Filed under: Uncategorized
I’ve been trying to find any situation remotely comparable to that which allows Roussow to retain his place in the side as a fairly high profile overseas signing with international (ODI) experience. I’ve failed – but there is one that perhaps has an echo or two.
Rossouw started well enough – 23 & 47 at Headingley and the 99 run out v Middx. He missed the home game v Yorks (Alsop scored 40) and understandably, given that start, returned immediately. His scores since then:
0, 0, 0, 13, 17, 4, 0, 0, 22, 28 (84 runs at 8.4)
The (slight) echo for me is the start by Barry Richards, another young (albeit younger) promising South African batsman in 1968.
He started batting at number four with a duck and 53* v Sussex, followed by 70 – but he didn’t score the runs expected, following that start, with 2, 2, 3, 50, 0 & 14.
That was 194 runs in his first eight innings at 24.25 – and it’s worth stressing that this was on unfamiliar uncovered wickets, in a pretty damp early season (in one rain-ruined game he didn’t get in) and over just three days.
Then he was promoted to open at Northampton, and scored 130 & 104* in his seventh match
He finished that season with 2,395 runs at 47.90 with five hundreds and 18 half-centuries.
Rossouw can’t do that because after the Oval there are only five first-class matches left, but it seems he will play in them all.
Michael Clarke didn’t always score the runs hoped for, but he started in terrific fashion and scored two hundreds in one match at Trent Bridge.
Any other thoughts?
13 Comments
Hampshire Cricket History 
I have a few on Roussow which is a bit of a waffle but bear with please
Roussow is batting in the wrong place in the order (I can hear the replies of yes he is batting in the firsts when he shouldn’t be) but when he made 99 it was lower down the order because of his injury and I also think that a night watchman was used. Therefore I would have a few games ago tried him at perhaps 5 and you would move Ervine up to 3. Sean batted really well at 3 when moved up there late last season and I think the responsibility is good for his game too.
Roussow at 3 is a disaster for him and the team as 1 wicket down is leading to 2 immediately which is then leading to a collapse. Not always like today but there has been a fair few. The guys batting behind him can’t have much confidence in him going in as they know they will soon be out there and as has been well discussed is no good for those not in the team.
Another thought is that I’m not sure he is actually out of nick (I can hear the laughing). It’s just that he tries to hit the ball hard and dominate the bowling. Take today he hits the first ball for four and just keeps trying to do the same to anything slightly wide and it seems that any decent 1st division bowler will get him pretty quickly. Nearly all his innings he has done this and it’s no surprise watching him he gets 0 and a lot of low scores, today it got him to 28 but its not going to even get him that much most of the time. You could argue James Vince does similar but he has contributed today and never goes on a run as bad as this.
My biggest disappointment with him is he just doesn’t seem to be learning or adjusting his game and that’s why I would rather he was left out more than anything I mentioned above. I expect though that he might do ok in T20 then come the Lancashire game he will retain his place and we are all talking about this then.
Comment by Ian July 3, 2017 @ 10:06 pmMy other thought (am on a long train journey) is about the coaches and the decisions made on the batting order.
I am not sure about McManus opening and my concern would be him doing it after 100+ plus overs in the field, I feel like that’s asking for trouble and he could go early, maybe he is really keen to do it but think this is where the coaches should step in and say no and find someone else. If he’s doing it because nobody else wants to do it then I’d be worried about the coaches judgment in handling players. Of course there is more than one opening solution at the club (Alsop, Smith) but if they aren’t going to use either of them then I think they could do a better job of organising the batting order with the players they do pick.
Comment by Ian July 3, 2017 @ 10:24 pmMany thanks Ian, lots of wise thoughts. Ultimately the issue for me has nothing to do with Roussow as a batsman or a human being. I wish the guy no harm
I want to be able to support a Hampshire side that seems to me to have a clear local/regional identity, a side that has something to do with Hampshire. In this match they are fielding seven players born and raised, learning their cricket, abroad.
