Derbyshire may or may not escape this game with a draw tomorrow, at least judging from the weather forecasts that I have seen, but that should not mask the overwhelming feeling as this game draws to a close that promotion came too soon for this young side. Indeed, it is hard to see anything but ultimate relegation at the end of the season as things stand.
At the moment the only players who appear to be ready for this level of the game - and we must not lose site of the fact that the team IS a work in progress, as I've said all along - are Madsen, Johnson, Footitt and perhaps Wainwright. One assumes that Chanderpaul is too, but the West Indian at this stage is not doing his stuff and the side is suffering.
It gives me no pleasure to say that. These are all good players - very good players or they'd not be in the county game, but for one reason or another, be it mental, technical or whatever, they're just not at the races this summer.
For all that we were ecstatic - myself included - when he signed, Chanderpaul has not yet scored the runs to justify the likely high cost. He may yet do so, but in adversity you need your main men to stand up and be counted. It's not happened for Shiv yet, but I recall similar mutterings when we signed Eddie Barlow. He also had a slow start but became a club legend. We can only hope that the genial Chanderpaul does the same.
To be fair, this wasn't a 400 wicket and I'm told that there should have been parity on first innings had we bowled remotely well. Too many poor balls were bowled and catches were dropped, which you simply cannot do at this level. The wicket offers a lot of movement and is now turning, but we didn't play a spinner. While the batsmen will take the flak tonight, the bowlers let us down in this one, no doubt about it. Even Mark Footitt admitted he'd bowled badly, even though he took the wickets.
Chesney Hughes at least has his Headingley innings, but the likes of Godleman, Redfern and Whiteley are struggling and it hurts to see players of talent in their current state. Yet compare it, if you will to football. A player can score 25-30 goals to get a team into the Premiership, yet be short of the requisite standard to score at that level. There are plenty of examples, but this is a cricket blog, so I'll not bother.
We need to allow these lads to develop but it happens in the fullness of time and you cannot accelerate it. Suggesting we can go and sign experienced men is pointless, as first we couldn't afford the ones that were worthwhile and second there's no guarantee that will work either. Look at the money that Surrey spent this winter on the likes of Keedy, Solanki, Smith and Ponting and where they are. They're more competitive than us, but with a playing budget around three times the size they should be. The same goes for Somerset, a club with loads of money, but struggling at present.
It takes time and, while we all want instant success, it doesn't happen that way. In five years time we will look back on this season and see it as a year when some of our brighter young players revealed they weren't quite up to the mark and they subsequently never quite made it. Others will see this year as one where they realised just how much work needs to be done to play at top level with any degree of success and used it as a springboard to success.
The future? Well Ben Slater HAS to come in. He and Paul Borrington added 150 the other day for the seconds and while there has been intolerance from some towards the latter, he could scarce do worse than some others at present. I doubt that both would get the call though and Slater deserves the first opportunity. Having said that, Hughes could then move to the middle order and with Durston back there might be better options for us.
It is Karl Krikken's call but he has a tough summer ahead. I hope that people don't get silly and demanding change, as that would do nothing at this stage. We simply have to stick with the long-term plan of developing our own young players and be patient.
That's all I can say, really. Tough times. At least I should get to see them in Edinburgh next Sunday.
You just know its going to rain, don't you..
I don’t think rain is going to save us, as local forecasts suggest that the heavy rain is about 50 miles to the north. Nothing in our performance here deserves such redemption anyway.
ReplyDeleteInevitably it’ll bring out the shouting masses on websites calling for magic solutions – the hordes of high quality batsmen who were available if we’d been willing to pay for them (Hamilton-Brown anyone?), the similar hordes of proven first division batsmen languishing in second teams available for loan by their counties to a struggling rival, the untapped riches in our own second team making irresistible claims for promotion, and so on.
Once again, let’s have a sense of proportion. Our batsmen haven’t suddenly become poor players overnight. They struggled through the second half of last season and we’re seeing more of the same. I accept that continuing to pick Godleman and Whiteley isn’t doing them or the team much good, but we have to be realistic about what their potential replacements can achieve in the current situation. Chopping and changing limited, out-of-form, or inexperienced batsmen for other limited, out-of-form or inexperienced batsmen for the sake of it isn’t going to turn things round.
One straw to grasp at is the turnaround in Durham’s fortunes. They spent a good part of last season as nailed on certainties for relegation and are now turning into runaway leaders. They have found a way of making the best of what they have, and that's what we have to focus on as well.
I’ve written before about working on how to improve at the margins, and that is something that isn’t happening. It’s worth reflecting that there were three points in this match where we had a fighting chance. In both innings, we were two down for more than a hundred, and had Sussex five down for roughly the same. If innings were capped at 110 and wickets lost were the deciding factor, we’d be well ahead. Likewise, what happens in the last hour of the first day? Against both Yorkshire and Sussex we’ve gone into it in strong positions and surrendered the initiative.
This is where our cricket leadership needs to focus, rather than doing their own version of casting around for magic solutions. Fielding a battery of quick bowlers with limited containment options was one indication of this, and perhaps the bizarre pitch for this match is another. I can only base it on the limited ECB highlights, but the alarmingly erratic bounce looks like an own goal. It undermines batsmen who are already out of form and low in confidence, risks injuries within our limited resources, and worst of all, if it was deliberate and continues, will attract ECB attention. Perhaps we’ve learned that there are decent bowlers in this division who are at least as good as ours at exploiting these conditions, and batsmen who are better able to thrive in them.
It may be true that we aren’t good enough for this division (actually, I think it is) but we are not giving ourselves the best chance at the moment. Like Durham, that has to be to focus on what we have and what we can do at the margins, rather than search for magic solutions. Honesty will be a key factor and in this context, Mark Footitt’s comments after the second day are a refreshing change from the increasingly ridiculous reports on the county’s website (“brilliant Footitt” and “defiant Derbyshire take narrow lead” for example). I’ve not always been that kind to him, and I can’t share Peakfan’s view that he is one of the few that has established his quality at this level, but his honesty in admitting that “I wouldn't pick myself in the next game, even though I took five wickets, because I haven't bowled very well here" is admirable, and hopefully reflects the reality of the analysis that is going on behind the dressing room doors.
Footitt took 6-120. 1-20 isnt something we should complain about, id take that every match.
ReplyDeletePaul.
The Godleman signing is looking like one that was made out of sheer desperation now. 2nd division Essex released him, so how did we expect him to suddenly start getting the runs in Division 1?. Very poor player.
ReplyDeleteYou're right notoveryet, we're losing wickets at key times - including after resumptions of play - which are hurting us and we're not doing any of the disciplines of the game especially well.
ReplyDeleteThis was a wicket that Palladino would have enjoyed, but from the increasing turn so would Wainwright and he wasn't selected.
Your point about the wickets is also valid. Below average wickets helped us last year, but the better class of opponent this year has players every bit as capable of capitalising on them.
The sure thing is we have to try to improve with what we have.