Nottinghamshire v Derbyshire preview - Bob Willis Trophy

Don't know about all of you, but I couldn't be more excited tonight if I had met Santa coming down the chimney of my house with the keys to a new car. Which would be a great trick, as we don't have a chimney...

Cricket, at last, at the start of August is here. More specifically, DERBYSHIRE cricket. I watched England, like many of you in recent weeks, but will always watch  my county on a stream over the national side. Weird, maybe, but I am unfailingly a county cricket supporter and will be so until I shuffle off this mortal coil.

There were a few things learned from the two-day friendly between Derbyshire and Lancashire this week, even if the batting and bowling was limited to ninety overs each.

Firstly, our top four seem in rude health. Luis Reece got out in both innings, but had valuable time in the middle and will benefit from that. Meanwhile, Billy Godleman, Wayne Madsen and Leus du Plooy built nice knocks and got some early, if non-first class, runs on the board.

Leus also confirmed that he could be a handy spin bowling option for us with two wickets, as did Matt Critchley, while Sam Conners and Ben Aitchison got on the board too. Both seamers are named for the four-day game that starts at Trent Bridge tomorrow, along with Michael Cohen. It makes sense, because while we want to do well in the Bob Willis Trophy, we also need to see if this trio could be an attack to take us into the future. With Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Luis Reece in support, Billy Godleman will have NINE bowlers to choose from, whichever eleven takes the field tomorrow. 

There is a chance, of course, that Matty McKiernan could make the eleven at the expense of one of them, but with du Plooy and Madsen to support Matt Critchley in that department, it would seem the less likely scenario, unless the wicket starts dry.

That Derbyshire squad:

Godleman, Reece, Madsen, du Plooy, Hughes, Hosein, Critchley, Hudson-Prentice, McKiernan, Cohen, Conners, Aitchison

Our hosts have a side that looks a little different after the travails of last summer. Ben Slater has today moved on loan to Leicestershire for a couple of weeks, and they go in with a few new faces. Peter Trego has arrived from Somerset, Tom Barber from Middlesex and Haseeb Hameed from Lancashire, all doubtless keen to make an early impression. There's no Luke Fletcher, so their twelve-man squad is:

Nash, Hameed, Duckett, Clarke, Patel, Mullaney, Moores, Trego, Chappell, Ball, Barber, Evison.

With rain forecast tomorrow and Tuesday afternoon. the ball will need to be considerably on top of the bat for a positive result. Both sides have lengthy batting and logic dictates that a draw is the likely outcome here.

Then again, when did logic ever play too big a role in professional sport? I can't wait to see it and will be back with my thoughts on the first day tomorrow evening.

As always, your comments are appreciated!

Season Preview

I have been doing a season preview for Derbyshire County Cricket Club since 2009, but I have never before written it at the end of July. Come to think of it, I never expect to again, either.

It is frustrating, because I was (and am) very bullish about our prospects. Yes, I am a perennial optimist, as those who have been with me over the years will testify, but I think that optimism is shared with most of the fan base these days.

It would have been even higher had things gone to plan and we were adding Ben McDermott and Sean Abbott to the squad. Both are still on the playing staff, according to the club site, but we must wait until next season (hopefully) to see them in the county colours.

That same web site fuels my enthusiasm, especially where our prospects lie for the Vitality Blast. It lists only four of the playing staff as out and out batsmen, with two of those being Wayne Madsen and Leus du Plooy. Since they have both turned their arms over to good effect, one could justifiably add them to the impressive collection of seven all-rounders listed. This depth offers much in one-day cricket, both in variety with the ball and depth in batting. With the services of talented young players secured for the coming seasons, there is every right to be positive, especially when few, if any counties will be bolstered by overseas players this time around.

The top four of Godleman, Reece, Madsen and du Plooy is as good as there is anywhere, with three left-handers ensuring bowlers need to adjust their natural lines. All can score quickly, but have proven that they can dig in when the need arises. The limitation on first innings to 120 overs in the Bob Willis trophy will see a first innings conclude at lunch on the second day, if not before, with ninety overs maximum in a day.

The likely first choice engine room may be Hughes, Critchley and Hosein, who as the only keeper on the staff will likely play all formats. There will be opportunities for Tom Wood to show what he has to offer, while Nils Priestley is likely get a game or two in the T20. Expect Fynn Hudson-Prentice to push up the order too, building on an excellent first season impression, while Anuj Dal is a likely fixture in the T20, offering brilliant fielding, fast running between the wickets and useful medium pace. Mattie McKiernan will also push for inclusion, with his leg spin a dangerous option on the right tracks and his batting capable of adding quick runs.

