Palladino highlights bowling depth

One of the many things that I like since Dave Houghton took over as at Derbyshire is how he has steadily, within budgetary constraints, built the squad and covered the obvious weaknesses.

Leus du Plooy arrived last season to make a huge difference to the batting, while Fynn Hudson Prentice came in as an all rounder and looked a real asset with bat and ball. Anuj Dal showed signs of turning from top order bat into talented all-rounder, while Dustin Melton, in limited opportunities, showed obvious pace, to which the addition of greater direction could make a dangerous bowler.

This winter has seen the signing of Sean Abbott, who should be real handful with the new ball, as well as that of South African left-arm quick Michael Cohen. There is now both variety and strength in depth, with the evergreen Tony Palladino and Ravi Rampaul again likely to lead the line, with Luis Reece as further all-round support.

I'm expecting good things from Sam Conners this summer too. He has all of the assets a quick bowler requires and good people around him from who to learn. If he gets it right and is blessed by good luck with his fitness, he could be quite a player.

There's even a good spin option to Matt Critchley, with Matt McKiernan restored to full health after last year's stress fracture, while Aussie Ben McDermott will offer an excellent alternative to Harvey Hosein behind the timbers in one-day matches. I am sure Harvey will score a lot of runs in four-day cricket and offer good ballast to the batting in that format.

Good times lie ahead and I have seldom been so confident of a summer's cricket.

Finally today, in this whistle-stop blog, I read that Tom Wood is again racking up the runs in Australia. A sparkling innings of 120 this weekend made it 200 runs in three innings from his short trip over there for some warm weather nets and training.

I am not yet sure whether he will be a part of the Derbyshire squad until mid-summer, with his contract ostensibly for two months to cover the club during the RLODC. The ECB has new rules that require all second team players to be paid £70 a day, rather than be paid just travel expenses, so the club will have to look closely at the additional costs incurred. Yet logic suggests that we would want someone who is playing regular cricket stepping in for the RLODC.

We will see in due course.

Social media, celebrity and doing the right thing

Back in the day, when I was a young pup sitting in the Osmaston Stand at Derby County's Baseball Ground, or on the boundary at Derby, Chesterfield, Ilkeston, Buxton, Heanor or wherever, you would hear plenty of comments.

I would now be typing this on a sun-kissed beach, had I been given a fiver for every expletive overheard, or every denigration of a player. You pays your money, you have a right to express your feelings, to some extent.

It has always been so, right back to when Bill Bestwick, dropped by Derbyshire for an indiscretion, could be heard loudly castigating his team mates from the boundary edge at Worcester, fuelled by anger, frustration and a few too many beers.

Of course it is tough when someone in your team 'messes up'. Whether it is Richard Keogh stabbing the ball, at full stretch, to an opposition striker in a Wembley play-off, or a Derbyshire player dropping a catch that goes on to lose us the match, it hurts. Yet it is so important to remember two things. They didn't do it on purpose and they are only human.

Because we all make mistakes, in work and in life. He (or she) who maintains otherwise is a liar. I know I have, but mine have only resulted in late changes to plans at work, perhaps the shake of a head from a senior colleague, a quiet word from my manager. Not my public vilification by people who really should know better, or are of little consequence.

For sports and media stars, personalities and those in the public eye, everyone now regards them as fair game. In the skewed eyes of those who are not, they need to be whiter than white, flawless, impeccable in all that they say and do. And of course, devoid of all error.

It is nonsense. Because even if they are paragons of virtue, the ne'er do wells will tell you they are hiding something, as no one is that wholesome. It is a no win situation for most and I applaud those who attempt to interact, just as much as I do those who wouldn't touch social media with a barge pole.

To this day, my Dad will tell you that the old Hollywood stars knew how to behave themselves, while sports stars and celebrities never 'carried on' like they do today. My protestations to the contrary will never change his opinion, despite many documented and oft-retold incidents about their lives. The hedonistic lifestyles of Hollywood stars saw all sorts of shenanigans, carefully covered by the publicity machines and helped immensely because few people had cameras to instantly document their frequent indiscretions, no social media upon which to comment on them.