Meanwhile Hampshire Cricket PLC (not Hampshire County Cricket Club) fails to develop its young cricketers and just casts around signing players from other counties (Topley? Salisbury? Coles? Wheater? Carter? Andrew? Wainwright? Andre Adams?) and other countries. I was dismayed when they signed Roussow – maybe he’s our new Richard Logan, a job lot with Abbott, as Logan was with the wonderful signing of KP.
As a consequence I don’t care where he bats although clearly he is going to – and while Lancashire show faith in their promising young batsman who is badly out of form, we don’t give a chance to our England Lion who is not badly out of form (three first-class matches, three decent scores). The only Roussow solution for me is for him to leave and that won’t happen, so I have.
Comment by pompeypop July 4, 2017 @ 5:47 amI was there yesterday and really enjoyed it. Going today and hopefully will see our first 5 batting points of the season. McManus did open against Cardiff Uni in 2014 and got 2 hundreds but he wasn’t w/k in that game (and it wasn’t first class). Alsop would have been the obvious choice as opener but I think that counts as an opinion!
Comment by Tigger MIles July 4, 2017 @ 6:39 amCensored!
Have fun today.
Comment by pompeypop July 4, 2017 @ 7:20 amFollowing my earlier comments, another interesting list. The Good, the Bad and KP:
Non-overseas players from other counties in first-class cricket, since KP in 2005:
RJ Logan (Notts), MA Carberry (Kent), MJ Lumb (Yorks), DG Cork (Lancs), TW Parsons (Kent), Kabir Ali (Worcs), S Jones (Glams), Bilal Shafayat (Northants), AJA Wheater (Essex), MT Coles (Kent), R Brathwaite (Durham), JS Gatting (Sussex), WR Smith (Durham), GK Berg (Middx), A Adams (Notts), R Topley (Essex), G Andrew (Worcs), A Carter (Notts), D Wainwright (Yorks), M Salisbury (Essex)
Comment by pompeypop July 4, 2017 @ 7:25 amI also do not wish Roussow any ill will and whilst I have been critical above I hope I make valid and fair points.
With the above list you have given Dave, you have put their most recent county before they played for Hampshire but it’s important to point out that in a lot of those cases a lot of these players were actually signed up when they were without a club and had been for some time. Wainwright, Andrew and Salisbury to name three examples of this. It’s when we make signings like this my first thought is always: Why? This gives no hope to any youngsters at Hampshire and it isn’t a surprise that we don’t produce bowlers.
The signings that have worked reasonably well such as Berg, Smith, Cork as three examples are when we have agreed to take players at the end of previous season or during the close season so they bed in properly. There are of course exceptions to both categories as we have had unattached players do well like Edwards in 2015 and close season signings not work out such as Gatting.
Comment by Ian July 4, 2017 @ 8:43 amQuite right again Ian. I’m entirely content that Hampshire have always signed players from other counties – Phil Mead never played for Surrey but came from the Oval and Mike Taylor was crucial when we won the 1973 Championship. On that list ‘Carbs’ is easily my favourite but one or two others (eg Cork, Smith, Berg) were good signings and I hope Topley will be too.
Comment by pompeypop July 4, 2017 @ 12:16 pmWith regard to Rossouw as I have said before he isn’t a batsman he’s a whacker. As such I agree with Ian that he shouldn’t be batting this high in the order.
I would also suggest that he was signed predominantly for T20 cricket and if he whacks a few runs in this competition he will be regarded by those who pay his wages as being a huge success irrespective of what he does in the Championship.
Sadly this seems to be the way it is nowadays.
Comment by James July 4, 2017 @ 11:18 amOk when was the last time we had 3 consecutive hundred partnerships.
Comment by Tigger MIles July 4, 2017 @ 11:31 amI surrender!
Comment by pompeypop July 4, 2017 @ 12:16 pmThis insightful and in depth article from an ESPN correspondent on Vince and indeed Adams yesterday is well worth a read for Hants fans
Click on this link
http://www.espncricinfo.com/county-cricket-2017/content/story/1108291.html
Comment by Peter Jeffs July 4, 2017 @ 11:47 amI’m assuming the ground at Beckenham is small. Anyone been there? 700+ at 5 an over suggests so.
Comment by Tigger MIles July 4, 2017 @ 2:50 pm