News on the website to say that Deon Kruis is to leave the club after failing to agree a new contract with the club. This is a shame - but frankly it's hardly the end of the world. We have experience with Hoggy and Rana - if he's still around - and it provides a great opportunity for Shahzad and Patterson.
Deon has done his bit for the club and always gave his all on the pitch, but i doubt whether he would have remained as effective for another season. Unlike Gough perhaps, I think the club have done the right thing by letting him go..
I am a HUGE Kruis fan. Alas, he was probably past his "best by" date and so it was probably time to move to the commentary box anyway. We have too many youngsters waiting for their chance. It was time.
i liked the lad. i enjoyed listening to at least 100 different pronunciations of his name. he always gave everything he had. i think his age was catching up with him. good luck in the future.
Obviously Gough has retired but apart from this the other ten still remain with Yorkshire although I understand there are doubts surrounding Vaughan, with him being linked with moves to Hampshire and Lancashire, and Rana.
Looking at the Yorkshire squad as it stands you have:
You probably have a keeper and two spinners more than you need. At 30 should Guy be retained if he can't command a first team place? I think Rashid and Rafiq will end up as Yorkshire's main two spinners. Yorkshire have Jonathan Bairstow and Joe Root to replace Sayers and Taylor if they don't recapture their form next season.
I've always been a big Kruis fan ... basically because he always gave 100% even if the results didn't show it. But even I had to admit that next season that Deon would probably have been cover rather than guarenteed a first team place.
I have to say that as a Sussex fan I was VERY IMPRESSED with how Patterson bowled against us at Scarborough. I thought he was your best bowler. Looking at your bowling options do you need another bowler?
I like what you say Sussex Shark as your perceptive comments from afar don't suffer from the same emotional connections we all have up here.
I think you are right about our keepers and suspect Guy will not be around next season or leave at the end of 2009 as we have Bairstow and Wood coming through - it may be that they both stay on and Brophy goes at the end of 2009 as well depending on how well Bairstow develops next year.
Spinners you overlook Wainwright who after the last game cannot be ignored easily - left arm offers variety and with a decent run his bowling would improve. he is also capable of playing at 7 or 8 in the batting order next season.
I still think we need another class opener as we don't think gale is born to open and Vaughan will either fail, do well and go back to England or retire. Sadly the openers in the seconds are ex-first teamers (White, Sayers and Taylor) who have not taken their chances recently or in Whites case are skippering the seconds.
if you read todays YP its not all sweetness and light re Deons departure apparently.
He found out by text and he was mulling over the contract offer but as he wanted 2 weeks to think about it and the club only wanted to give him a week to decide, the club withdrew the offer when he had still not decided.
More interestingly the article also alludes to a new signing in the next week or so - presumably another fast bowler?
it is a shame it has got a bit acrimonious, being told by text is always unpleasant. it sounds like we are signing a new bowler. i hope it is morne morkel but that leaves a problem wih rana.
Best wishes to Deon Kruis. You're a real trier who often looked dangerous.How come that somehow you never took the wickets you threatened? The abiding memory of Deon is my last - at Northampton in September, when in a truly thrilling final effort he summoned up pace and bounce to destroy the Steelback's later order and snatch for us an unlikely promotion. Good luck to you for the future. However rancorous your departure from Yorkshire may have been, you left many of us with positive memories. Thank you for your efforts.
A very good post T1950. The Northants game will remain in the memory
Two other memories
Kruis's look of pleasure when being clapped back to fine leg after taking his first wicket at Headingley in 2005... the smile said "I'm going to like it here". btw One reason Deon was popular was that he always acknowledged the crowd when they applauded him ... things like that do matter to the Yorks 'faithful'.
Deon could also bat at times. The 2005 Roses game at OT was notible for Kruis hitting (I think it was) Keedy onto the roof of the Old Trafford pavilion. The tiles rained down on the LAncs committee balcony .... btw dont believe Dicke Bird ... he appeared after the shower ...... the hole was still there when I attended this year's Roses game.
In addition it must be remembered that Kruis was no 11 for 'that' innings of survival when we somehow stopped Lancs winning at Headingley ..... Hoggy & Kruis were together for what felt like 3 hours ... even though the 10th wicket fell after tea
"But Regan said the club would be announcing the signing of a new bowler 'probably before the end of the month'".
My reading of it is, we have managed to sign "this bowler" and have decided we no longer need Deon and therefore withdrew the contract offer.
By definition the club must believe this new player is better than Kruis, only name really linked so far is Plunkett. IMO this would be a VERY good signing.
I am hoping that the club have learnt the lesson of giving aging fast bowlers too long a contract (as with Gough and Gillespie) and keeping them for the year past their sell by date is not financially sound.
Let them go when the good memories are fresh rather than have the final swansong season being injury prone and wicketless.
There will be some happy people on here as some people on this forum have been trying to get rid of Deon since 2005. I think he was worth another year ... if we have signed Plunkett good ... BUT if it turns out we've only signed John Blain .... panic Mr Mainwaring
It is to be hoped we have the new signing in the bag before letting Kruis go. ''Hopefully before the end of the month'' sounds a bit scary to me. Twenty days for him to be poached, injured or change his mind. Given those twenty days could we not have waited the further seven days Kruis was expecting to recieve?
I'd guess the player involved is contracted until 31st and so we are waiting for his contract to expire and that we must have him virtually ''in the bag'' and that his current county don't wish to lose him but can't stop him moving after that date.
Kruis would now appear to be not wanted/needed and the new players availability came to light after the offer of a new contract.
i would hope its more a question of ability and the new signing has the ability to be a more automatic selection than Kruis and others like Patto and Shahzad can fulfil the role Kruis did last season.
there is no point us signing another journeyman or cast off as our reserves are just as good so it has to be someone who will 'queue-jump' the current reserves and be an almost guaranteed pick (I hope).
Perhaps its a sign of the times re the financial crisis as well and we could only afford one of them now - Kruis as a capped player would command a higher salary than others
I would doubt its an overseas player like Morkel as this would also need some decision about Rana (unless we can get either of them switched to Kolpak status).
A great team player and he treated the fans so well. Too bad it has ended in such acrimony. I doubt it if Yorkshire really wanted this old war-horse back.
This is obviously going to affect either the new bowler signing or restrict the younger guys, BIG backward step IMO, next year is shaping up to be a carbon copy of this one.
There's a BIG difference from 2008 .... we wont have to think about including a bowler who only bowl 4 or 5 meaningful overs a day. But of couse some people on here will only be happy when we sign 6 or 7 new players every winter
I for one am delighted that Deon is back. Whenever I have seen him play he has never given less than 100% and his attitude to the crowd is great. Not only that, he is a good bowler and very reliable. Rather than a hindrance to the youngsters, I think they can learn from his experience. He may not be first choice next year, but his reliability will give us cover for injuries. Hopefully with the youngsters playing, he will also provide a "safe" option. In reality, the youngsters will have some bad days, and its then we need a good pro at the other end to calm things down.
While Kruis is a good back up bowler, I can't see him as a front line seamer anymore. I see his role more as an emergency backup. Like most others, I feel we need to add a top class opening bowler if we are to contend in 2009. Our opening batting deficiencies are also only too obvious.
Why this obsession with another bowler .... most of the matches we lost were due to 2nd innings batting collapses or going to sleep in the field ... we got the opposition into trouble then 'switched off' resulting in a lower order recovery ... by the time the 'right' bowler was put on the batsmen had 'got in'.
