Rogers up there with the best

Over the last couple of days, during my commute to Edinburgh on the train, I have been thinking about Chris Rogers' position in the pantheon of outstanding Derbyshire batsmen. I regard him as being up there as the best and it is hard to argue against a man who, when he gets in, just seems to go on and on like the Duracell bunny.

If one was to look at the other contenders, I would say that his closest rivals were Dean Jones, Peter Kirsten, Michael di Venuto and Mohammad Azharuddin. Jones was a better one day batsman than Rogers, but only had one and a bit seasons before he went back to Australia, more than a little miffed at the internal issues at the club. He is still the best pacer of a one day innings I have seen, scoring at his best without risk, with placement, timing and fast running.

Mohammad Azharuddin was a genius on his day, but was never someone you would bank on when the going got tough. Again, his stay was relatively brief and that has to be taken into consideration in assessing relative merits. If I could watch any player for half an hour it would probably have been him, but you could never guarantee that, when the ball was moving around, he would be in that long. A turning track was a different matter and he was a superb player of spin.

Which leaves us with Kirsten and di Venuto. Peter Kirsten was an outstanding player who, like Rogers, could and frequently did bat for hours. He could battle it out when necessary or pull out all the shots once he felt he was "in." He was a very organised player but did have a couple of ordinary seasons before he unveiled the true majesty of his talent. Then, for three years he averaged 55-60 and rarely looked like he would fail.

Michael di Venuto was also an outstanding player, whose departure was undoubtedly the most extraordinary/astonishing/crass thing that I recall in my forty-three years and counting as a fan. As I have written before, surely someone should have had the conversation with him regarding his intentions to use his Italian passport and play on European mobility of labour regulations? Whatever the thought process behind the retention of Travis Birt over him and irrespective of his fitness record at the time with a back problem, one would have hoped that his likely availability alongside an overseas player might have counted for something.

I know what I think, but I've decided to make it the subject of this week's poll, fully aware that some people may not have had the pleasure of watching Kirsten at his best. Fine players such as John Wright, Lawrence Rowe and Chris Wilkins don't really make it into this level of debate I'm afraid. All were among my favourites for their style and commitment, but they couldn't be argued into players of this class.

So what is your choice? I look forward to seeing that.

Finally, I had an e mail from someone who was concerned that I was talking up Chris Rogers' start to the season and "was I not worried that I would put a jinx on him" in so doing.

The answer is no. For one thing he is too good a player to be fazed by a jinx, and secondly I would be flattering myself if I thought he read this blog. All I will say is that it would make enough headlines across the cricketing world if he did it to perhaps make a few people think (especially in Australia), while the timing in our 140th year would be impeccable. A Derbyshire batsman in the record books is a rare old beast, so just make sure that you treasure this bloke for as long as you can.