A triumph for common sense

The overwhelming vote in favour of the new management board at Derbyshire County Cricket Club is a triumph for common sense, as well as for those fans with the club's best interests at heart.

Voting in a group of people who are eminently qualified for their roles and have the passion and the experience to carry them out to a very high standard was of paramount importance to the club's future. Anyone who has read my comments on the subject in recent weeks will know that it was (and is) a subject close to my heart.

I hope to live to see Derbyshire up there with the foremost counties in the land and firmly believe that we are on the right road. The team and the club are works in progress though and that has to be remembered by fans. We are at the start of a journey that will see the team, the ground and the club as a whole transformed. As with any journey, there will be difficult parts that don't go to plan, but the destination or goal is the important thing and needs to be kept in mind, especially when we have an occasional bad run on the pitch, which affects all teams in their turn.

That 96% of those voting gave the plan their backing speaks volumes. It is just reward for a well thought out, sensible and thorough campaign, where members were able to get involved, ask plenty of questions and then make an informed decision.

There are two disappointments for me. One is that, turning things around, there were still 4% of members who felt that this was not the way forward. I find that quite remarkable, given that the consequences of retaining the status quo were potentially serious. I can only assume that those who decided we were better off as we were did no reading or research of their own, as they could not otherwise have made that call. Either that or they were voting out of self-interest.

The other is that around half of the membership appear not to have voted, which again I find quite sad. As a keen social historian in what is left of my spare time, I've read plenty over the years of the massive efforts involved in getting the ordinary working man a vote. That being the case, I've barely missed an opportunity to do so in anything that I cared about since I was 18.

I'm delighted that the membership voted so overwhelmingly in favour of the club's plans and these can now gather pace. Had it been closer though, because so many people simply didn't bother, it would have been a really sad indictment.

For the next two years at least we have very strong leadership at the club. Looking at those involved, I hope it goes on for much longer. Well done to all those in their new roles and to everyone who voted to ensure that our club will continue to move forward.

Fifty years from now, I have a feeling that tonight will be seen as a very important one in its history.