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CricketYou are in: Stoke & Staffordshire > Sport > Other Sports > Cricket > Staffordshire County Cricket 2007  Cricket Staffordshire County Cricket 2007Allan Smith A review of Staffordshire's 2007 cricket season in the Minor Counties Championship. Disappointing and frustrating were words frequently used by captain Richard Harvey as he summed up Staffordshire鈥檚 season, after his fifth year as leader of the county. 鈥淒isappointing in that we bowed out of the Minor Counties Knock-Out Trophy at the group stages after reaching the semi-final the year before.鈥 鈥淒isappointing that we lost our two opening Championship fixtures to virtually wipe out our chances of winning the league.鈥 鈥淒isappointing that we failed to beat Hertfordshire, when we had a great chance to kick-start our season.鈥 鈥淒isappointing and frustrating that during the championship campaign we had to use 19 players due to unavailability and injury鈥 鈥淔rustrating that, after all these problems, we missed out on the title by just nine points after winning our last two matches.鈥澨 Taking a more in depth look back at the season Harvey continued, 鈥淚t was very disappointing that we didn鈥檛 progress further in the Knock- Out competition having done all the planning and preparation in the winter. We were confident we could put up a good show. All the games were close and the margins of defeat were narrow. However this showed we weren鈥檛 quite good enough, as we were always battling to stay in the games and always faced an uphill battle. There were signs we weren鈥檛 far off but, having reached the semi-finals the year before, not to qualify was very disappointing.鈥 The results of the matches support Harvey鈥檚 comments with defeat at Suffolk by 16 runs, losing to Norfolk by an even closer margin of six runs before going down to Lincolnshire by just four runs. Even the one victory over Bedfordshire was a close run affair with the five wicket success being achieved with just five balls of the final over remaining. Turning to the championship campaign the skipper commented, 鈥淵ou can look at it two ways. On the positive side we were very close to winning the championship whilst, looking at it negatively, why are we so close but not winning any thing?鈥 He added, 鈥淚t was a tough season and it was a credit to the team that we pulled the result out of the bag at Knypersley to turn our season around. This win gave us the confidence to out play Norfolk in the final match despite them being a good side and they knew a win would give them the title.鈥 鈥淟ooking at the table at the end of the season,鈥 he continued, 鈥渟hows how close we were. The Hertfordshire game epitomised our season. We outplayed them for eight sessions then in the last session threw the win we deserved away. It was the same in the first match against Bedfordshire. They are the sort of sides we should be beating if we are to seriously challenge for honours. We put ourselves in good positions and then lost the match, and that meant we were off the pace from the start.鈥 Looking at the number of players Staffordshire had to call on Harvey continued, 鈥淭o have to use 19 players in six matches just isn鈥檛 good enough. Unavailability and injury were major factors in our performances and it is vital we field a settled side. In my ten years of playing for the county I have never known a season like it. We had no stability in the side, especially in the batting. We were constantly looking for different combinations at the top of the order, and that was a continual theme as we tried to get the balance of the side right.鈥 Just six players appeared in all six championship matches with seven players making their debuts for the county during the season. He looked back during his career with Staffordshire adding, 鈥淒uring this period we have lost the likes of Graeme Archer, Paul Shaw, Steve Dean and of course Kim Barnett and they have been replaced by younger lads who are still trying to make their mark. We are missing these heavy run scorers at the top of the order and that is something we have identified as an area we need to resolve. George Cairns showed he can bat in the top order when we moved him up to number three. He needs too carry that on. Brian Sims came in for the last match and showed his ability. We need to show more support for Sam Seadon who has easily been our best batsman for the past two years.鈥 On the bowling front he was full of praise commenting, 鈥淭heir performances were exceptional, particularly when you bear in mind we were without the experience of Iain Carr, Dave Edwards, Dave Womble and Shaun Rashid had left us. Jack Snape came into the side and Greg Willott returned to the team and they were brilliant along with Craig Barker and Mo Sheikh. Several opposition captains said they were the best attack they had come up against.鈥 In conclusion Harvey, who plans on leading the side out for a sixth season in 2008, finished, 鈥淲e have shown we have the basis of something. We just need to get the balance right and show more consistency.鈥 Chairman Nick Archer had similar views on the campaign commenting, 鈥淚n retrospect the Hertfordshire game cost us dearly but it shouldn鈥檛 mask what happened early in the season. We played pretty poor cricket in both the one day games and the early three day matches before turning it round later in the year. The weather played a major part in keeping all the counties in contention and it is galling to think we could have won it. In fact the whole season was one of narrow margins.鈥 Archer pinpointed the problem as, 鈥淎 lack of consistency at the top of the order. The failure to produce good starts put pressure on the rest of the batting. Sam Seadon proved his point when he moved up the order and by the end of the season we had a pretty good middle order engine room.鈥 He continued, 鈥淗aving said the top order batting was disappointing we were pleasantly surprised with the way the bowling coped with the absence of the senior bowlers. Jack Snape, Greg Willott and Craig Barker all made their mark whilst Mo (Sheikh) was consistent all season.鈥 Looking at the future Archer concluded, 鈥淭he Development XI did well and there are a number of younger players, like Michael Brown, who will be pushing for places next year. The age restrictions imposed on us by the ruling body means that younger players will have more opportunities in the years to come. They have shown they have got the ability, they need to develop consistency. The major plus throughout the year was the great spirit in the players and that showed in their efforts at the end of the season.鈥 ALLAN SMITHStaffordshire 2007 Championship Overall Summary Team Highlights Individual Highlights Bowling Fielding 2007 Championship Results Development XI Results last updated: 06/11/07 SEE ALSOYou are in: Stoke & Staffordshire > Sport > Other Sports > Cricket > Staffordshire County Cricket 2007
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