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

T20 thoughts

When Derbyshire supporters look back on the 2025 Vitality Blast competition, they will not be doing so through rose-tinted spectacles.

There was the win over Yorkshire at Chesterfield, but that has become an annual event now. Nye Donald's thirteen-ball fifty and other cameos, a good weekend when they beat Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge and Leicestershire at Edgbaston and then what?

Seeing a potential international star like Mohammad Ghazanfar has been enjoyable, but it has been a very disappointing tournament overall. 

It isn't too difficult to see the reasons why. While our spinners have conceded eight or nine runs an over, the seamers have gone for ten and eleven. Take that over an innings and the target is going to be 180-190 every time, which has been a struggle for a stuttering batting line up.

A major issue has been team selection. There has been no suggestion that we went into the tournament with any idea of our best side, certainly not our best batting lineup. 

Thursday night was an example of this. Harry Came was back in the side after playing (but not batting) against Yorkshire, then tasked with batting at three, after not previously playing in the tournament. Meanwhile, Brooke Guest scored a lightning-fast ton the day before but didn't play, and the indecision over whether the second best bat in the club - and top wicket keeper -  should be in the first choice T20 side has been damaging and faintly embarrassing.

I cannot understand any logic that sees a club sign a mystery spinner, then drop the first choice keeper, when his batting record compares to most, especially when used in the right way. Talk about self-inflicted wounds...

Then there's Samit. I don't think his signing has worked and his reluctance to bowl in the Powerplay has not helped the side, only his figures. He appears to bat where HE wants, without any steer from above and his captaincy has been, at best, average. The bowling order seems preordained, with no consideration of match ups, the under-use of Andersson has been baffling and the batting orders, openers aside, seem to be the result of a lucky dip.

Caleb Jewell has disappointed in this format and while they may consider retaining him for the red ball game next year, perhaps our greater need is two overseas bowlers, at least one of who can handle a bat. Maybe, as one correspondent noted the other night, Blair Tickner - currently in the Caribbean with the Central Stags team - might have been a better option, if we were picking two from our three overseas. 

Look at Worcestershire. Ben Dwarshuis averages 8.5 an over for them AND averages 53 with the bat. Down at Somerset, Matt Henry and Riley Meredith have 40 wickets between them, going at just seven and eight runs an over each. Correct overseas recruitment is key to success in this format, as Durham are showing in the North Group. Jimmy Neesham has had a fine all round tournament (30 with the bat, eight an over with the ball) while Zak Foulkes has bowled his overs at just seven.

I will broadly exempt Ross Whiteley from criticism as he has done as well as anyone, but again has been oddly under-utilised. Our top four should have been Jewell, Donald, Madsen, Whiteley. If they fail, so be it, but at least give your proven best players in the format the maximum time to have an impact. Ross has averaged over 40, but has usually been down at six or seven, by which point he has too often had to play catch up. Surely you want your 'impact' players to have an.. impact?

That would still have left Guest to steady the ship, with Andersson, Chappell and maybe even Ghazanfar. The latter looked like he could hit a long ball, but has only batted four times. 

Maybe the biggest issue has been the form of Pat Brown. He has previously been a potent weapon in the Powerplays, but this year has too often missed his length and has come in for some stick. It is so very hard to bowl at these times, but a hard-earned reputation is maybe even harder to maintain. Perhaps using him as a shock 4-day bowler has messed him up his variations, but next year needs to be so much better

I have said before that the challenge of competing in all formats is difficult. The even greater one, perhaps, is when the squad has so obviously been recruited for a format in which it subsequently falls down badly. 

It will need a rethink, a recalibration, a new focus on recruitment for 2026. There isn't a lot of leeway in the budget, yet there is no doubt that additional skill sets - including an improved  mental one - are required to turn 'nearly men' into genuine challengers.

This could come from overseas, other counties or the talent emerging from the excellent Pathway, in time. 

Maybe there should be consideration of tapping into the talents of a data analyst, such as Dan Weston. Such a person could help drive recruitment. Recently he wrote about Derbyshire:

When I watched their match against Birmingham, it was clear that Derbyshire were another one of those teams who needed pace bowler reinforcement. Yes, they had Zak Chappell out, but they still looked short in that department, regardless.

