Dan Lawrence

[neil]

When I've seen Patel he seems to have the strokes, we can't expect him to be an overnight success, Khushi too apparently has ability (only really seen him in T20 & occasional Tourist game), if they get the chance they need to grab it & also Coaching team need to show belief & some patience.

Yes

And the fans have to show patience, too.

We are in a period of transition so everything will not go our way

[Andy]

When I've seen Patel he seems to have the strokes, we can't expect him to be an overnight success, Khushi too apparently has ability (only really seen him in T20 & occasional Tourist game), if they get the chance they need to grab it & also Coaching team need to show belief & some patience.

Yes

And the fans have to show patience, too.

We are in a period of transition so everything will not go our way

We are also in a period whereby there are plenty of more attractive options than ECCC for talent that might have been imported from overseas or at least from another county. Hence we will have to grin and bear it with our home grown players.

[nat]

When I've seen Patel he seems to have the strokes, we can't expect him to be an overnight success, Khushi too apparently has ability (only really seen him in T20 & occasional Tourist game), if they get the chance they need to grab it & also Coaching team need to show belief & some patience.

Yes

And the fans have to show patience, too.

We are in a period of transition so everything will not go our way

We are also in a period whereby there are plenty of more attractive options than ECCC for talent that might have been imported from overseas or at least from another county. Hence we will have to grin and bear it with our home grown players.

Trouble is...you'll be grinning from afar while we'll be bearing it at the ground. We should be expecting Essex to be competitive from the get go.

[neil]

When I've seen Patel he seems to have the strokes, we can't expect him to be an overnight success, Khushi too apparently has ability (only really seen him in T20 & occasional Tourist game), if they get the chance they need to grab it & also Coaching team need to show belief & some patience.

Yes

And the fans have to show patience, too.

We are in a period of transition so everything will not go our way

We are also in a period whereby there are plenty of more attractive options than ECCC for talent that might have been imported from overseas or at least from another county. Hence we will have to grin and bear it with our home grown players.

Trouble is...you'll be grinning from afar while we'll be bearing it at the ground. We should be expecting Essex to be competitive from the get go.

There is nothing to say we won't be competitive. Just that we are in transition so there may be some ups and downs

[Perov]

There is much more satisfaction in seeing home grown talent succeed, than importing  an overseas mercenary.  I think we will still be competitive,  and won games when Bopara was dropped last season.

[bobw]

When I've seen Patel he seems to have the strokes, we can't expect him to be an overnight success, Khushi too apparently has ability (only really seen him in T20 & occasional Tourist game), if they get the chance they need to grab it & also Coaching team need to show belief & some patience.

Yes

And the fans have to show patience, too.

We are in a period of transition so everything will not go our way

We are also in a period whereby there are plenty of more attractive options than ECCC for talent that might have been imported from overseas or at least from another county. Hence we will have to grin and bear it with our home grown players.

Trouble is...you'll be grinning from afar while we'll be bearing it at the ground. We should be expecting Essex to be competitive from the get go.

There is nothing to say we won't be competitive. Just that we are in transition so there may be some ups and downs

I would rather be in transition as county champions than doing so at the foot of div2

[Andy]

We are also in a period whereby there are plenty of more attractive options than ECCC for talent that might have been imported from overseas or at least from another county. Hence we will have to grin and bear it with our home grown players.

Trouble is...you'll be grinning from afar while we'll be bearing it at the ground. We should be expecting Essex to be competitive from the get go.

I won't 'be grinning' at all.

I've not expected us to do anywhere near as well as we have in the past 3 seasons.  Back when we made changes in captain, chairman and coach I wanted us to show signs of improvement - to compete for promotion.  When we won promotion, I wanted us to 'consolidate' (i.e. not drop straight back down as before).  In the event, we won D2 then went on to win D1 twice and the T20. 

I just fail to see where we can buy in talent - this is not the 1980s when we could pick up disaffected home players and get pretty much the pick of the overseas talent.

[Valentines Park]

Patel looked okay to me against Surrey

Me too.

Rather him than Chopra.

[nat]

Patel looked okay to me against Surrey

Me too.

Rather him than Chopra.

So you're easily satisfied by a flashy 30.

[neil]

Patel looked okay to me against Surrey

Me too.

Rather him than Chopra.

So you're easily satisfied by a flashy 30.

Nope

I was impressed with his range of shots and temperament

He is learning and will learn more by being given a run in the first eleven. He won't be helped by sniping from the sidelines

[Andy]

Has anyone noticed that Dan Lawrence scored 190 against the Aussies?  Now, cue Nat's scathing dismissal of the bowling attack...

[nat]

Has anyone noticed that Dan Lawrence scored 190 against the Aussies?  Now, cue Nat's scathing dismissal of the bowling attack...

I never do that. However I note that Jennings got a big ton and even Gregory got runs against that bowling.

[bwildered]

Dan needs a shed full of runs to break into the new  Silverwood set up . Perhaps at present a 50 over side is the only option, and that with a few overs to bowl if required , do that and you never known. 
Runs by top order has taken pressure in the middle order in the Test side and given the power in 20/20 side, eg scoring 200 plus chasing , looks unlikely.

[ytsejam1]

The success of the past three seasons have been beyond my wildest dreams to be honest and I don’t think anyone (apart no doubt from the usual clueless bookies and the “super fans”) will really be expecting anything like the repeat of them this coming season.
It’s most definitely a time of transition coming up and patience is needed to give the youngsters a real chance to see if they are good enough. Trouble is, if they are not, then I dread to think where we go in 2021 when we will also most likely be without The Chef, Tendo and most crucially, an “England qualified” Harmer!

[nat]

The success of the past three seasons have been beyond my wildest dreams to be honest and I don’t think anyone (apart no doubt from the usual clueless bookies and the “super fans”) will really be expecting anything like the repeat of them this coming season.
It’s most definitely a time of transition coming up and patience is needed to give the youngsters a real chance to see if they are good enough. Trouble is, if they are not, then I dread to think where we go in 2021 when we will also most likely be without The Chef, Tendo and most crucially, an “England qualified” Harmer!

Exactly. Team recruitment is being driven by finance at the moment. The club is not rich and is falling further behind many counties, not least the likes of Somerset (take a look at their finances). The team has massively over-performed in recent years primarily off the backs of a few players, RTD, Harmer, Porter, Masters. The trick is to manage how the team evolves to ensure continued success or at least continued competitiveness. I don't see that managed evolution happening at the moment. If I'm correct then there is a high risk the team will decline very rapidly.