The statement from the club puts no timescale of any sort on RHB's break and it seems clear that after his abortive comeback against Hampshire he came to the conclusion that playing cricket at this time in his life was not the best course of action.
Clearly this is not a decision he will have taken lightly. He knew what a relative leap of faith Chris Adams took in appointing him captain two and a half years ago and indeed the confidence he has continued to place in him in the meantime. But Hamilton-Brown is letting no one down by passing captaincy responsibilities, temporarily, to Gareth Batty.
Cricket is important, but relative to what else has gone on in the past two weeks or so, not that important. Surrey cricket will continue and Batty will, I'm sure, do a fine job of keeping the captaincy warm for when RHB returns.
Many of us will have suffered the loss of a close friend or relative, and some will have struggle to cope in those circumstances. But the pressures of leading a high profile sports team, with all the memories and associations that will stir in Hamilton-Brown's head, must magnify the strains of the situation. Taking a break, however long it may be, is the right decision.
Get well soon Rory, you can hold your head high and I'm sure the supporters and members will welcome you back with open arms.
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Well said Dominic. Our thoughts are still with all the guys playing at such a tough time.
This is probably going to sound a bit harsh in the circumstances but what the hell.... I can understand the club letting him have a couple of weeks or so off to sort his head out but an indeterminate period of time with no actual promise that he will return to Surrey - or even cricket in general?
What is he going to do without the routine of playing and the challenge that captaining Surrey provides? Mope around "grieving"? What's the point of that?
If this was simply compassionate leave, it would not merit this type of announcement. Something's not right here.
Agree Jerry (though my name isn't Dominic!).
Rob - I can see where you're coming from, and I do think perhaps there's more than meets the eye, but I don't necessarily think now is the time for them to air that in public. Everyone deals with grief differently, Hamilton-Brown was clearly not right on Saturday and I think he's right to take time off. Hopefully he's getting professional guidance from the PCA (and the club, though I'm less confident of that). I do wonder when he'll be back, if at all. All told, its not a great situation.
All true. I wouldn't expect the club or RHB to go any further than is necessary. Perhaps it was just a badly worded press notice but the wording itself hints at all sorts of possible outcomes - and it is very open ended, which makes me think that something else is afoot.
I'm beginning to think this club is cursed....
I agree Rob, it was entirely open ended and was always likely to lead to speculation. Either they knew that, and something else is indeed afoot, or like you say it was just a (really) badly worded release and he's actually coming back soon. I guess we won't know for a while.
I know what you mean, feeling a bit blue about the club in general - this, Ramps calling it a day, results not going our way, its all very gloomy at the moment. Hopefully the club will pick itself up.
Hope he comes back. Would be terrible if Surrey lost him. Such a precious player... I was always secretly hoping he could play for England one day. But don't tell anybody.
Don't worry, I won't tell a soul. There was a time when he was a nailed-on England player, and recently I think he's been a bit unlucky to miss out. Hopefully he'll be back soon.
Guys, I think you are worrying unnecessarily. To my limited knowledge RHB has had a very successful life to date and may well be dealing with the first real difficulty in his life, and in the public eye.
What's the point of putting a timescale on something so unpredictable and intangible as dealing with grief.
I'd expect him to return in a few weeks, but if it's not till next season, so be it.
I certainly hope so Tim. I wouldn't have expected them to say "Rory will be back on X" date, but it was the way it was worded didn't inspire confidence. Anyway, I'm sure you're right, I hope whatever he does, he does right by himself.
But it's still three important players that we've lost. One in tragic circumstances - the other two have effectively bailed out when the club and their team mates needed them to show a bit of backbone and leadership.
When the going gets tough, we find out what people are really made of....
Rob - I think in RHB's case that's a bit on the harsh side, but I accept we all have a different take on how we deal with grief. In the case of Ramps - I just don't know the whole story, he was apparently told he was surplus to requirements. He could've timed his decision better but I think he should've been afforded a bit more respect by Adams (if, that is, that's the way things went down).
Butch said last night on Sky that Ramps had been told he was surplus to requirements this season. His only choices were to go out on loan or retire, I think he made the right decision.
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