I can't get over how hilarious the 'he should have played 1 Logan Cup game first' thing is.
What on Earth do you think you're gonna learn about him we didn't know already? The guy has over 12,000 First Class runs, multiple Test centuries, considered (and paid as) the best county pro in England for years - and yet you think he has to 'prove himself' in a match batting against Steve Chimhamhiwa or someone?
Similarly the 'He adds nothing as a white ball player' - it's just madness Really laughable
. They are the comments of a guy with a clear agenda for whatever reason.
This is a disastrous incident for many reasons including off-field ones and wider ramifications - 3 prominent white guys fucking up in 2 years. You can bet a certain sector of the community will be absolutely thrilled and use it as much as they can. It also puts Houghton in a very difficult position. He personally pushed for Ballance's return. Where does this leave Houghton and his relationship with the powers that be?
On field it is disastrous also. Tbh the Qualifier is a toss-up, would have been even if we had Ballance and remains so. Most of the sides can beat each other on a given day. You'd be a fool to bet money on any of the teams qualifying.
But the real loss is over the next 3-4 years. With Williams & Ervine on their way out in the very very near future and also Raza's very advancing years and increasingly limited ability, Ballance was absolutely key to our transition. Probably would have been our captain next year.
Now we run the risk of our entire middle order and 4 best players all leaving within a year or so of each other. That will be absolutely brutal.
So I don't think our qualifier chances are massively affected due to the unpredictable nature of that tournament anyway, but I think this sets us back, in many ways, for the next few years.
Disastrous.
