Under 18s draw at Denby

Nottinghamshire were all out for 435 against Derbyshire under 18s, replying to the home side's 504-9 today. Rain took a good chunk out of the day, which meant an inevitable draw.

In the Derbyshire second innings, Rubaiyat Abrar followed his first innings 50 with 67*, as Derbyshire reached 123-5 at the end of the game. As he also took four wickets in the Nottinghamshire innings, it is fair to say he had a fine game. 

Another young man to keep an eye on..

Glamorgan v Derbyshire Metro Bank One Day Cup

When the first post of the day from Neath confirmed that it was raining, the forecast always suggested that today would be a washout. 

It's a shame, because I felt this was a game that Derbyshire could win, but it happens in cricket and especially when the first class game is moved to outgrounds, where drainage and facilities or not of the same standard.

We move on. Next stop is Nottinghamshire, who tied today against Worcestershire. That should fill the Central Co-op County Ground! 

A suggestion for the One-Day competition

Regardless of it having been downgraded as a competition, running as a supposed alternative product to the hundred-ball 'main event', the One-Day Cup is still a hugely enjoyable competition. 

Why? Because it closely resembles a format that I grew up with, be it 60 or 55 overs. The old Gillette Cups and Nat West Trophies were terrific and there was much to commend both knock out and group formats.

Many of my favourite cricket memories came in such formats and regardless of the idiocy of the ECB in promoting another that no one else plays (nor is likely to) I suspect that will remain the case.

You can see a game ebb and flow and have a full day out at the cricket. There are elements of both red ball and T20 cricket and it is an enjoyable part of the cricket season. It is, in short, a good day out.

For me, it could still be better.

The biggest problem with it as it stands is the unfairness. Some counties have their squad decimated by the other competition, while others have few absentees. At the same time, some decide it offers a fair chance of silverware and play their strongest team - which can make for mismatches - while others decide that it is a development competition. 

So why not make it so, with a few tweaks? 

It is seen already as a means of unearthing and giving opportunity to young players, so why not make it a largely under-25 competition?

Each county can field three players of their choice over that age (who they can rotate to suit the balance of the side) plus one overseas player. But the nucleus of every side will be in young players, which ensures that counties continue to develop and offer opportunity to them.

Senior players who are not playing can do so for their allocated club side, as well as coaching and working with the county age group sides. This would enable some of them to work towards their coaching badges and a potential future career, as well as helping the next generation to progress and further help to streamline movement through age groups to senior cricket.

With players complaining about workload, counties would have an opportunity to manage this in the selection of senior players and they will still have an opportunity to work on their skills in the nets, when not required for playing duties. 

I don't think that this would be to the detriment of the competition. Far from it, I think supporters would be keen to see young talent coming through their own system and perhaps be in at the start of 'the next big thing'.

As always, I look forward to your comments!

Meanwhile at the Bunbury Festival

Oscar Edwards made 47 as the Midlands easily beat South and West in the Bunbury Festival. 

He scored at a run a ball, before Tommy Bush took 4-32 to seal a 67-run win

Doing well, these Derbyshire lads!

Scorecard here

Good day for Abrar at Denby

Rubaiyat Abrar enjoyed a good day at Denby today.

He took his overnight score to 50 as Derbyshire under 18s declared on 504-9, then took 4-107 with his slow left armers, as Nottinghamshire replied with 366-7.

Matt Stewart took 2-70 in a long day in the field.

The game looks a nailed on draw, unless there is some creativity with a declaration tomorrow.

Scorecard here

Glamorgan v Derbyshire One Day Cup preview

Anuj Dal drops out of the thirteen that was at Cheltenham the other day, as Derbyshire go with twelve for the game against Glamorgan at Neath.

It does pose the question as to why he was included for that game when he clearly wasn't fit, but I dare say we will find out in due course. 

I think it would be an idea to leave out Ross Whiteley tomorrow and allow Yusaf Bin Naeem an opportunity to impress. Of course, the contracts of both are up at the end of the season and each will want the opportunity. Yet Yusaf has a longer potential career ahead of him and I would like to think that bigger picture is looked at. 

So the Derbyshire twelve

Jewell

Came

Montgomery

Guest

Andersson 

Basra

Bin Naeem/Whiteley

Hawkins

Aitchison

Potts

Haydon

Glamorgan are laudably encouraging youth and there is no place for Messrs Northeast, Ingram, Van Der Gugten and Cooke in their squad. 

They have named the following:

Carlson, Hurle, Root, Harris, Gorvin, Morris, Leonard, ul Hassan, Smale, Horton, Tribe, Franco, Byrom

There is a chance of a shower tomorrow at Neath, but hopefully not enough to intrude too much on what should be a good game. 

There is enough in the Derbyshire side to win it, but the bowling unit has to do better than it did at Cheltenham. With the batting that we have, keeping them to under 300 gives us a chance. 

Let's see what tomorrow brings!

Vallabhaneni and Akhtar go wild at Denby!

Meanwhile, at Denby, Rohan Vallabhaneni and Hasnain Akhtar shared in a stand of 299 for the under 18s against Nottinghamshire, those runs coming in just 56 overs.

Now finished Denstone College and heading to Australia to play cricket over the winter, Vallabhaneni made 173 from 156 balls, with 3 sixes and 26 fours. It further reinforced his hugely positive impression this summer and he must surely be signed by the county, before he heads down under. From what I have seen this summer, if we don't, someone else surely will as he is a rare and exciting talent.

Akhtar went on to 191, following on from his unbeaten century against Durham last week and looks to be another outstanding young talent. He hit 2 sixes and 25 fours in his outstanding knock.

At the end of the day, Derbyshire were 486-6, Rubaiyat Abrar making a brisk unbeaten 41, Joe Hall with him on an unbeaten 23.

Not a bad effort, considering the visitors won the toss and opted to bowl!

Scorecard here

Gloucestershire v. Derbyshire One Day Cup

Gloucestershire 341-8 (Price 103, Bracey 83, Taylor 67, Charlesworth 60, Potts 3-72, Aitchison 2-88)

Derbyshire  282 (Guest 86, Montgomery 42, Basra 40, Jewell 35, Akhter 4-47)

Gloucestershire won by 59 runs

Derbyshire went down by 59 runs at Cheltenham today.

Their bowling was a bit of a curate's egg. There were plenty of reasons to be cheerful with the debut of Rory Haydon, especially after he removed the prolific Cameron Bancroft. He bowled with great control and looked a player with a future, taking 1-34 in nine overs. Joe Hawkins wasn't overawed by the big stage, nor was Amrit Basra, who probably didn't expect to bowl today.

Ben Aitchison had an off day and his figures reflect that, while the others had their moments but also took stick, from a strong batting side on a small ground. 

Fair play to Nick Potts. I didn't think that we would see him again today when he had bowled three overs for 42 runs. His third over was awful, almost demanding to be hit and it was a bold move by Brooke Guest to bring him back later. 

Yet he took 3-30 in his next five over spell and produced some excellent yorkers. There is a bowler in there, but this is an important competition for him. It is clear that we need bowlers for next season and that money largely has to come from savings on the playing budget this year. It is up to Nick to make a strong case for his retention. I really wish him well, but he cannot afford many spells like his first one today.

It was always going to be tough against a strong batting side and with an inexperienced attack. Only Miles Hammond is missing from their batting lineup and Price, Bracey, Charlesworth and Taylor all played fine knocks.

342 was always going to be a demanding target and it needed someone to go big. Came never got going, while Jewell neither suggested top form nor permanence. Montgomery, who looks a fine player, batted well with Guest, but his dismissal left much to be done.

The main problem was that we were were rarely close to the required rate, which climbed to seven, then eight. 

Then came Amrit Basra. An innings of 40 on debut accelerated the scoring in a partnership of 76 with his captain. His bat speed and timing make him a joy to watch and on this evidence a contract for 2026 should surely follow. There were three big sixes and a delightful reverse sweep in a debut that supporters will have enjoyed.

When he unluckily played on, 114 were needed from thirteen overs. The stage was set for a vintage Ross Whiteley display, but his dismissal was tame and his innings short, coming soon after Guest was caught at long on for an excellent 86. It signalled the end of Derbyshire hopes, though the tail struck some lusty blows. The returning Zaman Akhter, who will join Essex for next season, made a big difference for the home side. Bowling fast and straight, he ripped through the late order and although the Derbyshire chase showed promise, the target was simply too many.

It was a chastening start to the competition. Although there were fresh shoots of encouragement, we have to bowl better than this or there will be few ticks in the win column by the end of it.

Gloucestershire v Derbyshire Metro Bank Cup preview

Mickey Arthur has announced a squad of 13 for tomorrow's game against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham, to start the Metro Bank One Day Cup.

New signings Matt Montgomery, Amrit Basra and Rory Haydon are in the squad and will logically play, but for the first time that I can remember, I could make a case for everyone being in the final eleven. Both Anuj Dal and Martin Andersson are in the squad, as is Joe Hawkins, but so too are Nick Potts and Yousaf Bin Naeem, who will want good performances in this competition with their contracts up at the end of the summer.

The Derbyshire squad:

Guest, Jewell, Came, Montgomery, Basra, Bin Naeem, Andersson, Dal, Whiteley, Hawkins, Aitchison, Haydon, Potts

Ross Whiteley probably needs a good tournament to make his case for a contract next year. The ones with nothing to prove are Andersson, Dal (who it is good to see back) and Aitchison, but their experience will be important. You can make your own minds up!

Our hosts will be without three seamers - Marchant de Lange, Ajeet Singh Dale and David Payne, as well as Miles Hammond, all at the Hundred. Chris Dent has retired but Cameron Bancroft is available, asking with new rookie signing, Kamran Dhariwal

Are I write, there is no news on their squad, but I will add it if announced later.

As always, your thoughts are welcome. The forecast is good and if the right Derbyshire side turns up, they can acquit themselves well.

