McDermott confirmed for 2021 one-days

Regardless of whether he keeps wicket or not, Ben McDermott will be a massive player for Derbyshire in one-day cricket next summer.

The powerful Australian top order batsman is the first confirmed piece of the overseas jigsaw for 2021. His presence in the Blast and the Royal London Cup will give a huge boost to an already powerful top order.

At 25 he has already played two T20 internationals for his country and has a highest score of 114 from just 58 balls. His explosive power seems perfect for opening the innings, though he could equally be used for late innings rope-clearing impetus.

His ability to keep wicket will also enable us to play an extra batsman or bowler and already our batting line up for the one-day game looks powerful.

It also gives Derbyshire supporters an extra incentive to follow the Big Bash in Australia, even if that competition has more gimmicks than is good for the game this year. 

Here's hoping that Ben's stint in county colours, sadly delayed from this year, will be a long and successful one.

Welcome to Derbyshire, Ben! 

Book Review: A Celebration of Derbyshire County Cricket Club 150 Year Anniversary by John Shawcroft

For any Derbyshire cricket fan, the writings of John Shawcroft are the standard by which others should be judged.

He has done several books over the years, including the outstanding Local Heroes, on the 1936 Championship winning side, as well as the original version of this book, the centenary history of the club up to 1970.

I have two copies of that book, a using one which is well-thumbed and another that is fairly pristine and signed by numerous County legends I have met over the years. With those books among my desert island picks, it was a reasonable bet that I would find this one to my taste. 

I opted for the subscriber edition, in recognition for what the club has meant to me over the years and quite frankly it is magnificent. 

The book has been updated, of course but the original text (with any amendments required) is enhanced still further with photographs from the club's archive and others taken by David Griffin. It breaks the text into manageable chunks that can be read in a tea break, or before lights out at bed time. They are fascinating and contribute to a book that should be on every county supporters Christmas list, if they haven't already got it, of course.

Bob Taylor's foreword sets the scene nicely and his photograph at the end neatly bookends the 256 pages that simply fly by. 

I am flattered to have been included in John's acknowledgements at the front and it is nice to see the input of former players over the years acknowledged too. As the author says himself, their anecdotes add the seasoning to the text and make it all the more special. 

If you are a Derbyshire supporter you really must own this book, as it will rekindle memories for all of you. If you don't support the club you should still buy it, because it is an overview of the county scene over 150 years that will be tough to beat. 

Warm congratulations to John and to David Griffin for their work.

The final product has met all expectations. And then some...

A Celebration of Derbyshire Cricket:150 Year Anniversary is written by John Shawcroft and available from Derbyshire County Cricket Club

Good news on and off the pitch

Old Supporter beat me to the draw this week, with his update on the superb form shown by Sean Abbott and Ben McDermott in Australia.

Abbott's extraordinary form has seen him called 'the country's form player' and he currently averages 130 with the bat, to go with fourteen wickets at the same average. It has earned him a call up to his country's Test squad and rightly so.

He has been around the international setup for a while but the strength of Australian quick bowling has kept him out of contention up until now. Yet such stellar form cannot be ignored and he may well get a game or two this winter. What that would mean to Derbyshire's chances of him coming over next summer is anyone's guess. On the one hand it could give him the chance to broaden his experience, but they might also want to protect him from overwork.

Meanwhile Ben McDermott is averaging nearly seventy and has been racking up some big scores. Frustratingly he gets out before adding to his list of first-class centuries and that will be something he will want to build on. Four fifties so far is good going, but he will hope that is the basis for progress, rather than the pinnacle. 

Both players are hoped to take up the contracts that were there for last summer, subject to clearance by the Australian cricket authorities. 

Meanwhile, back home Nick Potts has won a rookie contract with the club after impressing in training and for the England development set up.

At 18, he is the latest from what is becoming a very good academy production line and it is encouraging to see this starting to produce the goods after too many barren years.

They have a good man in charge with Daryn Smit and I fully expect to see more lads coming through to join what is a young senior squad.

