The A-Z of Derbyshire Cricket - G is for Gladwin: Cliff Gladwin

There’s only one contender for the G-Man.

I’ll admit that Peter Gibbs was one of the more aesthetically pleasing batsmen of my formative years as a fan. He seemed to have more time than most and possessed a glorious cover drive. Indeed, that classic style was at odds with the more functional, perhaps attritional method of some contemporaries, but as a cricketer and contributor to the county’s fortunes he was light years behind my number one, Cliff Gladwin.

Curiously, Gladwin’s father, Joe, played with Tom Forrester, my ‘F’ of choice, but the boy’s talents far exceeded those of the father. Cliff made his first class debut in 1939 prior to the Second World War, but had to wait long years until hostilities ended and he was able to resume his first-class career. He was thirty when cricket resumed in 1946, but he took a hundred wickets that season and did so with metronomic regularity for the remainder of his career.

Although a solidly built man, he was light on his feet and had a short run up, followed by an easy action that meant he could bowl long spells. This can be seen on the Pathe news site by following this link:

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=29095

Gladwin can be seen bowling at two minutes fifteen seconds, playing against New Zealand in 1949.

His record speaks for itself and year in, year out he bowled with rare control and hostility. There was no real pace, but Gladwin’s late swing saw many fall victims in his leg-trap, where he was wonderfully supported by Donald Carr, Alan Revill and Derek Morgan. 1653 first-class victims at eighteen each is testimony to his consistency and sustained hostility and no batsman in the 1950’s fancied coming to Derby or Chesterfield. Various accounts tell of injuries ruling players out when faced with Cliff and Les Jackson on a green top – and that was before the game!

One of the best accounts of Derbyshire watching in the 1950’s was published in the Derby Telegraph some time ago and was written by someone called ‘S.Williams’ Part of this description can be seen below:

"The County Ground at Derby in the 1950s was a dump in the real sense of the word, a place of gentle decay.

The ramshackle former racecourse buildings were often home to no more than a few dozen spectators because, when the weather was unkind, watching – and, no doubt, playing – at the County Ground was not for the faint-hearted.

The wind came whipping off the old racecourse, straight from the Urals it seemed, cutting through you like a knife. The facilities were awful: toilets that have been described as French Colonial; catering which made the worst that the old British Railways could offer look like a Savoy Grill buffet. Finding shelter from wind and rain meant huddling at the back of the Grandstand while keeping one eye on the toilet habits of dozens of pigeons cooing happily in the cavernous roof. Once settled on a fine day, though, I had eyes only for my hero.

It is exactly 50 years since I last saw him in action. His run-up began easily – no stuttering start like so many of his profession – and gathered graceful speed until his body moved into that classic arc and his broad shoulders propelled the ball on its way.

Quite simply, Cliff Gladwin was one of the finest cricketers that I have ever seen. Whenever Gladwin was on the field, something was always likely to happen, whether it was shattering the stumps, clouting a few late runs to frustrate the opposition, or running somebody out. In short, Gladwin was an entertainer, a character to help brighten up those austere years after the Second World War."

Gladwin played eight Test matches, taking 15 wickets at 38, figures that suggest he was just short of the highest class. Yet his greatest moment came in South Africa in 1948-49, when he scored a leg-bye off the last ball of the Durban Test to win the game.

“Coometh the hour, coometh the man,” he had announced on arrival at the crease, and he was as good as his word. He was 33 when he played the last of his Tests the following summer, but was one of the best bowlers in the country throughout the 1950s and could – perhaps should – have received greater recognition.

Whereas his partner in crime Les Jackson was philosophical about mistakes in the field, Gladwin could be fairly hard on team mates.

“Four for thirty-seven in nineteen overs…could have been four for thirty-three if that bugger had kept his legs together…” He knew his analysis TO THE RUN at the end of the innings and instilled in the young Harold Rhodes the need to make the batsman play everything and give nothing away. Rhodes, like Derek Morgan and Edwin Smith, often recounted how they got many wickets from batsmen taking a chance against them, having faced the opening pair for an hour or more with hardly a ball from which to score.