Here's hoping...

Postscript: Gloucestershire squad -

Bancroft, Shaw, Van Buuren, Charlesworth, Taylor, Akhtar, Phillips, Bracey, Miles, Taylor, Middleton, Price, Boorman, Ahmed

Under 18s make the final!

Nottinghamshire 276-8 (Lambert 109, Stewart 3-62)

Derbyshire 278-6 (Clarke 91*, Vallabhaneni 61, Kelly 40)

Derbyshire won by 4 wickets 

There was some good talent on display from both sides in the under 18 plate semi-final between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire today. 

Early on the Derbyshire seamers held sway, with all of them putting in a good shift. Ayman Karim hit the deck hard and troubled the batters, while Jake Green was more skiddy but bowled equally well. Later he varied his pace intelligently and both emerged with decent figures.

I thought the two change bowlers, Stewart and Charles, even better. Matt Stewart gets late swing and reaped the rewards for bowling the right length for it. While he got his line wrong a few times - which kept the impressive Joe Hall busy behind the stumps - and had a tendency to bowl on the pads too much today, he looked a bowler of genuine potential, perhaps not only at this level. In his last spell he got his line and length wrong and was punished, as Gangotra and Ali hit powerfully, but he can learn from this.

At the other end Charles was nippy, with a lithe, whippy action that produced plenty of challenges for the visitors. He looked another player of talent on the evidence of today, though his early spell was more consistent in line.

The spinners had more of a struggle, although Arjun Annamalai might not have played had Joe Hawkins been available. Batting appears to be his stronger suit at this stage and although he started well and held a stunning caught and bowled, his line and length later deserted him.

Rubaiyat Abrar offered more control, but missed a run-out opportunity in his second spell and couldn't produce the wickets that he so often has this summer. He is apparently still under-17, however, so can easily come back stronger.

I thought the spinners were, in their defence, left on too long when Toby Lambert got going for the visitors. He looked on a different level to his teammates and played some delightful shots around the wicket. He proceeded to what looked an inevitable century almost from the point he took guard and was most impressive today.

Joe Hall kept wicket well, though he put down a chance off Stewart that he would normally expect to hold, redeeming himself later in the over by taking a more difficult one. Then he appeared to drop a skyer off the same bowler, but effected a smart run out soon afterwards...a mixed bag, but it isn't easy to skipper a side while maintaining a high standard with the gloves - plenty before him have found that so.

The standard was overall very high and it should be remembered that these young men are the crème de la crème of their age, though naturally with much to learn. It was a pleasure to watch them, some likely not for the last time.

A total of 276 was a good effort by the visitors, more than looked likely at the halfway point. It was going to need a good run chase to match it.

Sam Cliffe didn't last long, leg before to the lively Hatton-Lowe, but a straight drive just before had confirmed his talent. 

It brought together Rohan Vallabhaneni and Rubaiyat Abrar, two players for who the grapevine is buzzing and they didn't disappoint. They shared in a twelve-over stand of 82, with the lion's share made by Vallabhaneni. While slightly sketchy outside off stump, it didn't matter, so quickly does he pick up any aberration in line or length. He hit 11 fours in his half century and thirteen in 61 before a somewhat casual shot saw him caught. He is a special talent and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him on a bigger stage.

Abrar was more circumspect than usual, because he hits the ball hard and far, but he was willing to rotate the strike and let his partner lead until failing to get over a cover drive and being caught. 

It was 100-3 in the eighteenth with those two back in the pavilion, much to the visiting relief. Freddie Clarke and Zak Kelly then shared a well-paced stand that took their side to 143-3 at half way, ahead of the required rate. The advent of spinners Patel and Beer slowed the scoring, runs still coming but boundaries drying up. The rate rose above six for the first time and pressure mounted. Kelly was eventually caught at mid on from a full toss for a well-made 40, with 92 needed from 82 deliveries.

Patel's excellent spell cost only 36 runs and gave the visitors much-needed control. The final ten overs arrived with seventy runs required and finger nails being nibbled.

Chapman, who ran hard and improvised well, perished to the first of them, caught at long on. Annamalai played a couple of good shots but then perished after failing to score from the first three balls of the pacy Gangotra.

This brought in Joe Hall, the captain. Clarke was batting really well at the other end and cool heads were needed.  That's what Derbyshire got as Hall lent crucial support to a superb knock from Clarke. The Alrewas batter finished unbeaten on a delightful 91 from 99 deliveries, as Hall hit a four through mid wicket to win the game with five balls to spare and send his team through to the final.

It was as good a game as you could wish to see, with cricket the real winner today. Both sides showcased some terrific talent and deserve warm congratulations for magnificent entertainment.

Elsewhere at the Bunbury Festival, Derbyshire's Oscar Edwards made 90 to lead the Midlands to a win over the South and East. With Theo Brown making 33 from 18 deliveries and both Lucas Green and Tommy Bush bowling, it was a fine day for the Derbyshire boys.

Warm congratulations to Daryn Smit and his coaching team for all of their hard work. And of course to the under-18s for a genuine team effort today in which every member contributed fully to the success.

Oh - and thanks to Derbyshire CCC for running the stream today!

If you enjoyed today's game, these two sides face off in a three-day game at Denby from Tuesday to Thursday this week. 

After today's entertainment, that sounds well worth attending!

Scorecard and video clips here

Matt Montgomery signs from Nottinghamshire

On July 5, I suggested that my number one target for next summer would be Matt Montgomery of Nottinghamshire.

Today came news that he has signed a deal with Derbyshire for the next 3 seasons, as well as the One-Day Cup and I think it represents excellent business.

I have liked him for a few years and always found it strange that he couldn't get into the Nottinghamshire side. When he did, opportunities were limited and he frequently found himself batting at seven or eight in the order. 

This is a player who averages 32 in red ball cricket and 42 in white ball. He is only 25 and has the potential to realise his undoubted talent with a move to Derbyshire. 

He was captain of South Africa under-19s and played for Kwa Zulu Natal before moving to England to study at Loughborough University. He has been on the staff at Trent Bridge since 2021 and in limited opportunities has made two centuries - 178 against Durham and 177 against Essex. I do like a batter who 'goes big' when he gets in.

Were I in charge of selection for T20 in 2026, my top five would be Jewell, Donald, Madsen, Montgomery and Basra. I think he is a player with the potential to replace Wayne Madsen in time, while turning back the time to when the maestro also used to bowl miserly offspin in the short form of the game. He is hard to get away and it allows the selection of Brooke Guest in the side as there are two bowlers (Basra the other) in that top five. 

You probably realise I am very happy with this signing. I look forward to seeing him score a lot of runs for Derbyshire, while chipping in with his share of wickets.

Top marks from me. I have seen suggestions that he is replacing Samit Patel, which I guess to some extent he is. Yet Samit, with respect, was past his very impressive best in his time at Derbyshire.

Montgomery isn't close to what he can do at this stage. 

That potential is something that I look forward to being realised in Derbyshire colours.

Four Pathway players at Bunbury Festival

Good luck and warm congratulations to four young Derbyshire Pathway lads, as they represent the Midlands at the Bunbury Festival at Loughborough this week.

This is unheard of representation from our county and shows the hard work that they and the Pathway coaches are putting in.

The photo shows Tommy Bush, Oscar Edwards, Lucas Green and Theo Brown (photographer unknown)

Battling draw for under-18s

The under-18s got a solid draw against Durham at Repton, after a battling final day performance. 

231 behind on the first innings, Ayman Karim took his night watchman duties seriously and batted 48 overs for 42, while Sam Cliffe made 39. 

Hasnain Akhtar then batted three and a half hours for a fine century, including eleven fours and a six. Although a flurry of quick wickets gave Durham hope, Danny Chapman followed his first innings 84 with an unbeaten 23, as he and Akhtar took Derbyshire to 243-5 at the end of the game.

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire day four

Derbyshire 377 and 185-5 (Reece 61*, Guest 60*)

Northamptonshire 550-9d

Match drawn

I am always amused at the antics of a fielding side as they attempt to bowl out the last few wickets of a team fighting to avoid defeat.

Here Northamptonshire, who had been quite slow on the first day, especially in the afternoon, hurried through their overs as if their jock straps were coated with Fiery Jack. Every time the ball hit a pad there were strident appeals, remarkably from midwicket and third man on some replays. Not the vantage point one would choose from which to take guard, I suspect, so hardly best-placed to give an informed decision.

Yet after the early dismissal of Hawkins, Luis Reece and Brooke Guest stood firm. Reece was hampered by what seemed to be a recurrence of a hamstring strain, while Guest was adjudged caught at short mid-wicket by Northamptonshire, but not by the two umpires. He rightly stood his ground and batted on, sharing in a crucial, unbroken sixth wicket stand of 131 runs in which both batted admirably.

It was a fine effort by Derbyshire to escape with the draw, admittedly aided by the weather today. They played a lot of good cricket in this match and the discipline of yesterday's long bowling effort - only sixteen extras, seven of them leg byes, in 156 overs compared favourably to the home side, who gave away 61 across two innings. 

The attack needs an injection of fresh blood, without doubt. But I don't see the point in bringing in another overseas at this stage to replace Blair Tickner. Glamorgan are 24 points clear in second place after a terrific run of form and I don't see us making that up. Nor do I see the merit in an overseas player for the one day cup. Save the money, or use it on opportunity for another young player if needed, unless someone who is coming next year can leave early to bolster the ranks.

With Tickner going home, Brown at the Hundred, Reece potentially injured again and Chappell possibly ruled out on personal grounds, we are running out of seam bowling options. There's also Dal out until the end of the Hundred and Andersson limited by back spasms... it looks like Aitchison and Haydon will need to be wrapped in cotton wool for the weekend.

Will it bring further opportunity for someone on the Pathway? 

We will need to wait and see.

