It's a funny old game...

A quote more readily associated with Jimmy Greaves and another game, but equally relevant to the game of cricket.

After all, last night we had people moaning about one bad performance and presumably sharpening their pens in readiness to demand the head of the coach on a platter. I'll be the first to complain when the standard drops, but which one of you hasn't had a bad day at the office, or at home where things just don't go right? Presumably the same people are tonight pleased that a recovery is underway after we got a point from an abandoned game against Northants.

Then we have a weekend with no match. Maybe that's a relief looking at the weather forecast, but when there are comments left, right and centre about declining crowds, not having a match when people are off work does seem a little er... mad?

Then we programme Test matches to start on a Wednesday against a team that can collapse alarmingly and again lose the important and lucrative weekend revenue. I LOVE going to a cricket match, especially if Derbyshire are involved and if I lived closer would be there most Saturdays and/or Sundays. I'm sure I'm not alone in this and one would have thought that reasonably educated people might have grasped that when the fixtures are arranged. Like many others I cannot get much time off work, however, so have to make do with the Internet, teletext and texts.

We've also got Test cricket on a ground that, notwithstanding the success of the local side, is hardly a hotbed of the game. Spot the crowd was an interesting sideline to the Test yesterday and, with apologies to Cook and Bopara, possibly more exciting. I can't remember seeing a worse, less organised, less interested side in the field than this West Indian outfit.

Tonight's wash out effectively killed our remaining hopes in the FP Trophy, although they died in the floodlights on Wednesday.We now need to restore confidence in the remaining games before the 20/20 circus begins. On paper, we have a decent side for this, but will we do anything? I'll leave that for another article over the weekend.