He could be outspoken, but people will always accept someone doing that when their actions on the pitch justify it. Cliff Gladwin set a standard of parsimony that has seldom been exceeded and is rightly regarded as one of the club’s greatest ever players.

An easy choice for best G. What would we give for another of his ilk?

PS - the picture above shows Gladwin bowling for Derbyshire in his pomp, with the field set for a bowler in command of his game.

The A-Z of Derbyshire Cricket - F is for Forrester: Tom Forrester

I can safely say that Derbyshire have had few players of genuine talent whose names begin with F.

While we had high hopes of Travis Friend until his back problems, only two players whose names began with that letter have risen, not so much to the top, but from mediocrity.

One of them was Roger Finney, who for a few seasons looked like making it as an all-rounder. A medium pace left-armer, he could get the ball to move around and on occasion was a handful. He was also a batsman good enough to average 20 in the first-class game and stuck around like a latter day Fred Swarbrook. Just over 200 wickets was a fair return, but Finney’s spell at the top was relatively brief and he finished his career in the Minor Counties with Norfolk.

For me, the star turn is Tom Forrester, or Forester as he sometimes spelled his name (presumably when in a hurry…)

Forrester was a right arm medium pace bowler for Warwickshire from 1896-99 before registering for Derbyshire and playing for us from 1902-20. Born at Clay Cross, the move was a natural one, but he did only moderately in 1902 and 1903, played once in 1904 and then played no more cricket until 1910, when he was 37 years old.

In between times his game had improved, however, and in the four seasons preceding the First World War he gave sterling service. 1911 brought 62 wickets at 25, 1912 another 31 at 19 runs each and 1913 saw 65 wickets at 27.

The final season before the outbreak of war, 1914, was an especially impressive one. Seventy wickets at 20, twice taking ten in a match, was an admirable return for a man of 41, before cricket was effectively wound up until 1919.

Forrester the batsman was a left-hander good enough to make eleven half centuries, though an average of just 15 was far from spectacular. Although he returned briefly in 1919 and again in 1920, Father Time had caught up with him at last and he retired aged 47, after a career in which he took 347 wickets at 25, with best figures of 7-18. That well over half of them came after his 37th birthday is extraordinary but a long way from unique for that period .

He died in Nottingham in 1927. A steady cricketer, but not a legend, like the star turn in the Gs...

The A-Z of Derbyshire Cricket - E is for Elliott: Harry Elliott

After the decisions that went in to choosing letters A to D, even ET could choose the winner of letter E. Whatever way you look at it, the answer is going to be Elliott...

John Eggar was an attractive stroke player when available from teaching commitments in the late 1940s and early 1950's, while Peter Eyre contributed with bat and ball in the 1960's. Eyre's great moment, of course, came in the Gillette Cup semi-final at Chesterfield in 1969, when he took six Sussex wickets and was close to being unplayable.

However, the choice really comes down to two men, both named Elliott.

My second choice would be Charlie Elliott. An opening batsman of great determination, he scored over 11,000 runs for the county. His peak came after the Second World War, when he scored a thousand runs in six successive seasons. A career average of only 27 per innings was not spectacular, but in the context of the county game at that time he was a solid professional.

He later became a first-class umpire and was highly respected, standing in 42 Test matches. Latterly he served on the club committee for ten years, giving great service alongside his former captain and colleague Guy Willatt. He was the last of Derbyshire's pre-war cricketers to die, at the age of 91 in 2004.

Yet for me it was his uncle, Harry, who is number one. Born in 1891, he joined the county staff in 1920 after the First World War at the age of 29. There was no 'discrepancy', as the club site puts it, over his age. He simply lied about it and took four years off, as he would never have got a county contract at his real age of 29. He only revealed this fact at a players reunion in 1967, which meant his last appearance came at the age of 55!

He was a sticker as a batsman. always at his best when staving off a defeat. A first class record of only 14 per innings tells that he never fulfilled early promise, but he sold his wicket dearly and when runs were needed he had a distinctive 'mow' through mid wicket from one knee that brought him many runs.

