Something for the weekend

For fans of Derbyshire cricket, there was something fascinating in seeing Martin Guptill bowl to Usman Khawaja in the Test match between their countries the other day. It was a smart bit of captaincy by Ross Taylor just before lunch, knowing that the encounter would be lent a little extra spice by their club loyalties. It may well have been a surprise to some too, considering Guptill never bowled a ball for Derbyshire last summer.

Yet he boasts a Test-best of 3-37, suggesting either that he had one day, against India, where he got lucky, we were unaware of his talents (which I find hard to believe) or he had a bit of an injury that meant we saved him for his more recognised skills. Given that we had many games last year without a recognised front-line spinner, I'm inclined to go with one of the last two options, though the likelihood of him bowling in Derbyshire colours must be less given that we now have David Wainwright and that Wes Durston looked to improve as the season progressed.

Usman Khawaja was unluckily run out when called for a sharp single the first ball after tea by Ricky Ponting, suggesting that either Khawaja hadn't "switched on" or that Ponting was a little twitchy. You can make your own mind up on that one. Our man looks more than able at this level though and just needs to go from playing innings that are competent to ones that are match-changing. At any first-class level, twenties, thirties and forties are OK, but by that stage you are seeing it pretty well and should really be going on to bigger scores.

Meanwhile, comments on the Yorkshire CCC forum suggest that Derbyshire's match against Yorkshire in the CB40 on May 20th could well be at Scarborough. Our club site says the venue has yet to be confirmed and there will be plenty of Derbyshire fans who would look forward to a day - and night - at the seaside, myself included. As I've written before, one of my remaining cricket ambitions is to watch Derbyshire there, though I'm starting to realise that playing for or against the club in a charity match is looking increasingly unlikely...at least unless they fancy a pre-season friendly north of the border....

James Taylor has joined Nottinghamshire - surprise, surprise, as Cilla used to say, while there's little other movement in county cricket. In fairness, there were far less players released than in recent seasons, clubs securing their young and productive older talent quite quickly. There will still be some out of contract players looking for better deals, but most will have their futures secured by this stage.

Returning to Usman Khawaja, there was interesting comment as his talents in T20 on the Forum last week and, as I've written previously, I'm not sure it is his natural game. He is in the Sydney Thunder T20 squad for Australia's "Big Bash" but I can't see him opening when they have Dave Warner and Chris Gayle in the squad. Where you would bat Khawaja is a moot point. Opener would be one option, asking him to bat through and the rest play around him, but his style is less suited to capitalising on the early overs when the field is in. Still, that's a decision for if we sign him and confirm him for that competition too.

That's pretty much it for now. I have another book review coming up shortly - in between times, have a great weekend!