It is disappointing the lack of respect shown by other clubs and those approaching the WT players (and presumably Port players also) may want to keep in mind that regardless of the outcome of this decision, a cashed-up and merged club may seem very attractive to their players. And should one or both clubs survive this, no other club will be safe in a what is sure to be an ongoing SACA restructure of Premier Cricket and their lack of decorum now may come back to bite them.

Wouldn't clubs just be doing their due diligence? You'd be a pretty poorly run club if you weren't trying to get the best available players to play for you. It just so happens that with a club getting flicked there is more than 1 or 2 from a single club being spoken to, as well as the usual one or two floating around other clubs. Expecting clubs to lie down and wait for the dust to settle is ignorant.

I've heard of WT players being spoken to about moving, should there be a merger, before the merger business reared its head. Nothing wrong with planting the seed.

_______________________________

On Tom J, he's not good enough of an all round player to get a crack at higher honours. Batting is sub-par for a shield no.10, can't really field well and that is one of Siddons' big criteria. Andrews has made hundreds at Premier League and Grade level, Patel has made gave saving 70's at the end of the order and IMO is why he is probably edging our Logan at the moment as next in line. Cormack has shows signs with the bat, but his bowling lacks bite so far, and for a kid getting a good go he doesn't look to have the swagger or confidence to get on top of teams like a Head or Page Jnr. has in the past.

:shock: Oyster seems to have finally imploded, only a matter of time.

The inquiry is a a strange case though, sure, it will provide some more transparency on SACA's decision making process, but like it was mentioned earlier, in the end it may amount to sweet FA with no way to enforce it. This whole saga has carried on for way to long, its now not only affecting the clubs involved, but also every other club in the comp.

If there was a good enough argument to be kept in the comp it would have been made already, if it has fallen on deaf ears then deal with it; these people are in the position to make such a decision because they were put there, so let them do their jobs. At the end of the day all of grade cricket is losing out thanks to two clubs making a mess and trying to be big dogs when they simply are not.

Who would everyone being going with for the first Matador Cup game in WA?

Personally I would go with (full side available):

Carey
Weatherald
Head
Ferg
Lehmann
Ross
Mennie
Zampa
Opie (Andrews for the games in Sydney)
Richardson
Worrall

Thoughts?

Can understand how better prepared wickets can help with the run scoring, but how is the upgraded ball better for the batsman? Not saying it's not, I wouldn't know, just interested why this ball is supposedly more batsman friendly?

Have they also cracked down on ball tampering after incident last season?

The turf ball goes softer much quicker. Has less of a seam as mentioned earlier, which means it doesn't move as much off the deck or in the air. They tend to lose their shape much quicker as well and go square. They also stop swinging after 10 overs unless you get a pitch that isn't very abrasive, but with decks being mowed and rolled to within an inch of their lives you seldom get a ball swinging conventional in the 20th over.

While ball tampering is obviously not the right thing to do, teams need to find a way to get the ball moving off the straight ASAP, otherwise blokes at 5-9 can all make hundreds without a lot to deal with.

There is a clear difference in the styles of cricket between teams because of this as well I think. Sturt have some good swing bowlers who go missing after the first session because spin from both ends is the only option. Northerns haven't got the cattle to blast a side out so they ring up sides and play boring cricket on a slow wicket. Then you get Glenelg who have someone like Jack Pudney who will get the ball reversing at 130km/h and bowl sides out just after tea. That would't happen with a rego ball, every side would take wickets consistently UNLESS batsmen actually do some hard work and knuckle down for a couple hours.

Michael Cranmer lines up in his 100th 1st Grade game tomorrow for East Torrens.

Pretty interesting case at Northerns. Over the next few weeks I'll post what I believe each club needs, some more specific than others, and I'd love some feedback.

Northern Districts

Finaihed 12th, 7th, 10th & 13th across the Seniors. U14's finsihed 4th in the Red and 6th in Whites. 16's teams were last or second last.

Need
Good young players, as well as some good games from their underperforming older players who are going around again. Also need to sort out their coaching situation because it's a different story every time you ask.

