Oh happy day...

Its been a good day today to be a Derbyshire fan hasn't it?

Yesterday's demolition suggested that, although there's a long way to go we could just be getting a real team together. Of course, getting such an opening stand helped, but Stubbo and Rogers are doing this sort of thing with encouraging regularity. John Sadler's end of innings cameo will have done him good, but the start enabled Rikki Clarke to promote Dan Birch then follow him. With Graham Wagg and Jon Claire good clean hitters, we have the batting to capitalise on such a start. Can you imagine how good it will feel if we make the quarters and lose a first wicket at 150? Down the steps from the pavilion comes Wavell Hinds...

Let's not forget that we have Greg Smith back to fitness in the near future, another clean hitter, fine fielder and versatile bowler, while the skipper should be back to bowling fitness IF we get to that stage. We should also remember that Clarke has not yet really fired as a batsman. Numerous lively cameos and a great knock against Warwickshire, but when this man gets it together he will really fly. His captaincy has impressed too - aggressive, thoughtful, intelligent.

As for the bowling, the seam attack is doing all that is asked of it at present. Charl Langeveldt is always likely to get wickets with the new ball, but is possibly even more dangerous with the older one when he gets the reverse swing going. Whether Waggy or the admirable Tom Lungley partner him, things usually happen. The strides made by Jon Claire in a short time are remarkable, and it is reassuring to think that we have Kevin Dean, Ian Hunter and Wayne White in reserve. For the first time in a long while we also have two spinners who are both worth a game, and Nayan Doshi and Jake Needham bring a lot to the team.

It would be silly to expect the entire season to go like this. There will be games when it all goes wrong, perhaps horrendously. We should remember that a lot of these players are young and that Messrs Telo, Smith, Redfern, Needham, Wagg, Claire, White, Patel and others are all young men with years ahead of them, and the captain is only in his mid-twenties.

But we should also remember that we have at the helm DERBYSHIRE men in Morris, Hendrick, Brown and Krikken, all of them excellent at the job that they do. I'll not get too excited yet, but I am more enthused by the current set up than I have been in a long time. Hopefully it is well placed optimism. Perhaps not this season, but I think good things are not too far around the corner for this team...