All this and an imminent vaccine too.. who knows, we might get to see some cricket next year, live and in the flesh. 

Now THAT would be special! 

150th to be celebrated next year

This week's news, that the club's 150th anniversary will be celebrated in 2021 was welcome, if expected.

There were a lot of events planned, some at the embryonic stage and others further advanced, but for me it always made more sense to celebrate in the year of the playing of the first match. 

The public meeting to agree the club being established was in November, 1870, but the first game was played in May of the following year.

It is wholly appropriate that the celebrations take place in the 150th year after that game, though of course with the centenary celebrated in 1970, the next celebration ideally had to follow on. 

There will doubtless be merchandise available, which I look forward to purchasing and if it is of comparable standard to the commemorative book I received this week, written by John Shawcroft, there will be no complaints.

A full review of this will appear soon, but for now I will say but three words. 

It is magnificent. 

Book Review: The Life Of A Sports Agent - The Middleman by Luke Sutton

Agents eh? The ruination of sport and the root cause of many of its issues. They make loads of money, rip off their clients, don't really do that much and are perceived as 'sharks' by perhaps too many people for comfort.

And yet.. like any other profession there are a minority who tarnish the good name of plenty of others, working quietly and professionally under the radar. Like Luke Sutton, the former Derbyshire cricketer and captain. 

Regular readers will recall my review of his fairly harrowing first book, which dealt with his ultimately successful battles with his addictions. Many were oblivious to this in his playing days, just as there will be plenty who are unaware of the range of work involved in being a successful agent.

I am grateful to Luke for sending a copy of his excellent book to me ahead of its publication date at the end of this month. It is a really good read, full of relatable stories and names that will aid understanding of the work that agents do.

What impressed me most, as in his first book, is his honesty. He doesn't claim to have got everything right, freely admitting to mistakes along the way, but that is only natural. We are all human after all, but the detailed 'case studies' of his relationship with four very different clients are fascinating.

There are cricketers James Taylor and Jimmy Anderson, Olympic gymnast and social media star Nile Wilson and Olympic hockey gold medallist and now multi-faceted personality Samantha Quek, all profiled in detail alongside others, who flit in and out of the pages.

Each has enjoyed their time in the limelight but have faced challenges away from it. Taylor's heart condition that caused his premature retirement is well-documented, but hearing it from a man who first helped support him and then find a new career is fascinating. Equally so that of Wilson, who had it all yet could quite easily have lost it, but for support from his family and an agent who had 'been there' himself. Meanwhile Quek emerges as a shrewd and talented young woman, savvy enough to reject lucrative modelling offers so as not to distract from what she was really about, an articulate, personable and knowledgeable commentator on a range of sports, who was helped by an honest agent to escape the restrictive 'bubble' of hockey.

Luke's honesty and support will have been appreciated by all of them. It is not about signing lucrative deal after deal, it is being there for them in the bad times, advising them correctly on the many offers that come their way, being organised, understanding the media and working with them. Indeed, what impressed me was how his clients were encouraged to develop their interactions and profiles on social media and use it properly. 

'The highs are beautiful, but the lows can be very dark' he writes. By the end of the book I was left with the feeling that were I sufficiently famous I could work with someone like Luke. Friendly, accessible, supportive and seemingly calm under pressure, he has established a strong roster of clients and understandably so. 

The book is a must read for anyone thinking of such a career, but also for those who enjoy a different angle on sports, celebrity and the challenges faced by those perceived to have it all. 

Cricket fans will find much to enjoy, as the likes of Peter Moores, Haseeb Hamid, Tom Moores and plenty of others flit through the pages. Yet the real fascination for me was in seeing how Quek and Wilson, successful in niche sports, were helped to become broader and successful personalities outside of the sports that made their name. 

It deserves to do well and I would heartily recommend it to be added to your festive wish list. 

The Life Of A Sports Agent: The Middleman is written by Luke Sutton and published by White Owl, priced £12.99.

Available from all good book shops.