Thoughts on Arthur and recruitment

'I think our bowling needs some serious looking at and I have to be brutally honest when I watch us. We are an ageing team, slow in the field in most positions and slow between the wickets. That's not the brand of cricket I like. 

We gave it a good go with the players we had, but we'll turn it over now and for me it's about bringing in younger players, perhaps taking a bit of pain for a year or two, in order to build a really good young team'

So speaks Mickey Arthur in the latest issue of The Cricketer magazine. I am probably not the only one a little confused and not for the first time during his tenure.

This IS his team. He told us when he joined the club 'Judge me when I have my team' and we all assumed he had it by now, in year three, with the drastic overhaul of playing staff. His words suggest he is here (or plans to be) for the long haul, but is this cricket management by the unscientific process of 'throw enough mud at the wall and some of it will stick'?

This 'ageing team' was largely signed, or re-signed by Mickey and he has to own that. My wife wouldn't profess to be a cricketing sage, but when I told her we would have two blokes over 40 in our T20 side, her first words were 'but won't they be a bit slow'? Maybe she and I should take over, the Clough and Taylor of Derbyshire cricket...

Supporters will now be watching the said overhaul of Derbyshire cricket with even keener eyes. If we replace over-thirties with more of the same, there will rightly be questions asked. Of course you need experience in a side, but someone has to do the legwork and you can't hide them all in the field. Signing talented young men with reputations to build is a decent start - Amrit Basra and Rory Haydon being prime examples.

I have seen names tossed around as potential signings - Billy Root, Jonny Tattersall, Nick Browne, Chris Rushworth as examples. But would they transform us? Or have long term potential? Good cricketers all, but for me there is greater mileage in looking at players like Ben Martindale or Sam King at Nottinghamshire or Harry Singh at Lancashire. I don't see where Rocky Flintoff gets game time at Lancashire either, while Tom Aspinwall might be pushed further down the line with the possible signing of Ajeet Singh Dale.

Here's another comment from Arthur:

"Our pathway is consistently producing exciting talents, and we want to bring those players into the first team environment, to give them the best possible chance of succeeding in professional cricket with Derbyshire."

Of course we need to promote the best of the Pathway, but by the same token we cannot simply elevate four or five talented under-18s and expect them to become the cricketing equivalent of the Busby Babes. Their step to sustained second eleven performance is big, that up to the first team much bigger.

As a sage old professional said to me, you might score runs or take wickets in the second team against experienced players. Yet they are finding form and rhythm, not going flat out and not providing the pressure of the senior game. Joe Hawkins is a terrific young player, but figures at Northampton of 2-171 in 39 overs will show him how far he has to go. To be fair to him, he will have rarely bowled more than ten overs in an innings, so he probably poured himself into bed last night, after the physical and mental effort.

What has really surprised me this summer is the nigh complete falling off of a side that before the T20 was going very well. That they have largely battled is beyond doubt, but our unbeaten record was built around commendable rearguard efforts and a fair few of those draws would not be classed as 'winning' ones in the league cricket that I played.

We haven't helped ourselves by muddled preparation. After losing to Leicestershire, Arthur said he felt our best chance of beating them was by preparing a spinning pitch. Which doesn't say a lot for Blair Tickner or the chances of him returning, but says even less about the support he has had from pitch preparation. 

It was the same for the Blast...we had an overseas spinner, Mohammad Ghazanfar, from the white ball team of the year, together with an experienced international spinner as captain, yet never played to that obvious strength. I don't recall much deviating off straight at Derby, which would seem a fairly major oversight. If I had two such bowlers in my team, I would ensure the pitches were just on the acceptable side of Blackpool beach..

Having signed Caleb Jewell for next summer, Arthur has to split the second role AND order pitches to suit them. A seamer for the first batch of red ball, a spinner for the second, an all rounder for the Blast. Sure, it is nice to have someone there all summer, but Northamptonshire got it right by signing Chahal for this part of the summer. Surely that famous contacts book can unearth a decent spinner in Asia? You would hope a good seamer shouldn't be a challenge either, but he has to have early season pitches that offer something to work with. As for the T20, a bowler who can hit a long ball has to be the target. If the rumoured signing of Matt Montgomery comes through, a top five of Donald, Jewell, Madsen, Montgomery and Basra (hopefully) would surely get runs on the board? 

Clarity of thought - and feel free to disagree if you will - is all important. That is in-game too. I fully understand why Zak Chappell opened yesterday, but using Joe Hawkins as a night watchman means that it is likely our first innings century-maker, Martin Andersson, won't bat until number nine. Assuming they get on the pitch today.

There have been countless examples of muddled messages and thinking this year and that is the concern. 'My team' mark one hasn't worked. Supporters have a right to be sceptical if mark two is going to be any better.  Maybe it is worth seeing where it goes for next year, not least because recruitment has to start again if we don't. Players will have agreed to come by this stage and plans for the best of our young talent to come onto the staff will be advanced. 

But he has to get it right. Not least because the questions over coaching style will again raise their heads if he doesn't and, to use the Glasgow vernacular, his jaiket will be on a shoogly hook if he doesn't.

It has to be.

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire day 3

My wife and I are out at the theatre in Glasgow tonight, so there will be no blog on the day's play until tomorrow, when I pull in the last two days.

As we leave, Derbyshire are 46-3 and facing an innings defeat, a somewhat bizarre occurrence after the optimism of day one.

There are many talking points that I will address at the end of the match, but please add your comments on the day's play below.

Under 18s facing last day battle

Derbyshire's under 18s have a fight on their hands to save the game against Durham at Repton. 

The visitors made 497-6 today, in reply to the home score of 266 all out. Ghumman made 178, while Matt Stewart stuck to his task well and returned the best figures of 3-94.

So tomorrow is all about batting out time. The young players have shown their ability to score quickly in the shorter forms of the game, so it will be good to see another side to them, all being well, on the third and final day

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire day 2

Derbyshire 377

Northamptonshire 265-5 (Procter 71, Broad 64*, Bartlett 60* Reece 2-70)

Derbyshire lead by 112 runs

Derbyshire were unable to press home the advantage of their good batting effort at Northampton, with the home side rallying, as they did themselves, with a good lower order effort. 

At 154-5, with the dismissal of Saif Zaib by Joe Hawkins (not Dawkins or Wilkins as various media outlets have called him), the home side were rocking. Then an unbroken stand of 110 between Bartlett and Broad steered them to calmer waters by the close. The irony that the stand was between two players who Derbyshire actively pursued in recent winters was not lost on me...

The Derbyshire first innings was a good effort, but the expectation was perhaps that the pitch might deteriorate more quickly than it appears to have done. Reece bowled brilliantly between lunch and tea, while Hawkins did as well as one might expect from an 18-year old in his first match. He was a little short in his length early on, but will be proud of his opening wicket, that of the division's leading run scorer.

Tickner bowled with aggression but couldn't make the breakthrough, while both Chappell and Aitchison huffed and puffed tidily but couldn't break down the door.

Bartlett and Broad batted very well, as earlier did Procter, despite a fierce blow on the arm from Tickner. 

Early wickets are needed tomorrow, when rain looks likely to truncate proceedings.

Finally a word on the commentators. I don't often listen, because I prefer my own thoughts, but I thought they were very good today and even-handed in their comments. That isn't always the case on the circuit and I doff my cap to them for a job well done.

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire day1

Derbyshire 348-8 (Andersson 105, Reece 39, Donald 37, Aitchison 33*, Chappell 32, Hawkins 29* Chahal 4-116)

v Northamptonshire

A terrific rearguard action by Derbyshire at Northampton today put them in a good position after day one.

It is hard to judge a pitch until both sides have batted on it and the cause wasn't helped when Jack Morley was injured before the match and missed out. With Alex Thomson out with a broken finger, it meant the spin department on a turning pitch was 18-year old debutant Joe Hawkins, of who more later..

That Derbyshire reached 348-8 was largely due to a magnificent century from Martin Andersson. It was his third of the summer and for me, the best. He was assertive and played strokes all around the wicket. He has developed into a serious player and should only get better.

There was help for seam and spin alike, while a variable bounce on the first morning was presumably a concern for the home side when they lost the toss and were consigned to batting last on it. 

The variable bounce did for Caleb Jewell, leg before to a short ball that trapped him low on the shin, before Came went the same way to a leg spinner.

It was 89-5 before we knew it, after being 82-1 three overs earlier. Something we have seen before and the expectation was that the home side would likely be batting before tea. 

Yet Andersson batted superbly and hit fourteen boundaries in his century. Donald lent good support for a while, without suggesting permanence, as did Chappell, who will likely be annoyed to be dismissed on the reverse sweep when he too was going well.

Yet even their dismissal  did not end the resistance, as Hawkins and Aitchison added an unbroken 48 runs for the 9th wicket. We know that Ben can handle a bat, but here we saw the debut of Hawkins, who was clearly not fazed by the situation, pitch or opposition. He has a good technique and used it to counter pace and spin alike, surviving with a degree of comfort to fight another day. He also played a contender for shot of the innings, a delightful cover driven four.

Some of the home side fielding was decidedly average and Scrimshaw's drop was pretty shocking. Mind you, so was the incessant noise from the slips, who seemed to go full on Frankie Howerd whenever the ball didn't hit the middle of the bat. I put the sound off when they got excited at Luis Reece leaving a ball eighteen inches outside off stump. There's really no need for that.

Chahal was a danger all day, but bowled some loose stuff too and his figures reflect it. 

Derbyshire will be the happier at the close. And I didn't expect to write that at one o'clock this afternoon.

Postscript... this afternoon I enjoyed a long chat with Edwin Smith and we reminisced about when he took eight for 21 in his second appearance at the age of 17. He could relate to Joe Hawkins today and if Joe becomes half as good a cricketer, we will be happy.

Edwin reminded me of a trip to Northampton in the 1950s. They got to the ground to find a green wicket and his expectation was of little bowling. 

