Farewell to Wes Durston

On a day that we welcome a mid-twenties all-rounder in Luis Reece, we say farewell to one in his mid-thirties, as it has been announced that Wes Durston has been released.

Suffice to say that if Luis gives us similar service to Wes we will have few complaints. Until last season, when he cut a rather sorry figure at the crease and seemed less mobile and less able to pick the ball up, he was one of the finest sights in the game.

One of several astute 'spots' by John Morris, Wes was a near-immediate hit and scattered his magic liberally across the county batting. His golden summer was 2012, when he starred in our championship season and looked a million dollars at times. Once Wes got in, his feet started moving and when the wicket was true, there were few better sights in the game.

It wasn't just the runs that he made, it was the way that he made them. A combination of power and timing that has rarely been bettered, especially in front of the wicket, Wes could make a mockery of any run rate and while he was in, you felt we always had a chance.

Of course, playing as he did was always a percentage game. Wes was an eye player, not necessarily the one with the best technique, but when everything was in synch the ball would crash through the covers as if the fielders weren't there. His cover and straight driving will always be bench marks, though an average of just over thirty confirms his fallibility for when he was a little too gung ho for the match situation and the conditions.

I always saw him as a throwback, perhaps like one of the gentleman amateurs who enlivened the game between the wars. The average was not necessarily at the front of his mind, but entertaining the crowd seemed to be. He could be more circumspect at times, but his chafing at the bit to play those strokes was almost tangible on the boundary edge.

As a bowler he was useful, with an unusual way of imparting spin that was nonetheless effective. There were times he perhaps could have bowled more, especially for a county that often struggled for wickets on dry surfaces. He bowled us to a win or two and held some absolute blinders in the field. Whether at slip or in the deep, Wes had a fine pair of hands and although less fleet of foot in the past couple of summers, remained a man you could rely on.

As a skipper? I was less convinced and although he led from the front with the bat, he tended to veer too far into pinch hitter territory, rather than that of aggressive opening bat. Perhaps that was his way of setting the tone, but his output dropped as a result and tempering the aggression may have brought dividends for both him and the side. I also felt that he under bowled himself as skipper and some match situations may have benefited from even just the change of pace.

Still, seven years, seven and a half thousand runs and 170-plus wickets. There is nothing to be ashamed of in such statistics and at the end of the day Wes Durston entertained. I don't dispute the decision to release him, as we ultimately needed more from a senior player's cost than an aging body was able to offer.

It is the end of the Wes and Ches show, one that enlivened many a one-day match. Derbyshire will move on, hopefully forward and someone will step into the breach and take up the mantle. Yet years from now, when we all look back to these years, plenty will think back to Wes in his pomp and smile.

Thanks Wes. It was, at times, quite magnificent to watch.

Good luck in your future ventures and thanks for many golden memories.

Derbyshire v Gloucestershire day 1

They say you can't win them all and that was the case today, but Derbyshire will be rightly satisfied with their first day's work against Gloucestershire, one that flew in the face of most opening days at the County Ground this year.

When I saw that Gloucestershire had won the toss and understandably elected to field I was concerned that we would struggle against an attack that has done consistently well this season. Especially when Wayne Madsen again went early and Chesney Hughes was soon following him. Given that Greg Smith later only lasted four balls it was a poor day for those I highlighted last night had a point to prove.

In between, Martin Guptill  and Wes Durston put on a superb 266 in just 53 overs, a partnership that must have been a joy to see. Durston has had a fine season and now tops the batting averages, while Guptill at last showed the talent that we knew he had in the Championship. Wes now has a fighting chance of making a thousand for the season and is currently 156 runs short.

Ross Whiteley came in and helped Durston see it through to the close, but Karl Krikken will doubtless look at today with satisfaction, tempered with the knowledge that he probably got his team wrong. Last night I suggested that Madsen should drop down the order to allow a debut for Matt Lineker and I am not convinced that Smith is mentally where he needs to be at present with the contractual issues surrounding him. Certainly the statistics suggest that and with Dan Redfern close to full fitness Smith will be lucky to retain his place for the next match. Madsen's recent decline is also a matter for concern and one hopes that he soon returns to his normal form.

At the end of it all, this was an excellent day for the county. If we can push on to 450-plus tomorrow it will be an excellent effort and the foundation of a potential win. Today was a celebration of a new contract for Wes Durston and it is heartening to think he will be with us for the next two summers.

Just need to push on tomorrow now - weather permitting.

PS Thought I'd beat 'Anon' to the draw tonight and point out that Wes Durston was signed by John Morris. Having said that, I first mentioned him as a worthwhile pursuit for the county on September 29, 2009 after his release by Somerset (check if you wish) and it took us several months to do so. Surely I get brownie points for the signing too...?

