Find us keepers

Apologies for the marginally punworthy title of this one, but I only just realised that this is my 601st post on the blog. How time flies when you're having fun!

Anyway, I'll be back at work next week after a refreshing and rewarding time at home this week, painting, gardening, cleaning cars and generally chilling with my homies - bet you didn't realise I was such a hip guy huh? Though I've just blown it with using the word "hip", of course.
Unless there's breaking news, I'll then be doing a blog every two or three days.

Nothing to report at the County Ground, but the winds of change blowing through the Counties are getting stronger. Gloucestershire are reporting that they have little money for team improvements this winter, although they are looking for an opening batsman to replace Craig Spearman, while Grant Hodnett was also released in the light of next year's legislation (he's South African).

They hope to sign, according to the local papers, the Surrey wicket-keeper Jon Batty. That would perhaps see the final movement of a hectic wicket-keeping merry go round. It has seen Steve Davies leave Worcestershire, with James Pipe suggested as his replacement. Then Pipe retired to become our physio and we signed our former keeper Lee Goddard from Durham. Davies then goes to Surrey, which leaves no room for Batty. Worcestershire then approach Gloucestershire for Steve Adshead and he's likely to move, while Batty is likely to move to Gloucester as his replacement as his Mum and Dad stay near there. Have you followed that?

Kent, according to reports are likely to report a loss of up to half a million this year. That is serious money, especially in the current economic climate. It makes you all the more grateful that our club is run very efficiently. I know there are those who complain about different things, but we are a small club run on very sound business principles.

There are some out there who feel we should adopt a "boom or bust" policy and sign everyone in sight, but that's not feasible, as John Bracewell says at Gloucester. They're working to a five year plan, pretty much the same as us. I still maintain that is the time to judge John Morris, as he started a job that was difficult and it has been made harder still by the so-called Memorandum of Understanding, which is as near as dammit telling teams who they can and can't pick.

Morris also has to cope with unrealistic expectations. We'd all love to go to another big Lords final, or Twenty/20 finals day, or get promotion. Yet the reality is we aren't a sleeping giant as we've never been one. Maybe we're an embryonic giant, but Derbyshire have never been, outside of the 1930's and the early 1950's, a genuine force to be reckoned with. If I was honest (which I am) the 1936 Championship was fortunate as we'd the luck with the weather (although it made up for the ill fortune of 1935). If you think back to our one day trophies, we hobbled across the line to beat Northamptonshire thanks to Colin Tunnicliffe's late heroics and we beat Lancashire thanks to Frank Griffith's tight last over . Although on both occasions I had legs, arms, fingers - maybe eyes - crossed, I thought we were going to blow both of them.

Only the Refuge Assurance win was more composed, yet there were alarms along the way. Several times we'd big run chases that were a breeze thanks to Messrs Barnett, Morris, Kuiper and co.

The 1950's side played some great cricket. I didn't see them, but my Dad saw them regularly and has told me that 200 was generally enough for a good first innings lead and often a win. If we'd had another decent batsman at that time we'd perhaps have nicked a title or two. Then again, if I'd been another Don Bradman we'd have won everything in the 1970's and 1980's. Life is full of ifs and maybes.

I'll be quite happy if I can see Derbyshire play attractive, purposeful cricket and win on a more regular basis than has recently been the case. It's coming together, slowly, but all fans have to wait and understand that good things are worth waiting for.

They're all the more sweet when they happen too.