When they went out to the middle, they found a 'beach', with grass cuttings on it to give the impression of a green top. His spirits rose as he anticipated a long bowl and some wickets.

Alas, Cliff Gladwin and Les Jackson bowled them out, with support from Donald Carr's slow left arm. Edwin barely bowled, a harsh lesson for a youngster, as had been being dropped from the side after his 8-21.

I suspect Joe will bowl a lot of overs here..

Under 18's in Derby semi final against Nottinghamshire!

From the club website:

Derbyshire Boys Under 18s will face Nottinghamshire at The Central Co-op County Ground this Sunday, in the semi-final of the ECB County Plate. 

Having already overcome Durham and Lancashire in the earlier rounds, Derbyshire will now host their local rivals at Derby this Sunday, with a place in the final of the 50-over competition up for grabs.

Batter, Rohan Vallabhaneni, is averaging 50 in the tournament, while Matthew Stewart and Rubaiyat Abrar have claimed five wickets apiece, a number bettered by only three bowlers.

Entry will be free for the fixture, which will begin at 11am on Sunday 3 August. Please note, the Members Lounge in Monarch Security Pavilion will not be open for this fixture.

**Hopefully a good few people can get down to see some of our stars of tomorrow, playing for silverware.

It should be a terrific game. Hopefully the club will also run a stream of the match. 

Book Review: Around the World in 40 Years by Andy Moles with Geoffrey Dean

I am very much of an age where I remember Andy Moles, the player.

While he never looked the fittest, he was among the most consistent and for a decade was an outstanding opening bat for Warwickshire. He averaged over 40 in that time and only Peter Bowler of Derbyshire and James Hildreth of Somerset managed to do that without any international recognition. 

His autobiography is a joy to read. Co-written with Geoffrey Dean of The Times, it is chock full of stories and anecdotes, most of them new to me. His career is an object lesson in never giving up hope. He didn't get into the first class game until he was 25, yet thereafter the runs flowed from his bat, until a snapped Achilles tendon ended his career prematurely at the age of 36. 

Subsequently, he travelled the world and became a leading coach in South Africa, Kenya, Scotland, England and New Zealand. His last coaching role was as director of cricket for Afghanistan where he coached for nearly six years. Then an MRSA infection in his toe led to the amputation of his lower left leg. The section on his experiences in Afghanistan is worth the purchase price alone.

I would have loved to see him as a coach in county  cricket, where I think he would have been a great success. There was a time time when I thought he would have been a very good option for Derbyshire, but it never came about. 

His insights on playing alongside Brian Lara and Alan Donald are fascinating, but so too are his accounts of that outstanding Warwickshire side, under Dermot Reeve. His thoughts on batting and on coaching players reinforce his reputation as a thinking man, someone who would undoubtedly improve you if you listened. He played under Bob Woolmer, of course, one of the great innovators in cricket coaching.

Like a few books of late, it isn't the easiest of reads, especially when one gets to the point at which he lost a leg. But it is one that will be enjoyed by all cricket fans, especially those from the West Midlands. 

I enjoyed his honesty in this book and it is further proof that some of the best cricket books are not necessarily about the biggest names.

Highly recommended

Around The World in 40 Years is written by Andy Moles with Geoffrey Dean

Under 18s game in balance at end of first day

Derbyshire under 18s were all out for 266 against Durham today at Repton.

Sam Cliffe made 51 and Zak Kelly 41 at the top of the order, before Danny Chapman made 84, sharing a stand of 69 with Rubaiyat Abrar (36)

At the close, Durham were 44-1

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire preview

Both Amrit Basra and Joe Hawkins are included in a thirteen-man Derbyshire squad for the four-day game against Northamptonshire that starts tomorrow. 

I would hope that both play and have an opportunity to showcase their obvious talents. With the pitch expected to turn, one of the seamers is likely to miss out. Blair Tickner plays his final match for the club, heading home to New Zealand afterwards.

My preferred team:

Jewell, Came, Guest, Madsen, Basra, Donald, Reece, Chappell, Hawkins, Tickner, Morley

Andersson, Aitchison also in the squad but the former's back spasms are a concern and we will need Ben for the One Day Cup.

Luke Procter returns after missing the last game, while Justin Broad is back after a wrist injury. The home squad:

Procter, Bartlett, Broad, Chahal, Guthrie, Keogh, McManus, Ramesh, Sales, Scrimshaw, Vasconcelos, Zaib

 Yuzi Chahal will expect to be bowling at one end for much of the match, while Saif Zaib will want to build on his tally as the first man in division two to reach a thousand runs this summer. Caleb Jewell (916 runs) and Wayne Madsen (914) will hope to join him on that landmark during this game, while Harry Came needs 285 from his last eight innings to do so for Derbyshire.

Rain interruptions appear likely, with Thursday looking especially wet in the current forecast. The toss will be important, as neither side will want to bat last on a surface that normally turns at this stage of the summer.

Accordingly, I can't call a result, but the weather may take too much time out of the game and a draw could be the most likely scenario.

What do you think? 

Hawkins signs short-term deal

More excellent signing news from Derbyshire this afternoon, with Joe Hawkins signing a contract with the club until the end of August. 

This will see him eligible for the entirety of the One-Day Cup, as well as tomorrow's game at Northampton. With the pitch there liable to take spin and Alex Thomson out with a broken finger, my guess is that he will make his county debut.

I think he has a very bright future and he has looked like a young man with huge potential from when I first saw him. He is composed and organised as a batter, disciplined and unfazed as a bowler.

I am sure he will not be the last from a very encouraging assembly line in the Pathway. 

Reece signs new two year deal

Good news to start the week for Derbyshire fans, as Luis Reece has signed a new two-year deal at the club.

It will take him to a decade with the county and he has been one of our best signings in recent years. Whatever the future holds with regard to the promotion of youth, they need to be surrounded by good, reliable senior professionals in order to progress. He is definitely one of those.

With a batting average of just under 50, to go with 34 wickets at 18 runs each, it can be safely said that Luis has returned to his finest form this summer. The hamstring injury was unfortunate, but he showed on his return that the break has not impaired his effectiveness.

It will be good to see his talents in the county colours for another two seasons, hopefully with more to come.

Big win for under 18s

Finally tonight, there was a terrific 106 run win for the county under 18s today, against Lancashire at Spondon Cricket Club.

Winning the toss and opting to bat, Joe Hall (wicket keeper/captain like Brooke Guest) saw Cliffe (64) Abrar (24) and Vallabhaneni (43) give Derbyshire a brisk start in this 50 over game.

A middle order slump saw the score drop to 158-6, but Chapman (50) steadied things before Jake Green hit a 22-ball half century with four sixes and four fours.

The final total of 287 proved far too much for Lancashire, although Barrow followed his 4-37 with the highest score of 49. 

Matt Stewart, a young seam bowler who looks one to watch, returned astonishing figures of 5-27, while Rubaiyat Abrar, who opens the batting and hits very powerfully, took 3-25 with his clever left arm spin as Lancashire were all out for 181.

I am extremely excited at the ability in our age group cricketers and there is good reason for that 

Scorecard and limited videos can be seen here

Bedfordshire v Derbyshire friendly

Derbyshire 338-8 (Guest 100, Basra 87, Came 79, Andersson 30)

Bedfordshire 243-8 (Tarling 94, Houghton 41, Johnson 38, Potts 3-56, Aitchison 2-51, Basra 1-32, Haydon 1-38)

Derbyshire won by 95 runs

There was a good and encouraging run out for Derbyshire against Bedfordshire today, in a match where they ran out winners by 95 runs.

Having been put in to bat, Derbyshire batted steadily, after losing Mitch Wagstaff for 20. Harry Came made 79 from 88 balls, before the stand of the innings was shared by skipper Brooke Guest (100 from 90 deliveries with nine fours) and Amrit Basra, who made 87 from just 46 deliveries, with six fours and six sixes. They added 152 in sixteen overs for the fifth wicket.

The final total of 338-8 was solid, if not spectacular and was going to take some chasing. 

Bedfordshire had a decent batting line up. Jake Tarling, formerly of Leicestershire, made 141 off Kent last season and here scored 94, but oddly slowly at a rate of only 75. Kashif Ali, formerly of Worcestershire was in the side, as was Jamie Dunk of Scotland and Leicestershire. 

A young Derbyshire attack bowled tidily, Rory Haydon's opening spell being 8-1-25-1, while Joe Hawkins was sensibly brought into the attack early and bowled three tidy overs for just nine runs. Mitch Wagstaff sustained an injury and had his third over finished by Harry Came, while Nick Potts took two quick wickets to set the run chase back.

That is the frustrating thing about Nick. He does take wickets, but his first four overs went for 23 and those loose one or two balls an over often ruin his figures. But hie finished with three wickets here, a good effort.

Joe Hawkins took a wicket too and Haydon finished with the most economical analysis on the day. Basra bowled seven tidy overs to finish off Wagstaff's spell to complete a memorable debut, even if the figures won't count in career records.

It will be interesting to see how performances here affect Mickey Arthur's first choice side. I would love to see youngsters given a go in this competition, when they will admittedly face a higher level of opposition. Yet Arthur will see it as a trophy to win, understandably so.

As it stands, I expect a first choice side to look something like this:

Jewell, Came, Guest, Basra, Reece, Whiteley, Andersson, Chappell, Aitchison, Morley, Haydon. 

I would like to see Wagstaff (injury permitting) Potts and Hawkins in the mix, but it would need a massive shift in selection policy and would surprise me. 

And the above side doesn't include David Lloyd..

Squad v Bedfordshire

Brooke Guest has been announced as skipper for the one-day cup and a pleasingly young squad has been announced for the game against Bedfordshire today:

Brooke Guest (c/wk)
David Lloyd
Harry Came
Mitch Wagstaff
Yousaf bin Naeem
Amrit Basra
Joe Hawkins
Ben Aitchison
Pat Brown
Jack Morley
Rory Haydon
Nick Potts

I am unsure if there is a stream for this friendly, but will keep my eyes open for one later!