While Bob Taylor later passed his aggregate of victims, Elliott still holds the club record dismissals in an innings, a match and a season. He also took more stumpings in a season than anyone else (30)and was a very good wicket-keeper over a career that spanned 25 years.

Most astonishingly, in 1935 he didn't allow a bye in 25 completed innings. This speaks volumes for the accuracy of the attack, but with two spinners in Townsend and Mitchell it says much more for Harry Elliott. After his career ended he became a successful first class umpire and county coach, while for years he ran a sports shop in Derby with Derby County footballer Sammy Crooks.

Derbyshire have been well served over the years by their glovemen. While Bob Taylor is still the benchmark, there have been few better than Harry Elliott, a deserved winner of the E award.

As for the Fs, there's not too many candidates, I'll warn you now...

The A-Z of Derbyshire Cricket - D is for Di Venuto: Michael Di Venuto

Choosing the best player whose surname begins with the letter D is, like many of the others, a fairly difficult task, but after a little thought I came down to a top three with which I am quite comfortable.

It was difficult to omit Phillip De Freitas. He had made his name at Leicestershire and Lancashire before joining the county, but was a fine player for several seasons. A fast-medium bowler who could trouble the best, as one would expect with someone of his international experience, De Freitas was also a brilliant fielder and an explosive hitter who could turn a game in a short time.

While at times giving the impression, rightly or wrongly, that he wasn’t in the mood, ‘Daffy’ at his best was a very fine player who, with Dominic Cork, gave us two quality all-round cricketers in the lower middle order.

The same goes for Kevin Dean. At his best an excellent left-arm swing bowler, Dean looked like he was set for the very top when he first emerged, but injuries truncated his career. Although he was always capable of golden spells, they became more sporadic and his early retirement came as no surprise.

My third place, however, goes to long-time wicket-keeper George Dawkes, who was a fixture in the side, missing very few matches, from the Second World War to 1961. Tall for a wicket-keeper, Dawkes was nonetheless agile and had an excellent pair of hands. He took over a thousand victims, 254 of them catches from the bowling of Les Jackson. He held every catch in Jackson’s hat-trick against Worcestershire in 1958 and was a hard-hitting batsman who often enlivened an innings.

My number two, George Davidson, was one of the best of the county’s early professionals. Anyone who has read the memoirs of Levi Wright will know that Davidson was a mercurial character with a sharp tongue and an unerring ability to rub people up the wrong way. Wright’s wonderfully entertaining stories portray the Derbyshire dressing room of the time as not especially harmonious, but things were generally overlooked because Davidson was such a fine player.

On 43 occasions he took five wickets in an innings, ten times taking ten in a match with a best of 9-39. 621 wickets at 18 is indicative of a bowler of some talent, but it is the player’s batting skills that have earned him lasting recognition. 5500 runs at just under 24 isn’t spectacular, but on the wickets of the time Davidson was regarded as one of the top all-rounders. He hit three centuries, the highest of which saw him make 274 against Lancashire that remains the county record individual score. Even on this occasion Davidson’s stubbornness shone through, as he refused to give his wicket away or accelerate, which led to a game that we had dominated ending in a draw.

He died tragically young, at the age of 32 from pneumonia, but left his mark on the county and took a lot of replacing, the sure sign of a good player.

Which links neatly into my number one, and the outstanding Michael Di Venuto. Some may argue that we never replaced Diva and the decision to let our best batsman and fans favourite go still rankles, especially when the one-dimensional Travis Birt was preferred to him. The decision was perhaps brought on by Di Venuto’s back problems of the time, but it revealed an alarming lack of foresight, as has so often been the preserve of Derbyshire over the years.

This was the same county that failed to check Allan Lamb’s credentials to play as an Englishman when he was in our Second XI, and that cancelled the registration of Peter Kirsten when, had they simply retained it, they could have had him back with another overseas star after he had taken a season’s break from the game.

Di Venuto was a class act at county level. He was the rock around which Durham’s batting was built for several seasons and played all forms of the game with equal skill and panache. His Italian passport was an asset to them, and he was one of the best batsmen of his generation.