As for the bowling, it is a likely last hurrah for Ravi Rampaul, whose Kolpak status will end with the season. We could engage him as the permitted second overseas for next year, but whether he or we would consider that in twelve months time is a moot point. Tony Palladino will again let no one down and will remain as metronomically accurate as ever.

Perhaps the greatest excitement and curiosity is in the seam attack. Dustin Melton will also become an overseas player at the end of the summer, but if his pace can harness greater accuracy he will keep batsmen hopping around, while Michael Cohen's left arm seam has reportedly been measured in excess of 90mph. They don't like it up 'em...

Then there is the bounce and movement one would expect from the tall Sam Conners, fresh from his new contract award, and Ben Aitchison, engaged to the end of the summer but with every possibility of a considerably longer stay after impressing in Australia and in the Minor Counties.

Another reason for optimism is that I couldn't honestly call our strongest side just now. We haven't seen them in action or in the nets and the eighteen-man playing squad could line up in plenty of ways. More important is that it gives pointers for 2021 and I would love to see what the short-term recruits could potentially do for the future.

With Rampaul not back from Trinidad in time for the first game, I will hazard a guess at the following line up for Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge on Saturday, barring injuries in the friendly that starts against Lancashire tomorrow:

Godleman
Reece
Madsen
du Plooy
Hughes
Hosein
Critchley
Hudson-Prentice
Palladino
Connors
Cohen

Love to hear your thoughts on that team and your thoughts on prospects. It is a one-season four-day trophy, with a five-day final between the two teams finishing on the most points. We have a tough group, with Lancashire, Yorkshire, Durham, Warwickshire and Worcestershire all having home advantage on us, with the Incora County Ground in use by England Ladies.

It is worth winning though and my final sign of progress is that I look at those counties and fear no one.

Bring it on.

Now Conners signs 2-year deal

It has been quite a week for Derbyshire supporters.

Following on from the deals for Tom Wood and Ben Aitchison, we heard that Matt Critchley had signed a two-year deal with the club.

Today the news breaks that Sam Conners has also signed a two-year deal, just reward for a lot of hard work.

For me, Sam always looked the most likely of the young seamers we had a couple of years ago to break, through. While James Taylor has moved to Surrey and Alfie Gleadall has left the staff, Sam seemed to have the height, bounce and whip that the top seamers have. He has performed well in sporadic appearances but I expect him to now be pushing for a more regular place in the attack. 

He has faced his issues with injury, which have hampered his progress, but he will now be fit and raring to go for this and the next two summers. 

He has a good coach in Steve Kirkby and I am confident that he and Michael Cohen will prove a very useful and lively attack. He can handle a bat too, and supporters have every right to be optimistic after the events of the past week. 

It is all up to them, now.

Congratulations, Sam. 

Go well!

Critchley signs new two-year deal

Hot on the heels of this week's short-term contracts for Tom Wood and Ben Aitchison, today's news of a new deal for Matt Critchley is one to gladden the heart of county supporters.

The deal, which will see him remain with the county until at least the end of the 2022 season, is one which was hoped for, but there is always concern that the circling wolves might come in with a 'better' offer. It doesn't always work out so, of course, and the club's history of the past 25 years contains more players whose best days were with us than those who went elsewhere to better things.

At 23 Matt Critchley has time on his side to make such a move in the future, but he has the opportunity to fully realise his undoubted talent with the county that gave him opportunity. Watching from the boundary edge and from afar, I got the impression that Matt wanted to be part of a stable, positive environment that could enable his cricket to kick on to the level that we all know it can be. Prior to the arrival of Dave Houghton, who has created one that is massively appreciated by all of the players, things changed too much for the development of a young player of talent. There was no consistency in coaching, too great a turnover of them and a spell where they were left to their own devices, to some extent.

That works for some players, but others need that coaching input to set them on the right road again, when things get tough. Houghton has created an excellent group of coaches and it is no coincidence that we looked a very good side for a lot of last summer. Yes, there are still days when the intensity dropped and the performance suffered, but in having a small first team squad, everyone knew that opportunity would come their way. With such positivity generally comes productivity.

