So that's that then..

So the FP Trophy has been and gone and we're out of it for another year.

There were similarities to last year's campaign in that the weather played its part and more luck with the toss would have been nice. John Morris says in today's Derby Telegraph that the early moisture in the track made batting first a problem yesterday and that had we been able to bowl, the result may have been different.

That's as maybe, although in the end Lancashire's poor display at Old Trafford made events at the SWALEC irrelevant. The fact is that we played well in all of this season's matches except the Lancashire game at Derby, when the side were very poor. We may have beaten Essex at Derby and Lancashire at Old Trafford had the toss gone our way, but that should not be allowed to mask signs of the old fallibilities.

By and large the bowlers have done a decent job. They have seemed to bowl decent lines and again, with the exception of when Lancashire took them apart they have kept things steady. Even yesterday, when faced with the worst of the conditions, they made Glamorgan fight for the runs and there was no sign of abject capitulation.

The problem, again, is the batting. Rogers, Smith and Park gave the ideal platform yesterday for a total of 250. 100-1 off 25 is a great start and six an over from there should be a breeze against most attacks. The problem was that Buck made another good one day 50 but failed to go on to a BIG score and Wavell went quickly so we were again playing catch up.

I'd love to see us make a huge score without a collapse in one day cricket. One look at the side suggests talent is there and runs should not be in short supply, but players of that ability should be turning on the skills more frequently. I'm not expecting much in the 20/20 as we're in a strong group, but I hope that we at least give a good account of ourselves and win four or five matches. To do so we need a fit and in form Langeveldt and Rogers or someone to bat an innings through. We can't have a team of big hitters and I hope that the nous of Rogers and Law will impart itself on the others. As I said in a previous blog, 140-150 batting first is a good score and will win a lot of games. Look at the scores in the IPL and see what I mean. There's an occasional biggie but a lot of teams were over-reaching themselves and being bowled out cheaply.

My other concern today is in the make up of the Aussie touring squad for the Ashes. There's only six batsmen there and it will only need one injury to leave them with a big problem. Guess who is the likely replacement if the worst happens? Yup, Buck Rogers. Personally I think he should have been there as his record last winter deserved a place as a similar season worked wonders for Simon Katich. Certainly Rogers has every incentive to do well for Derbyshire and I would expect him to do a good job for them if required. If he goes there would be serious question marks over our Championship quest as the batting would be light. I don't think Stuart Law would want to cover for the latter part of the season and the chances of getting a short term replacement must be slim with the amount being played around the globe.

So, a strange weekend ahead with no cricket to speak of. You'll appreciate that I mean there's no game for Derbyshire. They may please and frustrate in equal measure but they're still OUR team. Don't think I'll ever get that out of my system...