Signings.

[Newby]

It's not going to help with the rest of this season but we have signed a bowler, Matt Milnes from Kent on a 3 year deal from next season.

He's a trier if he's the one I'm thinking of from our last meeting with Kent. He looks capable of some good performances and took 4 for 11 against Warwickshire this month, not a world beater but a good solid addition to the side and he plays all formats.

 

[Hawke]

He is from Nottingham isn’t he and first played with Notts. TBSteve will give a detailed statistical analysis I’m sure....his first class record must be similar to Patto’s. He may have played in 2 T20 winning sides...Steve???.... he had been signed up for the Hundred which is a plus and minus. Yes I see him as wholehearted. Mind you Kent have been thrashed around this summer. Excellent figures v Warwickshire. He did not play v Lancs. Injured? But I don’t think he is injury prone. Steve?
At least he has sufficient confidence in YCCC and OG to sign!

 

[Karma]

It's not going to help with the rest of this season but we have signed a bowler, Matt Milnes from Kent on a 3 year deal from next season.

He's a trier if he's the one I'm thinking of from our last meeting with Kent. He looks capable of some good performances and took 4 for 11 against Warwickshire this month, not a world beater but a good solid addition to the side and he plays all formats.

Well that sounds promising for next season as you say Newby , it's a start and a welcome one too

I'm sure many of you will have read OG's comments after our latest defeat to Hampshire :

" We know exactly where we are . There are no concerns but we are aware .We have played a lot of cricket this season. We didn't have an overseas in this game .We went with Shannon for a couple of games but it didn't go the way we expected. We might have a chat with Goughie and see if we need someone who is going to affect the outcome of games "

Well I'm concerned , very concerned because if we carry on like we have been in these last four matches (lost 3 , saved by rain in the fourth) , we'll be propping up the table at season end and that's without any sanction(s) the ECB might inflict. And there might be an exodus of members too. There are no concerns? There should be, we are going to meet strong teams in the final CC games . No concerns , has OG no part in our performances or pride?

 

[Newby]

I have to admit OG does sound a bit vague when he talks of having seen players in the odd match and talked to players etc. Milnes looks to be an O.K signing but I hope someone is doing due diligence on other players we may bring in. We do need a game changer, or perhaps two for the end of the season.

With the Southern hemisphere and sub-continent seasons revving up and T20 franchises growing like topsy I'm not sure where we are going to find someone who wouldn't be cast as flotsam or jetsam.

 

[Tykemania]

Initial reaction to this was something along the lines of "Well, it's a good start".

Milnes is 28 - a couple of years ago he was recognised by the Lions, and, though he never looked likely to progress further, he was well spoken of by the coaching team. He probably isn't quite quick enough for the international game, but I have certainly seen him bowl the odd quickish spell and he has demonstrated plenty of gumption.

So, not a bad signing. Whether he makes our very strongest side is perhaps debateable, but he joins Fisher, Thompson, Coad and Leech (as well as Waite and Revis amongst the all rounders) in a developing squad.

As long as recruitment doesn't stop there. Given that there is not a lot coming through in place terms right now, we need at least one possibly two more including one serious quick or a quality left arm option. We also need another to order bat, though that is a uniquely difficult issue - we need someone who is happy not to be an automatic pick (because anyone good enough to be an automatic pick we will lose to England) but better than some of our back up options.

 

[Hawke]

Ben Sanderson has just signed a new 3 year contract with Northants to end that discussion.

 

[Newby]

Ben Sanderson has just signed a new 3 year contract with Northants to end that discussion.

Good for him and I hope he has managed to get a decent deal. Northants turning out to be not as bad as I had feared in Division 1. Not sure what next season may bring for any of us but the addition of David Willey, especially if he is let down again by England when it comes to selection for a major tournament, will help to drive them on.

 

[Donnylad]

Three Coach quotes to consider..

