Shine lost

Forget that late rally and those tantalising thoughts of Championship promotion and, well, there was not much worth remembering. The die was cast when Andy Caddick, Richard Johnson and Nixon McLean, Test men all, allowed Durham to make 453 to win after reducing the circuit's least potent order to 95 for 5. And two wins in the first 18 games against senior (ie: non-Scottish) opposition proved it. Alibis? Johnson's injuries and precious little else.

Michael Burns was always a reluctant captain and change beckons. Kevin Shine has been accused of excessive compassion but sacking the coach may be no closer to the answer than hiring a lap-dancer conversant with the principles of reverse swing. It took Ricky Ponting to pick chins off the carpet. But where, wondered Peter Bowler midway through a bittersweet farewell campaign, was the motivation within?

Consolations? When not dismembering attacks Ian Blackwell twice spun his way to career-bests. The Francis siblings took steps in the right direction. But the biggest fillip came from a lad whiling away his gap year. James Hildreth has been acclaimed Taunton's most gifted strokemaker since Mark Lathwell; on the basis of 1,289 runs, 11 scores of 50-plus and a reluctance to be cowed or short-changed, he appears to possess a larger dollop of the right stuff, namely equal parts desire and self-belief. Keeping suitors at bay will cost a cash-light club a penny; it would be a small tragedy if the chairman Giles Clarke refuses to bruise the bank.

Player of the Year: James Hildreth
High: Matthew Wood's career-reviving 100 v Notts
Low: Richard Johnson's disobedient body

This article was first published in the November issue of The Wisden Cricketer.
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