Have Spoken/Should Speak To
Tate Robins (ET) knocked them back, this was around the last game of the year. Tim Oakley (TTG) is probably the next best bet in the area from a young quick standpoint. Given their location they'd need to draw from surrounding clubs. They have spoken to Tyrell Sinclair (TTG) and he's going somewhere, just could be ND or Pros depending on who you ask.

Key Next Season
Easy to say, but win some games. Talent retention is obviously a big talking point with the Jets and if they can bring across a couple guys from other clubs it may sway those guys who want to go back and play Turf cricket. Likely to be at the bottom for a while, particularly if the Giniotis not playing rumours are true.

Time for the second club on the list, there has been some speculation about Sam Miller recently, so lets knock of Prospect while we are at it.

Finished 13th, 10th, 5th and 1st across the respective senior grades. 11th in both the U14 and U16 Reds, mid table in the Whites competition.

Need
Penetration with the ball and someone young and talented for Miller to lean on with the bat. Hudson-Prentice was very good this season but a one man band for much of the time. Some talented young players with Boylan, Daniel, McGregor-Baptista and Dickman. However, these guys are all under performing at present. Harsh to knock guys who aren't full developed, but Boylan is probably the only one you can build a club around. M-Baptista lacks work ethic, Daniel the X-Factor to bowl sides out and Dickman has a pretty questionable attitude and character from what I'm told.

Have Spoken/Should Speak To
In the Tyrell Sinclair conversation as has been mentioned a number of times. Looking in their area there doesn't seem to be a lot of players not getting a fair go at A and B grade level. Young Cam Bullard from Adelaide may be looking for opportunities after an impressive year in the B's and a game or three in the A's. While you wouldn't say he's being treated unfairly by the Buffs he's a player who Prospect can throw in at 4/5 and give him a couple years. That's just an idea though. Trevor Keen from East Torrens may also be someone to look at as a stop gap. Good numbers in the B/A Grade but his technique is not very easy on the eye; yet it is effective at batting long periods if his strike rate suggests anything!

Key Next Season
Consistency. Showed at times that they could match it with the best teams for a session or two then would fall away. Zes seems to have turned around the clubs attitude to training, so this should be a good sign moving forward. Need the stronger C/D Grade seasons to flow into the A/B's now. Getting the right talent in will be crucial though, they don't exactly have Test cricketers coming out of the juniors right now.

Side Note: What are peoples thoughts on their history with getting Poms over? I'm for it provided they aren't keeping 16-23 yr olds out, is it a part of or a significant reason they are where they are now?

Team #3 Southern Districts

Finished 11th, 12th, 12th, 11th. Juniors had both 16's teams finish 2nd (but they play on hard wicket every week so take it with a grain of salt) and 14's were mid table.

Need
Something, anything. Such a poor performance across the senior grades probably reflects their squad well. Their D Grade was shambolic, playing 16 Whites kids and a number of girls who weren't good enough through the year. Sometimes even unable to fill a full side there as well. The A Grade lost two key bowlers in Rhys Barret and Staunton, but Barret will be back next season. Their young bowlers lack the X factor to bowl a side out so they would need someone who is that bit different to really make an impact. That said, the type of cricket they play is more conducive to medium pacers anyway. Batting is probably their weakest point. McCormack and Barret are obviously both very good players, but it is a case of once they are out the whole side is. Young top-order bat Suraj Rajesh looks the goods coming through though, in the Aussie 15's team. One or two more batters could see them move from +10th to that murky 6-9th spots.

Have Spoken/Should Speak To
No rumours are floating around from what I have heard, Southerns isn;t exactly a desirable destination to go play for the guys in town. Would love to see them try get some of the guys on the fringes at Glenelg, the Bays are a strong batting group and Southerns have the ability to offer opportunity to just bout every discipline or type of player except a keeper.

Key Next Season
Barret x2. Provided Rhys and Josh both have good years then they should push up the table a couple spots at least. Rajesh needs all the opportunity in the world and seeing as he's already played A Grade then he should get batter as the year/s go on. Keeping him may be the hard part, goes to Adelaide High and the Stringrays have a looooooong history of losing good players into town. A lot of pressure on the guys at the top end of their 1's to perform, and they really need to sort out their D Grade/16's on hard wicket stuff as well.

