The end of the year

Just a few quick words to wish you all the very best for 2019 and to thank you all for your support in 2018.

It wasn't a bad summer at all for Derbyshire and we can only hope that we can build on it this year. There is a strong nucleus of players and a feeling that we have it right in our off-field structure now. There are some question marks on the bowling, but we could be competitive again.

I will catch up with you again soon.

Happy New Year!

Olivier plans seem mapped out

After his eleven wickets in the Test match just finished against Pakistan, one would have thought any county entertaining Kolpak hopes for Duanne Olivier has had them well and truly dashed.

Unless that country's cricket authorities do something really silly, he would appear to have confirmed himself as the natural successor to Vernon Philander and a bowler to take a long-term role alongside Rabada and Ngidi. That is assuming that Dale Steyn and Philander don't carry on for a few more years, of course, but it underlines the depth of quality bowling in that country, especially when one considers who has left to take up Kolpak deals.

Morkel, Wiese, Abbott, Viljoen - there are plenty of international sides would like that attack and it is not available to the South Africans, who appear to be on the brink of a new golden era.

Speaking of Hardus Viljoen, I am surprised that there has been no comment from Derbyshire at all regarding his IPL deal. I don't so much mean what it will mean to us, as we are still perhaps trying to work that out, but even a piece noting that he will be involved.

It is a little odd and the rumour mill, as I am hearing it, is awash with various stories. If he ends up getting a gig in the Caribbean Premier League, which he might, as these things tend to snowball, then might there be an agreed parting of the ways? If so, where would that leave us - searching for a new Kolpak, or looking around the UK for available talent?

I'm not sure, at this stage, who might be available domestically, because most contracts are sorted by now, but it might have made a lot more sense for the club to say something, anything, than leave conjecture to take a hold.

I dare say the early part of 2019 will reveal all, but for me there is still work to do with our squad for the coming summer.

In closing, could I thank all of you for your support over 2018, another record-breaking year for the blog in the number of visits.

I look forward to seeing you back next year, when we have some exciting cricket to look forward to!

Merry Christmas

I would just like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas.

Special warm wishes today to Daryn Smit and his wife, Sarah, who welcomed the arrival of their first child, Ryder Judson, yesterday.

The young fella will be in safe hands!

Congratulations to them both.

Have a lovely holiday everyone.

Viljoen signs on for the IPL

Following on from his successful stint in the Sharjah ten-over competition, Christmas came early for Hardus Viljoen, when he was picked up by King's XI Punjab for this year's Indian Premier League.

It marks a fair old transformation for the South African quick bowler. Before the T20 last summer there were a few who had concerns he should be in our first choice side, and there were plenty of times when he looked some way removed from an IPL candidate.

Fair play to him though and he has put himself in the shop window. A good IPL could make him one of the nomads who traverse the globe in such competitions, bowling short stints and carrying a big bag for the wads of cash that are a consequence.

What does it mean for Derbyshire?

Well, for a start we lose him from the start of the season to the middle of May. I acknowledge and am grateful for the information from Luke yesterday, who works in circles that know these things and said that the standard IPL deal is usually to lose 1% of your county salary for the first 21 days and 0.7% per day after that.

In an absence of around fifty-one days, that could see Hardus forego around 42% of his county deal. At his oft-rumoured salary , that is a fair wedge of money back into the playing budget, and there would be an additional saving on accommodation costs.

If he plays most of the matches he can pick up around £80K in India, which will be a nice little earner, though dependent on him playing - less if he is one of the reserves.

On the pitch it gives us a problem, because we only have Ravi Rampaul, Tony Palladino and Luis Reece to support Logan van Beek, before we have to bring in the kids. That is a laudable concept if they are ready, but less so if it is too soon in their development.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a loan move to cover that period, unless the amount allows an extra recruit. I am unsure if there is anyone out there out of contract, but there will be several counties who are overly blessed with seam bowling talent who might want them match fit playing at a higher level. At an early stage of the season, that would be a valid option.

Is it telling that the club has yet to issue a press piece on the news? In all likelihood they are working out what it means to them and to the cricket budget before going public.

I look forward to seeing Dave Houghton's comments on it in the coming days.

Finally, for now, warm congratulations to Ryan Duckett on being confirmed as the club's new CEO.

He is a nice, approachable guy and I am sure will fit the role perfectly.

I wish him well.

Blog sponsor sought

As the old saying goes, all good things come to an end.

Thus it is that my sponsorship deal with Office Care will come to a conclusion at the end of March next year.

The support of Martin and David Booth has been substantial and appreciated over the past few years. I have valued their financial support and also their friendship, which can be an even rarer commodity than blog sponsors.

It enabled the blog to look more professional, to gain an identity and to win awards. It played a part in its continued exponential growth and brought them clients through click throughs on their advert.

I am very grateful to them and wish them all the very best in their future endeavours.

And yet. to use another old saying, as one door closes another one opens.

If there are any companies out there who might be interested in sponsoring the blog, which reaches fifty thousand views a month over the summer, then please do get in touch.

Line adverts linking to your website are also available and I would be happy to discuss options and opportunities with you.

Please mail me, in the first instance, at peakfan36@yahoo.co.uk

Thank you!

Christmas approaching fast

I have spent a part of a leisurely morning today watching the Mzansi Super League game earlier this week between Paarl Rocks and Nelson Mandela Bay Giants.

There were some big names on display, though the injured Imran Tahir would have enjoyed a slow track on which Tabraiz Shamsi bowled a very good spell. Cameron Delport, released by Leicestershire at the end of last season, won the low-scoring and slow-scoring contest with a brutal 84 from just 45 balls.

He's a good player, especially in one-day formats and it was a surprise when things didn't work out in England. Maybe, at 29, he will get another crack with someone and there is much to like in a bloke who can open the batting at a fair lick and bowl some handy medium pace.

Not much happening down Derby way, but we shouldn't expect that at this stage. The players are working hard in the gym on fitness and all is calm, all is bright, just like the carol.

I have been taking things a little easier on the winter blog because of hand trouble and my big news is that surgery is now likely in February, which will leave me hors de combat from a typing perspective for two to three months.

I will do pieces in that time, but they will be one-handed and perhaps not as detailed for obvious reasons.

Any offers of writing support in that period will be gratefully received, to enable things to tick over till mid-summer, when normal service will hopefully be resumed. My role can then be an editorial one for a few weeks. Please indicate any interest with an email to peakfan36@yahoo.co.uk

I will be back next weekend, just before the festivities.

Will the real Hardus Viljoen turn up?

The news of the success of Hardus Viljoen in the T10 tournament in Sharjah will have raised a few eyebrows among Derbyshire supporters.

Viljoen took 18 wickets in eighteen overs in the competition, which his team won. He bowled fast and accurately throughout and was voted player of the tournament.

It is time for him to do that in Derbyshire colours.

He signed a three-year contract for us and has thus far completed two of them. His first season was ravaged by injury and he didn't play before the T20, bowled much of that with a limp and then suggested brighter things with a fifteen-wicket haul at Hove that won us an end of season match.

Last season was a disappointment. He took 38 wickets at 32 runs each in the championship, decent enough for a county professional but not for a highly paid import. As I have said before, with great reward comes both expectation and responsibility and I'm afraid Hardus didn't get close. There were some decent spells in the T20 under Dominic Cork's tutelage (coincidence, or...?) but in the four day game there were spells that were embarrassingly inept .

I've never seen worse bowling than he produced in the second innings at Durham at this level, certainly not by someone of international reputation. It turned what should have been a formality of a win into a dreadful defeat, on a wicket where line and length were sure to bring results.

Clubs sign Kolpaks because they offer more than is available on the domestic circuit and effectively offer another quality overseas player. There are plenty of shining examples of their worth on the county circuit, but at this stage Hardus isn't one of them.

That's harsh, but true and I am sure that unless there is a massive turnaround this summer, it will be his last at Derbyshire. I can't see us renewing on the rumoured terms, for sure, but he has every incentive to attract future interest from the circuit in 2019.

