Best overseas player - Peakfan's verdict

I suppose I'm lucky to have seen all of these tremendous players many times. I envy those who were lucky enough to see Jackson and Gladwin, and I'm the same with the ones who saw that great side of the '30's.

Having been a fan since the late '60's, I'm privileged to have seen all of our overseas stars and here is my verdict on them all - in reverse order.

John Wright - a very solid and brave batsman who played admirably straight and who usually got a big score once he was set. In this company, I wouldn't put him at the very top as he couldn't take an attack apart on a regular basis, but he was a fine servant and utterly dependable. He suffered latterly from partnering Michael Holding as overseas player. Watching Wright bat was a pleasant experience, but watching Holding bowl was just fantastic.

Michael Di Venuto - a wonderful servant to the club who came out top in the poll. I have to wonder what his average might have been if I had never gone to watch him, as I never saw him make more than 15. In full flight I'm told he was a beautiful player and his record speaks for itself. Critics said he scored more centuries when games were lost than in shaping a win, but Diva should still have been playing for us and partnering Chris Rogers at the top of the order.

Dean Jones - a very fine player, a marvelous runner between the wickets and a pacer of an innings beyond compare. In the short term he was a good motivator of team mates too, but the acrimonious and premature departure from Derbyshire takes him down a notch or two in my estimation. If I was picking a team to bat for my life, Deano would be in there.

Mohammed Azharuddin - simply breathtaking batsman when he was in the mood and the sun was on his back. A real throwback to the golden age with the wristy strokes that sent the ball to the boundary before the fielder could move, Azharuddin was undoubtedly a genius with a bat in his hands. A flawed one, as his later match-fixing scandals showed, which was a real shame. He also left Derbyshire on bad terms, which sullied some of what had gone before.

Peter Kirsten - stylish, compact, silky accumulator of runs. Some called him the Derbyshire Bradman, in reference to his prolific form and also his stance and appearance at the crease. Quick on his feet, Kirsten differed from John Wright in that he had a very sound technique based on playing straight but, once he was set, he could annihilate attacks. His innings were normally made up of a steady 50, a quicker second 50 and shots all around once he'd reached his century. Simply brilliant.

Michael Holding - how could a man so fast be so elegant? How could a bowler so elegant be so fast? Holding was a pleasure to watch off his short run (and quite quick), a real handful from his medium length run and breathtaking when he came in off the full glory of the run up. As he got older, the long run up was reserved for the last afternoon and a needed breakthrough and became less frequent. If I could watch Holding and Bishop bowl to Azharuddin and Lawrence Rowe I would die a happy man. Cricket gets no better than that. A useful batsman, capable fielder and steadying influence on the young Kim Barnett, Holding was a dream professional.

Eddie Barlow - a really tough call, but notwithstanding that Barlow was 36 when he came to Derbyshire and, as an "eye" player past his best as a batsman, his contribution was remarkable. He tended to score runs when they were most needed, and could either bat solidly or with a rare flamboyance. He caught pretty much everything at slip, and as a bowler had golden spells that turned a remarkable number of games. There were very few matches in which he contributed with neither bat nor ball, but on those occasions his captaincy was worthy of his place on its own.

All the other names here were very fine players, great players even. The difference was that Barlow turned ordinary players into competent pros, and good pros into internationals. Under Barlow, Tony Borrington, Harry Cartwright, Alan Hill and Colin Tunnicliffe became very good county players, while Mike Hendrick, Geoff Miller and Bob Taylor became England regulars. Pre-Barlow, most members would have laughed if you'd said "Bud" Hill would score a 40-over century, but he did, more than once.

My Dad is still convinced that if we'd signed Barlow in 1971 after his great feats with the Rest of the World side in 1970 we would have been THE team of the 70's. He was that good, and the astonishing thing was that when he was asked why he'd joined Derbyshire he answered "no one else asked me".

Eddie Barlow may have passed away a couple of years back, but for anyone who saw him, he remains the benchmark for an overseas player. Given the quality of the names here, it is to his eternal credit that he is, for me and many others, the man.