The club has been good to him. There have been spin clinics with Shane Warne, trips to India, the recruitment of bowlers like Tahir and Mendis to learn from. He has travelled to Australia to work on his game there with Stuart MacGill, who earlier this year said he rated him highly and backed him to play for England.

He is a very good cricketer who will undoubtedly get better still. As a bowler he is developing a lovely loop to his leg spin, which proved a very valuable asset in last year's T20 campaign. He also has a greater accuracy, without which the art can be an expensive one. As a fielder he is excellent, while his batting will come again after challenges. He isn't always the best starter of an innings, but I watched a knock of both charm and class at Chester-le-Street last summer which confirmed his ability as a genuine all rounder. He may not open in T20 cricket these days, as he did with success as a designated pinch-hitter, but he has the power and timing to add crucial late innings 'oomph' in one-day cricket, as well as being able to rebuild should it be required. I have every confidence that he will add to his three first-class centuries in the not too distant future, a stronger batting unit giving him better situations in which to arrive at the crease.

Above all he is a lovely lad. He pays tribute to the support of 'coaches, players and supporters' in today's press release and to that positive environment at the club.

I am thrilled to bits with this announcement and look forward to seeing his continued development at the county in the years ahead.

Derbyshire sign young seam bowler, Ben Aitchison

I have been very reassured in the past few days, especially with the return of county cricket in the very near future.

Today came news that a short-term contract for the remainder of this season has been offered to former Lancashire and Cheshire seam bowler Ben Aitchison, 21. He had limited opportunity at his home county but has done so well in Australian grade cricket over the past two winters that they appear to have been keen to have another look. He also performed well for Cheshire in the Minor Counties, while playing with distinction for his home club at Formby.

Sussex were reportedly keen, as were other counties, but Derbyshire got in first for a tall seamer (pictured bowling for Formby) who almost without precedent was playing first grade while unsigned by a county in this country. Only eleven bowlers in the division took more wickets and he now has the opportunity to make a case for a longer-term deal.

Interestingly, he played his grade cricket in Australia for the same side, Parramatta, as Sean Abbott, so there is a nice link there. He will undoubtedly get opportunity in what remains of this summer, alongside other young bowlers, Michael Cohen and Sam Conners. The future of the county lies in discovering and developing such young players and it is encouraging to see that Steve Kirby's recent words along those lines are being adhered to. With Luis Reece and Fynn Hudson-Prentice to lend all round support, the seam bowling seems to be in very good hands, with perhaps an overseas professional and the evergreen Tony Palladino to set the standards.

Those young bowlers have a fine coach in Steve Kirby. I have heard only good things about the bowling coach and like how he speaks in the interviews produced by the club. A fine and competitive bowler himself in his heyday, the youngsters have an excellent role model in Kirbs and I look forward to seeing their development in the years ahead.

Also encouraging is that TomWood blazed yet another century for Ticknall last weekend, making an unbeaten 131 out of 281-1 against Alvaston and Boulton. Their top four looks very powerful, with Paul Borrington making 82 and Joss Morgan, Wayne Madsen's brother-in-law, adding an unbeaten 39. With Greg Cork due in at four, few sides will fancy bowling at them this season.

I would love to see Tom get a crack at county level, as I have said on this blog many times over the years. His misfortune is that our top four of Godleman, Reece, Madsen and du Plooy is of similar quality to the legendary Barnett, Bowler, Adams, and Morris. Alex Hughes offers all round balance at five but Tom can only keep scoring runs and knocking at the door.

I also heard from a friend that we have picked up another very good young cricketer for next season. It hasn't been announced as yet and the name may not mean a lot to some people, but the player in question is also young and with a reputation to build upon after impressing in limited opportunities for his existing county. He also offers competition in an area that is needed, and is a player of terrific potential.

I am not going to announce the name, because having done all the work the club is entitled to break the news whenever it suits them to do so. But it proves that our coaching staff are starting to extend our traditional hunting grounds of Derbyshire and Staffordshire for talent.

As well as confirming that we are not sitting back on our laurels after last season's Finals Day.

That may well turn out to be just the beginning...

Postscript: just after I published this news came that Tom Wood has been awarded a similar contract for the remainder of the season. This comes, according to Dave Houghton, after 'looking sharp and impressing in training.'

I wish him well. People just need opportunity in life. Let's see what he makes of it. 

No cricket at home this summer

After the success of hosting the Pakistan touring squad at Derby in recent weeks, Derbyshire announced today that the England Ladies squad will be based at Derby in the weeks ahead, with all of their summer cricket played at the Incora County Ground.