I have more sympathy for Derbyshire because this is where counties have their hands tied a bit by needing players to play multiple formats. Don’t get me wrong, I think Caleb Jewell was a good signing, he is a very good player and continues to do well for Derbyshire, but is the difference between him and Harry Came bigger than the gap between an overseas pacer and their lowest-level domestic pacer? I’m not sure it is.

He also referred to a group of young players around the country with little opportunity to play T20 but a high ceiling of potential and talent. 

Rob Yates, Ali Orr, Freddie McCann, George Thomas, Joe Cracknell, Josh Blake, Josh de Caires, Dom Kelly, Sam Wood, Farhan Ahmed, Taz Ali.

There are so many other options too - James Minto, Eddie Jack, Archie Lenham, Blake Cullen, Jack Morley and Hamza Shaikh among them

Food for thought, when our selection seems to have been very much driven by short termism.

Speaking of which...what happened to Mickey Arthur's comment about giving opportunity to those who will have a part to play long term, once we were out of contention in the T20?

If recent selections are indicative of such a policy, I am supporting the wrong county..

Postscript - for what it is worth, I would make Nye Donald white ball skipper. He is an intelligent lad who knows his cricket. It might be the making of him and perhaps give a greater appreciation of the need to go on, when he's made fantastic starts.

If he did that, he would be one of the most sought after white ball players in the world. 

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire Vitality Blast

Northamptonshire 237-4 (Breetzke 93, Willey 53, Zaib 53, Aitchison 2-57)

Derbyshire 224-6 (Donald 71, Jewell 39, Came 35*, Pope 2-39)

Northamptonshire won by 13 runs

It was an extraordinary game at Northampton tonight, but one which again saw Derbyshire on the wrong end of the result. 

There was plenty of hitting from both sides. I have to admit, my preference will always be a game where there is a more even contest between bat and ball. It really wasn't tonight, but most of the people watching will have enjoyed the spectacle. 

The least said about the Derbyshire bowling figures the better. Only Ghazanfar will be happy to see them in the newspaper tomorrow, but the major part of the batting carnage was inflicted by Matt Breetzke, who hit 93 from 45 deliveries. He was badly dropped by Ghazanfar off his own bowling and while the youngster is a huge talent with the ball, his fielding is barely passable club standard. He has put a few down this summer and I don't recall him holding one. 

Willey and Zaib both hit 53, the latter off only 20 deliveries as the fielding wilted and the bowling came close to waving the white flag on a pitch that was something of a road.

237-4 left Derbyshire another batting mountain to climb. Yet Donald and Jewell led off with 112, before the latter was given out lbw in the eighth over. It looked a questionable call, but the loss of Donald to what would otherwise have been a wide changed the game. 71 from 22 deliveries tonight in another astonishing display, before he bottom edged to the keeper with what must have been a broom handle.

Thereafter the runs kept coming but always just below the required rate. Madsen, Came and Patel hit well, but the experienced bowling trio of Sanderson, Willey and Procter bowled better than their Derbyshire counterparts and the home side ran out winners by 13 runs.

Derbyshire v Worcestershire Vitality Blast

Worcestershire 174-6 (Roderick 71, Brookes 43, Dwarshuis 33*, Chappell 3-26)

Derbyshire 162-6 (Madsen 77*)

Worcestershire won by 12 runs

If you needed the reason for Derbyshire's disappointing Blast campaign encapsulated, it happened tonight.

It isn't easy to lose a game when you had the opposition 10-4 in the third over, but Worcestershire recovered well through the excellent Gareth Roderick and Ethan Brookes, while late impetus from Ben Dwarshuis took the visitors to what earlier had appeared an unlikely 174-6.

They were aided by some average bowling, with Pat Brown off colour tonight, especially in his final spell. Ghazanfar again bowled tidily, while Zak Chappell was back to his best, but much as Ravi Bopara did at the start of the tournament here, Roderick assessed the situation, worked out the pitch, utilised the short, straight boundaries and steered his team to a total that was always going to be challenging. Especially when Derbyshire are so brittle with the bat.

It was always likely that Nye Donald would follow his 13-ball fifty at Chesterfield with a low score here, but strangled down the leg side first ball was an extreme script. When Harry Came chopped on after an extra cover six and Caleb Jewell got into a tangle after two sixes, things were not looking good. 

