Monday musings

An inauspicious beginning to the CLT20 for Martin Guptill today, run out without facing a ball as his team, Auckland, went down by two runs to the Kolkata Knightriders. Without that they would probably have won, as they did well to restrict a side with plenty of talent to just 121. He will have another opportunity tomorrow, as his side face Somerset.

Elsewhere, Akhil Patel has been released by Nottinghamshire. Patel looked a player of talent when I saw him for Derbyshire Seconds, but is not the first and won't be the last to be in the shadow of a father or sibling. He is still young enough to get another deal, but needs to cement undoubted talent to a weight of runs when opportunity presents itself.

There's still not too much in the way of news of released players, but of the ones I have seen, someone who perhaps has a case for a chance elsewhere is Naqaash Tahir at Warwickshire. At 28 next season his age is perhaps against him, but the player's record suggests ability, even if injuries have affected him over the years. He bowls with decent pace and Graene Welch said that there was "nothing he can't do with a ball in his hand". Apart from paint, perhaps....

139 wickets at 29 is no bad record, ten times having taken four in an innings, but whether the lad gets another chance elsewhere is debatable. Time will tell, once again. There may yet be a cull from Yorkshire but most counties retain players on contracts until October, so some retained lists may take a while yet. Our northern neighbours may release players to finance more coming in, but seem to need some of their 'names' to perform with greater frequency than was the case in 2011.

I came across an interesting piece from Chris Adams, who has done a fine job in turning Surrey around. He said that, given the requisite level of ability to be on a county staff, the most important factors for individual success were, in order:

Character - determination and a willingness to be a part of and contribute to the team
Strength of mind - powerful and able to focus on their game
Natural talent

I find that interesting, although once again the history of the game is littered with examples of gifted individuals who didn't make it, while journeymen professionals carved out successful careers. No names, of course...

In closing, thanks to all of you for your continued e-mails and comments. I got a good one earlier today which referred again to my ratings of players for the season. The writer suggested that my score for Matt Lineker was unfair, as the player had the additional pressure of only three matches in which to prove himself yet managed to do so.

It is a fair comment and I'm inclined to think that another year it is unfair to rate any player who plays less than five matches. I would also agree that Lineker had a tough task. He scored a thousand runs in the Second XI and another thousand for Ockbrook and Borrowash. He could have been forgiven for easing up there, but it is to his great credit that he retained both his intensity and appetite for runs.

In his last three seasons for the club he has amassed 3,900 runs. Throw in those second team runs and that is 5,000 runs in three summers. Not bad, huh?

None of the wickets he played on when he made the senior side could be called straightforward. Certainly Chelmsford and The Oval were tricky, while the County Ground offered lift and movement for the bowlers, despite two good first innings totals. Yet those who saw his first innings against Kent were impressed by his composure.

In the circumstances Matt Lineker did a very good job, though in the light of the above we probably shouldn't be too surprised. I would genuinely like to see him given an extended opportunity next year to make a place his own, ideally accompanied by the "Derbyshire Bradman", Paul Borrington. Bozza has scored 3,200 runs in the last two summers at Ticknall. Fourteen fifties and fourteen hundreds in 53 innings. Sooner, rather than later, two players who are capable of that must be able to make the next step. They just need the extended opportunity that has gone the way of others.

I accept that there is a chance that two players of relative inexperience may face challenges, that there is a possibility that one, or both, may not make it. Yet based on their respective records in high standard cricket, there is a better chance that they might. We need to know how good they can be at the earliest opportunity and not spend the next few years wondering "what if?"

In the 140 years of their history, Derbyshire have never had two young players with such impressive records in local and Second XI cricket. If they come through, we have an opening partnership for the next ten years.

If they don't, at least we've given them a try. That has surely got to be worth a shot.

One-year deal for Lineker

I'm delighted with this morning's news of a one year contract for Matt Lineker.

Regular readers will know I have advocated this for some time and the tall left-hander thoroughly deserves te opportunity after a string of fine displays for the Seconds.

His first innings against Kent will have done him no harm either and I am sure that he will work very hard over the winter to improve his game still further. The likelihood is that he and Paul Borrington, another who has had a prolific campaign, may be competing for one position next year and such healthy competition can only be good for the side.

Well done Matt!

Lineker continues to impress

The comments I have heard against Matt Lineker breaking into the first eleven at Derbyshire are generally of the "he's just a league player" nature.

How do they know?

Turning it around, yesterday Derbyshire's players all appeared in the local leagues, with the exception of Wayne Madsen, who headed north to his old haunts in Lancashire. While there were several decent contributions, the standout was once again Lineker, making 118 for Ockbrook and Borrowash. The player averages a shade under 53 for them this season and since 2008 has 3600 in a very strong league at an average of 48. That's 26 fifties and 7 centuries in 83 innings...

By any standards that is impressive, but especially so when this year, like all county players at league level, he has been a marked man. Players will raise their game against them, especially those who were formerly county players themselves (plenty of them about in the Derbyshire Premier League).

Yesterday saw solid performances by several players - Wes Durston scoring 40 and taking three wickets for Chesterfield, Jake Needham 35 and four wickets, Tony Palladino 3-72 for Alvaston and Boulton - but Lineker was the standout.

