Steelbacks chief Smith admits to difficult but necessary decisions

The choice to release Andrew Hall and Matt Spriegel wasn’t an easy one according to Northamptonshire chief executive David Smith.
Matt Spriegel will leave the County Ground in September after two years at the clubMatt Spriegel will leave the County Ground in September after two years at the club
Matt Spriegel will leave the County Ground in September after two years at the club

Both Hall and Spriegel have not been offered contracts for next year as the club, in the wake of a dreadful season, seek to, as Smith puts it, ‘freshen things up’.

But while it wasn’t a particularly pleasant thing to do, Smith is adamant that it was a necessary move.

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He said: “In the aftermath of the season we’ve had, difficult decisions have to be made.

“We’re going to be relegated in the Championship and our white ball cricket hasn’t been at the required level.

“The lack of competitiveness we’ve shown has been really disappointing, we need to try and address that and there is a real need to freshen things up.”

As for the two players whose County careers will shortly come to a close, Smith added: “Andrew has been a fantastic cricketer for this club for a number of years.

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“He’s played at the highest level and put in a number of fine performances and that made it an especially hard decision.

“Matt came here with a fine white ball record and the reputation as a good finisher of a one-day innings.

“He was an ever-present in the Twenty20 winning team last year and the opportunity to establish himself in the Championship side has been there.

“Unfortunately it hasn’t worked out as we’d both hoped and he hasn’t reached the level required, as with a number of our batsmen this year.”