Weekend thoughts

Morning everyone! You'll have noticed that I've missed a couple of days this week. Well, I could see no point in going over old ground again and I've been pretty busu on the work and domestic front. Christmas is coming and the goose is not only getting fat, he's a little concerned about it...

Good to see Chris Rogers doing well in Australia. Six centuries in successive matches is remarkable and the fact that he is bracketed in his speed to 7,000 Sheffield Shield runs with Bradman and Greg Chappell shows the ability of the man. He is totally in command of his game right now, as evidenced in the closing weeks of our season.

That, of course, makes it all the more remarkable that he still cannot force his way into their national side. I would fancy him to make a lot of runs against a somewhat threadbare West Indian attack if selected, but for now all he can do is keep scoring runs and hope that Katich or Watson make a mess of things. I'm sure that if you asked 100 neutral Aussies who the better batsman was between Rogers and Watson that the larger percentage would favour Buck. Sadly, they're not selecting the national side and this ain't Family Fortunes...

So good is his record that you wonder if there's something personal and I'd be surprised if that hasn't crossed his mind. When Langer and Hayden were the men in possession he would have had few complaints, but Katich, worthy player that he is, doesn't compare to those two and Watson effectively gets in on his all round game and the few overs that he will bowl. He's still a good one day bowler, but a succession of back injuries have meant that their hopes in him as the new Botham have come to naught. I know who my money would be on in a weight of runs competition as Rogers has shown.

Elsewhere, Yorkshire have secured the longer-term future of seven young players, including former Derbyshire youngster Garry Ballance. He left the club when his uncle was dismissed as coach and has since been studying at University at Yorkshire's expense, a nice deal if you can get it. He's now signed up until the end of 2012 and they'll be hoping that he shows the talents that flickered when he came to Derbyshire as a schoolboy.

That's pretty much it for today. It was good to see that interest in the club website has increased and that shows the club are getting more professional. While the club site offers far more than this blog, I'd have laughed if you'd have told me 19 months ago that I'd be well past 50,000 hits. It all proves that the club are going in the right direction, as people don't bother reading about things when they feel it is a waste of their time. Thanks for your continued interest and I'll see you soon!