Warwicks set Brown tough tasks

By Paul Bolton, County News Correspondent

Warwickshire’s new director of cricket Dougie Brown has been set the task of finishing in the top four of the LV= County Championship for each of the next four years, reaching the quarter-finals of both limited overs competitions in each of those seasons and also progressing to the Twenty20 Finals Day at least once.

The former England and Scotland one day international all-rounder has taken over from Ashley Giles, who steered Warwickshire to the County Championship last year before leaving Edgbaston to become England’s new one-day and Twenty20 coach.

Warwickshire’s success last year has raised levels of expectations at Edgbaston and Brown has been set some tough challenges in the county’s new Strategic Plan for 2013-16 which was unveiled by chairman Norman Gascoigne at last night’s annual meeting at Edgbaston.

Brown has been set the general challenge to: “Consistently deliver strong performances in the major domestic competitions whilst regularly providing England players throughout the representative system and retaining a strong pipeline of talent, capable of delivering sustained success for the club.”

Warwickshire have not set Brown the task of retaining the Championship but they aim to finish in the top four of the First Division every season until 2016, qualify for the Twenty20 quarter-finals every year and progress to the Finals Day, all of which will be staged at Edgbaston during that period, at least once and reach the quarter-finals of the 40/50 overs competition in each season.

Warwickshire also want to have at least two centrally contracted England players throughout the period, for at least 40 per cent of their professional playing squad to have come through their Academy or played the majority of their cricket locally, for a minimum of one player each year to graduate from the Academy to a full-time playing contract and to further develop links with the Warwickshire Cricket Board.

Warwickshire’s awards for last year went to Varun Chopra (batting), Chris Wright (bowling) and Chris Woakes (all-rounder) all of whom are abroad with England or England Lions.

All-rounder Tom Milnes collected the Peter Cranmer Award for Most Improved Second XI Player and Jack Grundy the Tiger Smith Award for Most Promising Young Cricketer.

Warwickshire’s accounts, which showed a retained loss of £2.1 million once depreciation of £1.4 million on the new pavilion development was factored in, were approved by an overwhelming majority despite one member claiming that the club was “worse off than Greece.”

Date: 01/03/2013 10:48:36 by Paul Bolton
In: Warwickshire | Today |