Guest post - from Rob Enderby

After reading Keith's comments on the last blog post, I feel a strong urge to write and offer some support / thoughts.  I normally keep these thoughts to myself but on occasion I can't help myself. 

The comment from Keith is both unnecessary and crass.  For those of us in full time employment and not living remotely near HQ, Peakfan's blog is a regular read and the place to go to find rational comment on the clubs fortunes.  I understand how difficult it is after I guested during his wife's illness last year ( I trust she is on the mend?) So if nothing else, thank you for what is informed and well thought out comment.

It serves to show how differently we view things. I am literally running around Southend with my shirt over my head. My own spouse and others are bored to tears with my mentioning it and at approx 1710hrs on Monday 23rd April, it was noticed that I was either fitting or jigging about in my car while stopped at traffic lights!

A terrific win over four full days, no behind the scenes contrived result, having been put into bat first.  This is fantastic and should rightly be acknowledged as so.  For Keith to talk about injuries and half the team missing does this result a massive injustice and quite frankly is insulting to the team.  I would hate to see this guy when DCCC lose.

In any case he should perhaps keep his negative comments to himself.  That he then contradicts himself by saying that we should roll over a weak Leicestershire side this weekend again does neither him nor the side any favours.  We are not suddenly the cricketing Brazil and any team we beat this year will be hard fought, with full concentration required.  

Which leads me on to my main point.  Both Keith and several so call expert journalists have failed to pick up what I consider a pertinent point.  After this terrific win it was mentioned that Middlesex were resting their England players and others were injured.  Their implied point being that they were much weaker for that.  Well if you look at it my way, so were Derbyshire, but differently.  

Both Mark Footitt, and Tim Groenewald were signed as fringe players turned into excellent bowlers and both, as others, were lured away by 'bigger' counties with expectations of trophies and more money.  As a result, we are continually having to shop around, Even if you do not follow or agree with my point, it is clear that we are not playing on a level playing field.  So one could reasonably argue that our attack was weakened as a result.  This does not happen to Middlesex or Notts or Lancashire and so to feel sorry for them that they are missing their England internationals is not easy.

This point follows on from journalists saying our hard earned handout from the ECB is being spent badly on players who they call mercenaries, or who are not qualified or ever going to play for England.  Well we wouldn't have to if the bigger clubs were not continually sniffing about.  To then carry on by suggesting that Derbyshire and others should be disbanded is again missing the point.  Footitt was languishing in Nottinghamshire seconds, Groenewald similar at Warwickshire. If they were only eight clubs, the above two players would not get a look in and would be lost to the game.  Younger players would not get a chance and there would be no progression.  That this point point is missed continually surprises me.

If Leicestershire were not a professional county, how would Broad, Taylor and Gurney have got opportunities? Repeat that, ad infinitum, around the shires. 

In summary: a fantastic blog, a fantastic win and we should all revel in this. If I'm ranting as much as Keith I most certainly don't mean to be. It's just that continual Derbyshire bashing irritates me!

Up the shire 

A very excitable Rob Enderby, Essex.