Further thoughts on the new man

Well that's been a cracker of a day! At work a number of my colleagues were looking down in the mouth at the sad news emanating from Ibrox about Glasgow Rangers. A £45 million tax bill, potentially £70 million, is a shocker and indicative of shambolic management; a lot are wondering what it means for the future of their club.

"Never mind lads" I told them at lunchtime, "Derbyshire have signed Rana Naved, you can support a good team now..."

It was a joke of course, but highlights the feel good factor of this signing. I've only seen one negative comment (sigh...) from a "fan" who reckoned it was "not the world class player we'd been promised". Honestly, the occasional individual makes me think that if Chris Grant had bought the Back to the Future De Lorean and recruited Sobers 1966 and Barlow 1970 they'd still grumble. If seventy-plus one-dayers, Test caps and lengthy stints as a professional in England and Australia don't qualify you as world class, the entrance exam standard must have gone up when I wasn't looking.

Anyone who saw those statistics I produced at the weekend and watched the video clips I posted this morning has to appreciate that Rana is a very fine cricketer. I like his enthusiasm, which will be important for a young team and the fact that we're looking for him to impart some of his experience on those tyros. For me, Naved is Langeveldt with the added bonus of being a very handy batsman. He might well make a difference to our T20 fortunes, but only if the rest of the team do their stuff around him. One star will win nothing on his own, but leven players working together with the inclusion of a star name might just surprise a few peoplealong the way.

I just hope we use Rana better than Hobart did. For me, he's a shoo-in for two Powerplay overs and two at the end of the innings, but I'd like to see him bat at six. Hobart batted him at eight or nine, which was a criminal waste and cost them their semi-final. If he gets runs, he does so quickly and can take an average score out of reach. If he doesn't, then we have people below him who can see out the overs in less frenetic style.

For what its worth, I'd be inclined to go with a T20 side along these lines:

Khawaja
Durston
Whiteley
Hughes
Madsen
Rana Naved
Park
Clare/Groenewald
Poynton
Wainwright
Knight/Seamer

With no disrespects to the very talented Usman Khawaja, Martin Guptill at the top of that order might even make me head down to the bookies for a bet on a quarter-final place, but Khawaja will have the opportunity to show people that he can come to terms with the demands of T20 and be the player that the rest bat around. I'd also bat Whiteley at three, where his ability to hit is offered the longest opportunity in which to do so. There's little merit in opening with Hughes, as more teams open with spin now, then switch to seam in the middle overs. The skipper can play any game and Rana at six could be spectacular. Park's bowling and brilliance in the field gets him my nod at seven, with other seamers and Knight being played on rotation and when available. Poynton and Wainwright are very good players to have so low, but would be handy insurance if things went pear-shaped on occasion. There's also eight bowlers, which will be handy on occasion.

Yes, I like this signing and I respect the vast amount of time and effort that went into making it happen. I'm especially pleased by the suggestion in today's Derby Telegraph that the club would like it to be a longer-term association. At 33, Rana Naved has three or four good years left in him and could be a vital component of experience in a young, developing side.

One final point - I hope the club check the fine print of their insurance policy. If Rana gets his range at the County Ground, his normal arc is roughly around where the pavilion and marquee sit. There could be a nice sponsorship opportunity there for a local glazier....