Neither Patel nor Whiteley suggested permanence and I could have copied and pasted 'Patel was caught pulling' a few times this summer. 

A partnership of 38 between Andersson and Madsen kept Derbyshire in the game, but I never felt we were in the box seat against excellent bowling, especially at the death by Ben Dwarshuis and Khurram Shahzad. 

Madsen was yet again - more copy and paste material - excellent, but he had little in the way of support tonight, no one else reaching 20.

A night that promised much ended like a damp squib.

Rather like our mathematical interest in the competition. 

Although that had long gone for yours truly.

Vitality Blast Preview - Worcestershire and Northamptonshire

Mickey Arthur has named a 14-man squad for the games over the next two nights against Worcestershire and Northamptonshire. 

The weather tomorrow looks to be scorchio, so no doubt the Sky cameras will enjoy a bit of Derbados. 

I suspect that the Head of Cricket will not attempt to fix anything that isn't broken, after the excellent win over Yorkshire at Chesterfield. So my prediction is the following (same) side:

Jewell, Donald, Madsen, Patel, Whiteley, Andersson, Came, Chappell, Thomson, Ghazanfar, Brown (Aitchison, Guest, Wagstaff in the squad)

Guest's century in 33 balls today may cause a second thought, but I think they like splitting the fifth bowler between Andersson and AN Other, even though I think the former could handle all four overs. 

Worcestershire are only four points better off than Derbyshire and haven't yet announced their squad. Last time out they fielded this side as they eased past Northamptonshire:

Mohammad, D'Oliveira, Roderick, Kashif, Brookes, Cullen, Dwarshuis, Taylor, Singh, Finch, Shahzad

I think by now we all know that Derbyshire are capable of beating most teams, on their day. It is just a case of whether they turn up as an eleven.

As for Northamptonshire on Friday, away from home, they fielded the following side last time out: 

Robinson, Vasconcelos, Broad, Willey, Bopara, Zaib, McManus, Bartlett, Sanderson, Pope, Scrimshaw

For those who didn't see it, Tim Robinson, a New Zealander, has replaced Matt Breetzke for two championship and four Blast matches, before the South African returns for the end of the Blast.

They should be two good games. 

Derbyshire are capable of moving up the table with good performances in both.

We will see what happens and I will report back after both games 

Seconds lose at Repton

The second team lost their shoot out with Nottinghamshire at Repton today and just missed out on qualification for the T20 semi finals.

Batting first, Nottinghamshire amassed 249-8 in their 20 overs. Sammy King made 123 from 52 balls and Dane Schadendorf 70 from just 25 deliveries, against a young Derbyshire attack in which Rory Haydon took 2-48 and Jack Morley was the only bowler of experience.

In reply, Brooke Guest reached 50 in just 15 deliveries and went on to a remarkable century in just 33 balls, with 10 sixes and 7 fours. He was helped in a partnership of 152 in just ten overs by Pathway bat Harrison Parker (42) and at 164-1 after just 10.4 overs Derbyshire had a chance of a remarkable win. 

The dismissal of Guest triggered a collapse against a more experienced attack that included Olly Stone, Connor McKerr, James Hayes and Freddie McCann. Thereafter only Rohan Vallabhaneni, with 28, was able to mount a challenge and the home side was all out for 216, losing by 33 runs.

I suppose the game highlights the difference between a more affluent county and ourselves. Technically the Nottinghamshire players are largely second teamers, but they are considerably more experienced than the Derbyshire one, which had only Mitch Wagstaff and Yusaf bin Naeem with any first team experience, aside from Guest and Morley.

Mind you, after our winning the competition a few seasons back with Leus du Plooy as captain, I don't think we can take the moral high ground.. 

Scorecard and video clips can be seen here

Another win for Second XI

There was another excellent T20 win for the second team today. 

Playing Leicestershire at Repton, skipper Brooke Guest won the toss and asked the visitors to bat. They were then restricted to 163-5, with Lewis Hill making 67. Rory Haydon took 2-24 and Jack Morley 2-28, with the fifth wicket going to Pathway bowler, Matt Stewart.

