowlers were often left with overs unbowled.

Darren is keen to carry on as captain, which means Ashley Giles faces a difficult conversation if a change is to be made. And what would the ex-skipper's state of mind be next season if he has been demoted?

A tricky one. This blog, as always, pulls no punches. Should Warwickshire keep Darren Maddy at the helm? The answer is quite clear. Yes and no.

So let's consider the options.

Ian Westwood - Did a great job as skipper and excelled with the bat when Maddy was injured earlier this season. Peripheral role in one-day cricket though. Would he always be in the team? Clearly a 'FWC'. But when?
Monopoly Potential Bears Skipper Rating: Park Lane

Ant Botha - Briefly captain this season when Maddy and Westwood were injured. Good thinker about the game and assertive dressing-room influence. But left out of the championship side when Bears play only one spinner.
MPBSR: Regent Street

Tim Ambrose - Stopgap captain for last two matches last season just as the SS Greatbatch struck the final two icebergs and plunged beneath the waves. Handled difficult situation with great dignity. Definite captaincy material.
MPBSR: Bond Street.

Jim Troughton - A Bear through and through but better off, surely, focusing fully on removing that perpetual "enigma" tag from his batting.
MPBSR: Piccadilly

Rikki Clarke - Captaincy experience from Derbyshire but, judging by the way he let the Bears off the hook at Derby, delaying a declaration far too long, best off in the ranks.
MPBSR: Trafalgar Square

Ian Salisbury - Oceans of experience and knowledge but leg-spin is a cerebral art so best let him devote his mental space to that.
MPBSR: Strand

Jonathan Trott - Too intense. Tendency not to walk, even when bowled, would be a poor example for a captain to set.
MPBSR: Free Parking

Tony Frost - Conflict of interests. Could prepare wicket to suit his team.
MPBSR: Pall Mall

Chris Woakes - Long shot, but could be an FR Foster-type appointment. "Shock promotion of dashing young all-rounder drives team to championship triumph in first season."
MPBSR: Pentonville Road

Naqaash Tahir - Bit too laid back.
MPBSR: Whitechapel Road

Rarely in his long and busy life has the Duke of Edinburgh uttered anything that would, on reflection years later, be seen to have hit the nail on the head, put it in a nutshell and been bang on the button.

But in 1975 he did.

"It seems to me unwise," Phil opined, "to place too great a reliance on a growing or even a steady contribution of sponsorship to the first-class game".

Delphic.

Warwickshire 144 for 4, won by six wickets with 41 balls to spare. Frost 38, Ambrose 8.

Ambrose smote the winning runs, an on-drive which reached the boundary passt a mid-on fielder who virtually waved the ball on its way to the rope. Essex have looked a ragged, well-beaten side from the moment Tony Frost first got his teeth into them on the second morning.

The Bears are promoted and require just four points from next week's home game against Glamorgan to clinch the Second Division title.

Well done the Bears.

Warwickshire 133 for 4 (35 overs). Frost 33, Ambrose 0.

Maddy, job virtually done, plays back to Middlebrook and falls plum lbw for 63.

Ambrose avoids a king pair by playing his first ball to mid-wicket in regal style.

It would be rather fitting if Frost struck the winning runs.