Sunday 21 November 2010

Turmoil at Glamorgan continues

The word crisis is perhaps an overused word in the media these days, the slightest hint of any disruption has journalists questioning an entire structure of a club and its history.

But when a club loses its captain, coach and President, then a serious investigation should be conducted, and in Glamorgan's case, it is more the manner of which these events have occurred.

Paul Russell, the county's chairman, is the man seen to be instigating these movements, and in certain cases making their positions at the club untenable.

Jamie Dalrymple, the skipper for the last two seasons, was replaced, without notice, by the signing of South African international Alviro Petersen. Coach Matthew Maynard, who has held that position at the club for just over three years, was not consulted about making such drastic changes, and Colin Metson, the county's former wicket-keeper, is supposedly being brought into a coaching role that would see him above Maynard in the coaching structure.

None of these cricketing decisions were talked through with Maynard or Dalrymple. Now forgive me if I'm mistaken, but surely the coach and the captain should be made aware of these developments if the club has any inclination to keep these men at the club. Instead they've understandably seen their association with the club become untenable, and must surely have the feeling that they have been forced out by Russell, certainly in Maynard's case from the club he has a huge affinity with.

The problem that now appears to be creeping into cricket are major cricketing decisions are being made by the wrong people. We've seen it happen in football on a frequent basis. Those in charge of the club, non-football men, are making judgements on transfers, formations and styles of play. By all accounts Dalrymple and Maynard, the people that should be in charge of making cricketing decisions, have previously informed the management of the areas that need to be addressed in order for the club's cricketing abilities to progress, and importantly to aid the development of the side as one-day force.

It is the one-day performances that have forced the club into these changes. They were admittedly poor in 2010, but in the Championship they narrowly missed out on promotion to division one on the final day of the season. The decision to replace Dalrymple is naturally the decision of those above, and who is to say at this stage it isn't the correct one. The manner in which this has been dealt with is the biggest slur on the county.

When Russell and co. made Petersen the overseas signing and captain without discussing it with the coach, you can understand that he must have felt surplus to requirements. Also with the news of Metson being installed above Maynard, as a Director of Cricket, meant he was unwilling to ultimately accept a demotion into a lesser role.

Maynard's son, Tom, has recently extended his stay at Glamorgan, whether there is to be any repercussions here will remain to be seen.  

Metson, who is already a committee member, does not have a particularly impressive coaching resume in terms of experience gained, so it may be seen as a gamble in that respect.

To cap it all, President Peter Walker also opted to join Maynard and Dalrymple in walking out of Swalec Stadium, he simply did not agree with the changes and the impending implications of these actions.

It hasn't been a good week for Glamorgan, yet they have remained tight-lipped following the resignations of three key members. They are expected to announce on Monday that Colin Metson is joining as Director of Cricket, but it may take some time for the club to be shown in a good light again.

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