Good talking points

There's an interesting piece in the DET today in which it is revealed that Derbyshire came close to signing Chris Gayle a few weeks ago, as well as having been in the frame for the likes of Nannes, Tait and Morkel.

To be honest, it doesn't suprise me unduly. With both Chris Grant and Keith Loring having gone on record with regard to a landmark signing, there was/is obviously  money available to attract the big names. The question was if Gayle needed a stint in England and then the challenge, as I wrote a few weeks back, was to convince him, like other big names, that "unfashionable" Derbyshire represented a worthwhile move.

Somerset won out, as Surrey did with Dirk Nannes and when the financial demands are met it comes down to which side is perceived to offer the more realistic opportunity for silverware, at least in most cases. It is effectively going to be that way, until a player is identified who either sees us as an opportunity to build a reputation, wants a challenge, or has no other offers.

There are still plenty out there though and, as I've written previously, more will be known now the IPL deals have been announced. I still think there is a good chance of a South African of quality once their tour party is known, but much will depend on who is available. There is a fine line between a "match-changer" and a decent player. The former is someone who will make a difference, the latter is one who only might.

There is a school of thought - and one that I would subscribe to - that if we can't attract someone really worthwhile we simply keep our powder dry and use what we have as a learning curve. There is another one, as mentioned below last night's post, that would see us instead move for someone like Chris Taylor from Gloucestershire, a player who is talented, experienced and readily available.

All these options have their up and down sides, though for the fans to see us as genuine contenders in T20 would probably need someone coming in. Such a concentrated form of the game does require people who can do something special in a different form to the norm. A player who can smash 50 from 25 balls, or can bowl tight overs at the death are your match-winners. Last year Andrew McDonald averaged 53 and Abdul Razzaq 29 for Leicestershire, while they took 14 and 18 wickets respectively at less than eight an over. In any other form of the game perhaps nothing special, but in T20 such statistics are gold dust.

In most recent years I might have agreed on a move for someone like Chris Taylor, or James Dalrymple, but now my concern is simple. Who would you leave out? Take this notional batting line up:

Guptill/Khawaja
Hughes/Borrington/Lineker/Park
Durston
Madsen
Redfern
Whiteley

If we assume that five of those named, based on last year's performances and their roles in the club are close to automatic selections, there are already four talented batsmen competing for a place in the side. You might even add Slater to that in the coming season, maybe Siddique. Do we really need another batsman?

I accept that Park is likely to play in only one-day games and some might consider Borrington only a four-day player, but that isn't written in tablets of stone. Bozza scored hundreds of runs in one-day league games last year and has done well in two such matches in India. I wouldn't write him off in that form of the game as he has now filled out and is hitting the ball well. I'm long enough in the tooth to remember a young New Zealander named Glenn Turner, who was nigh-strokeless when he first played for Worcestershire but became one of the best one-day players of his era.

Similarly, and at odds with a correspondent on the Forum earlier in the week, Tony Borrington, for all he was a dogged batsman, played some excellent one-day knocks for Derbyshire, as did Alan Hill. "Bud" might have made a boundary-free century in South Africa to earn himself a perennial place in cricket quizzes, but also made the first 40-over ton for Derbyshire. Borrington made the second - see what I mean?

I don't think that we can afford to have at least four first-team batsmen in the Second XI, so would rule out a move for Taylor on that count alone. I accept the argument that we lack experience, but the only way to get that is by playing at the highest level. Maybe a case of short-term pain for long-term gain, but we might just see a few surprises along the way...