Contrast it, if you will, with Chesney Hughes. He has had half a dozen knocks in the DPL this season and only has 30-odd runs to his credit. No one would deny that Hughes is a player of rich potential and considerable talent, but the league players give little away and he has found the going tough as a 'target'.

The Derbyshire Premier League is acknowledged as one of the best in the country and looking at those involved highlights that. For Matt Lineker to have maintained that standard over four seasons is remarkable and for me he should get an opportunity at first team level this year and another contract so we can see if he can translate that to scores at the highest level.

He has already shown that he can make runs against county second teams. I certainly wouldn't bet against him going up another level when the chance comes.

Lineker makes a case

In most other seasons of recent memory, Matt Lineker would have had a first team chance by now.

Last week I mentioned the consistency - solid, if not spectacular - of the batting line-up and Lineker, like Paul Borrington, has been unable to break into the side. Borrington has scored bucketfuls of runs with Ticknall this summer and has been steady, though not quite so prolific, for the Seconds.

Lineker, for a number of years the scourge of Premier League bowlers, has had his struggles in the Second XI. There have handy thirties and forties, but not enough big scores to make a convincing case for elevation to the senior side. Of course, there is a world of difference in playing cricket every day, for a living, and playing at the weekends. The levels of physical and mental fitness required are substantially different and doubtless Lineker found this transition as difficult as many others before him.

The signs are, however, that he has got there. 125 against Warwickshire recently was a worthy effort, while an unbeaten 165 against Leicestershire yesterday was indicative of a man who has got to grips with the requirements of professional cricket. The big question is, of course, whether it will be enough to earn him a full contract for next season, following on from his summer deal of this year.

That Lineker is a fine batsman is beyond dispute. The volume of runs he has scored over recent years indicates a player of quality, but Karl Krikken has two factors to take into account when mulling over his suitability for next year and beyond. For one thing, at 26 Lineker will not earn Derbyshire any ECB money. While mercenary, that is also a realistic consideration. If Krikken and his coaches feel that Lineker could genuinely make a prolific county batsman it would not be a deal breaker, but the other factor is, for me, the biggie.

Is he better than Hamza Siddique, Ben Slater or Peter Burgoyne? For that matter, is he a better option, to pick a name at random, than someone like Michael Thornely, who has done well for the Unicorns this summer and is crucially, at 23, a player who can offer a county three years of income. Derbyshire have only a finite budget and how it is best spent will doubtless occupy the thoughts of Karl Krikken in the coming months.

Once he knows (if he doesn't already) the plans of Greg Smith and Tim Groenewald he will be better placed. Replacing those players and Steffan Jones would be essential, but there are any number of ways in which to do so. There will also be a lot of players out there at the end of contracts, a number of others seeking an opportunity.

I would like to think that our players might follow the example of Jack Brooks, who today signed an extended contract at Northamptonshire despite interest from other counties. At 27 Brooks was a later starter and is rewarding the county who took a punt on him with another two years service. While no one can blame any individual for wanting the best deal for themselves, it is nice to see a player decide that his best option is to stay put, presumably better rewarded as a result.

Thumbs up for Mr Brooks from me. Hopefully at least one of ours in a similar situation might seek to follow his lead.

Lineker signs

Interesting news broke this morning as Derbyshire announced the signing of Matt Lineker on a summer contract for 2011.


Lineker, a left-handed batsman, has been a standout performer in the Derbyshire Premier League for several seasons, scoring heavily for both Alfreton and Ockbrook and Borrowash as well as taking his share of wickets. I believe he has been offered terms before but declined for business reasons, but if it is possible to make the jump from league to county cricket, Lineker is perhaps the man most likely to do it. Over a thousand runs again last summer highlights his ability, but it would be unfair to expect him to make the jump in level with ease, nor to be automatically in the first choice side.

It is an interesting signing and one that sends out the right message to players in the strong Derbyshire Premier League - perform and there is a chance for you. While Lineker will not be the biggest name to join Derbyshire this winter, this is still encouraging and reaffirms the club’s links with the leagues that have produced so many outstanding players over the years.

Who knows, maybe Lineker is the next?

Elsewhere, the Somerset fan who highlighted the signing of Mark Turner has posted on IMWT that John Morris is in discussions with Usman Afzaal, formerly of Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Surrey. It doesn’t surprise me, as the player was seen at the County Ground before his move to London, when presumably Morris offered him terms. He was outgunned on the money front then and may be again, but perhaps the player wants to move back nearer to his family, something that would obviously work in our favour.

I’m a little baffled by some comments that we couldn’t afford him. That may be the case, but this would be the same as any transaction. The player and his agent will have an idea of what he wants, John Morris will know what he can afford and they’ll attempt to find middle ground. Morris has been involved in many of these discussions on both sides of the table and knows very well how it works, having been a successful sports agent himself before coming to Derbyshire. He also knows what he needs for next season and we should see what unfolds.

Comments about ‘attitude’ are of little concern, The player is considerably more mature than the callow youth who made his international debut and most dressing rooms are full of disparate personalities. I’ve read several accounts of how the successful Middlesex side under Mike Brearley had several spiky individuals who didn’t especially get on, but it didn’t stop them being a fine side. The bottom line is that for most of the last seven or eight years Afzaal has averaged between forty and sixty. Maybe I’m alone on this one, but give me a quirky character who does that over a nice bloke who averages twenty anytime, especially if it results in a successful side.

More on that one if anything happens...