To be fair, the average sportsman from earlier times had little shenanigans money, which was part of the reason they got up to less. Only in the 1960s did some footballers start to get paid commensurate to their talent, while most cricketers waited for a good while longer than that. There was the odd exception, but only that. An early chat with Edwin Smith informed me that his wife earned more as a weaver in Chesterfield, than he did as a capped and respected county cricketer in the 1950s.

Today, however, every indiscretion is across social media like a virus. Everyone is an expert, with more coaching badges and experience from a computer game than any highly-qualified sports coach could ever obtain. Even if their own sporting prowess is limited to punting hopeful long balls in a Sunday League game, or managing a couple of streaky boundaries now and again in lower league, or social cricket, they know best.

I always show deference to those who have done it at the highest level. Of course I have an opinion, which is why I write this blog, but I wouldn't attempt to tell a county opening batsman how to play a tearaway fast bowler, or what they should do on a fourth day track that is turning sideways.

Yesterday's tragedy surrounding TV star Caroline Flack should be a warning to everyone, in both media and social media, just as Luke Sutton's outstandingly honest recent autobiography should be.

We only see the public persona of a celebrity or sports star. We don't know anything about the inner torments that they go through on a regular basis, nor have we a right to do so, until they feel the time is right. Over the years that I have written this blog, I have been made aware, because I have been trusted, of the challenges facing certain players. Things going on in their lives that would make life a challenge for anyone, whether illnesses to loved ones, health issues, money problems and more. Knowing these things helped me in my writing, though I like to think that I would have maintained the requisite understanding and discretion anyway.

This blog came out of the cesspit that was the old BBC 606 site, when I read many of the comments and felt them unnecessary, thoughtless and crude. My occasional contributions were well received and I started putting them down here. From the start and to this day I have vetted every comment, not because of my inner control freak, but because in putting my thoughts 'out there' I feel there comes a strong sense of responsibility to those I write about.

I hoped that one day players and their families might read what I wrote. I have been humbled to find over the years that they do, flattered that they trust me enough to tell me things, grateful for their kind words and ongoing friendships with both them and family members.

Yes, I will say that X is out of form, or Y played a bad shot. I might say that we delivered an inept display, but I won't tell a top player how to play their game. There is usually less than an inch on the bat between a ball that sails into the crowd and one that is caught on the boundary edge, much less between one taking the edge and missing it.

I once heard an opposition supporter, fuelled on beer, asking a bowler in his team why he hadn't tried to stifle our batsman, who had run amok, with slower balls and 'mixing it up'.

With an icy stare came the reply. 'Because the three slower balls that I bowled he hit out of the ground and he had an answer to everything I tried'. There you have it. Sometimes, your best just isn't good enough, no matter how hard you try.

The hypocrisy in the media and social media today is appalling. Tweets and articles hurriedly deleted, erasing any evidence of their contribution to yesterday's sad event. It wasn't the first, it won't be the last, but we must all remember the important part that we have to play. When your favourites do well they will enjoy your plaudits, but they need your support so much more when they endure the inevitable rocky patch.

As the old Nottinghamshire favourite George Gunn once said to a young team mate, in a rich vein of form, 'Drink at the well, son, there's always a desert approaching'. Sage words, indeed.

As we fast approach another cricket season, I look forward, as I always do, to your comments.

But whether on here or elsewhere, before you press the 'send' button, always read it back and ask yourself one question. If the subject was stood in front of you, would you say what you are about to say?

If the answer to that question is no, then an edit is in order.

Sixty days...

Hard as it was this week to contemplate, when walking around the village with my trusty sidekick Wallace  in the hail, wind, rain and snow, we are getting through the winter now.

The Spring bulbs are poking ever more confidently through the soil, the evenings are getting noticeably lighter and a realisation dawned on me this morning - not just that it is Valentine's Day...

Derbyshire's season starts in two months time. Or sixty days, if you will.

This will be my fifty-second summer supporting the county. The enjoyment that I get from that is undiminished, even though this season sees the opportunity to watch my team in high summer limited to fifty-over cricket, with many big names missing.