In reply, Derbyshire coasted home and won by nine wickets and with more than five overs to spare. Luis Reece, happily returned to the side, led off with 33 from 16 balls, before Harry Came (73*) and Mitch Wagstaff (54*) hit six sixes between them, against an attack featuring Salisbury, Walker and Wood. 

Scorecard and video clips can be seen here

Derbyshire v Yorkshire Vitality Blast

Yorkshire 200-6 (Thompson 37*, Wharton 33, Bairstow 29, Ghazanfar 2-21, Brown 2-37)

Derbyshire 201-3 (Donald 85, Madsen 38*, Jewell 31, Whiteley 29* Sutherland 1-16)

Derbyshire won by 7 wickets 

The problem with watching Derbyshire in this competition has been their inability to produce a complete bowling or batting performance. To produce both has been problematic all summer.

Today we started well, but haemorrhaged runs towards the end, as Jordan Thompson, who moves to Warwickshire next summer, opened his shoulders.

Everyone got going for Yorkshire and 12 sixes were hit in their twenty overs, but Thompson's eleven-ball salvo for 37 unbeaten runs was the highest of the innings. Three perished to boundary catches by Harry Came, restored to the side in place of Brooke Guest, with Nye Donald keeping wicket. Will Sutherland did too, courtesy of a blinder by Ross Whiteley, who has held his share of those throughout his career. 

Regardless of it being a small ground, 200 takes some chasing in twenty overs.  Or could have, had it not been for another of those Nye Donald innings. 

Nye can thrill and frustrate with equal alacrity, but today he hit an astonishing 85 from just 30 balls, with 8 sixes and 7 fours. Everything found the middle of his bat, until he top-edged Chohan and was caught at mid wicket. His 13-ball fifty was the joint fastest In the history of T20 in this country (shared with Marcus Trescothick) and the only disappointment was that he could have claimed the fastest century in the club's history. Yet one cannot be churlish after witnessing such an astonishing display of hitting. 

Jewell lent good support in an opening stand of 115 in less than nine overs, without timing the ball quite so well, with the exception of one huge six over long leg. They scored 90 in the Powerplay, which sets an impressive benchmark.

It was an indication of how well Donald batted that for once Wayne Madsen was but a sideshow to the main event. Yet he played calmly and professionally to steer his side home, in the company of Whiteley, at last elevated in the order to play himself in and influence the game properly. They took Derbyshire to a fully deserved win with sixteen balls to spare, only the second time that the county has chased 200 to win a game in this format. 

For the visitors, Thompson followed his batting with a decent bowling effort and Will Sutherland bowled well for them, but the rest went around the park and the fielding disintegrated in the face of the onslaught.

They must be getting to the point that they give Derbyshire the points for this fixture. That's eight successive wins here and it just seems that the large, partisan crowd and small, intimate environment brings out the best of the Derbyshire side. Perhaps we should play more T20 matches here and play to our strengths..

It doesn't, of course, take away from the fact that we have only turned up three times in the competition. It is hard to believe that the side that beat Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire so convincingly, then played as they did today, has failed to win another game.

The ability is clearly there. Somehow, with changes in personnel, they have to find the way to produce the goods more consistently next year. It is no coincidence that the sides we have beaten are broadly similar in standard, yet we disintegrate when faced with supposed better opposition. It would help immensely if we only played Lancashire and Birmingham once each..

But today, regardless of earlier shortcomings, they hammered Yorkshire in a display that will live long in the memory.

Most of the crowd will have been very happy, as they made their way home, at the end of another successful Chesterfield Festival. 

As long as they didn't have white roses on their hats...

Book Review: The Cricket Captains of England 1877-1979 by Alan Gibson

Alan Gibson was a well-known radio broadcaster, who for many years commentated on Test Match Special. For almost 20 years he wrote on county cricket for The Times and here was where his strength lay.

He was a magnificent wordsmith, perhaps second only to Cardus in that regard, the prose flowing from his pen like liquid gold. There are similarities in style and in this book he quotes stories and opinions of his predecessor on a regular basis, especially regarding players he cannot have seen himself.

This is both a a strength and weakness. Time has taught us that for all of his literary talents - and they are considerable - Cardus embellished or made up stories to suit his needs. Thus the many stories of Emmott Robinson, the craggy old Yorkshire all-rounder, were largely disproved when the cricketer admitted he had never met him.

