Lancashire relegated

Still rather be a pear than a bear ( just a short note for Bears fans )

Kapil is a class young player. Him and Thakor at Leicester are very good teenagers.

You will do well to hold onto Kapil in a few years.

Big debate amongst worcs fans as to how long a contract Kapil is on. Class all rounder in the making is Kapil. Slurrey will no doubt throw money at him soon.
Takor is a player and a half and am personally glad he wasn't picked for the under 19's, he was far better off getting some first class cricket under his belt, I think a great move by the selectors to leave him to play the 4 day game. Seemed strange at the time but I think it's a great long term investment.

Lets hope in your case Richardson does a Chapple.

The last thing you want is to be a yo-yo club but it's not easy nowadays. Maybe the promising youth coming through will signal better days.

Ah yes some great days back then. Wasim, Botham and the likes. At least you can say you've seen a few championship victories in your time though. I never thought I'd live to see the day so if you'd have offered me these past 2 seasons I'd have took them every time.

Akram, wow did he destroy a few worcs dreams over the years. Sadly can't remember the year but I recall,I think a semi a few years back, we had Lancs dead and buried and akram came to the crease and smashed us all over the park, got 67no I think and won the game from an almost impossible position.
Worcs have been a yo yo club for years and that will continue for now.. lancs have so much youth on their side, proctor I think has something, smith for me is under used ( maybe I say that after seeing his one day hundred first hand against us the other week) and I think some of your academy and youth players look very good when I saw them this season down our way. The future for Lancs is good I feel, you have a great county coach, some young players and a TM ground for finances. Yorkie may well prove me wrong here but I think Yorkshire have a great basis for future with some of their really really young guys. The future looks good for the "old guard" of the CC if you like, but only time will tell, and Slurrey's cheque book !
I'll carry on dining out on 5 CC championships, althought when your last was a generation ago you know you're clutching at straws !

Keep a eye out Yorkshire way for a really good young player in DAVID FREDERICK GIRLING, looks a cracking prospect in a couple of years time.

Good point about the sekectors and Thakor. My personal belief is that Thakor, Kapil and Topley should be in the Lions squad now with the likes of Hales, Wells, Harris etc and only a few over 25's. It gets them set up for International cricket - Fast tracked in a way.

Regarding Yorkshire... Interesting. Our weakest batsman CC wise is our captain. England have taken Bairstow and Root will follow. We seem to produce youngsters too good for CC.

Ideal level is your Adam Lyth's.

Were a very young team, with the exception of a few. Ashraf, Rafiq, Root, Bairstow and Ballanxe who cleaned up with the club awards are our main young stars.

I feel we need a few signings. I would stear clear of foreigners. Definately a bowler to clean up the tail... Gidman, Brooks. Someone England won't take.

Also, onky a matter of time until Bresnan is back. Personally rate him about 7 in the bowling ranks and not the samecsince his elbow injury.

The future - Alex Lees is the stand out batsman next in pine. Jack Leaning also looks promising. We have NO bowlers bar Ashraf which is very un-Yorkshirelike.

Going back to one of the main discussions earlier, I have never been so excited by an England prospect as I Am about Reece Topley.

As a lifelong Bears supporter, it was rather gut-wrenching to be pipped to the County Championship by Lancs this time last year. But all subjectivity aside Lancs had a truly great side, all the way down the order in fact. And the deserved their win.

This year the Bears built on that last-day defeat to the title from 2011 and we won this year's trophy with a game to spare. And even though we probably deserved it, I was more shocked at the fall from grace with regards Lancashire - all in just one season as well!

I know players coming & going can unbalance a side initially, but I really wasn't expecting such abject capitulation in the space of a year. I could have imagined a team like Worcestershire being relegated with relative ease (and I mean that with due respect to our homely rivals - plus the stats don't lie either); but for 2011 Champions to end up sitting ducks by 2012 is like ManU being relegated to the Championship.

I think they will find it hard getting out of League 2; they need to address just what the hell happened that got them there in the first place as well. It would be good to have them back where they belong for 2014, but I have a nagging doubt it might take a little longer than that.

Congrats Jack, a well deserved title this year i think. Painful as it is for me to say the awful Bears more than deserved the title. Really are a very impressive team right now, think you might be entering into a period of dominance, sadly. Just why did you have to life the cup at New Road, made a bad season even worse. But you are right about us, stats don't lie and we deserve relegation.

Yorkie i agree about Topley, he looks an amazing prospect in the Bruce Reid mould. he needs to fill out quickly though as right now i think the England selectors want to leave him alone to develop both his bowling and his body for the rigors of bowling. Looks a real find however and like yourself am very excited about his future.

Thanks Bearded. And I guess it really topped your season as a Pears fan to see your local rivals not only trounce you on your own turf, but also to lift the trophy there as well; and more or less cement your relegation too.

It probably deserves a thread all of its own, but it does amaze me at Worcester's inability to retain their League One status for more than a season or two before being dumped into the wilderness!

The last 10 years suggests you're too good for League Two, but not good enough for League One. I guess should you get promoted back this time next season, there will be an air of expectation from the club & fans that if history is anything to go by, you'll get relegated the season after.

But that's for another thread.