Further examination of the fixtures has confirmed that my trips to see us in person will be pretty limited. When games run Thursday to Sunday, as in previous summers, getting down for matches is easy enough and has no impact on my annual leave entitlement. I work compressed hours in the first three days of the week to get the rest off, but a lot of my potential strips are stymied by the timings this year.

Even my annual trip to Durham is unlikely. The four-day game would need three days of annual leave, while the T20 game there, which I would have attended, is on our son's birthday. Call me old-fashioned, but my family holidays get most of my leave, so I must content myself with watching by stream for the most part.

Maybe I need to take premature retirement...

I am sure we are in for a summer of entertainment, however. Last summer was one of the best for a long while. Dave Houghton recruited well, on and off the pitch and the players played a sustained level of excellent cricket for most of the summer.

With good signings this winter, I think that we are in for a good summer this year.

Regardless of whether I am there or not.

An interview with Tony Palladino part 3

What were the factors that combined to make the championship side successful that year?

Well, Martin Guptill and Usman Khawaja scored over a thousand runs between them. We had a good bowling attack – not outrageous, but workmanlike. There was myself, Tim Groenewald, Mark Footitt was just feeling his way back, and Jon Clare. All were experienced enough to know their game and of course we had Wainers (David Wainwright) who spun us to a few wins. We batted a long way down, too. I was often at ten that year and Timmy, a good batsman, was usually eleven, unless Mark played.

We had a great dressing room too. A bit like this year, when there are no egos and superstars but we all worked hard together

Team spirit is often undervalued, isn't it?

Oh yeah, and I have played in dressing rooms where people actively hated each other. You would see players not dive if the bloke they didn't like was bowling, or run them out if they had the chance to do so. It could all get very toxic and it's happened to me two or three times in my career.

You don't play your best cricket in those situations.

Your century against an Australian side must have been a source of pride. Was any coach responsible for your batting improvement?

Not really. I had always had a good eye and it all just seemed to come together. I worked on my batting over the winter, which is never to your detriment.

It was a pretty good pitch, I got a few away early, then I gave the spinner a bit of tap and suddenly I was in the sixties or seventies. The ball wasn't doing much and I just kept going.

Did you get nervous as the landmark got closer?

No. I hit a couple of fours to take me to 99 and then I noticed that mid off was quite deep. Mentally I had worked out that if the right ball came I would nudge it to him and that's how it worked out!

You are closing in on 500 first-class wickets. Is that a target for you, or do you just take the games, and the wickets, as they come?

I'm on 464 at the moment...

I'm impressed by that!

(Laughs) I only know because Griff (David Griffin) told me today! I have two more matches this season (sadly he was injured) and am contracted for next year. I'm not getting younger and have had a niggle in my ankle this year, but I am hoping to get there next season, while I am still doing a good job for the side.

You have never been seen as a regular List A bowler over your career. Has that been a source of frustration for you, as you have always been very economical in first-class cricket?

It all started when I joined Derbyshire. I was doing well in the championship, so John Morris would rest me for the one-days and then Karl Krikken came in and wanted to keep me fresh for the four-day game too. It went on from there really, but as you get older you play less T20 as many see it as a young man's game. I like to think there's still room for me and my 'dibbly-dobblies' in the game!

But on average I have played twelve or thirteen four-day games a summer for Derbyshire, so maybe I couldn't have done that and played all the one-day games.

Professional sports people today have to put up with their every move being dissected in the media and social media. Do many of them read what is written about them, or do they tend to be selective, or avoid it altogether?

People are different. I do and sometimes what I read spurs me on. If I see something that isn't true I comment about it. Of course, if I have had a bad game and someone says something, you take it on the chin, as long as it isn't nasty or overly aggressive. A few others read it too, but some don't like to.

When I was at Essex there was a bloke who gave a lot of stick on their fans forum. I registered and asked him if he wanted to meet for a coffee and sort out the problem, but he said he didn't want to. Some are happy being keyboard warriors and would never dare say anything to your face and they just wouldn't sit down like you and I are today.

To be fair, Tony, I don't recall many people ever having a bad word to say about you in your time in Derbyshire. Maybe an odd comment on not bowling so well on a given day, but never more than that. You have always been very approachable and it has been appreciated.

