No doubt a few of you, like me, were disappointed to see Scarborough once more overlooked for the Yorkshire v Derbyshire matches. I suppose it makes sense from a logistical viewpoint - the players are only an hour from home in Leeds - but the thought of the seaside, sea air and a couple of nights away held great appeal. 'tis not to be next season, so we live in hope.
At least we see the return of the fixture to Chesterfield, where a bumper crowd will no doubt be in attendance if the weather is kind. I'm a traditionalist and for me there's nothing to match that fixture in the traditional setting of Queens Park. Shame that Scarborough wasn't there to make my cup run over with joy, but them's the breaks, as they say.
There are a few references over on the Forum to the strength of Derbyshire's squad and a suggestion that we could do with a decent Kolpak to bring it up to genuine promotion-chasing standard. It is hard to disagree, as the inclusion of a Wayne Parnell, Rusty Theron or Ryan McLaren would improve most sides. Yet I see the likelihood as being slim to nil. I don't see how such a move would go hand in hand with Derbyshire's new blueprint, although Chris Grant's assertion that we would field nine English-qualified players from 2013 technically leaves an opening alongside an overseas player. The reality is, however, that the club has to be run on cost-effective grounds and cannot afford to have a player who costs them money every time he appears.
Mind you, if they found someone who could take 50 wickets or score a thousand runs, that would be a fair old trade-off. Such a player is unlikely to be available though, and any hypothetical signing would have to be judged on the highest of criteria - would it bring a trophy? No, nice as the concept is, I simply don't see it happening.
Off now to see how Derby County are faring. 1-0 down already... looks like another long winter. Good job there's one decent team in Derby!
First match 5th April!!. Too early by far. We,ll have played 3 games before they would even have started some years ago. I hope they,ve got a good supply of De icer on hand.
ReplyDeleteI remember going to an early season game a few years back in late April and it was freezing in four layers of clothes. How you catch cricket balls when its that cold is definitely an art...
ReplyDeleteApart from Yorkshire at Chesterfield in the County Championship (although the kids will be at school) and South Africa coming to Derby I'm not impressed with the fixtures.
ReplyDeleteIn 2010 we had five county teams playing at Chesterfield and now we have only one. I hope Leek get a fixture again but they shouldn't be getting a 20/20 ahead of Chesterfield. The Yorkshire 20/20 at Derby will not draw 25% of the crowd it would have drawn at Chesterfield. Some boring away grounds, Scabrborough and Colwyn Bay would have been nice. My biggest moan though is that we play two full months of cricket before we get a home one day game then we get 5 in 4 weeks! Still no quarter-finals for the 40 over competition, despite us losing 6 20/20 games, means half the games in this competition are meaningless!
Ben
I agree with many of your observations Ben. Chesterfield is under utilised. I know Peakfan has pointed out various reasons on here before,but it seems a real pity to me. Half the time at Derby it,s a case of spot the spectator.For all the improvements it,s still one of the bleakest grounds in the country. Such is the way of the world.
ReplyDeleteAs for the fixture list,its a complete shambles for everyone. There is no cohesion or anything sensible about it. This so called blue print will solve nothing. I know very few people who would swop the 40 over game for a return to 50 overs. It,s a retrograde step and one which counties will pay for,financially.