He was unfortunate in that, being at his peak at the same time as many other top Australians in a vintage era. Otherwise Michael would have doubtless translated his talent to the international arena and been admired by a wider audience. A first-class average of 47 suggests that he should have played more international cricket, but Australia’s loss was very much Derbyshire and Durham’s gain.

A brilliant fielder, especially at slip, Di Venuto was also one of the ‘nice guys’ of the game. In many ways he is the antithesis of George Davidson, by all accounts a curmudgeon, who on one recorded occasion reduced a team mate to tears...

Best D? Definitely Diva.

The A-Z of Derbyshire Cricket - C is for Copson: Bill Copson

When considering the best player to represent Derbyshire whose name began with the letter C, it is hard to disregard the claims of Sam Cadman, a worthy cricketer and a coach responsible for the production line of talent through the 1930s. Likewise those of Daryll Cullinan was a very fine batsman but in only one season. That being the case, there are only three real candidates.

Donald Carr was a fine player and captain of the county for a good part of the 1950s. Though probably just short of the top drawer as a batsman, Carr’s strokeplay was redolent of the true surfaces of the public school, rather than the green ones on which he played much of his cricket. He was also a useful spin bowler, but as a captain he got the best out of Cliff Gladwin and Les Jackson. Conversely, it could be said that with two bowlers of such ability, backed up with the likes of Derek Morgan, Edwin Smith and Harold Rhodes, he had some impressive resources to call upon. With one more batsman of ability alongside Carr and Arnold Hamer, we may well have won another championship during that decade, but it was not to be. Carr captained an England XI in India too, but highjinks involving an umpire cost him any possibility of a permanent role.

Second place for me would be Dominic Cork. A man who polarised the fans, Cork’s combative personality and skills saw him win a good number of matches but lose a few friends over the years. Like Kim Barnett before him, Cork’s tenure as Derbyshire skipper saw high profile departures and a degree of acrimony, but few would argue that he was a player of rare talent.

No one who saw it will forget his innings at Lords against Lancashire, when an unpromising situation was turned into a winning one by Cork and Karl Krikken’s late onslaught. I don’t think Cork ever got the credit he deserved for the remarkable flick to fine leg (from off stump!) that he played off Wasim Akram in the final over. It was a shot that saw acclaim rain down on Viv Richards when he played it, and for me was an iconic moment that laid down the gauntlet to our opponents. Whether you liked or disliked Cork’s public persona,  most sides would be strengthened by his inclusion.

He has become an outstanding commentator on the game since retirement, unafraid to say what others might think. Spiky and articulate, Cork has been a very good player and will leave a lasting impression on the media.

Yet not quite good enough to take my top spot, which goes to Bill Copson. The coal miner from Clay Cross suffered periodic bouts of ill health and injury that truncated several seasons. But when he was fit, as he was throughout the championship season of 1936, he was deadly. There were 140 wickets at 13 that summer for Copson, who maintained the typically Derbyshire ‘grudging’ line and length that he married to rare hostility. His run was not excessive, but his long arms and 'whippy' action got considerable leverage.

The tactic for most of the decade was simple. If Bill (and brothers George and Alf Pope) could make inroads to the early opposition batting, Tommy Mitchell and Les Townsend would make short work of the lower order and tail. Over a thousand wickets at just under 19 suggests that Copson did that a few times over the years.

Indeed, for his first few overs he was perhaps as quick as any domestically-reared Derbyshire bowler until Harold Rhodes and Alan Ward burst onto the scene. Les Jackson was hostile, quicker than he looked, but Copson at full fitness gained excessive bounce and extravagant movement that destroyed batting line-ups.

Two examples of his prowess will suffice. Against Surrey at the County Ground in May 1936, a Derbyshire batting collapse (it has been known…) left the visitors chasing just 94 to win. At 49-2 they were coasting it at tea, but afterwards Copson ripped through the batting, taking 7-19 in 14 overs, five of his victims bowled and one lbw. A Derbyshire win by 16 runs looked barely possible, yet arguably served as the catalyst to the season. The following year he took 8-11 against Warwickshire, including seven wickets in 23 balls.

