Middlesex v Derbyshire day four

Derbyshire 283 and 153-4 (Guest 65*, Andersson 31*)

Middlesex 298

Match drawn

With the rain never far away, the game at Lord's ended in hard-fought draw today. 

Middlesex will have entertained hopes of a win when Derbyshire slipped to 46-3, with both Reece and Madsen adjudged leg before to decisions that could have been deemed questionable. 

Harry Came and Brooke Guest steadied the ship before the former, not moving his feet, played on to Ollie Stone, who bowled well here. So too did Ryan Higgins, an admirable player who bowled with great skill and in long spells.

Yet Guest and Martin Andersson, against his old county, stood firm. Both played some fine strokes but were watchful in defence on a pitch where the ball moved throughout and there was variable bounce. It is a pity that the rain ruined the last two days, because Derbyshire will have fancied their chances in the final innings on such a pitch. 

It was not to be, however, and both teams took a share of the points, with Derbyshire remaining in third place with two matches to go. 

For me, the big news of the day is that the upper age limit for county academies is to rise from 18 to 19 next season.

One director of cricket, who backed this change, suggested that it supports the view that the greatest transition in young players comes between the ages of 18 and 20. The success of the South Asian Cricket Academy and the importance of the MCC Young Cricketers' programme – revived this year – have supported the argument. It has long been argued that existing practices were costing the county game talented youngsters.

Until now, a county couldn't even keep on an 18-year-old who wasn't deemed ready to be signed on a casual basis, unless they paid the player to come in for sessions.

To quote Nick Friend in The Cricketer:

One academy director said that he expects the benefit of the extra year's academy coaching to lead to better players being signed and those players then to spend more time in the professional game once signed. Previously, counties would gamble on 18-year-olds, sometimes successfully but at other times with no great longevity, whereas the extra year ought to give greater confidence around talent identification.

I applaud this change and it will give young cricketers a chance to focus on their game for a year after they complete their exams. It will also allow them to decide whether a career in first class cricket is what they want.

With the Derbyshire Pathway at its strongest for many years, it is an opportunity for some of the youngsters to state their case, free of educational pressure. 

A player like Matt Stewart, for example, has now finished school and showed yesterday with his five wickets for the second team that he can possibly make the next step. A winter in Australia is likely to improve his game still further and he can come back next year with a chance to show what he can do for the summer.

With others, such as Rohan Vallabhaneni, Rubaiyat Abrar, Jake Green and Hasnain Akhtar showing real potential, not to mention Joe Hawkins, we should be better able to make an informed decision on these young men when the time comes.

The future is bright.