I picked up an interesting story on Twitter tonight, with the news that Daryn Smit of the Dolphins franchise in South Africa has announced his retirement from the game in that country to make a permanent move to the UK.You may recall that a man who is pretty much a complete all-rounder (bats, bowls leg spin and keeps wicket to a high standard) made a double century at the end of the summer for our second team at Belper. This came at the end of another season in which he dominated in the Lancashire League, averaging 86 with the bat and taking 69 wickets at eight runs each.
Having averaged 113 and taken 74 wickets in 2015, it might be said that Smit has come to terms with English wickets rather well...
He will be 33 when the next English county season begins, the same age as Basil D'Oliveira when he made his county bow for Worcestershire in 1964. That didn't turn out too badly for all concerned and I would suggest that Smit's arrival, given that he has an ancestral visa that allows him to play in the UK as a local, might be watched quite closely around the shires.
He has had a truncated winter back home, shoulder surgery ruling him out of a fair amount of cricket, but two centuries in eight matches has been a decent return and I am sure that bowlers will be wary of facing a player who has become a run machine in the Lancashire League. If the runs start to flow again, I suspect opportunity may knock, somewhere, for a man who has earned respect as a consummate professional, both in South Africa and in the north west.
Given opportunity, he would be well worth someone's trouble in the county game. I am a big fan of South African cricketers and there are many examples of those who have come to this country and given exemplary service.
Daryn Smit might be another to open eyes, this summer.
Didn't realise his stats were THAT good, seems a no brainer to me, really surprised no county side has signed him up
ReplyDeleteI would sign him up personally. One I've been on about for a while. 1 year deal with a view to extend. When Wilson goes away we only have 1 keeper. This guy can be another option as all it takes is one injury and we are going loan market again. He bowls leg spin. Again it's a focus area for us. And he bats well and could do a job anywhere from 3-7. He won't be that expensive. Yes I agree we need to give opportunities to some youngsters but I've said all winter I think we are a batsmen short and with Broom going even more so. I more batting option and I am happy with the squad. Plus for me English experience was important. Ok not at county level but he knows his game over here. One to keep an eye on. He tweeted and copied Chris Grant before Christmas saying he was hopeful still of a deal with derbyshire.
ReplyDeleteGood points Mark but if we did sign him do you think it would 'deflate' the younger guys confidence? I agree he's definitely one that should be in the note book and one we should be watching
ReplyDeleteOne final point if we signed Wilson and Reece and we were happy with the batting then Broom quit surely we are 1 short. I understand about backing a Hughes or a Reece but I think one more signing of experience and I am content for the season ahead. As it stands I am worried if a Godleman or a Madsen or a Wilson take a hit on the finger we are short. Especially short of experience.
ReplyDelete36.31 first class average according to crickinfo by the way. Ok, pretty decent. And he won't be mega expensive if he has a deal at Ramsbottom surely? Not gonna be a £100k+ signing like some yet his average isn't far off what you'd expect for a top level player
ReplyDeleteHiya Ash. Potentially yes. However, my main point is Broom was standing in their way as it stood only a month or two back. He's left. It would be nice to back them and if Billy and Kim etc decide that's the best way I will back them. I am just hoping we replace like for like. Some experience. As I worry we don't have enough runs. We are going to be taking some risks as Slater who will probably open is class but his FC average is poor and needs work. Thakor we hear will bat 3. Unknown. Concerned we won't have decent scores for Mendis/Tahir and Viljeon to bowl at
ReplyDeleteAlso final point. Our batting will half way through the season when Tahir leaves all of a sudden get worse as Mendis I think will bat 5 or 6. So when he goes we will have less depth then we will in the first half of the season.
ReplyDeleteWhen Mendis leaves I meant. And Tahir replaces him. Apologies.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see us signing a high quality batsman,preferably one who bowls as well. We've lost Rutherford, Chesney Hughes, Durston, Broom and Elstone (seen not long ago as another of the endless line of promising youngsters whose promise was never fulfilled). What will deflate the young players most is another season of abject failure. Kim Barnett had a winning mentality as a captain and I'm optimistic that he will see the need for strengthening. If we don't start prioritising success and winning regularly, the better young players will leave anyway. They won't want to be mainstays of a bottom of the table team.
ReplyDeleteThe point is there is no guarantee that this 'high quality batsman' is going to perform. The only guarantee is they are not going to be cheap. As mentioned Rutherford and broom did not perform and neither did amla and dilshan. I am sure all of them gave 100% but the bottom line is none of them were value for money.
ReplyDeleteThere’s clearly a bit of a bandwagon rolling for Smit, and I suspect that a deal is close to completion somewhere before he took the step of retiring from SA domestic cricket. His availability was well known, so he didn’t need to sacrifice his future earnings in SA without having something in place apart from his Lancashire League contract.
