Whoever turns out to be the elite cricket performance director at Derbyshire CCC next summer - and we should probably know about that for the New Year, if not for Christmas - they will be considerably assisted by the news from the fitness suites at the County Ground.
First Jonathan Clare professes to be well on the way to full fitness and ready to resume his role as a wicket-taking bowler and dangerous batsman in the lower middle-order. Then Chesney Hughes announces that he is several weeks ahead in his return to fitness and has had a few hits in the nets.
It is heartening news. Neither was anywhere close to full fitness last summer, something that put us on the back foot. While Hughes was able to bat, any shoulder problem was sure to affect him to some extent and it stopped him from bowling at all. I don't think it made any real difference to the four-day game, where his bowling is used sparingly, but in one-day cricket his left-arm spin is a handy weapon and often slows the scoring rate or takes valuable wickets. I'm sure Wayne Madsen would have enjoyed having it at his disposal in the T20, at the very least.
As for Jon Clare, it was patently obvious that fitness was elusive last year. On the occasions that I saw him, his bowling was not even close to 75% of full pace, which is hardly surprising if his back hurt each time he bowled. At his best he is capable of being around the 85-90mph mark, which makes facing him a challenge, even before he starts nipping it around. Injuries notwithstanding, he took wickets in his sporadic appearances but couldn't bowl any lengthy spells, meaning that picking him as a third seamer was a risky venture.
At his best, Clare will come on after the early inroads made by Tony Palladino and Tim Groenewald and keep up the pressure. He will also score good runs at seven (he says he fancies batting six, but I'm not so sure at this stage) and has the ability to see a bad ball early and launch a counter-attack. As a good fielder anywhere, he is, in short, an all-round cricketer of considerable talent.
At a time when the national side looks set to be in transition, Clare has the greatest of incentives to get fit and get his career back on track. He has only to look to the example of Ben Stokes to see what is possible and the best years of his career should lie ahead of him.
If Wes Durston can return to the punishing form of 2012 and Scott Elstone can make the most of a second opportunity in the first-class game, we have four players of genuine, all-round talent to compete for places in the different competitions. While Elstone is better-known as a batsman, his displays for Dunstall and for the Second Eleven have suggested that his off-spin could be useful too. He's obviously aware of this, having highlighted the fact that he is working hard on his bowling in a recent interview.
With the addition of another batsman, I think our squad is well-equipped for 2014. Much will depend on the coaching set-up and we'll doubtless hear the news on that in the next few days.
Life is never dull at Derbyshire, that's for sure.
Showing posts with label Chesney Hughes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chesney Hughes. Show all posts
Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Hughes signs three-year deal
Chesney Hughes has signed a new contract at Derbyshire, keeping him at the County Ground until the end of the 2013 season.
That has to be excellent news for any fan of the county, as I've seen no better young batsman in my time watching the club, which goes back over 40 years. Kim Barnett, John Morris and Chris Adams were precocious talents, but this lad dwarfs them all.
At his current rate of progress I could see him an international player by the time he's 25 and at 19 he has the world at his feet. His attitude will determine how far he goes, but Hughes has the physical attributes and the skills that play a major part.
Now all I want to make my week complete is the news that Wes Durston has also been signed, as I think he has as much to offer the club's future as Hughes. It is good to see the club with players in the line up who are prepared to hit the ball and go through with their shots, very much in the mould of John Morris himself.
Excellent news to end the day.
Saturday, 24 October 2009
Weekend thoughts
Morning (or afternoon/evening) everyone - depends when you're reading this I suppose...
I'm writing on Saturday morning. Sorry there was no blog last night but I was out and about with Mrs Peakfan and a very nice time was had by all.
Truth be told, there was little to write yesterday, but there's a few titbits around this morning.
First up, the Derby Telegraph reports that Justin Langer is tipping Chris Rogers for an Australian recall. On the back of a superb season for Derbyshire that is no great surprise. While Shane Watson does a decent job in one day cricket, he's not a Test opener as was evident in the Ashes series. Indeed, I'd go as far as to say that had Australia had Chris Rogers in the side and Brett Lee fit, the Ashes would be on the other side of the world at the moment. Lee has bowled well since his return, while his all round performance for New South Wales yesterday as they beat Trinidad and Tobago was that of a man inspired. The latter never recovered from the loss of two quick wickets, but can be proud of their performances in the competition.
The Telegraph also reports the names of the fresh intake to the cricket club Academy. It's good to see that the hard graft goes on. If this quota system takes a hold, maybe the natural extension is to reward clubs playing an under 14 in their County first team with £100K. Pick a female in the side and get £150K. The potential is extraordinary. What price an over 50? Form an orderly queue behind me...
Anyway, the same article reports that two youngsters "graduating" from the Academy, namely Ben Slater and Matt Higginbottom, are likely to be rewarded with summer contracts in 2010. Slater, an opening batsman, looks like one to be watched as he was voted Academy player of the year. He averaged 86 for the Derbyshire Cricket Board Under 17s and thirty when opening the batting for Chesterfield in the Derbyshire Premier League. He sounds like a lad with a lot of potential and I'm sure he is in very good hands at the County Ground, where Andy Brown will know him from his time as coach at the Queens Park club. Meanwhile Higginbottom looks to have potential too and has turned in some good league performances with bat and ball, though in Second XI cricket he bats in the lower order.
It is good to see these youngsters progressing and I'm sure we all hope that recent graduates such as Atif Sheikh, Tom Whiteley and Paul Borrington continue to develop and push to join Dan Redfern in the First Eleven.
On the subject of youngsters, I notice that there is discussion on the "eligibility" of Chesney Hughes to be one of our under 22s in the coming season, the comments centring around the use of a phrase on the club site about the talented all rounder. What it says is that he is "Anguillan born but able to play on these shores without restriction due his ownership of a British passport".
