Warwickshire on the brink

Every time you keep thinking it can't get any worse this season, Warwickshire managed to find new depths to plumb. Thankfully as I am still in full time employment it is not easy for me to get to away games, so I was not at Old Trafford today to see Warwickshire capitulate in outstanding fashion.
To sum up; Warwickshire were bowled out for 106, having won the toss and chosen to bat, and Lancashire were 156/4 at stumps; Ant Botha removing the dangerous Horton in the last over of the day. This translates into 1 bonus bowling point (with 2 more to play for) and 0/5 batting points.
Meanwhile at Southampton, Kent had made the not inconsiderable total of 342/5. Which translates to 3 bonus batting points (with one more on offer for 350 and a fifth for 400 tomorrow).

The live table tonight therefore reads:

Warwickshire	16*	2	4	0	9	0	137
Kent	15*	2	4	0	7	1	130
Worcestershire	15	1	7	0	5	2	91

With the Bears having 2 more bonus points to play for and Kent having 5 to go for. It seems increasingly likely that Kent will overhaul us without needing the extra game. And confirming this as Warwickshire's worst season for some time, possibly ever.

George Dobell in today's Post writes a good article on their current woes and where it has all gone wrong, also picking out some telling statistics. Now I accept that statistics cannot tell the whole story, however there are some gems in there. I have updated them as of today's match;

- The fewest wickets every taken by Warwickshire in a first-class season is 188 (185 in the championship). This season Warwickshire have [currently] claimed only [163]. A new record is certain.

- The fewest wickets taken in a season by Warwickshire's highest wicket-taker is 39 by Waqar Younis in 2003. The leader this year is Jimmy Anyon with [32].

- The highest bowling average of Warwickshire's leading wicket-taker in a season is 36.60 by Vasbert Drakes in 2001. Anyon's average is currently [43.75].

- The worst strike-rate (the number of balls taken to claim each wicket) in Warwickshire's history is 78.81 in 1979. This year it is 81.03. The next worse by any side in either division is Worcestershire, who take a wicket, on average, every 70.93 deliveries.

- Tim Ambrose, with 840 first-class runs, is the only player in the squad with a realistic chance of achieving 1,000 runs in the season. The last time that Warwickshire failed to produce a single player who reached that target was in 1919. [As at the moment he has 842 with one innings to go....]

Another interesting stat I have heard a few times, first relayed to me by Mrs Raggy Bear who heard it in the bus queue for the No1 outside the ground is that;

- The last time Warwickshire produced a home-grown specialist seamer that went on to win his county cap was 1977. His name was Steve Perryman.

There is no easy fix for Warwickshire, but to continue to deny that anything needs changing and to continually look for quick fixes is going to send this club right to the wall.