Coach’s Corner – Farby’s Blog – 17 May

Long coach journeys or car journeys are all part of the professional cricketers life and those journeys can be so dependent on the result of the game you have just played, and in the last week we had two very different trips. The journey back from Cardiff was a tough one, another defeat and a poor defeat. The trip back from Leeds so much better, and time to think about the contrasting fortunes.

I realize that I have upset a few with my comments after the Glamorgan game, and I will attempt to explain my reaction after the game when I said we had bowled poorly, and we should have bowled Glamorgan out for around 200 in the first innings. I stick by that comment and still feel that on that occasion our bowling was not good enough. I know people will point to our first innings and say we should have scored more runs. The wicket was damp and grassy and it went quickly off the seam. Had Glamorgan bowled well we would have been bowled out for less than a hundred, but for some gutsy and skillful batting from Jarre and then Stevo down the order getting a decent score.

The hard thing for our bowlers was that Stevo was struggling with a shoulder injury and shouldn’t have been bowling, Colesy needed overs and ideally would have found some form in the second team. Dewald hadn’t bowled since Dubai, and again was due to play in the second team game, but because of our injuries had to play in this game. Neil Saker did well, but at no stage did we manage to put the Glamorgan batsmen under enough pressure.

The final scorecard reads that we batted badly, and whilst we know our batters can do better, it was a game that a score of around 180 to 200 should have been the top score in any innings. I am not making excuses for our batting, but on this occasion we simply didn’t bowl enough balls on a line and length, had we managed to then it could easily have been a different result.

I always try to speak honestly after games, and when asked about performances when I bump into members or supporters. I know I am never going to please everybody with my views, and sometimes I am not always able to, because some things should stay within the dressing room.

There was a suggestion last week that my blog may not have been written by me, or it had been censored in some way, well I can assure you that isn’t the case, I always write my own blog and try to keep members and supporters as informed as possible.

One last thing on being open with my thoughts, I do occasionally get some nice person send me their thoughts with newspaper cuttings attached, and I had one from them today, just a shame they send me such letters with information that is poorly thought out, completely inaccurate and worst of all they don’t have the guts to put their name to it!!

Lets finish on a brighter note, the match against Loughborough University this week will hopefully give us the chance to play one or two other squad members. Sam Billings will play, as will Chris Piesley, and we are hoping that some of our injured bowlers will also make a comeback to first team cricket.

Best wishes,

Farby.