Any confirmed moves yet? A number of releases but little hiring. Gloucs release Jon Lewis?

Luke's just missed out and a few moments ago, having just scored the fasted 100 in Oz 20-20 history. Shah one of the top batsman at the BBL.

I don't understand - why don't they like the English players? Not that I am complaining, you understand...

.........excellent signing. Scott knows how to steady a team that has lost early wickets, build an innings and make a fifty to turn a game.For me Leicestershire won last year because they batted as a team and not as a series of individual knocks.

Our discussion seems to conclude we need a quality seamer who can bat at 8 or higher (due to Monty,Anyon and Amjad pre-booking of 9,10,11).

The problem of course is quality v availability v cost.

In the past we have flirted with Ryan Harris and Albie Morkel and that type .Abdul Razzack, Jacques Kallis,  and players of that quality are usually unavailable (IPL). And of course they need a work permit which Excludes Dwayne Smith (but not Dwayne Bravo).

Who would want Robbos tricky issues??

http://www.middlesexccc.com/news-detail.asp?NewsID=2431

Other interesting news is that Dalrymple has been given the boot; so a bigger role for Raynor

Good luck!!

Mr Khan, who has been an established politician for many years but has struggled to win votes, has seen his support increase recently.

Correspondents say he has been riding a wave of disillusionment, particularly among the urban middle class.

The next national elections are scheduled for 2013.

Shoare
Jackson (+)
Graham
Finch *
Hudson-Prentice
Guest
Moses
Hooper
Sakande
Hayward
A N Other

With the exception of Shoare and Jackson all the others can bowl with four seamers (Hudson-
Prentice, Moses, Sakande and Finch) and four spinners (Guest, Hooper, Hayward and Graham).

If Jackson and Finch are missing I would open with Shoare and Hudson-Prentice, Graham at 3 with Guest taking over the captaincy batting at 4 and Cammish taking over behind the stumps.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-w … 32723.html

Interesting that he says he wants another crack at international cricket. After being messed around so much I am suprised he really cares about West Indies Cricket?

Just to say - how many games does he need to play for WI to qualify as a Kolpak again and would he be worth a new contract at Sussex? Or has that boat sailed?

He is only 28 years old and his game came on so much when he was with us - he liked the set up and the club, he would be a dangerous player again.

Ollie Graham: 16 year off spinner top scored with 407 runs @ 34 including four fifties with 92 against Cricket Wales Under 17 and 10 wickets with 4-25 against Essex Under 17 and in 2010 took 14 wickets and scored 201 runs.

Ben Shoare: 15 year old batsman was the second top run scorer with 383 runs @ 55 with five fifties including 77 against Surrey Under 15. Selected for the Bunbury Festival. In 2010 scored 306 runs.

Fynn Hudson-Prentice: 15 year old seam bowling all-rounder took 6-57 against Hampshire and 134 against Surrey. He finished with 20 wickets @ 23.5 and 379 runs and in 2010 scored 596 runs @ 54 with three hundreds.

Harry Finch: 16 year old batsman scored 76 against Hampshire 2XI, won the Sussex Premier League with Hastings, scored 326 runs including 92 against Middlesex, captained U17 and Development XI and in 2010 scored 429 runs.

Callum Guest: 16 year old off spinner took 23 wickets @ 22 with a best of 4-39 and scored 309 runs @ 34 with 63* against Essex Under 17. In 2010 he scored 253 runs and took 6 wickets.

Elliott Hooper: 15 year old left arm spinner took 5-39 against Cricket of Wales Under 17 and finished the season with 15 wickets @ 25.

Josh Hayward: 15 year old left arm spinner took 12 wickets @ 20.5 with 3-22 against Essex Under 15 and 3-65 for the Academy against Hastings.

Callum Jackson: 16 year old wicketkeeper played 15 games for Sussex 2XI scoring 456 runs with 106* against Hampshire, captained England Under 17 and 7 games for U17s and Development XI. In 2010 scored 308 runs.

Izi Noakes: 17 year old seamer took 20 wickets and scored 114 runs and in 2010 took 31 wickets.

Sophie Parnell: 17 year old seamer took 21 wickets and scored 151 runs.

This will be the seventh year of the Academy and for me this is the strongest squad of them all!

The new campaign might not get going for real until April but the Sussex bowler insists preparations are going nicely.

He believes there is plenty to be positive about despite Sussex losing their second game of the Caribbean Twenty20 Tournament when they went down by 50 runs to Jamaica on Thursday.

The county, who won their opening game of the ten-team tournament when they beat Netherlands on Tuesday, hope to get back on track when they face Combined Campuses and Colleges in the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, later today.

The group phase of the competition is completed with a match against Barbados in Bridgetown on Wednesday.

While this stage of the season is all about getting ready for the main event, Sussex are desperate to make an impression in the Caribbean by reaching the knockout phase of the tournament.

Skipper Michael Yardy said as much before he left England, stating he was going there to win with a predominantly young squad missing stars Matt Prior, Murray Goodwin, Monty Panesar, Luke Wright and Ed Joyce.

At 31 and having played Test cricket for England, Khan is one of the more experienced players in the travelling party.

The Denmark-born bowler is pleased with the progress Sussex are making so far and hopes to improve on it by fulfilling Yardy’s wish.

Khan said: “Even before we came out here our main goal was to win it. We will work hard to achieve that and we will be gutted if we don’t progress.

“As a team and individuals we know where we should be. In January we are probably a bit ahead of where we should be but as a team we know we are not at our best quite yet.

“Even though we did well against the Dutch we got a little exposed on Thursday.

“We have been on the training pitch, trying to put some things right we did wrong.

“Thursday was a wake-up call. You can hit as many balls as you want indoors and bowl as many balls as you want but if you have someone coming to you with intent outdoors you will get exposed.”

Against Jamaica, Sussex were dismissed for 102 chasing a tough 152-5. Opener Nkruma Bonner provided the backbone of his side’s innings with an unbeaten 66 off 57 balls, hitting seven fours and a six, while West Indies internationals Carlton Baugh (20 off 17) and Andre Russell (24 off 11) provided some late momentum.

Leg-spinner Will Beer finished with miserly figures of 1-13 off his four overs, while Yardy took 1-24 from his allocation.

In reply, Sussex made a decent start as they recovered from the early loss of Matt Machan, run out for a duck, reaching 49-1.

However, it was largely all downhill after opener Chris Nash was bowled by Odean Brown for 26 as Sussex quickly slipped to 73-9.

Khan and Chris Liddle delayed the inevitable with a last-wicket stand of 29 but it was all over when Liddle – who was one of only three batsman to reach double figures – was dismissed for 16.

While Khan got some time at the crease, his main role is with the ball. He is happy with how things have gone and grateful for the opportunity the Sussex squad have been given.

He said: “Considering it is January, I am bowling quite quickly already and it is a good sign for the season.

“We are incredibly lucky to be on this trip and all credit to the club. We are loving every minute of it and hopefully we will get back to England a bit stronger. Not one of us is taking it for granted.”