If he can bowl in a similar manner to Sharjah through a long summer, he could be the difference between Derbyshire doing well and being among the also-rans. The effectiveness of Logan Van Beek will be enhanced if there is aggression and pressure at the other end, because batsmen will just 'sit on their bats' and play him out if they can get away at the other end.

Too often last season, Derbyshire had to use Tony Palladino as the one man who could bowl wicket to wicket when we lost Luis Reece to injury. With the fitness and form of Ravi Rampaul in question, Palladino gave crucial control and it was no coincidence that he took wickets, backing up good deliveries with ones where the batsmen couldn't score and creating pressure.

If Hardus arrives in the Spring in good form and with his radar locked on, we could have a decent summer. If we can force home a few of these winning positions from last year, top three in the four-day game should not be beyond us.

But it will depend on getting runs on the board, which I think we will do with Dave Houghton's input. Then bowling sides out twice.

If the real Hardus Viljoen turns up, that could happen too.

Will he?

Derbyshire sign Logan Van Beek as overseas

There are a few reasons for me to applaud the signing of Logan Van Beek, the New Zealand A and Netherlands international, announced by Derbyshire yesterday.

For one, it must have snuck under the radar of most people in the county game. I had seen his name on score cards in New Zealand, but profess to knowing little about him, something I have in common with most, if they are honest.

Yet good judges in New Zealand, among them John Wright, rate him highly and there is a lot to like in a player who will know a good English summer will have serious career prospects. If he bowls the full English length (as opposed to breakfast) that Dave Houghton mentioned yesterday, he will enjoy our early season tracks. There will also be a novelty value in that few will know anything about him, which is never a bad thing.

One would assume that he will be a more affordable option than many too, with a reputation to be made, rather than one on which to coast. At 28 he should have done his filling out and one can only hope that he gets through the summer as free of injury as possible.

He looks to bowl at a decent pace, if nowhere near that of Lockie Ferguson, and will look to bring his career bowling average south of thirty, rather than slightly above it, as it currently is. He strikes me as a late developer and his recent statistics suggest that to be the case, but he will also lengthen the county batting. An average over 25 with the bat suggests a man who can handle the willow and he should be an asset across the formats.

It is a risk, but then most overseas signings are. It is better to under promise and over deliver and the player will not be weighed down with expectation as were some in our not too distant past. He goes for just under ten an over in T20, but again it is something to improve on in 2019.

I assume that he will be playing for us on a European passport, because he doesn't yet have the full international cap that would let him play here as a Kiwi.

That might not be far away though and he will be aware of the effects a good 2019 could have on his career.

What it does for Derbyshire is lengthen the batting and promise a lower order, with Hardus Viljoen and Tony Palladino, that can contribute valuable runs in a counter attack. With Luis Reece hopefully fit, the final place in the side could go either to a young seamer or one of our two spinners, Hamidullah Qadri or Matt McKiernan.

It would leave a likely first choice line up of

Godleman
Lace
Reece
Madsen
Hughes
Critchley
Hosein
Van Beek
Viljoen
Palladino/Rampaul
?

All very interesting and I wish Logan all the best, as I am sure you do too.

I'm very impressed with the way that Dave Houghton has so far gone about his work. We have key players with renewed deals, a good loan signing and now our overseas player in place, all before Christmas.

Finally, the news broke yesterday of the release of Callum Brodrick which had been 'out there' for a week or two.

At 20 he can hardly be said to have had infinite chances, but in a rebuilding job there will always be casualties. He didn't make the most of limited opportunities, but may come again if his health allows his cricket to prosper.

He must look at Tom Wood, Tony Borrington and Colin Tunnicliffe for examples of players who overcame early rejection to make it in the county game. Weight of runs in local cricket will always make people sit up and take notice, so I hope he does just that.

He is a nice player to watch and I wish him well in his future endeavours.

Lace signing sorts the batting line up

The signing of Tom Lace announced today on a season-long loan, pretty much sorts the batting as far as I am concerned for 2019.

Lace did pretty well last season in a few appearances and looked a correct and organised batsman who will thrive on the additional responsibilities that he will get at Derbyshire. His chances of breaking through at Lord's in the immediate future are slim, given their talented line up, but if David Houghton rates him as a batsman that will do me quite nicely.

A likely top six will be Godleman, Lace, Reece, Madsen, Hughes, Critchley, with Anuj Dal and perhaps Tom Wood in reserve. Add in a couple of overseas players who can bat for the T20 and it looks a decent line up that should score runs.

I commented on Twitter that a similar deal for a seam bowler would be nice. It is perhaps unrealistic to expect Hardus Viljoen and Ravi Rampaul to stay fit throughout the season, though both owe us a decent summer after a largely disappointing 2018. It may be equally unrealistic to expect Tony Palladino to take fifty wickets again, and we would then be down to the teenage seamers and whatever overseas player we manage to sign.

Someone mentioned Doug Bracewell the other day and that's not a bad shout. I don't see there being too many options and he would certainly fit the criteria of a bowler who knows how to handle a bat. So too might Joe Mennie, who did well for Lancashire last season but to my knowledge hasn't yet been re-engaged for 2019. Or maybe they might look again at Jason Holder, who was in the frame for 2018, or another South African, where we obviously have strong links.

It is all a minefield and you can get deals prepared then find them dashed by short-notice tours and the myriad T20 competitions around the globe.

What we shouldn't forget, however, is that we should have Luis Reece this year, which will make a huge impact in the field on early season wickets.

For me that overseas role is key, but there's a decent squad taking shape, and plenty of reasons to be cheerful at this stage.

The fixtures are out...

Those of you who heard me on BBC Radio Derby on Tuesday night will know that I have mised feelings on the season's fixture announcement.

This will be a watershed summer, one which will likely mark the end of cricket as we know it. The millions being poured into a competition that no one, aside from Peter Graves and his ECB cronies, seems to want will consign four-day cricket to the summer's peripheries, fifty-over cricket to an afterthought and our thriving, effervescent T20 to a sideshow.

It is all desperately sad and yet the signs are again there that the game is run by people who care little for those who follow the game, and not an awful lot more for those who play it.

Yes it is nice that we can now plan our trips for the summer and book a day off here and there, but how much nicer if we could watch cricket in the sunshine! The fifty-over competition is FINISHED by May 6, unless we make the knockouts, and seven rounds of the championship are completed before the middle of June.

That's not such a big deal, but a closer look at the fixtures shows that Derbyshire has only FIVE home weekend days of championship cricket all summer and only one of the fifty-over games is scheduled for a weekend day at home.

It is barmy. Almost as if the powers that be are trying their best to marginalise the game as it is and its appeal to the average working man.

Take me. I work three days a week but do the hours of four in compressed shifts. That gives me time to do things that I both want and need to do each Thursday and Friday. I get eighteen days leave a year and at least two weeks of those go on family holidays. So that leaves me eight days on my hobby, and any cricket in the first half of the week sees me needing to allow two days for travel in each direction.  If it was at the weekend, it would be a much different matter and a day of leave would let me see a couple of days cricket.

I am somewhat resigned to seeing less of my county in the flesh this summer on that basis. I will make the season opener and brave the arctic wasteland of early April and have the Durham RLODC in late April as a day trip on a Sunday.

After that? It isn't worth my while doing a six hundred mile-plus round trip for a T20, so unless I am down there my viewing will perforce be largely at distance.

Which is all rather a shame. But I am far from alone and I don't think that the ECB have any interest in the supporters and increasing the accessibility to the existing game.

And that, my friends, is worrying.

I will continue to study the fixtures and see where I might be able to get away, but it isn't easy.

Thoughts on the members forum

Thanks to Adam for the excellent write up of the forum earlier in the week, which made for very interesting reading.

The main thing that came out of it for me is that there isn't a lot of money to play with. We have rightly awarded improved contracts to the key core players, as well as offering deals to Anuj Dal and Matt McKiernan. There may be one for Tom Wood too, by the sound of it, which would be well-deserved after two or three seasons of heavy run scoring.