Yet this does not detract from a volume where the author analyses and critiques the lives and careers of men who captained England, between 1877 and 1979, when this book was first published. These pen pictures are delightfully written in a conversational style that one could imagine replicated if sat with the author in the pub. The earlier part is the strongest, perhaps because the characters were more worthy of investigation, but the book is a joyous read.

This reprint, with valuable notes and updates to the rear, is effectively a companion volume to the updated version by Vic Marks, which I shall soon review and covers the period from 1979 to 2025. Along with sixteen freshly chosen pages of photographs, there is also a valuable statistical section, which confirms the varying levels of ability of those tasked with leading the nation's cricket eleven onto the field. 

Some did it only once or twice, others for longer periods. There certainly seems to have been a  considerable difference between the abilities of Ray Illingworth, Mike Brearley, Douglas Jardine and others. Bob Wyatt was told by Derbyshire's Tommy Mitchell that 'he couldn't captain a box of lead soldiers' and never played for England again. Others appear to have been in the right place at the right time, or born in the correct circumstances...

Flitting through the pages are a Hollywood star, a future bishop and a man who, according to legend, was once offered the throne of Albania. CB Fry seems to have been an extraordinary, if eccentric man and he, with many others, comes to life within the pages of this book. 

My next read is the update from Vic Marks, which I am hopeful will be up to the same standard as this book. 

Because this is simply a joy from the first page to last.

The Cricket Captains of England 1877 - 1979 is written by Alan Gibson and published by Fairfield Books

Lancashire v Derbyshire Vitality Blast

Lancashire 178 -6 (Salt 44, Livingstone 35, Chappell 3-23)

Derbyshire  136-6 (Madsen 53, Chappell 34*, Wood 3-25, Green 2-16) 

Lancashire won by 42 runs

Derbyshire slipped to the expected defeat at Old Trafford today, losing to Lancashire by 42 runs.

I thought they bowled and fielded pretty well in this game. Had this standard been attained in earlier matches, I have no doubt that our position in the table would be more favourable than it currently is. 

Pat Brown and Zak Chappell were almost back to their T20 best, Patel was canny and removed Buttler with his first ball, Ghazanfar needed watched and Martin Andersson was again under-utilised. Having watched him this summer, I feel he could do a similar job for us in the future to that done by Steven Mullaney and Dan Christian for Nottinghamshire in the past. Why he hasn't bowled more this summer is one of those mysteries, as he has rarely been collared.

Only Ben Aitchison was off his best, but he probably wasn't lined up to play too much in this format and likely needs to hone his skills over the winter.

In the field, Ross Whiteley was excellent, as was Pat Brown. Lancashire were never allowed to get away and the eventual target was certainly within range, if we batted well. Yet when big-hitting international players struggled for timing, I feared the worst.

And we didn't bat well. Caleb Jewell drove, leaden-footed, at Luke Wood and edged to slip, while Andersson got a yorker that was nigh-unplayable, first ball. Two down after two balls and Donald was almost run out in identical fashion to this week's second team game, backing up too far. It was hard to get away from the fact that Wood and Mahmood, international bowlers both, were too good for our top order. The feeling was reinforced when Donald played an unnecessary shot at Wood, just as he and Madsen were getting the innings back on track, and lobbed a simple catch to short fine leg.

Guest and Madsen got the innings back on track but Brooke struggled with his timing and it was no surprise when he holed out to long on. Patel didn't last long either and after a good fifty, Madsen was caught at cover, which was pretty much the end, bar for some sparky strokes from Chappell.

It was reminiscent of the defeat at Birmingham and again I ask why we opted to bat second, on a ground where the pitches often start slow and get slower. Also why, in a competition when so few batters have shown form, Ross Whiteley is kept back until we need 94 from six overs.

All very puzzling.

And hugely disappointing, like most of this tournament has been.

Mailbag question

Another question to come in my mail bag this week was who I would potentially target to strengthen the squad next season. 

It is very difficult to answer such a question, without knowing the available budget and the salary demands of particular players.

But someone who is out of contract and who I think would flourish, given greater opportunity, is Matt Montgomery at Nottinghamshire.