It makes sense, of course. With a hotel on site, the environment is as bio-secure as it could be and the importance of top level cricket, to safeguard funding for the professional and recreational game is obvious.

It means of course that any cricket played by Derbyshire this summer will be away from home, something that the players and coaching staff are OK with. So too should be supporters and members, because we wouldn't have been able to attend matches anyway.

The club will be making very useful money from both of these ventures, which when one considers the loss to its off-field income in recent and coming months is of paramount importance. County finances will be very tricky this season and Ryan Duckett and his team are to be congratulated in securing two such prestigious 'gigs' for the club.

Hopefully we weather the financial storm and things can return to a semblance of normality for the 2021 season. That would be the 150th playing anniversary of its first match and for me more important than that of its creation. Any merchandise produced to mark it will be equally relevant next year and I will be sure to buy my share to plough cash back into the club coffers.

I am sure that Dave Houghton has been looking at the squad and is already planning for next summer, regardless of what cricket is played this year. With uncertainty over international travel and fixtures, he will need to plan for various eventualities. In the coming weeks the retained lists will be published and I feel for those who have had no opportunity to impress in the final year of deals across the country.

Some will have their final year honoured, perhaps, but for others it will represent opportunity lost, which is a real shame.

Interesting question from Clay Cross Mark

An interesting question came in the week from long-term blog follower and supporter Mark.

He asked if I thought that the decision to allow a second overseas player for the County Championship and RLODC next year might see us engage both Ben McDermott and Sean Abbott for all formats. The club has already said that they hope to move their deals for this year to 2021, but the niceties of their deals have still to be confirmed.

Of course, until we know the fixtures and their timings, that is inevitable. Nor do we know the confirmed international calendar or whether Cricket Australia will be prepared to released them.

To answer Mark's question, my assumption is that the fixtures will be similar to what was proposed this year. All things being equal and assuming player fitness, I would expect Sean Abbott to be asked to lead the attack for as much of the summer as he can manage, while McDermott would be ideally for the one-day formats. His powerful batting is better suited to the shorter forms, while his engagement for four-day cricket would do no favours to Harvey Hosein. Playing two wicket-keepers in the side would seem excessive, and our greater need for four-day cricket would not appear to be for a wicket-keeper batsman.

If we assume (and hope) that Tony Palladino will be offered another year with the county, the need to give game time to Sam Conners and Michael Cohen, along with Abbott, should see the seam attack well covered, especially when the loan market can be utilised.

Much then depends on Matt Critchley signing a new deal this winter, because his all-rounder role gives balance and a spin option to the side. If he signs, which we all hope he will, then a spin bowling all-rounder might offer a good option. If he doesn't, then a specialist spin bowler who can bat would be a sound move.

There are too many question marks at present to give a definitive answer. Will Matt McKiernan's contract be extended? He is the only other spinner on the staff and that decision may tie into what happens with Critchley. What will the international calendar look like? Counties will look at the touring West Indian and Pakistan squads this summer, but none of us know how long the challenges of Covid-19 will be around, nor who is prepared to travel around the world with the inherent risks.

I wouldn't say no to Roston Chase, a talented all-rounder whose batting average comfortably exceeds his bowling one, while the current squad would benefit from someone like Jeevan Mendis, a quality spinner and useful bat.

Mendis is 37 now though, which for me legislates against another option, that of engaging Ravi Rampaul as an overseas, rather than Kolpak. While I think having him as a T20 specialist at the age of 36 has some merit, I am less sure that he would be fit for or wanting to play four-day cricket and RLODC,

So the short answer to a very good question is that I don't know.

There are too many interlinked strands that need to be unpicked before anyone does, too.

Book Review: The Unforgiven - Mercenaries or Missionaries by Ashley Gray

I got to the end of this book with one thought in my mind.

That it is in the top half dozen cricket books of the thousands that I have read.

It really is that good. Not because it has two former Derbyshire players (Peter Kirsten and Lawrence Rowe) on the front cover, but because I have complete admiration for anyone who has put in the hard yards to get a book to publication. I compared it to my own experiences in writing In Their Own Words: Derbyshire Cricketers in Conversation. The hardest issue I found was in pinning down a suitable date for some interviews, the subjects almost without exception delighted to talk about their careers, the high and low points.

