Uncelebrity: uncelebrated, uncelebrating
Bob Dylan Willis, grumpiest man alive, offers his predictions for the County Championship 2009, second division:
Derbyshire: Look a little light as a lot of experienced players have gone since the end of last season. … the bowling attack is not good and I predict they will once again finish in the bottom half.
Essex: The loss of Graham Napier to the IPL is a blow but they should have him for the rest of the summer.
Glamorgan: Matthew Maynard has got to do something down in Wales this season. … the pitch favours batsmen and this season could be another hard slog. I think they will struggle.
Gloucestershire: They simply have to perform better than they did last year, be that in the one-day or four-day form of the game.
Kent: Stuart Clark may yet be a great signing …
Leicestershire: The Foxes are still nowhere near being major candidates for silverware or promotion. They are a middle of the road side and simply do not have enough money to improve vastly a squad that is too reliant on young players.
Middlesex: They will be stronger when Shah is available.
Northamptonshire: It’s hard to see any progress at Wantage Road this season. … They could struggle to improve on last season, when they won only three out of 16.
Surrey: They need to plan what they want to do and how they want to do it. … I’m not sure they can be promoted straight back.
Yes, I’m cherry-picking, and yes, this is shooting fish in a barrel, but golly is he grumpy. He’s ‘nice’ about three of the nine counties, and even there you can hear his bored, boring tones. I find him so hard to reconcile with the legend of ‘81. Maybe he’s been jealous of Botham’s fame ever since?