Team #4 Sturt

Finished 10th, 11th, 4th, 10th. Juniors had both 16's teams finish mid table and 14's both top.

Need
To get some results. Their batting line up was one of the most damaging in all of the comp last season, behind only Woodville in the runs made column. The blues took 90 wickets for the year and and with the other three teams I've gone through they round out the sub-100 wickets group. No surprises these teams are at the foot of the table when they can't bowl sides out. The men in blue desperately need someone ot take the place of Stu Clarring-Bould who went missing this season, a hamstring injury and bad run of form has him struggling and with that so did the Sturt bowling line up. Rumour is Simon Roberts is done as well, a huge blow to every aspect of their game.

Have Spoken/Should Speak To
Bowlers, same as the past 3 clubs. Josh Pengelley is one who could be worth talking to. Bats 10 and bowls minimal overs but has genuine pace and will be a good player in a couple years, Sturt can offer the opportunity he isn't getting at the Buffs. Hasn't been much floating around about Sturt though so they may have things in the works, they generally pull a player across once a year.

Key Next Season
Youth & a new coach. Dick, Dudley, and O'Connell are all quality players and the immediate future of the club will depend on their success. Alex Gregory will also be crucial, he's out of contract next season so it remains to be seen if he gets a new deal or not, if not you'd hope he can stay fit (for once) and bowl plenty of overs to stick it to the higher ups. Add his bowling to the mix and they will take 10-12 more wickets for the year. It's also worth mentioning the strength of the Sturt junior teams and how well run their programs are, they will produce good players over time (Brad Young's boys look the goods). They also need to sort their coaching situation out. I'm not sure if anything has been officially announced but the senior players don't expect Peter Judd to continue. Young may be able to slide into the role, he already works with the juniors and would be a great club coach IMO.

Team #5 Woodville

Finished 8th, 13th, 13th, 12th. Juniors finished 4th, 3rd in the respective 16's comps, 11th and 3rd in the 14's.

Need
To replace ageing veterans. Carl Tiejtens (I think that's spelled right without checking) is rumored to be hanging up the boots but this seems to go around every year. Stuart Coles is definitely done though, life is starting to take precedent over cricket as with most guys around his age. They will probably look to pick up a batter or two but they desperately need help for Francesca and Andrews. Ben Turley (much to the disappointment of most of the forum) is a good bowler when up and going but his body is made of glass. If he plays 12 games next season they will win a couple more than they did this year, but with it happening so consistently you must wonder if his injuries are accidents, lack of fitness and discipline or poor management by Woodville/SACA/himself. Looking at where the lower grades finished they obviously need some talent and grit there as well. I'm not entirely clued in on their coaching structure but from the outside it looks like McNally is more of a 12th man and mate with everyone than a coach on game day, so I'd hate to see how neglected the lower grades are on a Tuesday and Thursday night. One of my mates at Broadview also said Josh Hoffman may be out for a decent period of time with a knee injury sustained playing footy, this is likely to affect his cricket, at least the first half of the season.

Have Spoken/Should Speak To
The Peckers have spoken to Jacob Dickman, he's currently flaunting it in the Territory as an 'in demand player' between Port and Woodville so where he goes is a mystery. There were rumours of Harry Nielson returning to WT to vacate the A Grade WK role for his brother but they now seem to have turned to Warren Peters going to WT instead (this was also mentioned earlier. Woodville should really be looking for another quick. WT and Port don't really have too much that's gettable so it may be a case of them relying on a DLCA player at this stage. With the 16's finishing quite high on the table there must be a fair few older kids there, so maybe one or two of them can make the move through the senior grades as the year progresses?

