Australian off season domestic 2012/13

[bondi beach]

To be fair even with Hauritz departure to Queensland NSW have Steven O'Keefe and Steve Smith to fill the spin bowling department duties.

Although Clark and Lee have gone there are still plenty of options in the seam bowling department. That said, if someone like Jackson Bird was to become available then I would snap them up.

The batting is my real concern. Whilst the retirement of Phil Jaques and Simon Katich weren't completly unexpected the departures of Phil Hughes and Usman Khawaja leaves a massive hole in the batting line up. With six openers either retired, moved on or centrally contracted who will open with Maddinson?

To expect Patterson, Maddinson, Smith, Rohrer and Nevill to all perform at the same time is unrealistic. What happens if these players suffer injuries or loss of form? I feel NSW are at least a quality batsman if not two short.

As for Haddin, I think Wade and Nevill are both better players than him.

[bondi beach]

Originally Posted by bondi beach

Bailey and Cowan have signed for Tasmania but they are still plenty of options out there:

Quiney
Davis
Klinger
Rogers
Burns
Voges
Cooper
Townsend
Forrest
Cazzulino
Ferguson
Handscombe (would also provide a backup keeper option)
S Marsh (had a poor season last year but has a point to prove)

If they lose any bowlers they may need to look at the following to strengthen the bowling attack:

Bird
Faulkner
Cutting
Rimmington
Butterworth
George
McDermott
Mennie

Faulkner has signed a three year contract with Tasmania. Coulter-Nile is another good bowler who would add to the above list. If other states are going to poach our best players how about we do the same back? How about signing a couple of batsmen and another seamer?

[Noble One]

Overreaction much? NSW are a quality batsman or two short, however name a state that doesn't have some glaring weakness.

NSW have the best development system in this country. Keep selecting the rising talent rather than poaching a fill-in. Results can hardly be worse than last season?

[uvelocity]

also nsw would have been in the same position had hughes and ussie grasped their chances in the test side anyway

[brockley]

Triffitt to make call on joining Warriors - The West Australian
Trifiitt decies this w/k,Nevill stays in NSW ( i would go on a swearing tirade but don't want to be banned again).

[benchmark00]

Originally Posted by brockley

Triffitt to make call on joining Warriors - The West Australian
Trifiitt decies this w/k,Nevill stays in NSW ( i would go on a swearing tirade but don't want to be banned again).

What are you angry about?

[Dan]

Who's sitting in grade that can open the batting?

Rohrer, Patterson, Smith and Nev have to bat 3-6; you don't want to screw with them too much. Can't say I was overly impressed by Cruickshank or Henry (and aren't they primarily middle order batsmen anyway).

[brockley]

Bench upset at the ammount of Blues leaving a sinking ship,must have to do with Stuart he had this same effect in New Zealand,ask the Kiwi posters.When Nevill said he would stay it was like so f******* what.
Cruikshank bats 3 for Manly,Henry even tho he opened for NSW and failed,bats 4/5.
I'd go for an opener like Daniel Hughes.(he is the best of a bad lot.)
Jake Doran is hit property,but middle order batsman,and hasn't played much first grade.Likely an Australian under 19 rep of the future(think he is 17).

[bondi beach]

Who will open the batting with Maddinson? I don't see an obvious replacement from within hence why I think NSW should be looking to sign a batsman from outside. Otherwise it will be Cruickshank. I don't believe the current squad is strong enough which is why I listed the 21 possible suggestions of players to sign above. Another one not on my original list is Middlesex batsman Sam Robson.

[brockley]

No panic at Cricket NSW despite exodus of leading players
NSW aren't panicking,i am afriad its not over yet,Henriques,Smith and Cockley have offers on the table yet.
I concede the wooden spoon.
Just pick youngsters.

[bondi beach]

Burt Cockley? I thought NSW have gotten rid of him long ago. He spends more time on the treatment table than on the pitch! Henriques and Smith would be huge pluses.

It sounds like poor player management is the cause of Hauritz, Hughes and Khawaja departure. Perhaps the coach should have been sacked instead? Far easier to replace a coach than replace players of the calibre of Hughes and Khawaja.

[Andre]

A couple of reactions in particular are making me laugh big time.

Katich irreplaceable but the rest barely played and Hughes and Khawaja offered nothing on and off the field.

Off the top of my head I reckon a third of the guys playing Shield cricket are from NSW. Quite a few of these guys are better players and team contributors than Hughes and Khawaja. Cricket in this state didn't implode without them and it will be ok without the people leaving.

Hughes and Khawaja leaving strikes me as a bit weak, to be honest. No doubt they got told some home truths and have responded by leaving.

Hauritz leaving is fair enough - would you hang around if O'Keefe was skipper? Hauritz twice the cricketer he is but his cards are marked.

[brockley]

Khawjah got whacked over the knuckles for his poor form with NSW in the 2nd half of the season,obviously he is a soft ***k.
Redbacks chasing Smith and Henriques,earlier this year.
Yeh Cockley had a contract,but heard he is 100 % not getting a contract.

[Andre]

Originally Posted by brockley

Khawjah got whacked over the knuckles for his poor form with NSW in the 2nd half of the season,obviously he is a soft cock.

This plus Hughes told anyone who would listen that he was leaving after he got left out of the NSW one day side mid season.

Weak.

[Prince EWS]

Some massive over-reactions here. I reckon we'll be fine as long as we actually back the batting talent in the state and don't just stack the team with bowlers. By all rights Haddin should probably be with us for basically the entire season and both he and Nevill are good enough to play in the Shield as batsmen alone, so that's a plus there that no-one has really mentioned.

In my years of following this team there have been many, many factors stopping us from world domination - disruption of the side by players coming in and out, prolonged under-performance of PONIs, awfully balanced teams, ageism, randomly blacklisted players, Scott Coyte etc etc - but lack of talent in the state has never been one of those problems. An exodus from New South Wales is always going to be a positive for Australian cricket overall as we have the depth and talent to cover for it more than any other side, and while I'd have definitely have preferred if some of the fast bowlers left rather than our entire top order, I think we'll be right.

I wouldn't be against bringing someone like Cooper back home if he was interested but I don't think we should really need to go on a recruitment drive and take the homegrown talents of other states; we're better than that. If it means giving Cruickshank, Dawson, Henry or Thornely a run in the side then I'm absolutely okay with that - I'll probably enjoy cheering someone like that on more than Hughes or Khawaja anyway and I definitely like the idea more than Shaun Marsh or Liam Davis in the side. As long as it doesn't mean that Henriques, Smith and O'Keefe are all in the top six, and we actually try to develop a proper middle order, then we'll be sweet.