Weekend thoughts

I had an interesting exchange of messages with a friend last night, regarding the Mickey Arthur position. That's not a weird Kama Sutra thing, for the record...

He pointed out - and rightly- that Derbyshire COULD afford to dispose of his services, just as Lancashire did with Darren Benkenstein. By simply getting someone to 'act up' in his place for a more modest salary increase than an external appointment, with a guarantee of a return to their substantive role if they didn't get the job on a permanent basis. 

The time to do it, of course, would be as soon as the season has finished and the dust has settled on the different competitions. We will then know if the admitted concentration on red ball skills at the expense of the white ball was worthwhile, or if it promised much, yet ultimately came to naught. We know that the somewhat unbelievable 'white ball will take care of itself' didn't happen, at least in T20.

My concern remains, as I wrote yesterday, that we leave it until the end of next season and the new incumbent has contracts to renew and a possible replacement for Wayne Madsen to find. It would be a huge job. 

In addition, it would only encourage short termism and perhaps the recruitment of players who are deemed ready, rather than with a strong development potential. Then leave the next coach to deal with them..

Appointing from within makes sense.

What would make even more sense would be giving the job to Daryn Smit.

No one knows the talent coming through the Pathway better than he does and his articulate manner and people skills would make him a very strong candidate. 

Listen to the recent Falcons Nest Podcast, where he seems really enthused about the quality of the talent coming through. Not just Joe Hawkins, but also wicket keeper bat Joe Hall, who came to the Pathway from Yorkshire and has scored a lot of runs, as well as keeping wicket to a very high standard (he caught or stumped all the victims in Hawkins' hat trick earlier this season). There's also Rohan Vallabhaneni, a stylish free-scoring bat from Denstone College and Staffordshire and Jake Green, a talented opening bowler, while Zak Kelly appears an all rounder of talent.

In the younger age groups, Theo Brown, Tommy Bush, Oscar Edwards and Lucas Green will feature for the Midlands-based Bunbury side in August, having already won a two-day red ball fixture against the South and West.

In that game, Edwards scored an unbeaten half-century, Brown showed his attacking ability with 60 runs and leg-spinner Bush and seamer Green were amongst the wickets. Edwards, who plays for Clifton, Smit's own club, scored a century on debut for their first eleven, having moved from Leek Cricket Club and while playing for the Pathway under-15s, is still under 14.

For me, having a man in place who has identified some of the best young talent in the area is the way to go. My opinion, for what it is worth, aligns neatly with Smit, that we clear a path through to second team cricket and have a natural progression to the full county side. We cannot simply release lads at 18, when some might just need a little extra time to develop.

Let's see how the remainder of the season goes. The influx of new blood may galvanise the side for the Metro Bank Trophy, but a decision will need to be made at the end of the season, in the best interests of the club.

Watch this space ..

Derbyshire v Leicestershire day four

Leicestershire 398 and 236-9

Derbyshire 189 and 256 (Thomson 55, Chappell 50, Guest 32, Ahmed 7-93)

Leicestershire won by 189  runs

There was laudable resistance from the Derbyshire lower order today, but the first innings failings came back to bite them and they went down by 189 runs.

Perhaps there is an argument for Zak Chappell moving up the order next season, especially in the T20. He isn't always a secure starter, but when he does get his feet moving he scores quickly and hits powerfully. He did so today and is is a much improved batter. 

Brooke Guest and Alex Thomson also fought hard in the resistance (not THAT resistance..) but there was too much to do for too few people. Special mention also for Jack Morley, who will be disappointed with his bowling in this game, but resisted for 85 balls at number eleven.

Next up for Derbyshire is a fifty-over warm up against Bedfordshire on Sunday, before the red ball action moves to Northampton on Tuesday.

Postscript: after the game Mickey Arthur revealed that Alex Thomson sustained a broken finger and will obviously be out for a while. Martin Andersson still has a back spasm but will play on Sunday, along with Amrit Basra and Rory Haydon. 

Meanwhile Anuj Dal will not be back until towards the end of the Metro Bank Cup. 

Talking points

It is all well and good people 'demanding' the sacking of Mickey Arthur, which has been a recurring theme in my emails and in blog comments over the past week or so.

Yet it ignores two simple facts. One is that he is contracted to the end of next season. You can argue the logic, the common sense in that extension, but I would be surprised if the club could afford to pay off his contract, stunned if he decided to walk away.

Secondly, even when they lose the current game - as they surely will unless there is a monsoon in Derby - there will remain a chance of promotion. Glamorgan may or may not win a very close game against Kent today, when they need 164 runs with eight wickets remaining. Yet the likelihood is that Derbyshire would remain at least third in the table, regardless. 

It isn't fair for me to comment on the events of the last two days because I haven't seen them. Yet as Jasper wrote last night, my recurring thought has been why we gambled the result of our biggest red ball match in at least a decade on winning the toss on a used pitch. On what I understand is its fourth use of the summer, whoever batted last was always going to struggle. It wasn't the most rational of thought processes to go 50/50 and place trust thereafter in our spin attack, which is not, in my opinion, our strength. Collective match figures of 5-315 would appear to confirm that, when their young leggie currently has 10-92. 

The Derbyshire Head of Cricket has had an outstanding career in the game as an international coach. One of his biggest weaknesses as a domestic one is in his loyalty to those that he himself has signed.

There are several examples, but the greatest of these is David Lloyd.  He has just six half centuries in 39 first-class innings since he moved to the club, which as an opening bat isn't close to good enough. With his bowling seemingly seen as a last resort, it appears that only this misguided loyalty keeps him in the side. While I have every sympathy for a good bloke who has had well-documented challenges with his mental health, perhaps a break would have been beneficial? 

Every time he goes out to bat, I am willing him to succeed, but it isn't happening and the wisdom of a three-year deal has to be questioned. I'm not sure he will get better, at 33, but surely the time has come to give someone else an opportunity for the remainder of the summer?

Despite today's result - call me fatalist, psychic or realistic, if you will - all is not gloom and doom. There appears to be an understanding that the 'experiment' with experience in T20 has failed. For Mickey Arthur to have any chance of surviving past next season  - and that would appear to be unlikely, at this stage - he has to be seen to be looking at the medium to long-term in his recruitment. 

The white ball contracts for Rory Haydon and Amrit Basra will hopefully bear fruit and both will stake a claim for longer deals. There will be changes this winter and for me, we should be looking at younger players with the potential to grow, rather than experienced ones. I and others have previously mentioned Matt Montgomery, but Feroze Khushi, currently with SACA, is another possibility. His talent has always been clear, when he was at Essex, perhaps only needing a good batting coach to bring to maturity. 

We have secured one overseas player for next summer and Caleb Jewell is in a race with Wayne Madsen to be first to a thousand first-class runs. But unless the well of overseas players is dry, I can't help but think that 22 wickets at 35 from Blair Tickner isn't enough for that position. He seems a top man and a supportive team mate, but I have always maintained that an overseas bat has to average over forty, a bowler under thirty and I won't change that assertion.

Yet surely to attract a top bowler we need pitches at Derby that offer more help? If we are getting to the stage of using them for the fourth time, wouldn't that second role make more sense split between a seamer for the first half of the summer, then a spinner for the rest? 

There is a nucleus of a good side for both red and white ball. You could build a good red ball eleven around Jewell, Came, Madsen, Guest, Andersson, Chappell, Aitchison and Luis Reece, who will surely be rewarded for this season's efforts with a new contract. So too should Aitchison, which would then leave the blanks to be filled in for a competitive side. 

The concern is that next year we could be looking at the end of Mickey Arthur as HOC, but also the potential retirement of Wayne Madsen and eight other deals needing reviewed. That is a lot of work for someone coming in, but it is also an opportunity to show support and faith in the Pathway project. 

While the first team have been losing to Leicestershire, both the seconds and the under-18s have also lost matches. Yet individual performances have been the cause for optimism. Rohan Vallabhaneni of Denstone College made a stylish 70 for the seconds, an innings that reinforced his impressive form at age group level. He seems to me to have that little bit extra. I also think Yousuf Bin Naeem can come again, after a challenging summer with injury and concussion.

By the way, we also have a young leg spinner who took six wickets against Hampshire, at the same time that a young leg spinner  was bowling us out at Derby.

When does Mitch Wagstaff get an opportunity? He could become a batter who bowls, a bowler who bats, or a genuine all rounder. 

It is time for proactivity and a show of confidence. 

And it should start at Northampton on Tuesday.

Derbyshire v Leicestershire day 3

Please add your comments on the day's play here

Derbyshire v Leicestershire day two

Please add your comments here and I will add as soon as I can...

Basra and Haydon sign for Metro Bank Trophy

Not that I am claiming any responsibility, but I am delighted to see that two players that I have been advocating for some time have been signed up for the Metro Bank One Day Cup 

Amrit Basra and Rory Haydon fully deserve to be given an opportunity to play themselves into a contract for next summer. In the ongoing game against Hampshire, the second team are under the cosh, but top order bat Basra made 70 out of 191, while seam bowler Haydon has the excellent figures of 18-6-30-2 in a total of 221-2. 

There is no risk in such players, only a chance to reduce the age of the staff and discover two gems for the future. Both have been in fine form for the second team, while Haydon has also been in the wickets for Staffordshire. Basra looks a highly talented stroke player, who only needs to convert some of these fine fifties into centuries to become a genuine prospect.

With three players away at the Hundred and Blair Tickner returning to New Zealand after next week's game, there is obvious game time for both of them in the coming weeks.

I hope that they make the most of it.

