Loudon to retire

It has been announced today that Alex Loudon will retire from First Class cricket to concentrate on becoming a Stockbroker. Although his performances over the past season and a bit have not been as consistent as they might have been, he has still been a powerful force at No6 or No5 for the Bears.

He didn't always score a weight of runs, but often seemed to save his best for games when it was needed most. I remember a few low scoring games where he held the tail together and helped Warwickshire post a decent total.

Sadly I think he will be remembered as a player who never quite fulfilled his potential. It was not so long ago that he was on the verge of an England senior cap, mainly for his bowling, but also for his ability in the middle order. It is probably not unfair to say since that winter his game has gone backwards in both disciplines, notably his bowling. I felt he had the potential to go on and become a really good cricketer and with his skills it could have been him and not Graeme Swann who was filling the second spinner slot in Sri Lanka last week. Had he taken his initial opportunity he may even have become England's first choice spinner for a while in the absence of Giles. Unfortunately he didn't seem to posses that final quality that turns a merely good cricketer into a great one. It might be that his dual career ambitions contributed to this, that he didn't quite possess the hunger to excel at cricket when he had other options to fall back on. I may be being unfair here, because the likes of Troughton and Trott and lately Ambrose have achieved a similar level of recognition with England from the Warwickshire ranks without (yet) stepping up to international standard.

He will be sorely missed at Warwickshire where he fulfilled a vital and complex role. He had a decent cricket brain and took charge of the team on numerous occasions and his batting, as I've said was decent down the order. Warwickshire will struggle next season to find someone to fill his position, they may come to depend more on the top order for runs and the likes of Troughton might find himself bowling a few more overs. The leadership issue might be more complex, with Brown, Streak and Loudon all missing for next season (not to mention Knight and Wagh from last) the Bears may struggle for leadership and tactical help for Maddy and some of the younger members of the squad will have to step up.

I wish him all the best in his future career ambitions and I won't be surprised at all to see his name cropping up in the minor counties in the next few years.