Post-weekend thoughts...

I spent a few minutes earlier this evening looking through the BBC 606 site and the thoughts of fans on their county's fortunes.

There are some quite content with their lot, a few not sure how the summer will pan out and most thoroughly unimpressed by events so far. Surrey fans are very unhappy, while Glamorgan's feel they made a mistake in not bringing Robert Croft yesterday. They're darn tootin' - the rotund little spinner might have changed the match yesterday and they made a mistake omitting him. Lancashire have fans convinced we're already beaten next weekend but the overwhelming feeling in the media is that Derbyshire are getting a side together.

I'm loathe to make comparisons but am going to. In the late 1920's Derbyshire emerged from a period in the basement of the doldrums by recruiting local young players of talent and bringing them through under the watchful eye of Sam Cadman. This brought the likes of the Popes, Tom Mitchell, Bill Copson, Les Townsend, Stan Worthington and others through to form a side that matched most in the land throughout the 1930's.

Yesterday, Derbyshire announced that four products of their Academy - Jake Needham, Dan Redfern, Paul Borrington and Jon Clare - were all signed up until the end of the 2012 season. Good players all, with the techniques and ability to become much, much better in the intervening period. I know that Clare was picked up from Lancashire, but our coaches have made him into a good prospect, together with the player's attitude to work and willingness to listen.

When one adds other youngsters of talent, such as Atif Sheikh, Tom Poynton and Ross Whiteley, then throw into the mix the likes of mid-20's players like Smith, Park, Groenewald, Wagg and Telo, there's genuine reasons for optimism. We should not discount the claims of the older age group either, all of whom have plenty to offer. I suspect that our interest in Kolpak players will dissipate as these players continue to develop and the regulations tighten up.

It would be fantastic to see a team of locally produced youngsters representing Derbyshire, but for now I'd settle for seeing a winning team on a more regular basis. We seem to have a happy squad with competition for places and the success thus far has been without any overseas or Kolpak contribution in runs or wickets. Wavell's not yet fired, nor has Stuart Law, while Buck Rogers and Charl Langeveldt have yet to arrive. Last season was effectively down to Rogers,Langeveldt,Wagg and Clare, so it is especially nice to see others stepping up this year.

Full marks to John Morris in that all of his winter signings have made early contributions. Park looks a terrific player, Groenewald also offers plenty with bat and ball and Mark Lawson's bowling and enthusiasm in the field has been rewarded with a season-long deal. He's done well, as England in April isn't the place for leg spin to flourish. His partnership with Jake Needham could well be a feature of the one day game this year and he could enjoy the drier pitches of July and August.

So lots of reasons to be cheerful, albeit at an early stage. Tomorrow is Glamorgan, but that's the next piece!