Australian writer Ashley Gray appears to have not enjoyed such luxury. He travelled to the Caribbean and to the United States in the hope of interviewing the West Indian players who went on the so-called rebel tours of South Africa in 1983/84. Some were happy to chat, others reluctant, a few decided against it after initially saying yes. There were requests for large amounts of money, and a hostility from some that is eye-opening.

The tours were well-intended, with the idea of showing that black players could compete as equals on the same pitch as their white counterparts. With South Africa excluded from the international fold because of apartheid, it was an opportunity for the best team in the world, the West Indies, to tour and perhaps open the door for a return.

Except it didn't work out that way. Although the squad that toured was a strong one, the very best players from the Caribbean didn't tour, even if several had first indicated that they would. It caused a rift of seismic proportions in West Indian cricket, with friendships lost forever at the same time as playing contracts. Most of those who toured never played in the West Indies again and certainly not for them. They became outcasts and a tour that was meant to be life-changing proved to be just that, but very much to the detriment of most members of the party.

Some did well. Lawrence Rowe, the tour captain left his native Jamaica and set up a successful vacuum seal business in Miami for three decades. The amount of money received for the tours was life-changing, but some were some were not prepared for it, spending it on fast cars, drugs and drink. For every Rowe and Albert Padmore there is a David Murray, once a highly-rated wicket-keeper, even if he spent much of his time on the pitch high on marijuana. He now spends his time selling drugs to tourists in Bridgetown, the physical deterioration sad to see. Then there is Herbert Chang, a talented batsman and Richard Austin, an all-rounder of genuine ability, both suffering from addictions and mental deterioration. The latter died in 2015, his slide from international all-rounder to shoeless street beggar a tragedy.

Or there is the supremely talented Bernard Julien, once regarded as the 'new Sobers' but distracted by his penchant for women and alcohol in equal measure and now battling depression and throat cancer. The author never did get his interview with him, despite travelling across the globe in order to do so. Nor with Colin Croft, whose curt 'I want nothing to do with you or your project' does little to change your mind on a gruff persona.

The overriding feeling is that the players were well-meaning but very naive. The volatility of their domestic setup was always going to leave them as persona non grata back home, despite their protestations to the contrary. It likely helped to some extent in South Africa, but their eventual reintegration into the international fold was to require a political swing that seemed unlikely at the time. For their many detractors, the tourists sold their reputations and dignity to extend the life of a disgraced government.

The cricket was competitive, as it was always going to be when two international juggernauts collided, but the financial reward for the tourists was tempered by reactions back home and even in the country, where a number of them encountered racism on their travels. They were looked after, treated as 'honorary whites' and entertained, they fathered a good few babies and enjoyed hospitality wherever they went. Yet the conclusion I drew is that few of them would make the same decision again, even if most were at best peripheral figures at international level, at the time of the tour.

A comparison with their English counterparts, who toured in 1982 and 1989, is valid. After a three-year Test ban most of the English tourists continued their careers in cricket, several reaching high office within the game's establishment or successful careers in the media or coaching. Those from the Caribbean, with the exception of Sylvester Clarke and Franklyn Stephenson, who had long county careers, effectively ended their cricketing lives with the tours.

The book is entertaining, harrowing and informative, beautifully written and researched by the author, whose first book is nothing other than a triumph.

Buy it or get it on your birthday or Christmas list. If you read better this year you will be very lucky.

The Unforgiven: Mercenaries or Missionaries is written by Ashley Gray and published by Pitch Publishing. It is available from all good book shops.

In My Mind's Eye Number 9: Garnet Lee (1887-1976)

There have been times, certainly in the years that I have watched Derbyshire, when the recruitment of players in their late thirties has rebounded badly.

Perhaps the same thoughts were entertained when the county signed Garnet Lee from Nottinghamshire at the end of the 1922 season. He was 35 years old and had to spend two years qualifying, before making his debut. So it was 1925 when the soon to be 38-year old made his debut and expectations will have been limited. He had struggled to hold down a regular place at Trent Bridge, despite being on the staff there since 1910. He was primarily a batsman, but the intervention of the Great War and limited his impact, despite opportunity. He had just started to find his best form in 1913 and 1914, but failed to recapture that in the first seasons after the conflict.

