Signing conjecture

I'm taking advantage of a day off today (sadly, it's because I have to work on Saturday) to catch up with a few mails and I have had several asking what I think about player X from a Derbyshire perspective for next summer. It struck me that I might as well share my thoughts with everyone on here!

First and foremost it should be made clear that Derbyshire will have far greater appeal as a first division side than if they remain in the second division. It is obvious - players want to test themselves against the best and, as James Harris has illustrated, if they are remotely ambitious and entertain international hopes they want to play at top level. I know that Bopara and Cook are from Essex and Bairstow from Yorkshire in the current England setup, but the side is largely from the top tier.

Second, it needs to be kept in mind that there is no football-style windfall with getting promoted. Millions of pounds and parachute payments for the relegated may be accepted in football, but Derbyshire will largely have the same to spend for next summer.

As I wrote the other night, I think we are well covered in the spin department, but could probably do with one extra seamer, ideally one who can bat, to cover the bases. Realistically, whoever comes in has to be better than one from Groenewald, Palladino, Clare and Turner, or there's no point. Mark Footitt has much to offer if he could stay fit, but unless a big name was available and wanted to join us - a James Harris style player, for example - we may as well give a full time deal to Ali Evans, who has done little wrong on a summer contract. Seven wickets yesterday for the Seconds highlights that the Scot is a decent bowler who wouldn't let anyone down and crucially will only get better.

It would probably be good to have competition for Tom Poynton behind the stumps, but if money is tight I don't see it as a necessity. There are plenty of guys out there who could come in on short-term deals if required, but Poynton has staked a very strong claim to be Derbyshire's wicket-keeper for a long time to come.

Which leaves the batting. For me, we need an English opening batsman and an overseas player. Lancashire and Worcestershire look like coming down - do they have an opener who is out of contract and worth signing? Do one of our second tier rivals - assuming, which we can't, that Derbyshire will get promoted? To some extent it doesn't matter, as wherever we play our cricket next year it is patently clear that we need another opening batsman as we currently only have Paul Borrington as a specialist opener.

That leaves the overseas role and next season will be a nightmare for counties. There's not just the Indian Premier League and then the ICC Trophy in June, but now an American Twenty Over competition, where money is likely to be no object and there is an opportunity to get in at the start of something that could be big. It coincides with our T20 as it is currently planned, so guess where the bigger names will go?

I wrote three months ago and haven't changed my stance since that the best overseas batsman from a talent and availability perspective next year is likely to be Brendan Taylor of Zimbabwe. Taylor is an exciting, aggressive player in a similar mould to Martin Guptill. He is national captain and wicket-keeper, as well as being a useful spinner. He can either open or go in first wicket down and scores his runs quickly. Yes, he is largely untried in our conditions, but is available for almost the whole summer and could be a big success. There are plenty of others who could come in and out through a revolving door, but Zimbabwe are the only major cricket country with a largely free English summer in 2013. Any county that gets Taylor's signature for 2013 will be securing the services of a gem and I suspect he will be engaged by one of them before the end of October.

I would also like to see a second overseas batsman for the T20. Rana Naved was a failure and the statistics back up my suggestion that there is little wrong with our bowling. Few teams collared us in 2012 and you could add Messrs Knight and Burgoyne to the attack next summer with a degree of confidence. We need two batsmen who can reach or clear the boundaries and pull in the crowds. It won't be easy, for reasons I have already explained, but it has to be the aim.

Finally Murray Goodwin. Could he do us a job? I think Goodwin and Darren Lehmann have been the standout overseas batsmen in the county game over the last ten years, but he will be 40 well before the season starts and averaged only 13 this summer. In a younger player you could write it off as one of those things, but I can't see Goodwin getting better at that age so it's a "no" from me.

But as always, I'm keen to hear your thoughts!