Quiet day today

Not much cricket news today, with a near-audible sigh of relief after Waggy's heroics last night being the main talking point.

It was good to hear him on Radio Derby say how happy he was here and what a great dressing room it was. One doesn't need an especially long memory to recall many season's when 'twas not always so. John Morris rightly pointed out pre-season that a dressing room doesn't always need to be harmonious for success. Anyone who has read Simon Hughes entertaining "A Lot of Hard Yakka" will know that the Middlesex dressing room under Mike Brearley had some fairly fractious characters whose idiosyncracies come under the microscope in the book. They were a dominant side in that era though and as well as being characters they were, in the main, very fine players.

This is the case with most sides through history. The Yorkshire side pre-World War One had some lively individuals, as did their side of the 1930's. The side that Brian Close led to success in the 60's had Boycott, Illingworth, Trueman and the captain, which must have seen some interesting days. Similarly our fine side of the 1930's had players who were blunt and forthright. Denis Smith, Tom Mitchell, George and Alf Pope, Stan Worthington - they were tough men in tough times and had their disagreements.

The side of the late 19th century took the biscuit, with some of the players barely speaking to each other from start to end of season. These were different times, however and players didn't use the least disagreement as leverage in a lucrative move elsewhere.

At this stage I'm quietly pleased with what we've done so far. In accordance with most fans wishes pre-season, we have for most of the time been competitive and have produced some excellent cricket. There is much still to play for and if Chris Rogers comes back refreshed, Wavell maintains form and the rest of the batting fires, I think we could still see a celebration - minor or otherwise - come September.