“We didn’t have an overseas in this game. We went with Shannon for a couple of games, but it didn’t pan out the way we expected.
I think everyone knew what we were getting with Gabriel ... it just turned out worse than expected.

“We might have a chat with Goughie and see if we need to get somebody in for the last four games, someone who is going to affect the outcome of games.”
Apparently the new signing Milnes) was discussed over dinner with the Hampshire coach(?). OG thinks he saw him in a T20 game whilst OG was in Bangladesh last year.

“We don’t sign a player just for the Championship, we sign a player for Yorkshire County Cricket Club to play all cricket.
Arrant nonsense ... we have bought in for T20, for white ball and red.

.. and this guy is the coach?

BTW - the website still doesn't seem to have got round to thanking Patto

 

[Tykemania]

Hmmmm. Kent have replaced Milnes with Joey Evison from Notts. I wont say who got the best of this, but Evison is a player we should definitely have gone for.

 

[tbsteve]

Donny, re the coach, I don't think we sign a former international coach for his knowledge of domestic players - it'd be a little unrealistic. In theory, that should be where our Cricket Director earns his money. Thinking back to the JG era, he was a former international player who worked hard to lift the whole team, but it was MM who was out looking at potential signings.

For OG, I would evaluate him on the impact he's having on the players - and there, I don't see much evidence of him making an impact. True that many of the first line bowlers are out injured, but a couple of things:

• Thommo's radar seemed all over the place at times, and in T20 in particular he has gone backwards this year
• Gabriel was slow and expensive - why wasn't OG giving him some input about how to bowl in English conditions, and encouraging him to sort out his front foot no balls?

Perhaps understandable with the off field issues and injuries, but I think we've stalled or regressed this season and failed to build on MM/AG's foundation.

On Milnes, one sentence on the Kent website struck me, since joining in 2019, he's taken 180 wickets in 90 matches. Solid? yes. Outstanding? no. He's young, which is a huge plus, and you can see why he may be lined up to replace Patto. He's another rmf though, which we have plenty of. Does he offer anything different to Coad/Fisher/Thommo? I'd say not, so if all were fit, I'd put him at 4th in the pecking order. But he does seem to have a better track record of staying injury free, which is another huge plus. The one questions that hits me is why is he leaving Kent? He regularly opens the bowling for them (or is first change occasionally), and they won the T20 last year. Kent have thanked him for his service and highlighted the awards he won there (Yorkshire take note - this is how you announce a player is leaving, and he was only there 3 years!), there is no hint of a fall out. So why would he choose to move to YCCC, who don't have a track record of winning one day trophies, and where he will be facing more competition for a place?

 

[Newby]

Perhaps Milnes was offered a better deal by Yorkshire, perhaps he didn't like losing his place to Matt Henry at Kent, perhaps he fancied a move back up north due to global warming, who knows, but he's coming and I wish we had got a loan deal in place so he could come immediately.

I think you are toying with us TM, good luck to Joey Evison with his move to Kent but looking at his record I certainly can't see any reason why we should have considered him. 10 FC games since his debut in 2019, 5 List A and only 1 T20 played. He looks like more work for the physio than the coach.

It's very difficult with these bog standard RMF bowlers who are much the same and rely on runs of form to make them stand out, if you are going to sign one sign one with a decent chance of getting onto the field.

On commentary last week it became apparent that Warwickshire had signed Brad Wheal from Hants on a very short term deal to play in one FC game against Surrey, whilst their own Henry Brookes was fit and available. The games gone mad.

 

[Tykemania]

I think you are toying with us TM, good luck to Joey Evison with his move to Kent but looking at his record I certainly can't see any reason why we should have considered him. 10 FC games since his debut in 2019, 5 List A and only 1 T20 played. He looks like more work for the physio than the coach.

May I suggest Sir reads through old threads on our encounters with the mercenaries from the Trent? Evison impressed us all, getting the ball through at pace with good control and movement. He can bat too.