Yet even on his debut for Derbyshire, against Northamptonshire, it was noted by the watching press that he appeared to be 'the quality of opening batsman that Derbyshire had lacked for many seasons.' He made only 27 runs, but it was the way in which he made them that was important. He may have been senior in years, but at a time when young batsmen like Worthington, Townsend and Hutchinson were emerging, he gave them the requisite experience that was to aid their development.

His first season was a triumph, seeing him make a thousand runs for the first time, as well as taking wickets with leg spin and googlies that had been seldom used before. He was to go on and score a thousand runs six times in his nine seasons with the county, to go with almost 400 wickets in his first-class cricket career.

He produced a string of outstanding performances. In 1926 he scored 191 against Kent, as well as taking five wickets in an innings on four occasions. In 1927 he produced an outstanding individual display against Northamptonshire, when an unbeaten century was followed by bowling figures of 7-78 and 5-65.  A forcing batsman, he hit eight sixes in one century against Northamptonshire and supporters enjoyed watching a player who took the attack to the opposition, encouraging others to do so by his example. Reports reflect on the 'glory' of his driving and the 'sheer pleasure of watching bat put to ball in such a manner'. After years of struggle, it contributed to an exciting side, with Worthington and Townsend each contributing their own measured aggression to an increasingly potent mix.

His final season was in 1933, when the averages dropped a little and at 45 he was no longer the force that he had been. Even so, there was a century against Leicestershire and another against Northamptonshire, the thousand-run mark passed again, despite batting down the order. There were younger players in the wings, however, with Albert Alderman and Denis Smith ready to begin a successful partnership together, Harry Storer another alternative. The team was on the cusp of greatness and Lee had played an important role in its development.

He went onto the first-class umpires list in 1935 and remained on it, around the war, until 1949, when he resigned because of his wife's health. There were coaching engagements too, including a wartime role at Repton School, where he coached the young Donald Carr.

He was a regular visitor to both Trent Bridge and Derby in retirement, always happy to chat about the game and those that he played with and against.

Without doubt a player I would have loved to have known as well as seen, he died at his home at Hawtonville, Newark-on-Trent on 29 February, 1976.

(Image sourced courtesy of David Griffin from the Derbyshire CCC Archive)

Clarification on the Kolpak situation

So Tim Bresnan didn't end up at Derbyshire, which seemed unlikely all along and has instead got himself a contract at Warwickshire, where he will doubtless offer good value as a sound all-rounder for a few years.

The destination always seemed likely to be a Test ground county, which is, after all, where the money is (and isn't, with all the overheads and fingers crossed of getting a big match) in the current county set up. There are already players moving ahead of next season, with others announcing their retirement from the circuit at truncated season end.

Had Bresnan come to us, he would have been a like for like replacement for Ravi Rampaul, who will finish county cricket at the end of this summer. His Kolpak status cannot be renewed and realistically he is at an age where that would have been a gamble, regardless of the superb summer he had last year. There will be time to write about his contribution to Derbyshire in due course, but hopefully he can give us something to remember him by with his efforts in whatever cricket is played in August and September. We should know that in the near future.

Another player who will be unable to return is Dustin Melton, who like Ravi will be classed as an overseas player with effect from next summer. I feel for him, as he has had no chance to impress in his one-year deal and an ankle operation in the early Spring would have limited his cricket anyway.

However, better news is that both Leus du Plooy and Michael Cohen WILL be able to return in 2021. Both of them have European passports, under the terms of which they will be able to continue to build their careers and reputation in the county game.

Both, I am sure you will agree, will be welcomed back with open arms, We already know plenty about Leus, while Michael's left arm skiddy pace might enliven a few sessions around the country. Crucially, both are young enough to get much better, which promises to be something to keep your eyes on.

Of course, there are other players out of contract this year, most notably Tony Palladino and Matt Critchley. There are doubtless discussions going on with them at present and I am sure we all hope to see them back at Derbyshire in 2021 and beyond.

Whether the financial savings on the contracts of Rampaul and Melton allow for team strengthening is hard to say. County clubs will be mindful of the need to balance the books in a year when not just cricket but also commercial income has been badly hit. I would certainly be wary of suggesting there will be automatic replacements for them, and much will depend on progress in the coming couple of months.

Like the rest of you I am preparing to watch all of my cricket online, whenever it starts and just hope that it won't be too long before our favourites are once more out on the pitch.

Fingers crossed...

Postscript : after this was posted, news came that two overseas players will be permitted in both the RLODC and County Championship next season.

This brings it into line with the Vitality Blast and is presumably where the Kolpak money will be used.