Derbyshire's Greatest Overseas Batsman

Quite a week for the blog.

It passed 72,000 hits, 12,000 of which have come since the turn of the year. After 20,000 the first year and 40,000 last year, I continue to be astonished at the level of interest and thank every one of you who logs in on a regular basis.

Yesterday was my 750th post, a landmark it would have been nice to mark with a win, but sometimes life can be hard.

Tonight it's landmark time for the biggest poll vote ever, with 98 people voting for their favourite Derbyshire overseas batsman.

While Mohammad Azharuddin and Dean Jones were mentioned in despatches, most of the votes went to three players.

In third place was Chris Rogers with 23% of the vote. By any yardstick, Rogers has been and is a wonderful servant to Derbyshire cricket. A man of integrity, he continues to set the benchmark and is an outstanding ambassador for his country. We can only hope that the regulations on visas are tweaked yet again so he can continue to entertain us for many years to come.

In second place was the admirable Michael di Venuto, with 28% of the vote. Diva was arguably our biggest loss in the past ten years and I often wonder what Derbyshire might have been like had he stayed. Diva and Rogers as an opening pair? Oh boy....

In first place, and rightly in my opinion, is Peter Kirsten with 34% of the vote. I think the whole poll was correct, with Diva a better one day batsman than Rogers and little to choose between them in the loner form of the game.

Kirsten, however, was sublime. Those too young to remember him missed out on something special. You may have caught one of his late career Test performances, when he was past his best, and may have seen his half brother Gary bat doggedly for South Africa.

Peter, in his prime was a different class. He had so much time to play his shots and had all of them at his disposal. The sight of Kirsten and John Wright together remains (and is always likely to do) the most reassured I have ever felt in watching two Derbyshire batsmen.

Kirsten would take his time when he first came in and would play through the V, before unfurling his strokes all around the wicket, with no one area stronger than another. In addition, he was a brilliant fielder and a useful off spinner before a knee problem put paid to his bowling.

There is no disgrace in coming second or third to Peter Kirsten. To be mentioned in the same breath is a supreme accolade. With Rogers and Di Venuto opening and Kirsten at three, Derbyshire could take on Mars...