Key Next Season
Staying fit on field and off. Their A's were realistically out of contention in round 9, only to win a few games at the end of the season to save face. Turley being unable to play significantly dents them, as does the potential absence of Hoffman through injury. Off field they need to address the 'crappy culture' as one Woodville player put it. A club that is quite young but also quite short on skill in the lower grades doesn't need the attitude problem they have. Like all grade clubs it just needs good people in those grades to stop the rot, but that is getting harder and harder to do with guys not being able to keep up to the demands of Grade Cricket. Again, being unaware of their coaching structure makes it hard to highlight areas of improvement, but a lower grade coach and some other form of specialist skill coaching is probably required to improve the lower grades as McNally clearly would rather be a mate than a coach by the looks of it. Harsh but the few players I've spoken to agree.

Team #6 Adelaide

Finished 7th, 9th, 6th & 8th in senior cricket. Juniors finished 7th & 4th in the 16's and 2nd & 11th 14's.

Need
To find a coach and keep the current talent at the club long term. Out of all the clubs in the competition Adelaide would be inside the top 2 or 3 regarding to talent which is 'ready to go' at A Grade level (for the record I'm talking about Reardon, Pengelley x2, Patterson, Bullard, Valente, Cormack and even Reekie). Keeping all the players they have between 16-23 will be the difference between them being a power house in 5 years time or being in the same position they are currently, the most average performing club in the competition. That by no means is a slight on them, they were the most consistent team at finishing in the middle of the table last season, it's better than being many of the other teams I've already gone through in these write ups. A coach with a strong plan for developing the youth at the Buffs is an absolute must. If not the risk of losing players will be significant.

Have Spoken/Should Speak To
Jacob Dickman (Prospect) sounds as if he's locked into the Buffs. Nothing official from the club yet though, or the Pirates for that matter. This is an interesting one, obviously you don't turn down good cricketers, but you would hope they have done their due diligence in regard to his character and whether than can change it or manage it. The Jacob Dick (Sturt) rumours are still running around, but with the capture of Dickman I can't see Dick moving clubs, the two have a long history of a very vocal dislike for each other. The most important people to speak to for the Buffs though are already Buffs. Their young players will be offered opportunities at other clubs over the next few seasons, if they haven't already that is.

Key Next Season
Development. I wouldn't be discouraged by Adelaide finishing lower than 7th next season IF they play the kids. It's one of those unique situations where they have 1 or 2 more quality youngsters in each discipline than other clubs and easing them into 1st Grade won't be as straight forward. Personally I'd love to see them start them all for the first game of the season (if it's a one day game) and see how they go. One or two might get a score or start and give them the confidence that would take them 3 months to get in the B's. Develop the talent, nurture the talent, don't let the talent go. That's the key for Adelaide moving forward.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts here Heater. You obviously see this up close and know the players character more so than I will, are they as good as I think or am I off the mark on a couple?

Team #7 East Torrens

Finished 6th, 3rd, 2nd and 6th in senior cricket. Juniors finished 8th and 9th in the 16's and 3rd & 4th 14's.

Need
To start performing for a full season. As touched on previously the Reds love a good start but also have the longest 2 Day Premiership drought. They also need to curtail the attitude issue that was also touched on, guys like Michael Cranmer have carried on like pork chops for far too long now (but that may not be their concern, plenty of rumours that he may leave the club for Kensington or TTG). From a playing standpoint they desperately need some runs, they brought in Trent Keep last season who had a pretty lean year but was still second on their run tally. A top 3 bat is a must, maybe a spinner as well. They have the best quick bowling stocks of any club IMO and that's the only thing propping them up over the past few seasons across all four senior grades. Another thing worth mentioning is the talent they have under 17 years old, one good looking quick and a couple good bats in Joel Size, Ryan King and Cooper Luke who have all played in the State 15's side over the past few years, they look to all be good young cricketers through the underage Premier League games I saw (stats don;t really back that up sometimes) and they will need to hold on to them.