What this means is that he can indeed play for Derbyshire whenever we wish, but the reality is that, until he qualifies to play for England, which is a few years away, it will cost us money every time that he does so. Without his passport he couldn't play - period - as he wouldn't get a visa to enable him to do so. Chesney has a British passport as Anguilla is a British colony.
He will qualify for the national side when he is 22, which would leave him plenty of time to make a major contribution to the club, but not as one who would earn them money as one of the under 22s in the side.
Derbyshire are already going to take a "hit" financially as counties will be expected to field three additional players under the age of 26. By the time next season starts, the only ones we will have in that age bracket will be Jake Needham and Jon Clare, neither of them fixtures in the side this year. So if John Morris decides to field his strongest side, and in doing so decides to omit Clare, Needham and Borrington, there will be severe financial penalties.
I think Borrington will be good enough for the first team. Redfern obviously is, but with only two others under 26 at present, we will face a financial penalty every time we take the field as, at present, we are one short. As things stand, the obvious Under 22s for our side next season will be Redfern and Borrington, with Sheikh and Poynton the options if required.
It is worth noting that these regulations apply to the County Championship and the 40-over competition, but not the Twenty/20. The reality is, however, that a tight financial situation has been complicated all the more. Remember too that playing players from these age groups does not earn the clubs extra money, this will effectively dictate their payout. So if we, or any other county choose to ignore the regulations, we would not get the cash, end of story.
If nothing else, I hope that fans realise the pressures that John Morris will face in 2010. Not only does he have to try to field a side to win matches, he has to do so with a side that will not lead to the club losing out on a substantial part of their ECB money.
Not, by any stretch of the imagination, an easy job.
I'm writing on Saturday morning. Sorry there was no blog last night but I was out and about with Mrs Peakfan and a very nice time was had by all.
Truth be told, there was little to write yesterday, but there's a few titbits around this morning.
First up, the Derby Telegraph reports that Justin Langer is tipping Chris Rogers for an Australian recall. On the back of a superb season for Derbyshire that is no great surprise. While Shane Watson does a decent job in one day cricket, he's not a Test opener as was evident in the Ashes series. Indeed, I'd go as far as to say that had Australia had Chris Rogers in the side and Brett Lee fit, the Ashes would be on the other side of the world at the moment. Lee has bowled well since his return, while his all round performance for New South Wales yesterday as they beat Trinidad and Tobago was that of a man inspired. The latter never recovered from the loss of two quick wickets, but can be proud of their performances in the competition.
The Telegraph also reports the names of the fresh intake to the cricket club Academy. It's good to see that the hard graft goes on. If this quota system takes a hold, maybe the natural extension is to reward clubs playing an under 14 in their County first team with £100K. Pick a female in the side and get £150K. The potential is extraordinary. What price an over 50? Form an orderly queue behind me...
Anyway, the same article reports that two youngsters "graduating" from the Academy, namely Ben Slater and Matt Higginbottom, are likely to be rewarded with summer contracts in 2010. Slater, an opening batsman, looks like one to be watched as he was voted Academy player of the year. He averaged 86 for the Derbyshire Cricket Board Under 17s and thirty when opening the batting for Chesterfield in the Derbyshire Premier League. He sounds like a lad with a lot of potential and I'm sure he is in very good hands at the County Ground, where Andy Brown will know him from his time as coach at the Queens Park club. Meanwhile Higginbottom looks to have potential too and has turned in some good league performances with bat and ball, though in Second XI cricket he bats in the lower order.
It is good to see these youngsters progressing and I'm sure we all hope that recent graduates such as Atif Sheikh, Tom Whiteley and Paul Borrington continue to develop and push to join Dan Redfern in the First Eleven.
On the subject of youngsters, I notice that there is discussion on the "eligibility" of Chesney Hughes to be one of our under 22s in the coming season, the comments centring around the use of a phrase on the club site about the talented all rounder. What it says is that he is "Anguillan born but able to play on these shores without restriction due his ownership of a British passport".
What this means is that he can indeed play for Derbyshire whenever we wish, but the reality is that, until he qualifies to play for England, which is a few years away, it will cost us money every time that he does so. Without his passport he couldn't play - period - as he wouldn't get a visa to enable him to do so. Chesney has a British passport as Anguilla is a British colony.
He will qualify for the national side when he is 22, which would leave him plenty of time to make a major contribution to the club, but not as one who would earn them money as one of the under 22s in the side.
Derbyshire are already going to take a "hit" financially as counties will be expected to field three additional players under the age of 26. By the time next season starts, the only ones we will have in that age bracket will be Jake Needham and Jon Clare, neither of them fixtures in the side this year. So if John Morris decides to field his strongest side, and in doing so decides to omit Clare, Needham and Borrington, there will be severe financial penalties.
I think Borrington will be good enough for the first team. Redfern obviously is, but with only two others under 26 at present, we will face a financial penalty every time we take the field as, at present, we are one short. As things stand, the obvious Under 22s for our side next season will be Redfern and Borrington, with Sheikh and Poynton the options if required.
It is worth noting that these regulations apply to the County Championship and the 40-over competition, but not the Twenty/20. The reality is, however, that a tight financial situation has been complicated all the more. Remember too that playing players from these age groups does not earn the clubs extra money, this will effectively dictate their payout. So if we, or any other county choose to ignore the regulations, we would not get the cash, end of story.
If nothing else, I hope that fans realise the pressures that John Morris will face in 2010. Not only does he have to try to field a side to win matches, he has to do so with a side that will not lead to the club losing out on a substantial part of their ECB money.
Not, by any stretch of the imagination, an easy job.
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