Thanks Steve. I think it comes more naturally to some people than others, but I was a cricket supporter before I was a first-class player. I remember how it made my day when a player would stop and have a word, so I try to 'give back' if I can. They are the people who give you energy when they applaud and I still get a buzz from the ripple of applause when I go down to the boundary after taking a wicket. At the end of the day, you can't expect respect from people if you don't do the same for them. There's no harm in exchanging pleasantries and signing autographs, posing for a picture or whatever.

It's nice to be nice!

You have got through a long career now - who are the best batsmen that you have bowled at ?

Marcus Trescothick was always difficult for me when I was younger. I think as I gained experience I would have done better against him, as my skill set improved, but back then I used to swing the ball into him, as a left-hander, and he would either clip me off his pads, or sit back in his crease and punch me away.

There are others who always seem to score runs against us, but I tend not to dwell on such things as it can create negative energy. Nick Browne at Essex always seems to score runs against us, but I never think I can't get him out. All it takes is one ball...

Mark Ramprakash early in my career was a very good player, while Mark Cosgrove is another. He's a very good batsman and he doesn't let a bowler bowl too many dot balls as he doesn't like you to settle. He will run it down to third man off the face of the bat and keep it ticking over.

Daryl Mitchell too, at Worcestershire. He never gives his wicket away, so when you get him out you know you have earned it.

When you get into first-class cricket, does it take a while to get used to the different gradients of squares? I noticed Dustin Melton struggling at one end against Australia, but he was better when he switched ends.

It can do. I always prefer to bowl from the Racecourse, or Media Centre end at Derby, but as you get older such things don't really affect you. Canterbury has a big slope at one end, and at Lord's it took me a while to get used to the slope. I used to want to bowl at each ground so the slope helped my outswing, but then found it was going too wide, so I was more effective from the other end.

On that subject, if it was up to me I would have more second team cricket on the county grounds. Neither in batting or bowling do club wickets gets you prepared for the senior level. I played on a second team pitch this year and the ball never bounced higher than the logo on your pad. It was a shocker, but bowlers can get flattering wickets and batsmen look poor on such tracks.

You'd get a better idea of a player's worth with less games on good wickets, than cramming in more on wickets that are really sub-standard.

What do you see yourself doing when your playing career ends? You've been doing your coaching badges, I understand? Level three?

That's right. I would like to go into coaching, but when I finish playing there may not be an opportunity or vacancy for me. But I will keep my fingers crossed that there will be something, ideally at Derbyshire but otherwise at another county or a school/university.

And when you come to the end of your career, how will you look back on it?

I'll be proud. I was very lucky to get another bite at the cherry when it could all have been finished. I came to a good club who have looked after me and I think that I have repaid them over the years.

I have a medal at home that has pride of place and I am grateful for the support of those who came to matches, year in and year out. I am proud that along the way I have given a bit of enjoyment to people and they hopefully know I have always given my best.

It has been a career in entertainment, when you have done and said all. I consider myself very lucky and privileged to have been paid for a long time to play cricket and do a job that I love.

Laurie Johnson - an obituary

I never saw Laurie Johnson play cricket, but I wish I had.

By all accounts, in his prime he was something special, his driving in particular a thing of beauty. Many a cover point had the bruised hands as testament to his timing, though more often than not, on the frequent good days, the ball fizzed past them to the boundary rope.

It was not always so. When he first played for the county he struggled for a few seasons. County wickets bore little resemblance to those in his native Caribbean, yet his class told, as it always will, in the end. 

He first came to notice in the fine Swarkestone side of the late 1940s and early 1950s, one of a number of players from the Caribbean who made them a strong side. 

With conditions in his favour, his front of the wicket style, honed on the hard tracks of home, was in contrast to that of many team mates, who offered a less aesthetic approach to scoring runs.

It was a shame that he came to his prime later in the 1950s and through the early 1960s. He would have been the perfect support for Arnold Hamer in a brittle batting line up, those extra runs perhaps making a difference in some fine summers between 1951 and 1955. With Gladwin and Jackson at the peak of their powers, a second championship win might have ensued with another prolific batsman. 

