Here we are again...

Sorry to miss a couple of days on here but things have been pretty busy on the work front and there’s not been too much to report anyway.

Last night I had to attend the local sports awards and our club picked up one for attaining Charter Club status, which effectively means that we have all our Child Protection and Health and Safety Policies in place. I was very impressed by the guest speaker, Dame Kelly Holmes, who gave an inspirational speech and was professional and approachable throughout. She also glowed with health and vitality and is a very striking looking woman.

I also had the great pleasure of a long chat with cricketer Irvin Iffla. Many of you may not know the name but he is a legend in Scottish cricket. He came over from Jamaica in 1951 with his path into the West Indies side blocked by Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine. Instead, for the next forty years Irvin took hundreds of wickets and scored thousands of runs, primarily for Stirlingshire. He made an average team into one of the country’s best and he returned phenomenal figures. In his last three years as a player, when he was in his seventies, he played for my club and the accuracy of his bowling and the “hum” of the ball as it fizzed through the air is still talked about. By that stage he did little running between the wickets, relying on fours and sixes to put runs on the board. Now a sprightly man of 85, he was recently awarded the Freedom of Stirling, a well-deserved honour.

It was a terrific evening, but a late, late night!

Anyway, to matters in hand and there’s an excellent article in the Derby Telegraph today on John Morris and the difficulties that he faces for next season. Regular readers will know about this, but it is still good to see what JM says himself and it is worth a read. You can see it at

http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/sport/Cricket-New-regulations-leave-Derbyshire-chief-Morris-facing-delicate-balancing-act/article-1542383-detail/article.html

I was interested to see that Shane Watson had got a duck for Australia today against the West Indies. It puts pressure on him in the second innings and might offer a glimmer of hope to Chris Rogers if he sustains his recent golden form for Victoria – and us for that matter. Next season will be Rogers last for us unless he gets at least one more Test match. If he got even one Test this winter he could then play for us for longer, something that can only be a good thing.

The only other news of note from the last couple of days is that Nottinghamshire have signed the Australian left armer Dirk Nannes for the Twenty/20 next summer. When he’s fit and firing Nannes is a lively customer and will be awkward to get away. Is he, as Mick Newell claims, the best twenty over bowler in the world? I don’t know, but he’s very good. Charl Langeveldt might have claims on the title as a man who mixes up the pace of his bowling and keeps things tight, but for me the best in the world is probably the Pakistani Umar Gul. There are times when he looks like he can’t be bothered, but his unerring accuracy with the yorker, speared in at leg stump, makes him an awkward proposition on his day.

Finally, it was good to see on the club site that Paul Borrington continues to do well in Australia. The experience has got to be good for him and it would appear that he is facing some top quality opposition and still producing scores. Long may it continue – into next season and beyond!