Daryn Smit as second team skipper? Regular readers will know I have suggested that since the end of the season and the young players and trialists could wish for no better skipper and mentor than Daryn. With an opportunity to work towards his level four coaching badge at the same time, it is a win-win situation for the club as they also have a ready-made replacement for Harvey Hosein should he pick up an injury.

Dave Houghton looks like he is going to offer opportunity to local youth, partly because of that lack of money but also because it is the right thing to do. There must be a few gems in local leagues - not just the Premier League - and the hope will be that we can unearth a few of them in the coming months.

I have never had the expectation that Duanne Olivier will return and I understand there are at least three counties hoping for his services. His biggest decision will be on whether he plays as an overseas player or turns Kolpak, but the likelihood is that he will ply his trade elsewhere, with Yorkshire my guess as his destination.

Your guess is as good as mine to a seam bowler who can handle a bat. There are plenty out there, but the number reduces when you take out the ones who are in the IPL and those who simply don't fancy the county grind. Hopefully we can come up with someone suitable in the coming months.

For T20 cricket, I would suggest our preferred duo would be Wahab Riaz and Mitchell Santner and if we landed them there would be few complaints. Both can bowl tight spells and play match-winning innings, but Santner's first challenge is to return to fitness after almost nine months out with injury.

Finally, the Viljoen and Rampaul situation. No Derbyshire supporter could doubt the credentials of the two experienced bowlers, but it is good to see that Houghton has made it clear that there are greater expectations of both, given that experience and the not inconsiderable sum spent on them.

Even allowing for more grass being left on the wickets, it would be asking a lot of Tony Palladino to replicate his fifty wicket haul of this summer, while someone has to replace the wickets of Olivier. It is unrealistic to expect the young seamers to be bowling sides out, so Rampaul and Viljoen need to step up their game.

There is an opportunity next season, with three sides getting promoted to the top tier. There's a good nucleus of players, but two or three injuries would soon scupper our chances.

We'll see what the coming months bring.

Finally today, warm congratulations to Wayne Madsen for his call up to the Pakistan T20, played largely in the Persian Gulf. He will play for Peshawar Zalmi in the tournament, alongside Dawid Malan, Liam Dawson and Chris Jordan, while our own Wahab Riaz is also in the squad, So too Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy, so there is plenty of talent in a squad that were losing finalists last time around.

Guest Blog: Members Forum - by Adam Oakley

I attended the members forum at Derby last night and I just thought that I would give a brief report from the questions raised.  Despite the terrible weather (cold and wet) there was a fair turnout and some good questions asked which covered most points of discussion.

The meeting started off with Simon Storey saying a brief piece about his departure and then Ryan Duckett also spoke briefly about Simon's legacy.  One gets the impression that Ryan is a strong candidate to take the role on full time, as this would give a seamless transition and by all accounts he has done some excellent work on the commercial side of things.

The bulk of the meeting was a Q&A session with David Houghton and I thought that he answered all his questions thoughtfully and intelligently and that he gave a good impression of himself as someone who knows cricket inside out.

He was asked about the type of culture he wants to create at the club and will he promote young talent from within?  He responded that he has always tried to do this and will do so again, highlighting the 2012 Championship Division Two promotion team and the likes of Borrington, Redfern and Ross Whiteley as players he had helped to develop in his previous spell here from the age groups upwards.  The young seamers at the club (Sam Conners, Alfie Gleadall and James Taylor) will be involved from an early stage next season.  There will be a squad of about 17 players, including the overseas player and two T20 overseas players, but he would like this to go up to 19 from 2020. 

He was asked about Tom Wood and he said that when he returns from Australia he will be looking at him and a number of other local batsman, including Rahib Ali of Ockbrook and Borrowash CC.  Someone asked if Chesney Hughes would be on his radar, but he thinks that Chesney has not progressed since he was batting consultant at the club under Karl Krikken, and that Chesney can look very good in some innings but is not consistent enough.  He was the first person to call David upon his appointment to declare his availability!

There was some discussion on Matt Critchley and the situation regarding his contract. He has been offered a new and improved contract, but these discussions have stopped for now.  David said that the reason behind this was that Matt has said that he has seen 3 different Heads of Cricket come and go in recent seasons and that he wants assurances that he can develop in a settled environment and not for David to become the fourth Head of Cricket to come and go fairly quickly.  Discussions will hopefully continue midway through next season if agreeable to all parties.

In terms of overseas players next season, Duanne Olivier is being courted by other counties and it seems increasingly unlikely that we shall be able to get him.  David would like a similar replacement, a fast bowler who can bat a little bit if possible.  There will be two T20 overseas players again, one of who will probably be a spinner.  Again there will be a T20 specialist coach employed. Dave supports this and said that T20 is a different game and compared it to being like the relationship between squash and tennis.

Discussions are continuing between Derbyshire and Middlesex regarding Tom Lace and a season long loan will hopefully happen.  Tom would be unavailable in games against Middlesex but there would be no recall option based on form.

Questions were asked about the fitness of Hardus Viljoen and Ravi Rampaul and their on field performances.  David said that he had spoken to Hardus and said that everyone expects more from him and we shall have to see what he offers next year.  Ravi will play domestic cricket in the Caribbean this winter and will have to work on his fitness next year if he wants to play and David added that as professional cricketers they have a duty to report fit and to maintain fitness. 

Daryn Smit will be 2nd team captain next year, with a view to becoming a coach at the club the year after. He is ECB level 3 qualified already and will work towards level 4.  There will be more coaching support available to the 2nds than before.

David would like to see slightly more grass left on the wickets next year. He again highlighted 2012 as a year when they played on such wickets.  Currently Neil Godrich (the groundsman) leaves 6mm of grass on the wicket but he would like to see 9mm left.  One day and T20 wickets will always be played on good tracks, as crowds want to see runs in these fixtures.

There was some off field talk about the 3aaa situation, 3aaa do still owe the club some money but it is highly unlikely that the club will ever receive this.  Discussions are ongoing with potential partners but there is nothing to publicly declare yet.

Simon also talked about the 100 ball competition and the 1.3 million per year that the counties can expect from 2020-2024. He said that the counties will definitely receive this money, whatever the tournament costs.  After 2024 is uncertain, as the new television rights deal could be reduced by up to 50%, so how this money is spent will prove crucial.  

I hope I have not missed anything of note and hopefully someone who attends the Chesterfield event on Thursday may give us an update.

Thanks very much to Adam for this fascinating update. I will give you my thoughts on it over the next couple of days

Simon Storey departure leaves club a challenge

It's been another busy week up north for me, with  a couple of engagements at cricket dinners thrown in, so there was no opportunity to comment at the time on the news that Chief Executive Simon Storey is leaving the club, after six and a half years, to take up a similar role at Kent.

It is always difficult to comment on the departure of a key off-field figure, because the reality is that none of us are really sure what they do. Will Taylor, club secretary for 51 years in a similar role to that held by Storey, was respected for his loyalty to the club, liked for his at times quirky personality and humour, yet disliked for his parsimony and at times brusque manner.

In positions of authority it is always so and I recall being asked at interview for a senior role a few years back whether I would sooner be liked or feared as a manager.

Neither, was my reply. I would sooner be respected. In any role you cannot have everyone like you, because the nature of your decisions will always impact on some individuals to their detriment. But if they can see the rationale behind a decision and it is handled the right way, they can at least accept it a little better.

So it is that social media this week has seen comments of support for our departing chief executive, but others of a disparaging nature that suggest that he hadn't enjoyed the backing of the club's followers.

I have come to know him over the past six years and found him respectful of what I do, usually, though not always, supportive. From many sources, in and around the club, I hear of a man of considerable business acumen, as one might expect with his background, and one who undeniably has made the club more professional in its off field dealings than before. The amount of money generated by events in the marquee, by high profile concerts, the Women's World Cup and by the likes of recent Diwali and fireworks celebrations are testament to a man who has, with the support of a good staff, increased the club's revenue streams beyond the imagination of Will Taylor all those years ago.