ReplyDeleteHe’s not likely to accept a short or low-paid contract, bearing in mind the income he’s giving up in SA domestic and English league cricket. That may be why others, as well as Derbyshire, have not snapped him up already – a relatively modest career average, no first class experience in England, long contract, and experienced player’s salary would make him a pretty big gamble, especially when you’re not sure whether you need him.
I don’t honestly see Broom as much of a loss, and it’s worth bearing in mind that the younger batsmen who some are now saying we can’t rely on had far superior seasons to him last year. I take the point that Thakor, Hughes and Hosein haven’t done it over a sustained period but Broom didn’t do it at all. His career figures (and his performances for NZ) suggest a much better player than we saw, and no-one would have expected him to do as badly as he did. If he had come back to us, I suspect that within a few games we would have been in exactly the same situation as we are now, but without the money in our back pocket to bring in loan reinforcements if the need arises.
As it is, we have Wilson, Mendis, Thakor, Hughes, Hosein and Reece competing for at most five batting places (including no 8). Assuming Wilson and Mendis play as automatic choices and Thakor has been pencilled in at 3, that leaves three competing for two places, and bringing in Smit would mean they’d be competing for one. I don’t think that our batting is in the weak state we’ve often been in, and we need to back their continued development and delivery. It’s also worth considering that if Smit isn’t prepared to take a one year contract, we’re talking about holding back their development for three years.
The obvious response to this argument is “okay, but what about injury and/or loss of form?” Given what I saw last year, I think we’d be very unlucky if all of Thakor, Hughes and Hosein didn’t continue to improve, and if anything I’m more concerned about whether Wilson will get back to his form of 2014/15 and Slater can show the sustained consistency that he hasn’t managed so far. Injuries you obviously can’t do anything about, but not replacing Broom means that the resources should be there to use the loan market. Most first division counties have good and/or experienced batsmen who are out of the first team, and who they are happy to see go out to play second division cricket than turning out for their own second team. Four of the top thirty batsmen in the second division last year were loan players – Gidman, Evans, Mustard and Libby – and I think that most batting loans are successful. It also means that we’re not tied to having cover for middle order places, and one of the places we are most vulnerable (and surprisingly no-one has commented on) is in our opening batting. I and others have already commented on the need for Ben Slater to achieve the results that his ability, techniques and experience suggests he should be capable of, but we are one broken finger away from not having any opening cover following the departure of Chesney Hughes. I can’t imagine Madsen doing it after all of this time, and the brief sight of Tom Wood last year suggests he has a lot of development to do before he’s ready. Perhaps the only other option is Harvey Hosein, who didn’t look out of place when he opened against Glamorgan in the absence of Godleman, and certainly kicked on after the experience. It clearly wouldn’t be ideal though, and saving the cost of Broom or replacing him, would leave us with the resources to cover gaps wherever they arise.
Very good post notoveryet, though I would see Reece as a good opening option. He scored heavily in that role for Lancs a couple of summers back, while Wood, unproven at top level has scored well in the twos at the top of the order
DeleteDo you think Reece could open if called upon?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely Ash. He did so with some success for Lancs. Good player
DeleteExcellent point that I missed, when Mendis goes and Tahir comes in we'll be another batsman short
ReplyDeleteThanks Ash. Glad someone agrees with me. Some good posts in this thread. Shout out to notoveryet in particular
ReplyDeleteYes Mark I agree. A very high standard from all and thanks for taking the time to post.
DeleteWe may not all agree but it shows the passion out there for Derbyshire cricket
All down to you Peakfan, thanks for running this blog, 1st class, you've help rekindle my love for the game, living outside the county getting news and talking DCCC can be difficult, this keeps me involved. I owe you a pint of your choice come April my man
ReplyDeleteExactly why I started running it Ash and it is great to have you involved!
ReplyDeleteSee you when the action starts and look forward to it!
I will hopefully get to a couple of games this season. I live in Leeds so it can be difficult especially with a 7 month old daughter but if I do I will let you know and hopefully can meet a few of you for a pint at the ground. I haven't been down for a few seasons.
ReplyDeleteWell theres plenty of opportunity this summer Mark, I was going to get a 6 match plan but with membership being so cheap I worked out I can get to around 20 or so days of cricket so a membership seemed like a no brainier, if anyone on here is thinking of getting one get in touch, I'll halve the £50 cash back offer with you, that makes it £114 not £139! BARGAIN !
ReplyDeleteI read an interview with Smit today. He seems very passionate about wicket keeping and so I don't think he would be a sensible option for us. I think reading in between the lines he would miss the keeping and although depending on his salary requirement I think he could be a useful addition due to his batting and leg spin but perhaps it simply was a case of Wilson or Smit and in which case it's a no-brainer that we took the option with Wilson as a very experienced leader with clearly loads of first class experience in this country.
ReplyDelete