Tuesday 22 September 2020

End of season T20 Blast review

Writing a review of the T20 season this summer is quite different from last year, and indeed from writing the Bob Willis Trophy review a few short weeks ago.

We never got going this year in the short format and frankly didn't look an especially good team.

There were mitigating circumstances, of course. We played all our matches elsewhere, there were no overseas players and we badly missed Ravi Rampaul, not just for the wickets he took or the tight spells he bowled, but also for the effect on the opposition. They had to take greater risks against the others when Ravi was at one end and in much the same way that others profited when Jackson and Gladwin were bowling in their usual parsimony, wickets often fell as a consequence. Fynn Hudson-Prentice was also missed, a thigh injury wrecking his season and robbing us of not just a fine bowler but a dangerous batsman. Nor was Ben Aitchison available, likely the most accurate of the youngsters who debuted in the summer.

Yet selection was odd. At one point Alex Hughes was omitted, which seemed strange for a player who would be first on many team sheets for this format. He responded as most would expect, but the decision to drop him was puzzling. Even more so the omission, until the last game, of Tom Wood. 

His game is naturally aggressive and you can look around the counties and see the successful sides all have a top order dasher. There was no real surprise in that he scored a 31-ball half century against a decent home attack, more so in that Dominic Cork opted not to include him until then, when the top four was misfiring like an old car. The non-utilisation of a lad who has been the most prolific home-grown batsman in at least a decade at lower levels remains a mystery. If there is any justice, an opportunity to break into the top five next year should be forthcoming, because in common with many of you I don't think he got that this year. For the life of me, I can't rationalise that one.

Last year the success of the side was in a top four who chased down any target or set one beyond the compass of most opponents. It was clear, when we lost however, that it was to sides who generally opened the bowling with slow bowlers. Both Luis Reece and Billy Godleman are fine players, but more destructive against seam than spin. We rarely got a start and were quickly two down, too quickly, too often for comfort. The change should have been made earlier, proactive rather than reactive, because we had been 'sussed'.

For all his success last year, I am not sure Billy is a right 'fit' for T20 and until we score at more than six an over in the powerplay, we won't win many matches. Maybe next year a T20 specialist skipper is needed, letting Billy concentrate on the formats where he is undoubtedly excellent and letting him have the breather which all players need. He averaged 'only' a run a ball in the competition, which really isn't enough.

While perhaps not the force of his younger years, Wayne Madsen remained the key wicket and, as the best player of spin in the club, would be an obvious choice at the top of the order another year. He and Du Plooy scored the only other fifties in the ten matches, which was the crux of the problem. Any of the top four were likely to be sought after for the Hundred after last year's exploits, but Madsen's top average of 24 told a story. Luis Reece played only one innings of note and looked jaded after a lot of work in the four-day game, while Du Plooy for the first time slipped from a lofty pedestal. Both will surely return to erstwhile glories next year, when normality hopefully resumes

Matt Critchley and Alex Hughes played some handy cameos and largely reproduced their 2019 form with the ball, but there were insufficient runs to play with and neither was able to play a game-changing innings when required. This was mainly because they had to press the accelerator from the start - such cameos would have been fine in a better performing batting side.

Of the seamers, Dustin Melton looked the best, perhaps that latter-day incarnation of Ole Mortensen in his intensity, though with some way still to go in the sustained accuracy to match the aggression. Michael Cohen troubled with his pace and, with a better radar could be a serious talent, as could be said for Sam Conners in this format.

Mattie McKiernan finished top in the economy averages, and is a solid, if not spectacular player. The same could be said of Anuj Dal, whose bowling might have been better utilised and whose fleet-footed running was an asset in the field, as well as the closing overs if he got in. Meanwhile the two wicket-keepers shared duties, although Brooke Guest looked better suited to the style of batting required than Harvey Hosein. They are equally good behind the stumps and it will be interesting to see if either forces their way ahead in 2021. However, in a limited staff there is likely to be discussion on whether another keeper is the right way forward for next year, when Ben McDermott is pencilled in to play. Mind you, McDermott and Wood might be an opening pair to savour...

As for the coach, it may be that we go a different way in 2021. Dominic Cork is shrewd and intelligent, so will know a coach is only as good as his team statistics in the season just finished. Despite last year's success and the mitigating circumstances, one win in ten games and the worst record in the country confirms a disappointing campaign. Most noticeable was a drop in fielding standards, which reached its nadir on that awful night at The Riverside.

With four coaches already on the staff, perhaps the additional cost could go to the playing budget next year, with Mal Loye a likely candidate for the T20 role. 

As always, I welcome your thoughts on any or all of the above, just as I appreciate your support through the last few hectic months.

