NEW YEAR 2009

1) How many does it take to change a light bulb? How many ex-cricketers does it take to coach Surrey? You wouldn't have thought we were in a credit crunch. I read that the club is committed to retaining spending on cricket at pro-rata 2003 levels but there are limits!! If we have Chris Adams as a first team coach, why do we need a batting coach? Why have the luxury of Alec Stewart for 20 days, when he turned down the first team coach job because he wanted more than even pro-rata 2003 levels could imagine. He is to mentor the keepers. Surely JB, at 35, no longer needs mentoring and can help when required. Any more help with the batting line up, which already contains loads of 30+ would be a case of too many cooks. I haven't heard anything on Paul Taylor, but surely Gus Mackay can cover his role. Mackay as I understand it, is also taking some of the cricket responsibility from Paul Sheldon's shoulders. Does that mean a reduction in Sheldon's role?

2) I'm against bonus payments in all industries. I think they have come in because they are not pensionable. In the light of all the above, for the first time I actually read the accounts and reports in the club's AGM mailing. I got confused in the Chairman's report between 2008 and 2009 and was quite relieved at the end when I saw that it had been signed off January 2008! I also noticed in the members mailing, the Chairman started off by praising the profit of £500,000 and ended by saying how other clubs are struggling. However, the accounts showed the profit of £500,000 to be before tax and after tax only £4,000 and a slight loss occurred after diverse items. Working shifts I very rarely get to AGM's. At one I attended during the previous chief executive's tenure, I remember John Bennett asking whether takings so far received for next year's Test had been included in the previous year's figures. It was a sharp question, because I was surprised to discover they had. I'm not sure whether this practice continues but it would be even more risky in these uncertain times with cancelled Test matches and the fact that the Aussie series going forward may distort figures even more. I must apologise to my editor for covering finance when he's a qualified accountant but it is probably the first time in over 20 years.

3) So who's going to score more runs in all first team cricket next season - the Nottinghamshire Brown or the Surrey Brown?

4) When I saw the headline 'Surrey sign Elliott' I presumed it was the Australian Matthew Elliott. Perhaps we have no money left. It maybe better to employ some of the coaches as players. It did cross my mind with the lack of spin cover during the first two months, that we would need the 2nd team coach as a first team spinner. I know with the IPL and the Twenty20 World Cup top players are not available, but surely a bigger name than Grant Elliott could have been signed. Justin Langer has brought considerable success to Somerset. We cannot go through the captaincy uncertainty once again. With Butch, sadly, often unfit and other experienced players not having fulfilled the role successfully, I would have got an overseas player to come in for the whole year as captain.

5) The selection of the England team for the last Test in Trinidad seemed muddled. Khan of Kent has just joined the squad and not played a Test but was preferred to Harmison - surely the ultimate snub to the Durham paceman. Rashid of Yorkshire can bat at six to replace Flintoff and is a cricketer and a spinner who can take wickets - two things that can't be said of Monty.

6) I always do read the brochure about the candidates for the General Committee in the AGM mailing. After last year's walkover (as only four applied), this year we have seven extremely suitable candidates. Nice to see three long-standing Supporters' Club members in the field.

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