Derbyshire v Leicestershire day one

Leicestershire 354-3 ( Hill 131*, Ahmed 115, Handscomb 99*)

v Derbyshire

Derbyshire took two wickets in the first eight deliveries today, then took only one more during the rest of the day. 

It was a hard day's graft on a good batting pitch, a good toss to win and not the best of balls to have to use to get any response at all.

Leicestershire are firmly in the box seat at the end of the first day and already it looks like a battle to stay in the game, when our turn comes, presumably at some point later tomorrow. 

Martin Andersson missed out with a back spasm and Nye Donald took his place in a lengthy batting order. With the pitch being used for the fourth time this summer, the visitors will have banked on it offering greater response for their spinners on the last two days than it did today.

That may turn out to be the case, but after the early dismissals of Budinger and Patel, the visiting batting lineup was largely untroubled all day. 

Ahmed made a delightful century and he has been in prime form this season. He is very much an eye player and it will be interesting, as his career progresses, to see if his technique still allows him to score prolifically as he gets older. At the moment, once he gets in he looks a million dollars and he scored pretty much at will through the morning and early afternoon. 

His dismissal was a surprise, but that was as good as it got for Derbyshire, with Hill making a more patient but classy century, before Handscomb helped him in an unbroken stand of 188 for the fourth wicket. Leicestershire are certainly getting good value from their overseas player, as batter, wicket keeper and captain in this match. Maybe he even drove the team bus on the way over...

There was a wicket each for Reece, Tickner and Chappell but I suspect Ben Aitchison, Pat Brown, Martin Andersson and Anuj Dal will regard this as a good day to miss.

The next three days will be pivotal to Derbyshire's hopes of promotion. Glamorgan's game against Kent looks certain to produce a positive result and it could be that we drop out of the promotion places without a good response here. 

I will leave it to you to comment on the next two days, as my wife and I are having a couple of days away with our dogs.

As usual, I will provide a page on which you can comment at the end of the day.

Derbyshire v Leicestershire preview

There were a couple of puzzles today in the 14 man squad announced by Mickey Arthur, ahead of tomorrow's massive red ball fixture against Leicestershire at the Central Co-op County Ground.

Pat Brown was announced in it, despite also being skipper of the second team game at Repton. I could have understood that if he had wanted a few overs to loosen up, but having won the toss he opted to bat, meaning he is either not in the plans for the first team or it was a little pointless to be skipper of the seconds,  merely to toss a coin.

The other talking point was the absence - without explanation - of Anuj Dal. I don't know the reason for that, but it seemed a little odd 

Whatever, there are decisions to be made on the final eleven and I would guess we won't go with two spinners. The likeliest eleven is this one, which would ignore Nye Donald's Blast form

Jewell, Lloyd, Came, Madsen, Guest, Reece, Andersson, Chappell, Aitchison, Tickner, Morley

Donald, Brown, Thomson also in the squad

You can make a case to omit Andersson, but he has been a standout in this format this year. The same for Chappell, but he is the accepted leader of the attack and for Aitchison, who has been taking regular wickets in the Blast. Besides, were the injury to Luis Reece to recur, we wouldn't want to be a seam bowler down. Much will depend on how fit Luis is after a lengthy lay off. A brave decision would see Donald open instead of David Lloyd, but then you lose the second spinner option and red ball/white ball opening gigs are very different games.

Decisions, decisions...

As for Leicestershire, they haven't yet announced their squad. Logan van Beek has had a fantastic summer for them and will again lead the attack, while the aggressive opening pair of Patel and Budinger, followed by the dangerous Rehan Ahmed will aim to get on the front foot quickly. With Ian Holland back from the United States, they will be strong opponents and Derbyshire will need to be at their best. 

With rain, looking likely to take time out of the game, I think this will be a draw, but it should make for compelling viewing. 

What do you think? 

Book Review: The Cricket Captains of England by Vic Marks

Writing a companion volume, or follow-up to a wordsmith so outstanding as Alan Gibson would have been a daunting prospect for any writer. 

As I wrote in the review of that book, Gibson's way with words and floral prose set him in the highest echelons of cricket writing. 

Yet if any modern writer were to take on that mantle, Vic Marks was best suited for the job. He had played under four of the captains discussed here, which gave him a stronger insight into the way that they worked than even Gibson had. He has also been in the press box for the rest and so is admirably qualified for the job. 

His own assertion that, after following Richards and Botham in the batting order at Somerset he was now doing the same for their literary equivalent is indicative to the style, wisdom and generosity that he brings to this book. 

As in the original, not all of those who reached the highest cricket playing position in the country were worthy of the role, but the likes of Mike Brearley, Andrew Strauss and Ben Stokes have been worthy successors to Jardine and Hutton of previous eras. 

This is a wonderfully engaging read, perceptive and full of stories that in many cases I hadn't heard before. That in itself is a feat, as cricket literature has a habit of regurgitating and in some cases reattributing stories across the years. 

Besides looking very good on your book shelves, with similar covers, The Cricket Captains of England will be books that you will pick up and read a section again and again, the truest indicator of a fine book.

Once again, top marks to Fairfield Books for bringing the original book up to date. Especially with an author whose talents are worthy of the job.

Sequels can often be a letdown. 

This one most certainly isn't. Top marks to all concerned.

The Cricket Captains of England 1979-2025 is written by Vic Marks and published by Fairfield Books

Jewell signs on for 2026!

Good news this morning as Derbyshire announced a return for Caleb Jewell in 2026.

With 1180 runs across two competitions so far and with 'power to add', as they say these days, it makes a lot of sense to secure his services early. 

Even some of the bigger names of Derbyshire overseas history struggled in their first season and while Caleb will have wanted to convert more of his red ball fifties into three figures, he has done well. A good Metro Bank Trophy and end to the red ball game will see him pushing towards two thousand runs across all formats, an excellent effort.

He has also fielded well wherever required, but especially at slip, where his secure presence has undoubtedly been appreciated by the Derbyshire bowlers. 

It doesn't change my assertion that we need another bowler for white ball cricket next year, but he must come from this country, unless we again go for another 'two from three' scenario, as we did this summer. But with clubs finding it hard to get overseas players for more than a month, the continuity will undoubtedly serve them well.

It represents good business by Mickey Arthur and hopefully the runs keep coming, for a player undoubtedly enjoying the county game.

Contracts - follow up

It took a little finding but someone under the name of 'Scarlet Pimpernel' had done the work in the previous post on Reddit and deserves the credit for doing so.

I apologise that the formatting isn't the best, as Excel doesn't tend to translate well into Blogger. Hopefully it can be easily read. 

As always with these things there is a health warning. Sometimes contracts are signed but not publicised and it may be that some of the information is wrong and/or out of date. But it serves to highlight the number of players who will be looking to sort their futures at the end of this summer. 

We know now that Samit Patel will not be back. My assumption is that some of the Derbyshire ones will be renewed and a handful won't. Again, the availability of better from elsewhere will be the deciding factor. 

It also highlights that some clubs have allowed a lot of contracts to get into their final year.

So, as a nice discussion point for you, who might be of interest to Derbyshire? Bearing in mind there is a limited amount of money available...

