In praise of: Steven Rhodes

A lot has been made in the cricket media recently about Nottinghamshire’s title triumph. And rightly so; It was a breathtaking climax to the season, full of twists and turns and Notts themselves are a very good side, with exciting players like Alex Hales, Samit Patel (the Darren Lehman fitness regime has worked, clearly) and the evergreen Andre Adams. By my reckoning, though, even more credit should be thrust in the direction of Steven Rhodes and Worcestershire, who on the final day pulled off an unlikely four-wicket win over Sussex thereby sealing promotion to the first division.

Worcestershire are not a rich county. They operate on a small budget and, last winter, Director of Cricket Rhodes was for many pundits, staring at an impossible task. His strike bowler, Kabir Ali, had got the move to Hampshire he had long been agitating for, and Simon Jones soon followed; Stalwart Graeme Hick had retired; reliable all-rounder Gareth Batty had returned to Surrey and the same county had also offered the dynamic wicket keeper Steven Davies a bundle to follow suit. Very few players were recruited in their place, and they were tipped by many to finish in the lower reaches of Division 2.

What has happened is therefore a true cricketing success story – particularly when you consider that Vikram Solanki handed over the captaincy to Daryl Mitchell mid-season. Batsmen Alexei Kervezee and Moeen Ali, young, raw but talented, both scored valuable runs alongside Mitchell and some impressive stuff from Gareth Andrew. In Ben Cox, they have an heir to Davies; A promising glovesman who can also bat, and still so young at just 18. Shakib Al Hasan’s arrival in late July also made a difference – his seven wicket haul in the second innings at Middlesex two weeks ago won them the game and brought momentum into the final few furlongs of this long County slog. When more established, richer clubs such as Surrey, Middlesex and Kent struggle and find themselves in Division 2, it shows just what an incredible job, under tight constraints, Rhodes has done – motivating a small, inexperienced squad into performing far higher than the mere sum of its parts. Now the question remains, can they keep hold of some of these young stars to see them try and stay in the top division?