He did very well, even if he bowled at the start of the innings, rather than in the middle overs where I suspect he will be more dangerous. Samit Patel wanted those overs last year and as skipper he got them. In 2026, Matt Montgomery will likely bowl in the Powerplay, as he did successfully for Nottinghamshire, so Ghazanfar will be in more familiar territory.
He is obviously a very fine bowler and has continued to bowl with control and take wickets over the winter in the various Mumbai Indians franchises. Any spinner who goes for under eight in T20 is doing well and he has an economy rate of under seven. That is quite remarkable for any bowler, but especially one who is still only 19.
He will be available for the second half of the Blast and I understand he would also be able to play should Derbyshire make the knockout stages. That can only be a good thing and again I can only applaud the standard of recruitment this winter.
Yes, his fielding left a little to be desired last year, but hopefully that has improved. We shouldn't need his batting, although he showed he can hit a long ball. His bowling will continue to be a handful. It will give his captain control and it speaks volumes for how he enjoyed his previous stay that he has returned. A bowler who can turn it both ways will always be prized and Mickey Arthur has managed to land two of them, in Sufyan Moqim and now Ghazanfar.
Be honest, we are all getting a little bit excited now, aren't we?
What a winter this has been.
Do you agree?
Now this is excellent news. An effective player who is good to watch. Given our budget I would rate our signings over the last 6 months as 9/10.
ReplyDeleteMarkB
It's a thumbs up from me! Well done to everyone involved 👏
ReplyDeleteAgree absolutely - there's been some really shrewd thinking here - now to see if it all gels together. Let's hope we stay relatively injury-free and play to our potential, which is massive in both ball colours.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait.
Most of us have been somewhat underwhelmed by our recruitment in the past but that cannot be said about recent signings. I certainly didn’t expect to see Ghazanfar back in Derbyshire colours and I presume that is the final piece in the jigsaw and we can all look forward to an exciting season in both red and white ball.
ReplyDeleteNotwithstanding the recruitment, l am looking forward to seeing some of the young players especially a fit Harry Moore, Amrit Basra and Rory Haydon alongside the likes of Mohammad Abbas.
I will be disappointed if we don’t have a successful season now that we have a much stronger squad.
Nudger
Very surprised because he was apparently signing for Yorkshire
ReplyDeleteI thought Ghazanfar and Donald would leave, after their stellar Blast campaigns in 2025. MA clearly must have something about him, as nobody is leaving and our signings are above our usual level. Kris
ReplyDeleteThe only time I’ve ever been genuinely excited about Derbyshire’s forthcoming season was back in 1997 and we all know how that ended up
ReplyDeleteVery impressed with the quality of the signings. It's nice to see all the positive energy about Micky .I thought he was on his way out but it has been a very positive winter and supporters are looking forward to the new season.J am about to renew my membership .Like Steve I live a long way from Derby and can't ⁰get to many games but regard it has a vote of confidence in the club. MALBAR
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