The 2016 County Championship is yet to round off but the teams are already putting plans in place to ensure that their squad takes shape well in time for the new season. The biggest news coming in over the past week was veteran cricketer Marcus Trescothick confirming that he will be playing his 25th season for Somerset next year while Worcestershire confirmed the signing of Australian all-rounder John Hastings as their overseas player for the 2017 season.
Expressing his delight at signing on the dotted line for Somerset for whom the now 40-year-old made his debut way back in 1993, Trescothick said: "I have made no secret of my desire to carry on playing for Somerset for as long as I can. I'm really enjoying my cricket at the moment and I still have the hunger to succeed. I am delighted that I will be a part of this club for another year. It's a really exciting time for the County at the moment with the talent that we have coming through and I can't wait to see what happens in the next 12 months."
Hastings meanwhile will the join the long line of Australian players who have turned up over the years for Worcestershire, which includes the likes of Glenn McGrath and Steven Smith, having played for Durham in 2014 and 2015.
"John will give us a little bit of pace with the new ball. He is someone who I feel will really help our youngsters," said director of cricket Steve Rhodes. "He is a competitive character on the field but a champion of a bloke in the dressing room."
Worcestershire also confirmed the signing of West Indies fast bowler Miguel Cummins , who made his Test debut recently in the Test series against India, as their overseas player for the remaining three matches of the 2016 season, replacing South Africa’s Kyle Abbott who has been called up by the national side for the ongoing Test series against New Zealand.
Worcestershire sit fourth in the Division Two table, 56 points behind leaders Essex as they hope to secure the one promotion spot that is still up for grabs.
“He (Cummins) is a young guy with no experience of county cricket or English conditions but he is hungry to do well, try and impress and make an impact,” Rhodes said. "He is a little bit quicker than any of our bowlers, with a bit of bounce, and he is well thought of by Ottis Gibson. I spoke to him and he gave a very good recommendation for him and when you look to give someone an opportunity, you want someone with a point to prove.”
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Time for news regarding a couple of exits now with Leicestershire confirming that their coach Andrew McDonald would be leaving at the end of the season to return to Australia.
"It has been an extremely difficult decision to leave Leicestershire County Cricket Club but I have to put my family first and we are now going to settle back home in Australia,” McDonald said, explaining his decision.
Wasim Khan, the Leicestershire chief executive, thanked McDonald for his services at the club and said that he fully understood his decision.
"Andrew has done a fantastic job here in his two years as Elite Performance Director, with the team making great strides forward. Performances and results have drastically improved and Andrew has left a strong platform to build on. We will now look to build on his excellent work,” Khan said.
In other news, Surrey wicketkeeper-batsman Steven Davies could be on his way out of the club with the 30-year-old growing increasingly frustrated with a lack of match time behind the stumps with the county preferring Ben Foakes to do the glovework.
Davies, who still harbours hopes of a comeback to the England national side, doesn’t want his abilities as a keeper to be sidelined by Foakes emergence and is looking for greener pastures with Somerset particularly interested in securing his services.
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