Then, a banner on the County Ground advertising the local cinema was ground-breaking, even if it was the idea of Walter Goodyear. The legendary groundsman even introduced partnership working to the club, by means of a complimentary pass to the ground for the manager of the local cinema, in return for free cinema access for Walter and his family...

But I digress. Compare the ground at Derby with that six years ago and you get a true reflection of the worth of Simon Storey. It looks like a cricket ground now and the marquee, revamped pavilion, media centre and general improvements are there for some time to come in recognition of his hard work.

Conversely, and I have mentioned this before, the off-field spend has increased and, in comparative terms, that on cricket has decreased. That is my major gripe about his tenure, one he could, of course defend and has done to me. Not to the point where I was convinced, because the major spend on a sports club MUST be on the sport. When it drops, pro rata, as it has done, there must be questions asked.

I feel that whoever takes over the role has to look at an off-field structure that has become management-heavy and, for me and I know others, is taking too much money from the side of the business that is their raison d'etre. While commercial activity is essential for the club's future, so too is sufficient money to build on the playing foundations of last season.

While I have confidence that Dave Houghton and his team will do a good job, they can only do so if there is the financial support to bring in players better than those we have. Only Simon Storey and his interim successor, Ryan Duckett, will know if that is the case, but the club board needs to look closely at the role and the off-field management structure and decide if both are fit for purpose.

Rumours of senior off field salaries and bonuses have gone around the ground twice in the season just past and the board has to ensure that, while we are paying a fair rate to attract a candidate of suitable talents, we are not paying more than a club of our limited resources can afford, or justify.

The role is a key one and for me, ideally needs to be filled by someone of a sporting background. Wasim Khan is a fine example at Leicestershire, Rob Andrew at Sussex doing a similar job. It's not essential though, and Duckett, an approachable and pleasant man, could be a strong candidate. Yet there is now an opportunity to look at the role and underlying structures, save some money and plough it into the side of the club that most needs it.

This is not an assertion made from naivety. I was once part of a management team of five, which became three, which became two over the course of time. It was not a reflection on poor work by predecessors, rather an acceptance that things must change, be rationalised and be even more productive as a consequence. 

I wish Simon Storey well. His true legacy will doubtless become apparent in the months and seasons ahead.

The work starts now to find the right way forward for the club.

It is crucial that we get the role, the appointment, the salary and the underlying structure correct.

Poor county response to the passing of Chris Wilkins

I was quite disappointed to read, five weeks after the event, a mere five-line note on the passing of Chris Wilkins on the club website yesterday.

As the club's first overseas player, one who gave considerable entertainment to fans between 1970 and 1972, he deserved much better than that.

He wasn't, as referred to, a pinch-hitter, because that term is indicative of a player who is promoted up the order to hit it about. Aggression was the name of the game for Chris and in South Africa he largely opened the batting anyway. On that basis he was no more a pinch-hitter than Chris Gayle, Martin Guptill or Rohit Sharma are today.

Apart from in the opening weeks of 1970, when his technique was shown to be a little loose for early season pitches, Chris almost always batted at four for Derbyshire. He was a player who played his way, irrespective of the match situation, but while that must have frustrated team mates at times, it was wonderfully entertaining for supporters. You knew it might not always last, but enjoyed the sheer power of his hitting while it did. And when it was his day, you went home every bit as enthused as if watching a special knock from Kuiper, Gayle, McCullum and many others.

Throw in his useful seam bowling, brilliant fielding and ability to keep wicket and you have a player who would have travelled the world playing T20 today.

You can see my obituary of the player here

Finally, I haven't previously noted the passing of local club cricketers on this blog, but it is right to note that of Tony Pope, who died earlier this week.

I met him a few times, most recently at the funeral of Walter Goodyear. He was a lovely man, who had played cricket for Alvaston and Boulton and for the MCC more than anyone else. He played for Derbyshire seconds, but never reached the level of his father, Alf, or his uncle George, who served the county so well before and after the Second World War.

Nonetheless he took thousands of wickets at lower levels and crossed the globe in doing so.

He was a quite remarkable, genial and intelligent man and his autobiography is well worth reading .

Rest in peace, Tony.

Conners deal grounds for optimism

To be picked for your country's national side at age group level is an indicator of a cricketer of talent. When you take the field, it can be in the knowledge that in the eyes of the selectors you are one of the best eleven cricketers, for your age, in the country. It is quite an accolade.

Plenty have trod that path before but fallen up short of county standard, because each step along the way is more demanding than the one that preceded it. Yet the age group standard is indicative of a player of talent and thus, in Sam Conners, who signed a two-year deal with Derbyshire yesterday, there is a cricketer of considerable potential.

According to the club's press release, Conners is known to Steve Kirby, who must have had an input into the signing and must feel he has something to work with. I have seen him a couple of times and he has looked steady. Sometimes that is better than spectacular and both player and coaches will know that there is plenty of work ahead. I was taken with his accuracy, and any bowler will tell you that you have more chance of wickets if you make the batsmen play.

There has already been the stress fracture of the back, which seems to go with the territory for young quick bowlers these days, but Sam will doubtless work with the fitness and strengthening team to get his body 'right' for bowling quick over the course of a long summer. Kirby, a fine county bowler, had his share of injuries over the years and will be well-placed to advise him on the mental, as well as physical demands that lie ahead.

The same will go for Alfie Gleadall, another lad of genuine potential. In these two teenagers the future of Derbyshire seam bowling currently lies, yet there have been plenty before them who fell short. We can only hope that we now have the correct coaching set up and support mechanisms in place to enable the talent of these and other young players to flourish in the years ahead.

I wish Sam the very best of luck in the next two summers.

2020 - new ideas, same muddied thinking

After the announcement of the new format for county cricket from 2020, the ECB may have hoped for encouraging words from the people who watch the summer game.

It is hard to engender enthusiasm, however and even harder to escape the feeling that 2019 is the last summer of the game that we know and love. From 2020 it will be all change, not necessarily for the better.

With the constant drip feeds of information about 'the new competition' changing all the time, it increasingly resembles an anxious parent trying to get a child to behave. Now it 'might' be a franchise affair, privately run. I get the impression they keep dropping scenarios in with the hope that one will excite the media and supporters alike, that format then getting the green light. It won't happen, because the whole concept sucks like an industrial-scale vacuum cleaner.

What it has left us with is a new-style county championship from 2020, with a ten-team division one and an eight team division two. For those of an optimistic nature, that sees three sides promoted next year from Derbyshire's division, something that should rightly be seen as an opportunity, then two will be relegated and promoted each year thereafter.

With teams in the top tier playing only fourteen games, you will play some sides only once and that can only be to the detriment of those who play Surrey twice. While the allocation of fixtures may be based on a seeding system from previous summers, it is lop-sided and messy.

Then again, we will have a fifty-over competition played at the same time as the new competition, which will be missing the best 96 domestic players, as well as any from overseas. The latter, obviously, is so all of them can play in this new sooper-dooper competition that no one wants, but it all means that the fifty-over game effectively becomes a second eleven competition. There is an irony in counties having a warm-up match against 'Minor' Counties, because it would appear that they all will be. Maybe a chance has been missed to have a knockout, one in which the better minor county sides would have a genuine chance of creating a shock or two.

It's only real merit, praise be, is that it will not be geographically grouped. So we won't be playing all the same teams that we play year in, year out in the T20, thank goodness, but it is of scant consolation. There may be a chance to see a few outgrounds used again too, but the crowds won't flock to see second eleven cricket any more than they do at present.

Still, it will all be fine, because this new competition will more than make up for our disappointment in other areas, won't it?

Oh, OK...

Kirby announced so coaching team in place

As I wrote last week, Steve Kirby was duly announced as Derbyshire's assistant and bowling coach on Friday and the team that will hopefully take us forward is now in place.