As Hamer did in the previous decade, Johnson often carried the Derbyshire batting in the early 60's. He was an excellent fielder too, with a good pair of hands and a throw that accounted for the unwary. He even kept wicket on occasion, highlighting his importance to the side.

I had hoped to speak to him for 'In Their Own Words', but a phone call to his home near Birmingham brought a polite refusal.

'I am really grateful for your interest, but I am afraid my memory isn't what it was', he said. We spoke briefly, then said goodbye.

His passing leaves Edwin Smith, Harold Rhodes and Peter Eyre  as the remaining regular members of that fine side of the 1950s, the contributions of the first two acknowledged by the club presidency in the past two years. Hopefully Peter is the next to be offered and accept the role.

Rest in peace, Laurie Johnson. At your best you gave a great deal of pleasure to many people. 

Can anyone aspire to more? 

A busy weekend

Old Peakfan is safely returned to the bosom of his family, after a weekend in God's Own County, followed by a delightful stop off in Sheffield to talk to the local cricket society last night.

It was a terrific evening, with a good crowd, plenty of laughs (in the right places!) and some interesting and well-considered questions. An early departure this morning saw me home just after midday, with a chance to catch up on the two big stories of the weekend.

Thank you to everyone at Sheffield for making it a memorable, thoroughly enjoyable evening. If you are interested in engaging me for a dinner or cricket society meeting, just drop me an email, or DM me on Twitter. I am not always available, but if I can, I will try to help out.

The big county news was that of a two-month contract for Tom Wood, which will see him almost certainly play for us in the Royal London One-Day Cup, as well as being available for three championship games. With Luis Reece, Wayne Madsen and Leus du Plooy involved in the 'other' tournament, there will be places up for grabs in the batting line-up of the senior side.

Tom would have hoped for a longer contract and it isn't clear if he will be available to play second team cricket in the earlier season. I hope he is, but after several seasons on the periphery of the club, no one could blame him from getting on with his life at this stage. If you are not on the staff, my understanding is that you get travel expenses and accommodation only to play in the second team, which works well for the club, but less well, of course, for someone who has bills to pay.

By the same token, this hard-earned opportunity will be all the more challenging if Tom goes from league cricket at the weekend to facing albeit weakened county attacks in the RLODC. It is not ideal, and yet it is an opportunity for all that.

Those involved in the Derbyshire Premier League know he can play. He's a big lad and perhaps not the most fleet-footed in the field, but he has a safe pair of hands and he just might make a decent fist of this. All he needs is a little luck and that opportunity, which to this point has been denied him by our strongest batting line up of the generation. A couple of good scores, or displaying a solid level of consistency might see him translate obvious talent into the most persuasive argument of all - runs in the score book.

As a long-time champion of the lad, I really hope it works out for him. Fairy tales sometimes do come true and his success would be special for him, his family and those who have believed in him over several prolific summers in second team and league cricket, as well as in the Australian first grade.

Warm congratulations, Tom!

The other news was the government advice that Kolpak contracts could be concluded at the end of the coming summer, which always seemed a likely consequence of Brexit. According to reports, this is regardless of the length of deal that a player has, but I would be very surprised were this not challenged en bloc by those plying their trade under that collective banner.

Common sense dictates to me that players should, at the very least, be allowed to fulfil existing contracts, before their counties have to make a decision on whether they are worthy of an overseas deal. Word is that as a 'softener' to counties, two overseas will be allowed once more, which will be easier for some than others. We could theoretically have Ravi Rampaul and Leus du Plooy, whereas Hampshire would need to choose between Kyle Abbott, Fidel Edwards and Rilee Rossouw.

I suspect this story will 'bubble under' over the summer, but I don't yet expect the Kolpaks to be worried at this stage, when hardly any terms of the agreement are known, period.

There is a subsidiary question over those playing here on European and British passports, of course, with Michael Cohen in the latter category. One would assume that British passports would be a green light to continue, whereas European ones may be more problematic.

It is a minefield and a mess. Good luck to whoever has to work this one out....