Joe Clarke (or Ben Cox) – Clarke already has made his lions
debut this winter but if he really wants to give himself the best opportunity
of playing for England he needs to be wicketkeeping now. We’ve seen with Jos
Buttler and Jonny Bairstow that whilst
they’re fine bats, their wicketkeeping
doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny.
Clarke doesn’t want to specialize too early on just batting but at present Cox
is the frontline keeper at Worcestershire (and rightly so as one of the best
glovemen in the English game). Offer Clarke the opportunity to be a team’s
first team keeper- and if Worcestershire go with him, then take Cox who is a
very decent county cricketer as it is.
Gurjit Sandhu - Without a county having been released by
Middlesex, Sandhu is a reasonable prospect. He is brisk and swings the new ball into the right hander.
A little rough around the edges but was never going to get the opportunity at
Middlesex with their wealth of seam bowling options. At nearly 24 and without much first team cricket he is a bit of gamble but he can be given a short term contract on modest terms to determine whether he is up to it.
Dan Lawrence – Talented England U19 batsman. You have to
question whether Essex are the right county to develop players anymore. They seem constantly in a mess and underperforming as a result.
Would Lawrence be better off elsewhere? Essex played the departing Mark Pettini
rather than Lawrence in the last game of last season – in a season in which
Lawrence averaged 37 and was made to debut early season whilst Bopara and Ten
Doeschate were swanning around in the
IPL. Needs a fair crack of the whip.
Ian Cockbain – A really decent one day batsman who for
whatever reason hasn’t cracked it at Gloucestershire. Solid technically and a
clean striker off the ball. I can’t see Gloucestershire fighting particularly
hard for him – and I feel he’d be happy to start again.
Tymal Mills- I’m sure Sussex would be happy to get a guy off the wage structure
who is likely to play only T20 cricket. Would hopefully offer real penetration
to a T20/50 over attack. Could offer him the opportunity in time to play other T20 leagues which could bring in income to the club - and maybe full England
honours will come in time and the prestige and financial incentive that brings.
Scott Borthwick – The opportunity to bowl is something that
Borthwick still desires even if his batting is now his strong suit. He knows that his best opportunity with
England is as a spin bowler. Whilst his top order batting is very useful he
would have to surpass a load of other batsmen in that role. The opportunity to
play somewhere that turns and gives him the opportunity to bowl a lot of overs
is something he made find hard to resist.
Will Gidman – Struggled in his first year with Notts and
with a group of young English fast bowlers breaking through last year it will
be a struggle for him to get back into the team. Notts will likely be keen to
get a big earner who isn’t playing off their books and Gidman surely will jump
at the opportunity of first team cricket. Is by no means express pace but he
offers enough in the 3 aspects to make contributions to the team and has a stupendous first class record, albeit mainly in the second division. Luke Fletcher
is another at Notts who has seen his chances limited in recent times and who is at
an age where he would like first team cricket.
Olly Stone, Ben Duckett (and Saif Zaib) – Northants look to
be a sinking ship with financial difficulties causing cost cutting. Duckett and
Stone aren’t just the scraps that are leftover. These two are serious prospects.
Stone is a quick bowler who is improving rapidly and there is a good chance
will be playing for England within a year or two. Duckett whilst never far from
trouble is a special talent with the bat. These two (and Saif Zaib) may well be
glad to jump ship with the offer of greater financial stability.
A Lancashire Spinner or two (Stephen Parry or Simon Kerrigan) -
Lancashire have 3 spinners they like rotating around in the different formats
and they have a fourth in Matt Parkinson who has played some u19s cricket for
England in the last year who is also looking to break though. Lilley probably
is the most secure as someone who played all 3 formats last year and only just
broke into the first team. With his batting useful Lancs will likely look to
keep him around. That leaves Kerrigan or Parry. Kerrigan plays only first
class, Parry 50/20 over. Offer either the opportunity to play all formats (or
contest for all formats) and you’ll likely get someone looking to leave and
Lancashire should be inclined to let them go. Kerrigan's career has stalled since making his international debut and Parry should want first class cricket as there is a chance with England for whoever performs. Might even get the leggie
Parkinson to join them.
Joe Weatherley/Tom Alsop – Hampshire have a few talented
bats in their second xi who haven’t had a chance yet in the first team and
would likely be willing to jump at the opportunity of first team cricket. Both
have played for England u19s and scored heavily for the seconds last year - and can see their route to the first team blocked by a strong batting unit.