2025/26 contracts

County	2025 Expirees	2025 Total	2026 Expirees	2026 Total
Derbyshire	Harry Came; Yousuf Bin Naeem; Ross Whiteley; Luis Reece; Samit Patel; Alex Thomson; Ben Aitchison; Nick Potts	9/19	Mitch Wagstaff; Nye Donald Anuj Dal; Wayne Madsen; David Lloyd; Martin Andersson; Pat Brown; Jack Morley; Zak Chappell	8/19
Durham	------------ Graham Clark; Alex Lees; Scott Borthwick; Bas de Leede; Ben Stokes; Mark Wood; Matty Potts; George Drissell; Paul Coughlin; Haydon Mustard; Nathan Sowter; Brydon Carse; Daniel Hogg; Michael Killeen; Luke Robinson; Stanley McAlindon ---------	16/25	Ben McKinney; Colin Ackermann, Callum Parkinson; James Minto	4/25
Essex	Nick Browne; Tom Westley; Robin Das; Jamal Richards; Mackenzie Jones; Adam Rossington; Sam Cook; Shane Snater; Charlie Bennett -------	9/17	Dean Elgar; Jordan Cox	2/17
Glamorgan	Billy Root; Tom Bevan; Callum Nicholls; Zain Ul-Hassan; Eddie Byrom; Asa Tribe; Sam Northeast; Alex Horton; Henry Hurle; Ben Morris; Will Smale;	11/21	Kiran Carlson; Ben Kellaway; Dan Douthwaite; James Harris; Chris Cooke; Jamie McIlroy; Ned Leonard; Andy Gorvin	8/21
Gloucestershire	--------- Joe Phillips; Miles Hammond; Tommy Boorman; Ahmed Syed; Tom Price; Luke Charlesworth; Josh Shaw; Tom SmithRET; Archie Bailey; Marchant de Lange; Ajeet Singh Dale; Dominic Goodman1; Zaman Akhter --------	13/23	Chris Dent; Jack Taylor, Graeme van Buuren; Ed Middleton; Ollie Price; Ben Charlesworth; David Payne; Matt Taylor; Aman Rao	9/23
Hampshire	Mark Stoneman; Joe Weatherley; Keith Barker; James Vince; Benny Howell; Chris Wood; Scott Currie; Ben Brown; Joseph Eckland; Brad Wheal	10/22	Felix Organ; Toby Albert; Fletcha Middleton; Nick Gubbins; Tom Prest; Jame Fuller; Dominic Kelly; Ali Orr; Eddie Jack; John Turner; Sonny Baker	11/22
Kent	-------- Zak Crawley; Joe Denly; Tawanda Muyeye; Daniel Bell-Drummond; Marcus O'Riordan; Grant Stewart; Joey Evison; Sam Billings; Harry Finch; George Garrett; Michael Cohen; Nathan Gilchrist; Fred Klaassen; Ekansh Singh; Matt Quinn; Jas Singh --------	16/23	Jaydn Denly; Jack Leaning; Corey Flintoff; Matt Parkinson	4/23
Lancashire	Harry Singh; Liam Livingstone; Tom Aspinwall; Rocky Flintoff; Phil Salt; Matthew Hurst; Jos Buttler; Will Williams; Jack Blatherwick; George Bell; Luke Wood; Saqib Mahmood; Ollie Sutton; Jimmy Anderson	14/24	Keshana Fonseka; Luke Wells; George Balderson; Josh Bohannon; Tom Hartley; Tom Bailey; Josh Boyden; Mitchell Stanley	8/24
Leicestershire	------- Louis Kimber; Tom Scriven; Sam Wood; Lewis Hill; Harry Swindells; Chris Wright; Matt Salisbury; Roman Walker --------	8/17	Sol Budinger; Rishi Patel; Ben Mike; Ian Holland; Liam Trevaskis; Ben Cox; Josh Hull	7/17
Middlesex	Max Holden; Joe Cracknell; Josh de Caires; Nathan Fernandes; Luke Hollman; Jack Davies; Toby Roland-Jones; Noah Cornwell	8/21	Aaryan Sawant; Sam Robson; Steve Eskinazi; Ryan Higgins; Henry Brookes; Zafar Gohar; Tom Helm; Blake Cullen; Naavya Sharma; Ishaan Kaushal ------	10/21
Northamptonshire	Rob Keogh; James Sales; Ravi Bopara; Ricardo Vasconcelos; Michael Finan; Freddie Heidreich	6/21	George Bartlett  Justin Broad; Arush Buchake; Aadi Sharma; Gus Miller; Luke Procter; David Willey; Tiaan Louw; George Scrimshaw; Dom Leech	10/21
Nottinghamshire	Haseeb Hameed; Ben Slater; Matthew Montgomery; Tom Moores; Joe Clarke; Dane Schadendorf; Sam King; Olly Stone;	9/27	Sam Seecharan; Jack Haynes; Steven Mullaney; Liam Patterson-White; Robert Lord; Travis Holland; Calvin Harrison; Dillon Pennington; Josh Tongue; James Hayes; Tom Giles; Brett Hutton -------	9/27
Somerset	Joe Heywood; Sean Dickson; Tom Kohler-Cadmore; Andrew Umeed; Tom Lammonby; Lewis Gregory; Josh Thomas; Ben Green; Josh Davey; Kasey Aldridge; Jake Ball; Shoaib Bashir	12/23	Tom Abell; Will Smeed; Craig Overton; Lewis Goldworthy; Archie Vaughan; Tom Banton; James Rew; Jack Leach; JT Langridge; Alfie Ogborne	11/23
Surrey	----- Dom Sibley; Laurie Evans; Rory Burns; Jason Roy; Ollie Pope; Jordan Clark; Ollie Sykes; Tommy Ealham; Will Jacks; Ryan Patel; Sam Curran; Tom Curran; Tom Lawes; Josh Blake; Matt Dunn; Reece Topley; Nathan Barnwell; James Taylor; Yousef Majid; Chris Jordan ---	22/30	Nikhil Gorantla; Dan Lawrence; Cameron Steel; Jamie Overton; Ben Foakes; Jamie Smith; Gus Atkinson; Dan Worrall	8/30
Sussex	Zach Lion-Cachet; Henry Rogers; John Simpson; Aristeles Karvelas; Bertie Foreman; Brad Currie; Nantes Oosthuizen	9/27	Tom Clark; Harrison Ward; Fynn Hudson-Prentice; Troy Henry; Danny Lamb; Charlie Tear; Tymal Mills; Henry Crocombe; Archie Lenham	9/27
Warwickshire	---- Vansh Jani; Hamza Shaikh; Moeen AliRET; Ed Barnard; Jacob Bethell; Chris Woakes; Craig Miles2; Oliver Hannon-Dalby; Danny Briggs3; Chris Rushworth; Che Simmons; Richard Gleeson; Jake Lintott	13/24	Zen Malik; Rob Yates; Theo Wylie; George Garton; Michael Booth; Taz Ali	6/24
Worcestershire	--- Tom Hinley; Rehaan Edavalath; Tommy Sturgess; Harry Darley; Jack Home; Hishaam Khan; Yadvinder Singh -----------	7/23	Rob Jones; Ed Pollock; Adam Finch	3/23
Yorkshire	Dawid Malan; James Wharton; Will Luxton; Adil Rashid; Jonathan Tattersall; Jordan Thompson; Finlay Bean; Jonny Bairstow; Jafer Chohan; Matt Milnes; Ben Cliff	11/22	Adam Lyth; Joe Root; Matt Revis; Dom Bess; Yash Vagardia; Harry Duke; Dan Moriarty

Weekend thoughts

Before I get into my weekend thoughts, a point of clarification on Mitch Wagstaff

I had it in my head that his contract was up at the end of this summer, when in fact his deal does not expire until the end of 2026. 

This, of course makes it all the more important that he's given the opportunity to show what he can do, starting with the Metro Bank One Day Cup.

For me, it poses the question why he didn't play last night and get some useful experience. It would have been more beneficial, I think, than Alex Thomson playing, someone we know all about. There is an opportunity for Mitch to become a decent county all rounder, perhaps making up a spin trio with Jack Morley and Joe Hawkins that has considerable potential. Or a bat of quality who can twirl a few overs when needed. 

Therein lies one of the contradictions that frustrates with Mickey Arthur. He talks about wasting time and not offering opportunity, then, when that opportunity presents itself, does nothing about it. 

He also told us recently that all of the players were better than they were last year. Really? The figures and performances do not suggest so in the T20 and we must hope that a return to red ball brings with it a return to form for those most badly needing it.

I am obviously not inside the dressing room, but I would think such things must be very frustrating. Likewise, the team selections that have often made no sense, rigid bowling orders that don't seem to consider match ups and batting orders that failed to suggest a steady hand on the tiller.

I know I am repeating myself, but why does Harry Came not play, then be seen as our number three in T20, despite only scoring at a run a ball? Same with Alex Thomson, who goes from not playing to opening the bowling. Or Pat Brown, who was picked but bowled only one over? Or Martin Andersson, who only ever bowls two overs, yet is the most economical seamer? And for good measure, never had an established place or role in the batting order. See also Ross Whiteley...

Nick Potts starts the first match, bowls one over and is never seen again. Yet that is one more over than Mitch Wagstaff enjoyed in the competition. I haven't even mentioned Brooke Guest, who has been so oddly omitted. There appears no logic to selection.

Mickey Arthur needs the restorative power of red ball cricket to save the season. He can do himself favours by giving opportunity in the Metro Bank One Day Cup, of course. I might be on my own, but if we saw promising performances from a few young players in that competition, I could handle defeats much better.

I'm not suggesting throwing in all of the academy players, but a nice balance would be good to see. How about this side? 

Jewell 

Wagstaff

Came

Basra

Guest 

Reece/Lloyd

Dal/Andersson 

Tickner

Aitchison

Haydon

Hawkins/Morley

Let's give Zak Chappell a breather for the four-day cricket and if they want to keep Luis Reece fit for it, David Lloyd could play. But that is a decent side which offers valuable experience to players who could be here long-term. It would ask a lot of Hawkins to play every match, but giving him even half of them would test his mettle.

Thoughts? 

Derbyshire v Birmingham Vitality Blast

Birmingham 233-5 (Latham 104, Davies 89, Aitchison 4-45)

Derbyshire 106 (Chappell 23, Lintott 3-27)

Birmingham won by 127 runs

Apologies for the late arrival of this blog. We were at our daughter's last night, albeit with one of my eyes on the cricket. We got back home too late to start writing about the events of the evening, so after the restorative qualities of a night's sleep, here we go...

It was embarrassing to watch. Like watching a rerun of the game at Edgbaston, but with body language much worse from the Derbyshire players. Tom Latham and Alex Davies scored pretty much at will and the home side were simply not at the races. 

Once again the shining light was Mohammad Ghazanfar with the ball, the only bowler who would be pleased with his figures. He has done well and let no one down, but I would expect he will be picked up by a more affluent county next year. Ben Aitchison took another four wickets, but the bowling has been an issue all summer in this competition and last night was no exception. 

The two-year 'experiment' with experience has failed in white ball cricket. In his post-match interview, Mickey Arthur seemed to allude to going in a different direction for next year and for the Metro Bank Cup. This is 100% the right thing to do. The biggest disappointment for me is that there was no cricket for younger players in this competition, even after qualification became less likely than Lord Lucan riding Shergar into the ground for the Leicestershire match. 

There has to be some serious discussion about next year and rather than giving final contracts to people after long and worthy careers, we need to be signing young men with reputations to build. A few summers ago, we had Ethan Brookes on trial from Warwickshire and presumably the opportunity to sign him. He is now starring for Worcestershire and there are plenty like him around the shires. 

Soon after Samit Patel signed for the club, two former professionals contacted me and told me not to expect many runs from him 'as the eyes have gone, and it is well known on the circuit'. One said that soon as he came in, the quick bowler would be brought back and the short balls would bring about his demise. So it transpired, too often for comfort. He had his moments in the sun for us and can reflect on a magnificent career, one in which he played for his country and travelled the world playing the game. Ten years from now he will still be able to bowl a line and length, but we need to have a more mobile, agile, youthful side that can grow together. Like it or not, time waits for no man.. 

Who stays to be a part of this is a moot point. It largely depends on who is available and is an improvement on existing personnel. I will stand by my assertion earlier in the week that our greater need is two bowlers from overseas in this competition, because that is where we have lost matches. The bowling has simply not been good enough and the scores made against us this summer confirm that.

It isn't an exact science. Nottinghamshire supporters were probably very pleased when they picked up Daniel Sams, but he has conceded over ten an over and contributed only brief cameos with the bat. Hampshire signed two bright young things from South Africa, Pretorius and Brevis, but without real return. 

