Such was the case when I heard that Ben McDermott, son of Australian fast bowling legend Craig, was coming to Derbyshire as overseas player for the Vitality Blast T20 and Royal London One-Day Cup.
Having announced the signing of Sean Abbott yesterday, Derbyshire have completed a full set of Australians with the signing of McDermott, who at 24 has already established himself as a one-day specialist good enough to play for his country in eleven T20 internationals.
It is a very sound, common sense signing, a horses for courses affair. Abbott will play the early season four-day cricket and T20, while McDermott will join him in the short form and be the permitted player in the RLODC. Presumably, if the early season championship matches go well, a decision will be made down the line regarding someone for the final four-day games, but Dave Houghton, as he likes to do, has got his signings in early - and well.
Ben has a strike rate of just under 130 in T20 cricket, which is just less than Virat Kohli and a few higher than Steve Smith. I'm not claiming he is a better batsman than those two, but it gives an indication of the speed at which he scores his runs. With a List A average of 54 and a T20 one of 31, he can obviously play and a look at Youtube confirms him as a batsman who can clear the boundary on his day.
There is always a concern with big-hitting overseas players that they may come undone in English conditions. Loots Bosman didn't really come off, though an ankle injury didn't help him, while Shahid Afridi generally produced one innings a tournament, as we found out to our cost three years ago. I get the impression that there's more to McDermott than a slog, however and he was won matches with well-paced innings too. Perhaps he will be more Adrian Kuiper then, which would do quite nicely.
Interestingly, and reinforcing my assertion of it being a common sense signing, he is a wicket-keeper too, which would give us a genuine, dynamic batsman in that role. While Harvey Hosein is a talented young player, and Daryn Smit an outstanding wicket-keeper, neither has shown sustained ability to change a game with the bat in short form cricket. Ben would take his place in a top five with Godleman, Reece, Madsen and du Plooy, giving us a serious line-up along the lines of:
Godleman
Reece
Madsen
du Plooy
McDermott
Hughes
Critchley
Hudson-Prentice
Dal
Abbott
Rampaul
Welcome to Derbyshire, Ben.
God's own county awaits with considerable interest - and here he is in action.
Two excellent signings. Let's hope injuries/call ups don't interfere for once. Very impressive recruitment and at last we have overseas with genuine experience and proven track records.
ReplyDeleteJust need to sort out the no 5 in red-ball - Lace or a n other. I hope Lace stays but the delay suggests he's probably part of Middlesex's plans next year. And the off-spin role. Nail those two and I reckon this is tge strongest squad we've had for some years.
Good stuff. Welcome Ben. I also think we need an offspinner Phil. Fingers crossed we have something up our sleeves.
ReplyDeleteThat t20 batting line up is absolute gold Peakfan. I do think an extra spinner would be ideal. Let’s see what news comes from the forum as DH does seem to be quite transparent at these events from what I read. Lace and good off spinner would be a dream. Not sure it’s realistic but who knows.
ReplyDeleteDon’t understand your obsession with Hughes and Dal neither are good enough
ReplyDeleteIt did say 'along the lines of' and wasn't a definitive selection...hardly an 'obsession' though to appreciate what someone brings to the side.
ReplyDeleteHughes has been a key member of the T20 side in recent seasons and we started winning last year when Dal replaced ageing players.