He has only had one first class innings this season and made 75, while in T20 he has found himself coming in at number eight, far too low for a player of his ability. 

Lest we forget, he captained South Africa under-19s and although he seems to have been around for a long time, is still only 25.

It is hard to see how he gets more cricket at Trent Bridge, but I think he would prove a good asset to Derbyshire, an all-format player who bowls useful off spin in T20. Averages of 32 in red and 42 in white ball cricket can go upwards and I think he would be the sort of player to bolster the middle order, batting five in all formats and *maybe* replace Wayne Madsen at four in due course.

I would sooner sign someone like Montgomery, who I think has a high ceiling, than an older player who has gone as far as he can.

I think staying at Nottinghamshire would show a lack of ambition, because he has to be playing regular first team cricket at this stage of his career. 

Were I his agent, that is what I would be telling him, anyway. 

The Second Golden Age of cricket

I was asked recently if I thought that the standard of county cricket today was the best that I had seen.

My answer is an unequivocal no. 

I firmly believe that from 1970 to the mid-1990's I was fortunate to see the new Golden Age of county cricket. Whatever the merits of the original, I find it hard to believe it could have been better than I saw in the formative years of my life and cricket watching. 

Quite simply, the greatest players in the world could be seen all summer long in England. The best batsmen, as we called them then, the best bowlers and effectively some of the greatest players the game has ever seen. 

You knew that every time you went to a match you were going to see world-class cricketers. Most sides had a couple from elsewhere in the world (not Yorkshire, of course..) and the standard was so high. 

I recall sitting down in front of the TV on Sunday afternoons, if Derbyshire were playing away from home. Just before 2pm the Sunday League coverage would start on BBC 2 and as soon as the teams came up, I would think quickly who was going to be involved that afternoon. 

Gloucestershire v Hampshire? So Mike Procter and Zaheer Abbas against Barry Richards and Gordon Greenidge. Yes please, that's even before you consider other fine players on display. If it was Essex I would marvel at the athleticism and all-round ability of Keith Boyce, or it might be Glamorgan, with the languid stroke play of Majid Khan and the pyrotechnics of Roy Fredericks. Sussex? Only Imran Khan and Garth Le Roux, serious pace from both ends. Or maybe Warwickshire? Rohan Kanhai and Alvin Kallicharran..Dad and I were as happy as pigs in the proverbial..

How could a young man, getting interested in a sport, fail to be excited at such opportunity? When Derbyshire signed Eddie Barlow (about five years after my Dad told me they should, during the England v Rest of the World series in 1970) I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  Derbyshire against Nottinghamshire was not just a local derby, it was Barlow v Sobers, or later Wright and Kirsten v Hadlee and Rice.  

As a bespectacled youngster, I wanted to be Eddie Barlow, modelled my run up on his and mopped my brow with my forearm as he did. When I read Gerald Mortimer saying that 'he fixed opponents with a Basilisk stare' I even cultivated that same look, though mine may have been confused with myopia...

How can anything compare to that? Nor were these stars here for 2 or 3 weeks then gone. Injuries permitting, they were contracted for the full season. It was literally, for a young boy, like being in the company of deities for a few hours. 

Standards were very high. I accept that today the fielding standards are generally better, but I still haven't seen a better cover point than Clive Lloyd and Phil Sharpe caught swallows at slip. The best wicket keeper in the world played for Derbyshire and we had three England players! There was no great financial disparity between counties, as there is today and you played all of the others, every season. 

I appreciate that new strokes like the ramp and reverse sweep have changed the game - they certainly weren't in the MCC coaching manual then - but in those pre-helmet days you wouldn't have tried them against Sylvester Clarke, Wayne Daniel and the many seriously quick bowlers that kept on coming. Nor was there the protective equipment, so there would be sleepless nights before facing those pace merchants.

Not always on a main ground, like today, either. Facing some of these fellas on a less well prepared out ground might have made a check of life insurance and critical illness policies de rigeur, while there were also wily spinners like Lance Gibbs, Intikhab Alam and our own Venkat to enjoy. 

Those pitches were levellers. In 1977, Derbyshire played most of their matches at Ilkeston and Chesterfield and Middlesex didn't like it too much when they racked up at Ilkeston from the home comfort of Lord's, with seven international players in the side. No central contracts, then..