Have Spoken/Should Speak To
There hasn't been been much around what ET are after so far. The odd whisper about Jacob Dick and a few guys interstate but I don't think those were much more than floating ideas of guys who are 'on the market'. They should be speaking to any young batter they can get the ear of, but there aren't too many of those in the North East. Perhaps if Kensington hadn't played all their young kids in the A's then some of them would be a chance, I've said it about a number of clubs now but a Bullard type would be very helpful, looks like slim pickings for ET at this stage though given how quiet they have been. Obviously they also need a 'keeper moving forward and after missing out on Drennan, Kerr and by the sounds of it maybe even Ludeman post-contract, Mark Eichler is only a handful dismissals off the club record as I understand it so you'd expect he stays on next season, no one else there is good enough to take his spot right now anyway. They may be backing the young guys I mentioned before as well as Alex Anderson and Lewis Evans to do the job, they haven't been the biggest recruiters in recent times.

Key Next Season
Performing. Wayne Bradbrook has been at the helm for a fair space of time now so the team they have has to start winning. Need to see performances from the likes of Robins x 2 and Keep, all had very quiet seasons last time out. It's pretty cut and dry for East Torrens I think, make some runs and they should be okay. Can't see the core of their squad changing too much.

BOTR - with a long weekend in a couple of days the punters could be expecting another club to be reviewed:)

Here you go.

Team #9 Tea Tree Gully

Finished 5th, 4th, 7th & 4th in senior cricket. Juniors finished 5th & 10th in the 16's and 8th & 5th in the 14's.

Need
Youth. The guys who are there now are the same ones that were there 5 years ago. Granted, they have been relatively successful over that time, especially with white ball cricket, but they need to blood some younger guys soon. Peter Sleep is a good enough coach and would be passionate about almost any job he was given, so they have a good one here. You can tell that a few of the players are moving past it now though, they just don't quite have the same onfield arrogance that used to be there. That said, they still win games of cricket, so it's not panic stations just yet.

Have Spoken/Should Speak To
Not a lot of noise has come out of the Bullring. Generally a promote from within club in the past, with the exception of Hutchinson. They probably don't need to speak to any particular player type either, more just the right aged player. One thing they should be doing is sitting down with young Oakley and reassuring him of his spot at the club moving forward, he'd get plenty more opportunity if he wants to pursue his cricket elsewhere and they probably have him in the B's if their best 11 is available. Don't want him doing a Tyrell Sinclair and skipping out just when he's almost ready.

Key Next Season
Blood some kids. I'm not sure of the level of talent in their lower grades or juniors, but it can't be that bad. They've had a couple guys in and around the junior state squads recently so they could be worth a crack. Quite a strong TTG presence here though so if anyone can help out with some names to watch that would be great. As per usual though I'd expect TTG to roll out the same top 6 performance next season and the season after that until the core group of Evans x2, Davey, Weaver and Sommerfield pull up stumps.

Feedback appreciated, it's been a long time between drinks but I didn't want to disrupt all the interesting conversation.

So I've had a bit longer lunch break than usual today. Gave me time to look into the wicket takers over the past 6 years (3 with and three without the Regulation Kookaburra) and I think the results speak for themselves. Highlighted in Yellow are spinners while the greyed out are quicks (there may be a few errors in here as I have not seen every one of these guys play EDIT: DAN CULLEN SHOULD BE YELLOW IN THE FIRST SEASON).

The main question I have for you all here is what other factors come in to play here? I attribute the increased number of spinners to flatter wickets (both weather and curating taken into account) as well as the main one being the less durable Turf ball. I would like to do the same thing for the B Grade as well but my knowledge of players there isn't good enough to say spinner/seamer to half the names.

Top20WicketTakers.png *I'm not great with editing so I've thrown this together on paint and had to make it a small enough file to be posted here, so the names are a bit fuzzy.

Bradman Medal tomorrow night, having gone through all the games periodically through the season here's my picks.

WInner - Page
Top 5 - McInerny, Raphael, Dougall, Andrews.
Smokey - Gatting

Gillespie Medal - O'Connell

ToTY - McInerny, Dougall, Page, Raphael, Plant, Andrews, Nielson, Turley, O'Connell, Robins, Patterson, Daniel (12th)

2nds Medalist - Schlicker

3rds Medalist - Panelli

4ths Medalist - Afraz

Rolton Medal - Harris

Turley to Prospect for an undisclosed sum for 'batting opportunity' and a leadership role