A busy old week has prevented me blogging until now, but truth be told, there is little of importance at this stage.

The club appears to be doing well off the pitch, with a sell out Diwali event last night and a fireworks extravaganza coming up, though I don't expect to hear too much of playing activity in the near future.

The new coaching team will get to know each other and there may well be offers getting put together for a player or two, but these things tend to move quite slowly. Agents will want the best deal for the players they represent and will take all the time they need to find the right one.

If we don't end up with Duanne Olivier as overseas, or a Kolpak, I wouldn't be surprised to see an Aussie or New Zealander in that role, given John Wright's role in things. He will know players from that part of the world very well and will hopefully come up with something special, if required.

Before that, in all likelihood, the fixtures will be out and I can start planning my trips, like all of you, in 2019.

Back soon, as news and time permits!

New bowling coach almost there

The fact that Times journalist Lizzy Ammon tweeted on Thursday the name of our new bowling coach, coupled with it matching the name given to me a couple of weeks ago, means I am happy to pass comment on it, this wet Sunday morning.

Unless there is considerable crossing of wires, Steve Kirby, currently head coach at the MCC, will become our new bowling coach sometime in the course of the next week.

It would represent quite a coup for the club, as he has a growing reputation in coaching circles and has worked with the MCC Young Cricketers and Academy with a positive impact. He would come with a number of contacts and when I heard the name, it made a lot of sense .

He will be well known to Dave Houghton, of course, from his own time at Lord's and our Head of Cricket will know he can work with him. Presumably a move back up north will suit him too, as well as an opportunity to get into the county circuit.

Though born in Bury, Kirby made his name playing for Yorkshire. He was released by Leicestershire after an injury and was taken on, to great success, by the white rose county after success in the Lancashire leagues.

After success there he moved first to Gloucestershire and then to Somerset, enjoying a successful, though injury-plagued career in which he took almost 800 wickets between first-class, List A and T20 cricket. He was a regular pick for England Lions too, but never got the full England call that might have come in his best summers.

He was a combative player and if he signs and can mould one or two in his own image there will be few complaints.

Doubtless all will be revealed in the coming days.

Interesting news on Tom Wood from Australia

A scour of the overseas media outlets revealed this little gem on Tom Wood, from the Victorian press.

WOOD FIRES IN OZ!!

Derbyshire cricketer Tom Wood  has got off to a flying start in his third tour of duty in the land down under. 

Playing for Frankston Peninsula CC for the second year running, Wood started the campaign with a 96 in the grade A Victorian premier league, one level below state cricket. He backed it up this weekend with 141 in the 50 over competition, helping Frankston record their first win in the campaign. The out of contract ex-Derbyshire batsman played last season for the county in the second eleven, in an attempt to get another contract, amassing 1089 runs across all three formats. 

In addition he scored 1103 runs for his club side Ticknall, helping the south Derbyshire club to their first ever premier league and cup double. With no contract available at his home county, Wood remains far from despondent.  “The season was ultimately a failure, as my main aim was to force my way into the first team and a second county contract. Unfortunately that did not work out. However there were many highlights for both club and county with the top one being part of Ticknall's league and cup double. 

Dave Houghton has offered me the chance to play for the 2s again next season and if I work hard on my game throughout the winter and get the required runs for the seconds next year who knows? My only dream is to be a first class cricketer and I’ll keep working hard to achieve that goal. It’s nice to get the new campaign off to a good start and repay Frankston's faith in me as their overseas pro.'

I think Tom deserves an opportunity next year, when he will doubtless score a lot of runs again at those levels. He hasn't had much in the way of first team opportunity and perhaps a prolific winter and a good start back home might see him get that chance.

He averaged over a hundred in 2016, with several major innings for the second team and the Unicorns and while it dropped in 2017, it was far from a disaster and he had a couple of injuries, which didn't help.

2192 runs in all cricket last year suggests a bloke who must surely be worthy of opportunity, perhaps before we bring in someone from another county on loan.

After all, if he never gets the opportunity, how will we ever know if he can hack it at county level?  He will be 25 next May and at the stage where he has pretty much worked out what he can and can't do. By the sound of it, there's more of the former than the latter.

It is hard to argue against those statistics and I wish him well.

Work to be done as 3aaa ceases trading

I have had two or three emails and messages asking if Derbyshire County Cricket Club has major issues now that Aspire, Achieve, Advance (3aaa) has announced that it has ceased trading.

The short answer is 'no'. I feel sorry, as we all do, for those whose careers and lives are impacted by this closure, but from a cricket perspective it is no different than if a deal with a sponsor comes to an end.

The county will need to find both a new ground and shirt sponsor, but I have no doubt that they will already be on the case and speaking to people about this.

Whether the two end up being the same company is a moot point, but there will be companies out there who want to work with and have their name associated with a top sports club.

From our perspective, this couldn't have happened, if it had to do so, at a better time, as they now have around six months to sort things ahead of the 2019 season.

They will.

Bowling coach appointment 'imminent'

It has been another quick week and one without a lot of news from a Derbyshire cricket angle.

Doubtless there has been plenty going on behind the scenes as Dave Houghton gets his feet firmly 'under the table' and I understand that news on the appointment of a bowling coach is imminent.

I have heard a name and as it has come from three separate sources I don't doubt the veracity of the information. It is not for me, however, to set a hare around the park and announce someone ahead  of the official announcement for very good reasons.

First up, legal niceties will need to be adhered to and the person concerned will need to work a period of notice in his current role. He already has a good job and it would be quite a coup for the club to have a man of such quality.

Second and most importantly, Dave Houghton and the club have done all the work on this and deserve the credit and the publicity that the announcement of the name will bring. In the years I have done the blog I have never once broken news ahead of a club announcement, though once or twice have second guessed a signing with the application of common sense.

All I can say about this one is that the apparent successful candidate had a very good county career and has a growing reputation as a coach. I would deem it quite a coup for Dave to get him through the door on that basis.

More on that when the news breaks, but otherwise it is all quiet on the western front, as players take well-earned breaks.

Earlier in the week, someone wondered whether we might have been in for Billy Root, who moved from Nottinghamshire to Glamorgan.

I would have been surprised. He would have been on a good earner at Trent Bridge, one higher than we would have wanted to match. He is a talented lad, but I'm not sure he would have been worth it, an average of thirty no better than we already have. He may go on to a fine county career, but it didn't seem a good 'fit' for us.

In the absence of a move for an experienced Kolpak (and the money with which to do so) someone like Andy Umeed, who has also been mentioned in recent comments, might be a better option. Capable of batting in the middle order or open, he has shown potential at Warwickshire and might be worthy of further opportunity at the age of 22.

Finally, to respond to a couple of emails, Chesney Hughes? He played some big innings in the second team this summer and will be known to Dave Houghton from his time as batting coach.

Could I see him getting another deal? Yes, but only if his agent realised that he wasn't in a strong position to ask for silly money. At 27 he could be seen as coming into his prime, but conversely could be seen to be a boat that has sailed.

Like many other things in professional sport, most of it is only conjecture until announced by the club concerned.

We will see in the months ahead.

Houghton interview gives interesting pointers

Yesterday's interview with Dave Houghton on the club website gave some interesting pointers for the future.

“We will look at a couple of loanees, but we need to up-skill our youngsters. If you recruit you can often block the path for youngsters and we’ve got some good youngsters coming through" said the Head of Cricket.

He is absolutely right and the potential in the likes of Gleadall, Conners, Taylor and Qadri is without question. Yet it would be naive, I think, for supporters to expect them to step into first team cricket and make an impression when second team cricket, for most, has proven a challenge.

As it was always going to, of course. While Qadri is the most advanced, the others have all had injury challenges. The potential of Gleadall with bat and ball was obvious at Durham this summer, but he needs to be wary of pushing his young body too much, as they all do. They are only 17/18, so need to be carefully monitored.

The interest in a return for Duanne Olivier was worthy of note, but as I have previously mentioned, other counties will be keen on his services and Houghton referred to 'other irons in the fire'. One would assume that the likeliest source of these would be South Africa and New Zealand, given the county links with those countries. 

