The merry-go-round begins...

It's all been kicking off on the county circuit today.

Surrey have made an approach to South African skipper Graeme Smith to turn his back on Test cricket and become their new captain. It is a bold and laudable move, though I would be surprised if Smith will turn his back on a national side that looks set to be top dogs for some time. Having worked hard to get them to that position, I feel Smith would be silly to walk away from it now when they have a side of some considerable talent. He could, after all, go down in history as a man who created a dynasty. This might happen anyway, but if Surrey can tempt him from the riches he must earn as captain of his national side, the offer would have to be massive. So massive, in fact, that I hope no one suggests that we could or should have gone for him.

If I'm honest, I'd say it's a fairly impressive publicity stunt, one that puts a club shorn of its major batting talent (Maynard, Ramprakash and Hamilton-Brown) back in the public eye. We'll be seeing "Kallis heads for Leicestershire" next...

Speaking of our East Midlands rivals, they've signed Robbie Williams (not that one...) from Middlesex, which could be a decent signing for them. He's had a few injuries and they have set him back a bit, but the lad is a fair bowler and could do well in division two. That's the one below Derbyshire, by the way...

Heading north and Jack Brooks has signed a likely lucrative three-year deal with Yorkshire. He is a good bowler and will go some way towards improving their bowling strength, undoubtedly their weaker suit. Both he and his new employers will hope for better fitness than was shown this summer though.

The most interesting news was George Dobell's story on Cricinfo that Derbyshire are interested in Essex opening batsman Billy Godleman. I'd heard murmurings to that effect in the championship decider against Hampshire, but there may be credence to the tale with it out in the public domain.

There is no doubt that Godleman can play and the likelihood is that he would improve his game in working with David Houghton in particular. A tall left-hander, Godleman currently averages a fifty or more in every five innings, a good ratio at the age of 23. He can really only improve and would be a more than useful addition to the Derbyshire batting line-up.

The big question, I suppose, is if he fancies moving up north and batting on different types of wickets to those he has been accustomed to. Having thought about it, my suggestion is that for Godleman to progress and realise his obvious talent, he really has to.

Think about it a moment. He's already played for Middlesex (where they had a lot of opening batsmen) and Essex, where team spirit was reportedly not especially good this summer. With Key, Bell-Drummond and Northeast, Kent are unlikely to be in the market, while Hampshire have Carberry and Adams, a solid pairing. Sussex have the prolific Joyce and Nash, which only leaves Surrey.  I'd see them as the likeliest rivals for his services, given how many players they have lost, but have a few young openers of their own who might now deserve a chance to stake a claim.

Godleman and the right overseas player would be a potentially good opening pair.

What do you think?