8 comments:

  1. I don't think there is much to argue with your summary PF. Obviously it was a very disappointing T20 campaign, especially after the fine performances in the BWT and last years T20. Hopefully Tom Wood is offered a contract he is reasonably young and we have to look to the longer term future. I am not suggesting that Billy and Wayne are spent forces, but we need to expose others to 1st Class cricket so that in 3/4 years we have some succession in place, we seem to be getting it on the bowling & keeping front. Four coaches does seem to be overkill, especially in these exceptional times when money must be tight, having listened to the coaches on a few occasions I am particularly impressed with Steve Kirby, he seems to talk much sense. The bowling does need an old head in there so the youngsters can learn and be steadied on the field. Unfortunately the pressure of opening the batting and bowling a significant number of overs over the last couple of years has come home to roost for Luis Reece and hopefully he can have a good 6 months rest and come back stronger next year as an opening bat who bowls a few overs in the middle of an innings, not also as an opening bowler. I would put Alex Hughes as Captain of the T20 team, he seems to have a good cricket brain, very capable in that format, enthusiastic, and I would guess have the respect of the other players.
    PF I wasn't sure of your comment re keepers, were you saying having McDermott would be overkill, or saying either Hosein or Guest were surplus, havent both these two got a couple of years left on their contracts?
    After this shortened season, the nights beginning to draw in, more Covid restrictions being imposed, and the unknown position re an England tour, April 2021 seems a long way off, but I am sure we will all watch for signing and return full of hope and enthusiasm for a successful DCCC season. One good thing about the season has been the live steaming from the various Counties along with the Dave Fletch & co commentaries.
    Many thanks to PeakFan for this excellent forum, long may it continue!

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    1. Thanks for the kind words Opening Bat. No, I know the 2 keepers have time on their deals. But is a 3rd keeper the best use of limited money. If we have a notional squad of 17 next year, only one keeper can play so we are choosing 11 from 15. I would prefer a batting all rounder to add impetus at beginning or end of innings as we don't have many six hitters

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    2. Thanks for clarification. Yes I agree money spent on an allrounder would be better, I would not want to lose either Hosein, who has served us well and is developing into a good 4 day cricketer, or Guest who may be well suited to white ball.

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  2. An excellent analysis, Steve. Like you, I found the Tom Wood situation baffling. When he finally did play, he showed what he could do, bringing much need aggression to the top order, which looked pretty jittery throughout the T20 campaign. In this format, you need some players who can smash it around. Perhaps Critchley will be able to go up a gear next season and do this. Leus du Plooy also has it within him to take the bowling by the scruff of the neck.

    With a tight budget can we afford the luxury of Cork? I'd preferred to see the money spent on players. When it comes down to it, once the players go on to the pitch, it's really all down to the captain, not the coach. I've never been clear about Dave Houghton's role in the T20. Does he have a say about team and tactics, or is it all Corky?

    When we start next season, there'll be a number of places in the team up for grabs, so that should make for some healthy competition among the players. After this season, I would say even our top order doesn't pick itself. I'd like to see Wood open and Reece drop down. Opening the batting and the bowling is a big ask. Having Reece come in at five would deepen the batting, which has looked fragile in the middle order at times. We have players who can make 30, 40, or 50, but not make a really big score.

    Conners has particularly impressed me. He has a very pleasing action on the eye and looks to have great potential. In an interview on the DCCC web site, he says has learned a lot in this brief season and admitted he struggled to adapt to the different demands of T20.

    Incidentally, there's a brilliant documentary on the Notts web site about Notts last season and the ups and downs they had. It gave me a real insight into professional cricket and how players deal with all the ups and downs in a season.

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  3. Dave Houghton suggested last night that he was not adverse to playing both Hussein and Guest in the X1 one as a specialist batsman.

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    1. The other as a pretty decent slip! I could see Guest batting higher in 1 day cricket and he looked a talent to me. Hosein will doubtless do the same in 4 day.

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  4. Our T20 campaign can’t be seen in isolation from the Bob Willis Trophy or how other counties in the same positions as Derbyshire fared. Two of the other Blast finalists from last year, Essex and Worcs, had almost as miserable a time this year, finishing bottom or next to bottom of their groups. Between the three counties, there were only 5 wins out of a possible 30. It’s not a coincidence that they went from being the best T20 sides to the worst, when they were among the 4 sides competing most strongly to win their groups and qualify for the BWT final.

    Look at it from the other direction, and all of the Blast quarter-finalists (with the theoretical exception of Kent) were effectively eliminated from the BWT groups before the Blast started, and were able to switch focus, practice for T20, and rest players that the counties most engaged in the BWT couldn’t do.

    Unless you believe in a lot of coincidence, there’s no doubt that the compression of the season worked against counties competing in the BWT. They had 2 days to switch into T20 mode, then 2 days to switch back again before the final crucial BWT match, then another 2 days before the second phase of T20 matches.

    Of course we did even worse than the others, but our disadvantages didn’t end with the absence of Rampaul and Hudson-Prentice, playing all of our matches away from home, and the mleast experienced attack we’ve ever put out in T20. The constant travel must have been wearing, and took up time that might otherwise have been used for recovery or practice. Even if they had time for practice, I’m not sure where they could do it, with Derby out of bounds and Repton reverting to its normal use.

    The exceptional circumstances in which Cork has had to work means that it’s unfair to reach snap conclusions about his future, particularly when you consider that in the three previous seasons in which he was involved were the most successful in our undistinguished T20 history. It may be that tightening finances makes reductions in the coaching staff inevitable anyway, but I certainly don’t think that poor performances in a unique year makes the case.

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  5. Yes, the die were loaded, not over yet and they were obviously running on empty by the end.

    I am basing my thoughts on Cork on the inability to hold events pre Xmas, I assume. Considerable off field income has been lost, though how much touring side rent makes up I have no idea. But if savings need made, we need players, for sure. Cork has done a good job and is Derbyshire through and through, but there will be tough decisions to make across the country this winter.

    We will be no exception to that

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