There was no mention of a Kolpak signing, though that may be considered if deals were reached to release either Ravi Rampaul and/or Hardus Viljoen. There are one or two from South Africa who may consider such an offer, especially those in their thirties whose international opportunities may be coming to an end. 

Such players as Farhaan Behardien and Chris Morris may be among them, but the key factor is the qualification ruling. Unless a foreign player has an EU passport, they cannot be signed as an overseas or Kolpak unless they have played either one Test match or 15 one-day/Twenty20 internationals in the two years prior to the official application for paperwork. That would exclude a few others who came to my mind and South Africa are getting canny in not giving Test caps indiscriminately, then risking losing the player. 

As for loans, they would make sense in our current financial state. There is an obvious 'in' at Middlesex, where Houghton has spent the last few seasons, while Surrey must surely be an option for a loan bowler, given they have so many. Two Currans, Morkel, Clark, Clarke, Dernbach, Plunkett, McKerr and Meaker is an embarrassment of riches. They might even go for Olivier...

Don't discount our dear neighbours in Nottingham either. Their signing of three batsmen and a bowler in the season's closing weeks looks like leaving a few players facing second team cricket and players like Jake Libby, Chris Nash and Billy Root will struggle for regular first team chances.

We'll see.

Enjoy your weekend.

Weekend warmer

The opening week of David Houghton's return to Derbyshire is coming to an end and supporters must be very happy with the way things are going so far.

All of those that players would see as key personnel have had contracts extended, while both Anuj Dal and Matt McKiernan have been rewarded for summers of promise by one-year deals.

Only Matt Critchley has still to have a contract extended and we can only hope that this is imminent. While not an academy product, Matt has come through our ranks and will become a major player in the next three or four summers.

Yesterday we saw Alex Hughes sign a new deal and I fully expect to see his continued development with bat and ball. His bowling can be better utilised, especially in early season, and I expect to see him used more next year.

So what next?

Well, the release of Gary Wilson, with a year of his deal to go, has set precedent and I wouldn't be surprised if similar deals were not being considered, at the very least, for both Ravi Rampaul and Hardus Viljoen. Both had summers that would be deemed as acceptable for home-grown players, but not for overseas signings who are high earners. If similar deals could be struck with them both, would many supporters be disappointed? While both have the talent to win matches, they didn't do so too many times in 2018.

Viljoen frustrates me. That he can bowl quickly and trouble batsmen is beyond doubt. That he doesn't do it often enough is equally true. For both players, returns closer to those of Tony Palladino should have been attainable, and while Hardus' inconsistency frustrates, the concerns over Ravi Rampaul's fitness will not go away. Missing matches with breathing issues suggests an underlying health issue, but while we all hope that he is well, the bottom line is that we need players who will offer more for the county.

I think this is where John Wright's winter role will kick in.

Is there, for example, a player who might be a better option in a Kolpak role than these two players? Or is there a player out there with a British passport who could fill a gap in the side?

Realistically, I think we would be looking more at bowlers. If money could be freed up, we wouldn't need to spend a fair chunk of it to improve on the batting. Godleman, Reece, Madsen, Hughes, Critchley and Hosein will be six of the first choice top seven, as we wouldn't spend money on extending contracts for them to play second team cricket.

The window for Kolpak status will close with Brexit and there will be players in South Africa who could do a very good job. That country's policy of playing different elevens in the game's different forms potentially makes more players available and there might be a few options available. Many will know that for all their talent they will not be regular internationals, so for the right player a deal while exchange rates are favourable might hold considerable appeal.

We'll see. I have no doubt the agents of several available players have sent their details to Dave Houghton for perusal. There may be one or two names among those announced as released so far will be of interest, but I am happy to leave those names in my own personal pile named 'conjecture'.

I think we may utilise the loan market, for obvious reasons, but a key signing is likely to be the next, that of bowling coach.

If we can find someone who can develop the young academy prospects, upskill the existing talent and galvanise new players, they will be worth their weight in gold.

More from me soon.

Chris Wilkins - an obituary

The passing of Chris Wilkins, announced today, at the age of 74 is the passing of part of my childhood.

We all have our heroes, and the South African batsman was the first that I recall. He was usurped, on a permanent basis, by Eddie Barlow, but the thought of his cricket has always brought sunshine memories to the darkest days.

I started watching Derbyshire in 1967 and batsmen didn't so often bat against the clock so much as the sundial. 'He'll never die of a stroke' said my Dad about more than one regular. Attrition was the order of the day, an occasional shot a relief from the ongoing tedium.

I'd make honourable exception for Mike Page and also for Peter Gibbs, who came from university to play shots we were not used to seeing, especially through the covers. You wouldn't, however, go home saying you'd just seen an amazing innings by Ian Hall/Derek Morgan/David Smith et al. Worthy players all, but they ground it out and accumulated.

Then came Chris Wilkins.

Derbyshire were late in the overseas market and didn't sign one until the 1970 season. Only we and Yorkshire held firm, the latter because they had a very good team, didn't need one and - well, were Yorkshire. Us because we barely had the money to pay our own.

Essex had Keith Boyce, Glamorgan had Majid Khan, Gloucestershire had Mike Procter, Hampshire had Barry Richards - the list went on. Nottinghamshire signed the big cheese himself , the great Sobers.

And we signed a South African that no one had heard of called Chris Wilkins.

To be fair, good judges in that country suggested him 'better than Barry Richards'. That was not fair, as there have been few in the history of the game batted better than the imperious South African opener. And when Wilkins appeared over here and was first photographed swathed in sweaters at photo calls, which made him look the size of Colin Milburn, we wondered what we had let ourselves in for.

The first few damp weeks did little to dispel doubters. Wilkins opened the batting and struggled against the moving ball, making few scores above 30. It was decided to move him down the order to number four. Then it happened.

Wilkins showed himself to be a brilliant striker of a ball. You would turn up for matches hoping that Gibbs and Smith might make a start but that Smith wouldn't stay too long, as he wasn't, to my young and uneducated eyes, very exciting. Then Mike Page might get going and get a few, but you hoped, really hoped, that they'd see enough shine off the new ball for Wilkins to come in and play his shots.

I considered myself his lucky mascot, as I never saw him make less than 35. There was the usual 'ooh' when the second wicket went down, but it was as much a noise of anticipation as disappointment. As the outgoing batsman made his way to the pavilion gates, you would see people sitting up in their seats, others putting down newspapers and more hurrying back from the bar or the loo as we waited for Wilkins to make his way from the pavilion, arms swinging and eyes blinking to acclimatise to the light. To my young eyes he was the greatest thing I had ever seen.

The thing was, and it could be his downfall, Wilkins was as likely to go for the bowling first ball as any other time. In his superb book on cricket captaincy, Mike Brearley recounted how his arrival at the crease always required mid off and mid on to go deeper, the ball likely to sting their hands or clear them in a normal position. He played HIS game, sometimes with scant disregard for the match situation and I could imagine the frustration of team mates if he gave it away early. Yet when it came off...

I vividly remember several innings by him, one on a turning wicket at Chesterfield in 1970 where Northamptonshire spinners (Breakwell, Swinburne and Steele) were causing problems. Wilkins twice went down the track and hit off spinner John Swinburne into the boating lake, making it all look so easy. Finally perishing after a very brisk 68. he exceeded this in the second innings with the fastest century of the season, from seventy-odd balls.

At Derby in the John Player League there was a flawless 50 against Surrey, with one six over mid-wicket that just missed Dad's Ford Anglia. Then at Buxton, we were slaughtered by Jack Bond's marauding Lancashire, with Frank Hayes, Faroukh Engineer and John Sullivan putting them way out of our reach.

Still, Wilkins went down fighting. That day he hit Clive Lloyd's medium pace for a straight six that is still the biggest I have ever seen. Batting at the pavilion end, it was still rising as it left the arena, and another ball was required. 