54 all out they were, to Tunnicliffe and Hendrick, itself a recovery from 21-7, before Alan Hill made 70 to beat them on his own and we won by an innings and 177 runs in two days. Proper cricket, none of these anodyne pitches and Kookaburra balls. They don't like it up 'em, Captain Mainwaring...

There were less sixes, but bats had edges, not sides like today and boundaries were not brought in to encourage them. A six was a special event in a day, the cherry on the icing of the cake in which that icing was impeccable timing, balance and footwork. Much as I enjoy some of it still, nothing in the past five years has compared to watching Barry and Viv Richards in their pomp, nor watching Andy Roberts and Mike Procter hurl down thunderbolts. From the boundary we wondered how the batsmen saw it. From 22 yards away they likely thought the same thing...

Watching Michael Holding in his pomp was the eighth wonder of the world. 'Whispering Death', playing for DERBYSHIRE. Later Ian Bishop too, pace unlike anything I had seen before and certainly haven't since. It was magnificent, gladiatorial, a spectacle non pareil. Yet we also enjoyed Chris Wilkins and Adrian Kuiper. Goodness knows how far they would have hit it with a modern bat, when Wilkins dropped it in the boating lake at Chesterfield a time or two.

Barnett, Bowler, Adams, Morris - a snapshot in time, but what a quartet to lead your batting and how they entertained. It showed how strong the county game was that we didn't win more trophies, with such players in the county eleven.

Uncovered pitches gave a fairer balance between bat and ball, while 100-over limitations on first innings pushed the three-day games on to a likely conclusion and the thrill of a last afternoon declaration and run chase. 

Before anyone says 'but they score quicker today', they don't. Eddie Barlow, at Ilkeston against Surrey's international attack of Jackman, Arnold, Pocock and Intikhab, scored 138 between lunch and tea, en route to a most sublime double century. Peter Kirsten, with 18 overs of the 100 (a better hundred than the current one) overs to go, went from an unbeaten 105 to 213 against Glamorgan. Alan Hill, normally a dour opening bat in the finest county tradition, scored our first Sunday League century and what an innings it was.

Without the regular, high level international input and the top domestic players on display, today's county offer has to be of a lesser standard. Enjoyable, yes, but not comparable.

Finally, you also need to factor into the equation that they often had to do this and provide such fine spectacle when they were shattered. Fixture organisation made no sense and both play and travel were constant. It was a miracle that car accidents were not common, even more so that the entertainment level was so good.

I asked Tony Borrington about this during our long chat for my second book. It didn't make the finished interview, as I had to meet a word limit, but I went back to the recording today and this is what he said: 

In 1976, we had a 3-day game against Northamptonshire at Ilkeston then, when it ended, the next day started a game against the West Indies at Chesterfield. 

I was run out by Alan Hill without facing a ball and we were bowled out that day. That evening, a Saturday night, we had to drive down to Bristol for a Sunday League game, then back to Chesterfield to resume against the West Indies the following morning. 

They scored 497 that day, with Lawrence Rowe making 152 and Larry Gomes 197. Viv Richards was out for a duck but Clive Lloyd made 98. The next day, Bud and I put on 72 for the first wicket, but we were well beaten. We then had to jump in the car and drive over to Coventry and a 3-day game against Warwickshire, again starting the following day.

Then it was back to Chesterfield for another 3-day game against Somerset, with a Sunday game at Heanor in the middle of it!

Fourteen straight days of cricket.. we then had 2 days off, before driving down to Dover to play Kent in a 3-day game, with a Sunday match in the middle of it, too...

Listen to anyone involved with modern football and it is as if it didn't exist before the Premier League. Yet it was pulsating, exciting and featured wonderful, skilled players who entertained, most of the teams with a chance of doing well as it was a fairly level financial playing field.

It was the same in cricket. I have had the pleasure of chatting to many who played in that era and they enjoyed every minute. Just as we, sitting on the boundary edge, thrilled at our heroes taking on - and often beating - a galaxy of stars from across the country. 

It was the best of times, when the stars you saw on TV could be walking down the pavilion steps near you, the following week.

Unforgettable. No one who was there will disagree.