 

[Newby]

May I suggest Sir reads through old threads on our encounters with the mercenaries from the Trent? Evison impressed us all, getting the ball through at pace with good control and movement. He can bat too.

I do remember and I did take the 4 or was it 5 wickets he took against us at Nottingham last season when we were all out for 70 odd into account.

I swallow doesn't make a summer and although it looks like O.G seems to intimate that he signs players having seen them play well just the once, I'd be looking for more. He can bat I'll give you that but if he isn't good enough or fit enough to be a regular for Notts I can't see the attraction. He's young of course and like many others his career can go either way.

We will have to agree to disagree on this one. I think we need a 40 plus wickets per season man rather than the occasional 5 for man, though someone who could do both would be very nice.

 

[tbsteve]

I'm with Newby on this one. In 10 games / 17 innings Evison has taken 1 5-for and the 4-for against us last year. In the other 15 innings he has 11 wickets. He looked great against us, but he hasn't done much else yet. One with a lot of potential, who in theory an ex-international bowling coach could really help, but not a proven match winner by any means and we already have Leech as a young one with a lot of potential. Milnes doesn't excite me, but in my opinion the better of the two for the short term.

 

[Karma]

Well with the latest announcement regarding Waite that's four out and one in (Milne) at the end of this season.

What happened to the exciting signings that our Acting Director of Cricket was banging on about?

 

[Donnylad]

Yes indeed .... Mr Gabriel was exciting ...... I think that the AD of C is a bit out of his depth ... his mouth moves without proper reference to the facts of the circumstances it seems to me ...... so who is making the decisions / pulling the strings?

Of he ends up being confirmed as Director of Cricket going forward then we are in the poo ... big time.

 

[Newby]

I note that Kent are set to release 46-year-old Darren Stevens, so we could end up with 2 ex Kent bowlers.

 

[tbsteve]

As we released the comparatively young Patto, I hope not. But then again we did sign Gabriel and Stevens fits our recruitment strategy: CHEAP either young and inexperienced or retired.

 

[Donnylad]

Seems worth re-opening this thread.

So ... Shan Masood and Ben Mike.

Re Masood (on 19th August) ..
"Derbyshire said they discussed a new contract with Masood for several months and tabled "a significantly improved offer" before he decided to leave.
Head of cricket Mickey Arthur said Derbyshire "couldn't match the offer" from the other, unnamed, club.
"The other county set their stall out to bring in Shan and it is of course disappointing to lose a player of his calibre,."

So ... Ben Mike.
"The allrounder turned down the offer of a new two-year contract at Grace Road, instead opting to make the switch to Headingley, where he has signed a three-year deal."

I wonder what sort of package has been pit together?

Mike is a replacement for Waite - essentially for white ball and T20 I guess but he does have a bit about him with the ball. It will also do him good to get away from Ackerman, Lilley and the other Leicester loud mouths. I think he may be a good signing.

 

[Donnylad]

Following on:
Tthe list of players on the club website, after deleting leavers and Bairstow, Brook, Rashid, Root and Malan who will be spending a lot of time with England at least for the next couple of seasons - see fixtures for 2023 onwards.

We have 18 players
Ballance, Coad, Lyth, Bess, Fisher, Fraine, Shutt, Tattersall, Thompson, Hill, Leech, Loten, Sullivan J, Luxton, Wharton, Duke, Revis, Sullivan H
plus Masood, Mike and Milnes making 21.

Ballance, Leech and Fisher - have injury/medical issues - who knows their progress/status? Put them to one side.

Select a CC XIV from those remaining:

Lyth, Masood, Hill, Fraine, Tattersall, Revis, Mike, Thompson, Bess, Duke, Milnes, Coad PLUS Shutt and Sullivan H.

So who is in the shop window?
I think Loten, Wharton, Shutt, Sullivan J and Luxton add Bean and Cliff and this may be the group deemed surplus to requirements / or on show in the RLODC = choose own version.