Chris Wilkins was not the best overseas player we've had by a long way. His average was OK (30-40) but nothing spectacular. You couldn't play in that style and average over fifty though. In the modern era he would have made a fortune.

Don't get the idea he was like Shahid Afridi, all slog and little substance. He could play, but often chose to go with the muse and regularly chose the aerial route. He was a useful right arm medium pacer (he got Boycott once on 99 - how many have done that?!), a brilliant fielder in the covers, an excellent first slip and a stop gap keeper. He also once dismissed Zaheer Abbas while bowling slow left arm... Alan Hill told me that he was also the first player he saw play a switch hit, in the nets at Derby, when he hit David Wilde, no slouch, a country mile from a left-handed position. All things indicative of natural talent, even if it wasn't always applied.

Two more memories to close. At Ilkeston we were chasing a Hampshire score of around 170 in the 40-over John Player League and weren't too confident. They had a fair side and their opening bowlers were "Butch" White, a lively handful for any side, and the legendary Derek Shackleton, one of the game's most economical bowlers.

This was the day that David Smith went berserk. After a slow start where we despaired of any sort of challenge, he took on Shackleton and hit him to all parts. Well, mainly over mid wicket, with pulls, sweeps, hoiks and cow shots. He made 80 in the time he'd usually reserve for reaching double figures, then got out with only ten needed.

In came Wilkins. Bam! Bam! One four, one six, two balls, game won.

Finally a Sunday televised game against Hampshire. Barry Richards made a quite breathtaking 80 for them that day, but when it came our turn to bat.so did Chris Wilkins. We won on the last ball and at the end of the game it appeared that those good judges were right. 

On that afternoon, at least, there really was nothing between them.

Rest in Peace, Chris Wilkins. 

You entertained us royally.

Hosein contract reinforces his choice as 'the one'

Yesterday's news of a new two-year contract for Harvey Hosein, taking him to the end of 2020, reinforces the opening day of his tenure statement by David Houghton.

The role seems to be going to a young man who has looked likely to fill it for a number of summers now, but at last seems to have a clear run at making the job his own.

I have no problem with this at all. As a batsman I have always rated him highly and think we would get the best out of him batting higher than the more usual seven in the order. He has a very orthodox technique and has showed an ability to play straight and stay in when wickets are tumbling around him.

I would see him batting at six, but could make an argument for him at five, where his preferred method would enjoy the support of  'proper' batsmen at the other end. He is still very slight in build, of course, and as he fills out the boundary shots will become more frequent.

I thought him improved as a keeper when I saw him at the end of the season and he would look better still if we had more bowlers whose radar was more than a thing for only occasional use. The acid test will come in his work with the spinners and his standing up to Messrs Critchley, Qadri and McKiernan over the next summer or two will determine his long term suitability for the gloves.

As I said the other day, I would let him work with Daryn Smit over the winter and let Smit mentor his glove work. Indeed, let Smit skipper and mentor the seconds, available for the first team as required, because we all know his quality behind the stumps. His genial personality will work well with younger cricketers and trialists too.

No one will complain at this, though. Like the rest of you, I hope he makes the role his own and we can all celebrate long term success.

Well done Harvey!

Gary Wilson leaves Derbyshire

The departure from Derbyshire, announced today, of Gary Wilson comes as no real surprise.

I had a feeling, when he  was left out of the squad for the closing matches of the season, that a parting of the ways was on the cards. For both player and club, I think it is absolutely the right thing.

Especially in his time at Surrey, Gary was a solid county cricketer. I think he was more mobile then and he proved a good choice as captain for that county in a time of some turmoil. He took them to T20 finals day too and there were plenty of well-wishers from that county when he moved to Derbyshire, two years ago.

It didn't work out for him at Derbyshire. Partly because he was one of three wicket-keepers on a small staff and, by general consensus, wasn't in the top two, yet was vice-captain. With team selection done by the 'senior group' any drop in form was going to lead to accusations of players 'looking after each other', even when that wasn't the case.

With Daryn Smit the best glove man and Harvey Hosein the local lad that many wanted to see earn early promotion, it didn't make for an easy spell for any of them. When none was able to produce the consistency that was required to make the role their own, it became obvious that something had to give.

Wilson led the team through two T20 campaigns. Last year he played two or three pugnacious knocks to close out wins, but this season his batting drew criticism. He wasn't quick between the wickets, but he seemed to need longer to get going and ate up valuable deliveries before he got his eye in.

Nor was his captaincy innovative enough for a demanding format. A top captain would have thought on his feet when Afridi opened for Hampshire in last year's quarter-final, tore up the plan and changed the bowling order. Gary didn't, nor was he especially sharp with field placings or his batting order. Maybe that was more the coach's decision, but the man who leads the side on the field normally has a major call in such things.

The club statement today, in which Dave Houghton is quoted as saying 'we decided to give the wicket-keeper batsman duties to someone with a long term future at Derbyshire' suggests that Harvey Hosein is due his opportunity next year.

That being the case, I could see a lot of merit in using Daryn Smit's experience and coaching nous with the second eleven next year, available as required for first team duties. As things stand, it would allow Mal Loye to spend more time with the academy and both elevens would likely benefit as a result.

In closing, thanks to Gary for his efforts over the past two years.

It didn't really work out as all parties hoped, but he gave of his best and I am sure we all wish him well in his next venture, back in Ireland and with the Irish national side.

And for what it is worth, with precedent being set, I don't think this will be the last such departure this close season...

Fantasy Cricket a huge success

Thirty-six teams were in this summer's Peakfan Blog League, the biggest number ever and I hope that you all enjoyed it.

I see my role as the facilitator, not just because I came third bottom, but because I seldom have time from mid-summer onwards to do anything with it. This is evidenced by my having thirteen available player transfers remaining at summer's end, as well as twenty captaincy switches...

Still, a lot of you have the skills of the game mastered and this year's overall winner was Paul Donkersley, who edged out Clive Whitmore by just 248 points. They came 123rd and 164th nationally, which was an excellent effort.

Perennial challenger Dean Doherty was third and sixth with two teams, while Paul was also fourth with his other team. David Aust, a past winner, came in fifth.

As they do every year, The Telegraph provide medals for various categories and I have been sent them. If the winners can mail me at peakfan36@yahoo.co.uk their address details, I can get these in the post.

Those winners are:

Overall winner - Paul Donkersley
Top run scorer - Clive Whitmore
Top wicket taker - Dean Doherty

Thank you to all of you for your involvement and I hope you are all involved again next year!

End of season review

The 2018 season marked the end of the Kim Barnett era, who left mid-season yet can reflect on two summers in which more games were won than in any year since 2011.

There should have been more, too and a frustration for supporters, and challenge for new Head of Cricket Dave Houghton, is to turn more positions of dominance into victories. That said, there have been years where positions of dominance were few and far between, so the 'Barnett model', giving greater responsibility to the captain and senior group, can not be said to have failed.

Houghton can take this on and still allow his captain a degree of freedom. Where it fell down was in the leadership 'group'. Such a group is a laudable idea and some thrive upon it, but where ours fell down was that we had too many senior players who contributed far less than they should have, given their reputation and, one assumes, salary.

There are good cricketers in the Derbyshire squad, some of them very good indeed. The nucleus of Madsen, Godleman, Palladino, Reece, Hughes and Critchley is something that could be quite special, but fresh, better contributing blood is needed around them. The feeling hasn't gone away that we are a batsman light, though the above names, less Palladino, would likely make up five of the top six. The addition of such a player would afford greater balance and confidence that match-winning scores can be made, though there is still a question mark on the resourcing of such a signing for a county that hardly identifies with the word 'affluent'.

On a small staff with, bizarrely, three wicket-keepers, none made the role their own, despite opportunities. The side's need for a wicket-keeper who could make game-changing runs at number seven remains, though Harvey Hosein now looks the most likely bet. A lengthy run in the side would either confirm his talent or highlight frailties in his glove work which are still evident at times. Gary Wilson was a disappointment with the bat and is only a functional keeper, while Daryn Smit, excellent with the gloves, continued to struggle to score the requisite runs. Filling that role properly will be a challenge for 2019, a James Pipe or Luke Sutton the great need.