Yorkshire v Derbyshire

Remember the date. May 2nd, 2011.

That's when Derbyshire were taken seriously by the cricket world, including the Sky cricket commentators. Its also the date when anyone who labels the side as 'rubbish' on any forum, including this one, officially becomes a laughing stock.

To add the icing to the cake, the win took us top of the league.

The Derbyshire side were, quite simply, magnificent. The batting, as I wrote in my halfway report, was professional and displayed skill and common sense in equal measure. Wes Durston (pictured) again looked a class act, while Wayne Madsen has a range of shots that will always make him a danger man in the closing stages. Their form in the CB40 this season has been oustanding.

Greg Smith struggled for timing but didn't give it away and worked it around. The strike rotation throughout was the result of what John Morris has been preaching for some time, working the ball into gaps and running hard. We lost a few wickets at the end but I was pleased to see the thought process that went into promoting Steffan Jones and Jon Clare for a hit. It didn't come off today, but you can't fault the idea.

Likewise the concept of opening the bowling with Wes Durston. I've written before that I thought he was underused last year by Chris Rogers and his bowling today was as good as his batting. There can be no higher praise, as he floated the ball in on a good length and made the batsmen play.

Even when the second wicket pair were going well they never seemed to be in control, but once Wes took the key wicket, an impressive Joe Root leg before wicket, the procession began. It was aided and abetted by one of the best fielding displays you could wish to see, with three or four catches of quite exceptional quality. Garry Park's goalkeeper-like dive to dismiss Lyth was stunning, but so to was the return catch taken by Durston off a powerful drive hammered back by Gale. Khawaja held two tumbling efforts near the end which was good to see, but Wayne Madsen's blinder at extra cover was simply extraordinary. Although they didn't say much on TV, mention should also be made of Luke Sutton's catch. Anything off the bottom edge is difficult and whether it lodged in his groin or fingertips, the skipper completed a fine display by hanging on.

Yet wherever you looked today there were heroes. Chesney's bowling again looked much improved, while Jake Needham bowled a steady spell and fielded well on the boundary edge. The death bowling of Steffan Jones and Jonathan Clare was excellent, with ball after ball hammered into the blockhole in a fine display. Park was, as always a livewire in the field and it was heartening to hear the commentators talk about an outstanding fielding side and a very focussed and happy team. That's OUR team...

Sutton deserves credit for martialling his troops well and keeping them on their toes with constant shouts of "get on it". The levels of fitness and concentration he showed were an object lesson to all and his team backed him to the hilt.

Not for a minute am I claiming that we are now world-beaters, but this weekend we have comprehensively beaten two Division One sides with their fair share of international cricketers. We have set a benchmark in performance that illustrates that on our day we can compete with and match anyone. There will be days ahead when we fall from those standards, when things don't go our way and when the result goes against us.

Yet we have now showed our true capabilities. Eleven players with varying levels of experience are playing as a team and today looked a most impressive and thoroughly professional unit.

Happy tonight? I should darned well hope you are. I certainly am.

Great news on Wes

It's great to hear that Wes Durston has been rewarded for his form with a permanent deal that takes him to the end of 2012.

Last night's televised game didn't show Durston in a starring role, but showed enough to illustrate why John Morris has moved quickly to sign him. His bowling was tidy, with two wickets, while his fielding was superb. His caught and bowled was a stunning effort, from a ball shelled back at him (albeit a full toss.) His outfielding was brilliant, with one save on the boundary edge deserving of several replays, but he was the pick of several fine fielders for the county.

When he batted he showed his skills with some classy strokes, one clip through mid wicket while advancing down the track the shot of a player full of confidence. He can play the ball all round the wicket and it was disappointing when he departed to a caught and bowled himself from a leading edge.

I've every confidence that Wes will be a star turn in the coming years at Derby and look forward to reporting on his exploits. That he will be available for all cricket this year is a bonus and he will offer additional stability to a batting line up that has creaked at times this season.

A lot to be said for experience

Irrespective of the age quota nonsense that dictates team selection in the Championship at the moment, there's a lot to be said for experience.

Take a look around the counties and you'll see a lot of good players who have rarely been close to being international cricketers on a regular or even occasional basis, but whose expertise is worth its weight in gold for their county.

I'm talking about players like Stephen Peters and David Sales at Northamptonshire, Alex Gidman and Jon Lewis at Gloucestershire, Glen Chapple and Mark Chilton at Lancashire and Anthony McGrath at Yorkshire. There's plenty around and most counties have got a few.

Except us.

As I wrote last week, we have a lot of players in either their first or second seasons and not too many of genuine, unchallengeable ability to know what to do when things are going wrong.

That is why, for example, the loss of James Pipe and Graham Wagg has been sorely felt this season. Their absence has placed the onus on young lads to do things that they have yet to encounter at this level. Some times they will manage it, but the pressure will be too much at other times.