There also needs to be greater clarity in team selection and batting order. We didn't get it right this year and although I am sure considerable thought went into the competition, it really didn't seem like that at times.

I like Harry Came as a cricketer, but I am not yet convinced this is his format. Why did Mitch Wagstaff not play last night, when Pat Brown did but was only given one over? I could go on, but it is at risk of being akin to a broken record.

For me the next T20 skipper should be Nye Donald and we should introduce the likes of Amrit Basra and Rory Haydon in the Metro Bank Cup. Mitch Wagstaff too, who may yet make it at this level, but we will never know, if he isn't given opportunity. 

It is all well and good Mickey Arthur espousing giving youth an opportunity in a post-match interview, but a few weeks ago he said that young players would get that when we could no longer qualify in the T20. It didn't happen and for me was an opportunity missed. 

Back to red ball and the huge game against Leicestershire on Tuesday. But this has to be bubbling away in the background, because the 2025 Vitality Blast competition was a huge disappointment. 

The talent is there - the wins we had saw some good cricket played - but the defeats showed that a massive rethink is required and a change of personnel has to be a part of that.

Postscript: I was on North Derbyshire radio again last night, talking about recent matches, wins and losses.

You can listen to it here 

I am on at 39.50 in the excellent hour-long sports show.

Patel to leave after tonight's game

It has been announced that Samit Patel will leave Derbyshire at the end of tonight's match against Birmingham Bears. He will not play any part in the 50 over competition.

It is not a surprise and in my opinion it is the correct decision. 

He has shown glimpses of the outstanding player that he has been in his time at Derbyshire, but it has not been sustained and I never felt there was any possibility of him being retained at the end of the season. 

There will be more on this in the days ahead, as I write a concluding piece on the Vitality Blast.

But for Derbyshire, it allows them to refocus and also to use his salary in other ways, to improve the squad.

Like all of you, I would like to thank him for his efforts in Derbyshire colours.

Derbyshire v Birmingham Bears Vitality Blast

It is the last T20 match of a disappointing competition tomorrow night. It is also an opportunity for Derbyshire to win a match at Derby, which they haven't done in this format in 2025. 

I'll be honest, when we signed Mohammad Ghazanfar to go with Samit Patel, I thought we would play to our obvious strengths and use more worn pitches. We haven't and it has probably been to the detriment of results.

I had an interesting email from Robert today, who said that Derbyshire have not replaced Mattie McKiernan or Alex Hughes in this format and he is right. While Mattie will be remembered for being hammered around Taunton by Rilee Rossouw and around Derby by Mitchell Santner, he was a canny bowler who only went for 8.1 an over during his career in T20 while contributing useful runs and fielding brilliantly. Alex did the same and only went for 8.4... we would have taken that from a fifth bowler this summer. 

I think Martin Andersson could fill that role in the future, if he has a skipper with greater faith in him. For me, that should be Nye Donald next year. 

There is no suggestion that Derbyshire will offer opportunity to younger players, as Mickey Arthur suggested, so I suspect we will go with the side that played at Headingley last weekend, against Birmingham Bears tomorrow.

So that will be: 

Jewell, Donald, Came, Madsen, Whiteley, Andersson, Patel, Chappell, Aitchison, Ghazanfar, Brown 

Thomson, Morley, Wagstaff, Guest also in squad 

Birmingham will need to win this game, because if they don't and Leicestershire beat Yorkshire, they may not qualify for the knockout stage. 

Their squad: 

Davies, Hassan Ali, Barnard, Bethell, Briggs, Garton, Gleeesob, Hain, Latham, Lintott, Miles, Mosley, Smith, Yates

After the hammering at Edgbaston, it is hard to see a Derbyshire win here, but it would be good if, at the end of a disappointing tournament for us, we at least produced a performance to make the loyal home support proud.

What do you think?

Yorkshire v Derbyshire Vitality Blast

Yorkshire 151-9 (Bess 53, Aitchison 5-29, Ghazanfar 2-5)

Derbyshire 157-2 (Donald 54, Madsen 51*, Jewell 41*)

Derbyshire won by 8 wickets

I have to admit to fearing the worst today, when Samit Patel opted to bowl on a pitch already used for a women's match, against a team fielding three spinners and on a pitch offering gentle turn.

Yet it was a case of our spinner being better than their three, as Mohammad Ghazanfar returned the most economical T20 spell by a Derbyshire bowler, with figures of 4-2-5-2. None of the Yorkshire batters had a clue what he was doing with the ball and it was mesmerising to watch. 

Yet he was (almost?) overshadowed by Ben Aitchison, who returned the second best T20 figures by a Derbyshire bowler, in taking 5-29 (stats from David Griffin). Dom Bess made a battling fifty, but no one else suggested permanence, even though not all of the possible catches were held. Special mention should go to Caleb Jewell, who held a flying one at gulley, ensuring that both the heroes of the Yorkshire win at Old Trafford on Friday, Bairstow and Wharton, were back in the pavilion early. 

Ghazanfar will very quickly become an extremely wealthy young man, on the basis of his stint with the county. I think he has got better as the tournament has progressed and although he will get worked out, at some point, his fast arm action suggests that might be some distant time in the future.

As for Aitchison, he showed the benefits of putting the ball in the right place, which is what he does most of the time. He will get better at this format the more that he plays it, but he showed once again how much this team has missed him in his two years of injury.

It might still have been a tricky chase, but once again Nye Donald led off with a half century, his sixth of the summer in this competition. If he can carry this form into the 'other' competition, he has a shop window to make himself in demand anywhere in the world. Few people are given the gift of timing that he has and in current form he is a magnificent spectacle. 

Caleb Jewell lent sensible, professional support at the other end and when Donald and Came went in quick succession, he was happy to take a backseat to a Wayne Madsen masterclass. Circumspect at first, Wayne took Yorkshire apart at the end as the boundaries flowed from his bat to all corners of the ground. He remains a special cricketer.

I didn't listen to much of the commentary, but when the equation had reached something akin to 20 from 30 balls and Wayne was in full flight, the commentator said 'If Yorkshire aren't careful, this game will be running away from them..' Inadvertent comedy gold..

A double completed over our old rivals. While a win at Chesterfield is an annual event, to do so at Headingley is especially gratifying.

In closing, one observation on the stream. Do they really need to pan across the crowd after almost every ball? There's only so many times that it is of even moderate interest, although it was good to see the Derbyshire players signing autographs for the youngsters as the game went on.

One more to go.

Sunday thoughts

With the Vitality Blast almost behind us (who shouted 'Thank Goodness'?) it is time to turn our thoughts back to 4 day cricket and that good old staple of the cricket calendar, 50-over matches.

My concern with the arrangement of the summer as it is? It would be very easy to play yourself out of form, when you are often asked to go in and slog for a few overs, or don't play at all. 

The top six in Derbyshire's red ball averages highlights this. Madsen and Jewell have continued to bat and with some effectiveness, Andersson has been up and down the order but often had to slog, while Came and Guest have been bit parts. As for Luis Reece, he hasn't played, bar for a brief second team foray, since 26 May. For that matter, nor have David Lloyd and Luis Reece, so the return of red ball cricket, for much of the side, will be like the start of the season. 

We can only hope they will be invigorated by the hiatus in their summers and can resume where they left off.

One player who will be keeping his fingers crossed for greater opportunity is Mitch Wagstaff. 

I had high hopes of him this summer, because there is undoubtedly a player in there. Only a couple of summers back he played an excellent innings against Glamorgan and compiled a very classy half century at Scarborough in an environment that is fairly hostile. He also took wickets and held a catch that was quite remarkable. 

Last summer, he got one game, on the Chesterfield green top that would have tested the technique and temperament of someone far more experienced than he. This year, it has been a case of 'Have a game, Mitch. Chesterfield again. By the way, you are up against Jimmy Anderson. No pressure...'

I mention Mitch for two reasons. He scored 41 and took 6-37 for Alvaston and Boulton yesterday and, at 21, his contract is up at the end of the summer.

I looked back at the early career of another leg spinning opening bat, who at the end of his third summer with the county had played eighty first class innings and was averaging only 22. That is an identical average to Mitch, who has had only eleven first class innings. Thankfully, Kim Barnett, for it was he, had a perceptive coach in Phil Russell, who saw something in him. That turned out to be the best bat in the history of our club. 

Then there's Ben Slater. After two summers and 22 first-class innings he was only averaging 17 with the bat. Greater opportunity produced dividends and while Nottinghamshire have been beneficiaries of his greatest days, he might not have kicked on without opportunity. 

Whatever happens for the rest of this season, I hope that Mickey Arthur shows patience and the level of perception of his predecessors. I fully understand that with a top two position at stake it might be a gamble for Mitch to play red ball cricket this summer, but he should be told that he will play in every white ball fixture to the end of the summer. Take the pressure off, let him open the batting and see what he can do. 

For what it is worth, David Lloyd, who has been opening all summer, only averages 26 himself, so there's not a great deal between them, apart from Mitch being the younger by twelve years...

My fear is that the Head of Cricket's desire to win something while he is at the club could result in short-termism, more experienced players being brought in to theoretically win matches. It hasn't worked so far with Lloyd, Samit Patel and Ross Whiteley, but has with younger players like Jack Morley and Martin Andersson. Read into that as you will.

I think the Derbyshire support would be more understanding of defeats if there was a clear and obvious promotion of our own young talent. There would be big interest in a side including a selection from Joe Hawkins, Wagstaff, Yusaf bin Naeem, Rory Hayden and Amrit Basra.

If, in losing, we discovered two or three gems from that group, I'm all for it...

And with Nye Donald, Wayne Madsen, Pat Brown and Harry Moore all missing, there are vacancies to fill.

Postscript - subsequent check confirmed Wagstaff has a deal to the end of 2026