The bowling was better, but largely because of a golden summer for its oldest member. Tony Palladino took wickets when conditions helped and kept things quiet when they were less in his favour. A new two-year deal followed at the end of the summer, just reward for a player who is hugely respected both inside and outside the county.

Both Hardus Viljoen and Ravi Rampaul disappointed. While both bowled good spells in the Vitality Blast, in four-day cricket they were expensive, erratic and not especially penetrative. Viljoen could occasionally be fast and hostile, but too often lapsed into direction that was shockingly poor at this level. Rampaul's fitness came into question around the ground and, if both players are still at the club next year, a massive improvement is needed in both for us to progress further.

Duanne Olivier was the overseas player for the first half of the summer and proved a great success. Most supporters would be keen to see him return, even keener were he to take up a Kolpak deal. Yet his success will have been noticed elsewhere, his ability to move the ball both ways at good pace, as well as a skiddy bouncer that caused  countless problems a prized asset. Watching him bowl, long arms generating unexpected 'whip', I was reminded of descriptions of Bill Copson. Duanne would not be upset with such comparisons with a county legend and his quiet, friendly persona would be welcomed back in the Derbyshire dressing room.

Lockie Ferguson did a sterling job in the T20 Blast, then was less successful, though whole-hearted, in the four-day game. In the short form, his combination of yorkers and short of a length bowling was a potent weapon, though more predictable from a batting perspective in the long form. His fitness enabled him to bowl long spells without his pace dropping though and he was a popular addition to the squad after arriving at short notice.

The spinners? Matt Critchley did better and a season's work in all formats of just short of a thousand runs and forty-four wickets was a good effort. Both his skill sets can improve still further and hopefully Houghton's coaching will turn a batsman who looks to have so much time into one who makes the big scores consistently. He had a golden week at Chesterfield and it is important that the club reward his talent and obvious potential with a deal that offers him medium term security.

Hamidullah Qadri had few opportunities but has plenty of time on his side and is not yet eighteen. His time will come and, like a few others, the appointment of the right bowling coach will see his game continue to develop. When he played he let no one down and his support bowling to Critchley at Chesterfield was perhaps overlooked at the time.

As for the batsmen, Madsen again passed a thousand runs and 1500 in all forms. His new four-year deal gives confidence for the future, as does the one signed by Billy Godleman. His one-day form was outstanding this year and his four-day form returned to the norm once he returned to his rightful place at the top of the order. Luis Reece was sorely missed for most of the summer and Alex Hughes came within sixty of his breakthrough 2017 tally, but at reduced average. His bowling came on dramatically, however and his value to the club could increase still further, as he turned 27 today and has his best years ahead.

Hughes had a tremendous Vitality Blast with the ball and the way in which Wahab Riaz mentored his bowling in the T20 should not be overlooked. The Pakistan international bowled with pace and nous at the top and tail of the innings, as well as playing some handy innings. His smiling demeanour made him a popular figure and many would be pleased to see him return in 2019.

My verdict on the summer? One of progress. Perhaps not as fast as some supporters would wish, but I like to base my expectations on reality, rather than fantasy. Pre-season I was one of few who saw them as better than bottom in the four-day game and also-rans in the short forms. We ended up mid-table across the board, which was about right. Yet three wins were there for the taking in the four-day game and had they done so would have finished in third place.

There is plenty to do in the winter. To allow for squad improvements, I wouldn't be surprised to see negotiated releases of some players from contracts, because we need much more from those who are the best rewarded. We need a batsman of quality and one, perhaps two bowlers who can be relied upon, but we are moving in the right direction.

The budget is the key factor and such additions do not come cheap. Thus the ongoing and stated development of our own talent is crucial and that will take time.

There were plenty of golden moments to look back on over the winter, however. That has to be worth something and sets us up for a hopefully exciting 2019.

Your thoughts?

Contracts keep coming at Derbyshire

Safely returned to the bosom of my family near Glasgow today, I have a little time to offer my thoughts on the new contracts for Anuj Dal, Matt McKiernan and Luis Reece and the departure of Will Davis.

Departures are always sad and especially when it is a player who at one point looked to be something quite special. Will Davis burst on to the scene, bowled some spells of serious pace and looked to be a bowler with a big future. To be fair, so did Tom Taylor, Ben Cotton and Greg Cork in their time and questions need to be asked as to why our academy bowlers are not kicking on such as, for example, the ones at Worcestershire or Leicestershire. Whatever Dave Houghton does when he comes into post, he needs to get a  handle on why academy progression is really an oxymoron.

For some young players, premature departure from clubs is down to some combination of attitude, indiscipline, poor fitness, limited skill set or lack of opportunity. No one can deny that Will Davis has a bucket load of talent, but now, after becoming the latest Derbyshire player to end up on the conveyor belt to Leicester, he needs to find his own answers to why it didn't work out at Derbyshire.

The bottom line is that he didn't play enough cricket. There are similarities with Alan Ward, also slight in physique and who also headed down to Leicester with less success than he had at his home county. Last winter Davis had his own personalised fitness programme, apparently looked really good in the nets, but probably played less cricket than in previous summers, when to be fair he didn't play a lot either.

He is unlucky, because at 22 he is nowhere near developed physically, but perhaps the mental side of fast bowling needs addressed too. Ask any quick bowler worth his salt and they will tell you they are rarely pain-free, but you have to learn to handle it until, perhaps in your mid-twenties, your body is better able to cope. Both Wahab Riaz and Lockie Ferguson said as much before a T20 game this summer and it is just a shame that our finances do not allow more time for youthful prodigies. If Davis can overcome his physical frailties, he could still be a very good bowler. By the same token, I don't blame Derbyshire for releasing him, because there is an expectation, after several summers on the staff, that a player should be better able to play cricket.

Will Davis wasn't and while it is a shame to see him go, I don't blame the club for releasing him to better use the money elsewhere. I wish him well at Leicestershire and will follow his progress with interest.

A direct beneficiary of his departure is likely to be Matt McKiernan, as well as Anuj Dal, I would be surprised  - and very impressed - if our financial situation as it stands allows for major recruitment this winter, but both of these players did well in limited opportunities. Both are all rounders, though Dal hardly bowled in his first team opportunities this year. I could have understood the decision whichever way it had gone, because he didn't make the most of his opportunities in weight of runs. But enough has been seen in his fast hands and feet to think that Dave Houghton may polish up a gem over the winter.

Dal can defend and attack well. What he needs to do now is build on composed twenties and thirties and turn them into big scores. Was there, or will there be consideration of Chesney Hughes, who scored a lot more runs in the second team than him? Maybe his boat has sailed, but Anuj is young enough to develop still further. By the same token, perhaps at 27 Chesney is coming to his peak...

McKiernan is a good cricketer and as a leg-spinning all rounder will give us another option on turning tracks next year. Earlier in the summer I watched a Glamorgan player clump him into the vegetation at Belper, before perishing two balls later, trying to repeat the shot  from a similar, but more flighted delivery. He bowls a good length and turns his googly impressively, while his batting ability will do him no harm. Maybe he is also a plan B, just in case Matt Critchley is tempted elsewhere, but I hope Critch realises that his game can come on much more playing regular cricket at Derbyshire than being a more peripheral figure at a 'bigger' county.

As for Luis Reece, a new deal was a no brainer. He is a class act and was sorely missed for the majority of the summer. In adding him to those on extended deals, the club has secured one of the country's best all-rounders.

I expect to see him cement that title in the coming years and thoroughly enjoy watching him, whether batting or bowling. He makes things happen and, crucially, goes about his game with a smile on his face.

The lot of a professional cricketer is one that many aspire to, but few have the skills to achieve. Reece has those skills in spades and looks like he enjoys every single minute.

There's something for others around the country to aspire to, right there.