Which is why, I think, that John Morris has accelerated the entry of Wes Durston into the Derbyshire side. At 29, Durston has played enough cricket to know his game pretty well and has the maturity to handle the pressures of run chases, as evidenced by his astonishing knock for the Unicorns last weekend. A first class record of 38 and a one day one over thirty suggests he can bat a bit, even if he's played a lot of cricket on a track at Taunton that is more conducive to free flowing stroke play than Derby is generally. Mind you, his career best 146 not out was made at Derby, so, in the words of some TV cop shows, the boy's got previous...

Durston is a hard hitting batsman, a tidy off spinner and a fielder of genuine brilliance. Exactly the sort of player we need in our middle order to tahe the weight off young players. The only ones you could say have had good seasons with the bat thus far have been Chris Rogers and Chesney Hughes. Park, Smith and Madsen have had their good scores but have not strung them together, Borrington, Sadler and Redfern have all failed to cement their place despite a few opportunities. Some fans on message boards have called for changes, neglecting the somewhat basic fact that there is no one else available. OK, there's Ben Slater and Hamza Siddique, but it would be a brave man who expectst them to make first class runs on a regular basis given their inexperience.

Chesney Hughes has done it, but Hughes looks like a player with maturity beyond his years, allied to the physique of a heavyweight boxer. I expect him to make a lot of runs in the future and hope that he continues to do so for Derbyshire, in the face of what is sure to be interest from more affluent counties.

So Durston comes in to show what he can do in the format in which he has been successful this season. It is only fair that John Morris has given him the chance, as a couple of twenty over slogs woudn't prove that much.

A few games in other competitions would enable a far better and accurate assessment to be made and we would then benefit in the seasons ahead.

I just hope he knows two or three decent seamers looking to get back into the county game...

Durston in and Langers back - PARTY TIME!!

That Derbyshire have signed Wes Durston, formerly of Somerset, for the T20 with the possibility of an extension is good news as far as I'm concerned.

He was one of the names discussed as potential targets for the county on this blog at the end of last season and is a player I have rated for some time. It appears that many Somerset fans do too, if you look at their page on 606, where several suggest they made a mistake in releasing him and should re-sign him. Too late chaps...

While some might argue that his first class average of mid 30s is nothing special for someone who has played his career on the batting paradise at Taunton, the counter argument is that he has never been able to establish a regular place and therefore relax. On that basis, he's done pretty well.

The great thing about this signing is that he gives us balance. He is a fine batsman, as his knock against Sussex last weekend showed, but Durston is good enough to be a front line bowler with his off spin and was regarded as the best fielder at Somerset. By anyone's standards, this is a cracker of a signing.

News that Charl Langeveldt is returning to Derbyshire for the T20 campaign is the icing on the cake.

Last night I wrote that I would be happy to see a Charl Langeveldt-type player in the side. Lo and behold, we've got the man himself! Interestingly Juan Theron, another I mentioned, has now been picked up by Northamptonshire, so I'm on a roll at present. I just hope that extends to when I pick my replacement for Robin Martin-Jenkins in Telegraph Fantasy Cricket...

Langeveldt's signing means that Chris Rogers can take a well-earned break and that the side will be skippered by Greg Smith. For what it is worth, my first choice side, depending on fitness, would now be:

Bosman
Hughes
Smith
Durston
Peterson
Wagg
Madsen
Park
Goddard
Groenewald
Langeveldt

There are seven bowlers there and another couple of options, long batting and an excellent fielding side. Without a doubt this is the strongest XI we have ever fielded in T20, but only time will tell if it is enough to win more matches than in previous seasons. What I will say is that we have some batsmen to do serious damage and two bowlers of genuine quality in Peterson and Langeveldt.

The latter addresses a critical area. We now have a bowler with the nous to stop the opposition getting away to a real flyer and who can come back at the end of the innings and give them the bare minimum to hit. He may have lost a little pace, but Langeveldt is a wily cricketer who should make a very good impact on this competition.

I'm sure there will be the usual snipers about the fact that seven of this side are of South African origin, but I really couldn't care less. I simply want to watch a Derbyshire side in T20 that isn't beaten before a ball is bowled and can compete against the big boys.

Full credit to John Morris and everyone else involved in the deals. A far better quality of personnel are in place - it is up to them now.

Final thought - Carlsberg don't do days for Derbyshire fans, but if they did….

Well, well...

It looks like Mr Durston may soon be joining our ranks for the T20.

Aggressive batsman, off spin bowler and brilliant fielder - if this one comes through it should help our cause considerably.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/counties/7765029/Wes-Durstons-Unicorns-century-catches-the-attention-of-Derbyshire.html

More tomorrow.