10:10am Wednesday 8th September 2010
By Alan Feldberg
MATTHEW Eyles believes Wycombe CC were a victim of their own success this season and says their bad start was partly down to complacency.
Wycombe have won two titles in the past five years and also collected the ECB National Cup during a halcyon era.
But, according to Eyles, the trophy cabinet began to weigh heavily on the players.
He said: “I think there was an element of complaceny at the start of the season, and if you asked the senior players they’d probably say the same thing.
“Most of the players here have achieved a lot in the game, either at club level or higher, and you can get a bit stale. In the second half of the season the pressure came on and we played a lot better, sometimes you need a bit of pressure to play well.
“I actually this season will be good for us. It will be the wake-up call we need because Wycombe is a club that should be at the top of the league and we need to do what we can to get back there. It doesn’t take a lot, you saw that in the second half of the season.”
But one thing it will take is a top-class seam bowler, and Eyles says retaining Andrew Harris is a priority.
He said: “He’s the sort of bowler we’d love to have at the club. He’s retired from first class cricket now but I’m not sure what he’s doing next.
“Be were a seamer short though and it put a lot of pressure on Pete Connell and Paul Sawyer, so we’ll definitely be bringing another one in.”
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/trade_directory/