I once saw Derbyshire cricket in the period beautifully encapsulated within a paragraph. I cannot recall the author, but the essence was that there was a good crowd, a close field, a green wicket and a sense of expectation as Copson prepared to open the bowling. A shout came from an excited member of the crowd, the first word pronounced in the Derbyshire manner, to rhyme with howl and suggest that Copson was set to eviscerate the opposition.

“Bow-el boogers aht, Bill!”

He often did.

Copson didn't play cricket until he was 17, bowling a batsman with his first ball, a feat he was to repeat in the first-class game when he dismissed the England batsman Andrew Sandham of Surrey. On both occasions the prodigious movement was deemed a fluke, but that ceases to be the case when you’ve done it a few hundred times.

The excellent Basil Easterbrook, a fine cricket writer, described him thus:

His run up to the wicket was an easy affair and he seemed to hesitate fractionally before releasing the ball. He looked deceptively slow through the air, but he could make the ball swing and swerve either way very late and he also seemed to make the ball gather pace off the pitch. He either forced the batsman to make a hurried stroke or caught him totally unprepared. In his heyday he could bring the ball back so unexpectedly and so viciously that at times he was almost unplayable. Few men of pace in my lifetime have ever been able to extract so much out of an easy-paced, even lifeless, pitch.

His back problems, a result of his work down the pit, resulted in an unusual gait, often described as a ‘trudge.’

“Bill, tha bloody walks like Groucho Marx,” said Denis Smith, watching him walk from third man to bowl one day.

“Aye, and sometimes tha bloody bats like him,” replied the bowler, a laconic man, his face deadpan under a shock of red hair.

Nine wickets at Lords and 3-33 at Old Trafford against the 1939 West Indians suggested that Copson could have become a good international player, but his only other Test appearance came against South Africa in 1947, when he was 39 and past his prime. Nonetheless, three wickets saw him far from disgraced. That he headed the bowling averages on the 1936-7 tour to Australia and still didn’t play a Test speaks volumes for the selectors of the time; even more for a very good cricketer.

With better luck with health and fitness and without the loss of six seasons to the war, Bill Copson could have put the Derbyshire record for most wickets taken out of reach. Some have since surpassed his aggregate, but few better bowlers have worn the county colours.

The A-Z of Derbyshire Cricket - B is for Barlow: Eddie Barlow

The concept of true greatness depends on the individual, but I would suggest that Derbyshire has had perhaps a dozen truly great cricketers in the wider form of the game in 140 years, and around twenty to thirty who perhaps bordered on that in their services to the county. One day I will have to quantify that more accurately…

So who is King B? There are more candidates than in the As, that’s for sure. Ian Buxton was a solid county all-rounder, who both batted and bowled steadily, while Peter Bowler was an excellent county opener. Both he and Ian Blackwell accomplished their major feats elsewhere though and it is indicative of the strength of the category that they earn only passing mention here.

Bill  Bestwick gave extraordinary service over many years, much of the time effectively keeping one end going when there was little support at the other end. He took almost 1500 wickets at 21 and remarkably had 147 wickets at just 16 runs each in 1921, when he was 46 years old. If there was an award for the greatest character in the club's history he would be a strong contender and he was a standout performer in what was, at that time, a very ordinary side.

Third place for me would be Ian Bishop. A fast bowler of lissom action, genial temperament and astonishing speed, Bishop would have been one of the all time greats had he been blessed with a more robust back. Changes in action cost him pace and crucially some of his ability to swing the ball at extreme speed, a potent combination. He could also bat and hit a fine century against Yorkshire at Scarborough, but in this company his contribution to the county cannot get a higher placing than third.

In second place would be Kim Barnett. Our all-time top run scorer and long-time captain, Barnett was perhaps the best locally produced batsman I’ve seen (though John Morris ran him close and was more orthodox.) His play through the off side was impeccable, although his curious, shuffling stance perhaps cost him greater international recognition, in much the same way that Les Jackson's slinging action saw him miss out on international opportunities. He was a good captain too, at his best when he had Phil Russell as a supportive and understanding coach. The down side was that for a lot of Barnett’s tenure there was considerable discord behind the scenes. While all of that cannot be laid at his door, it would be unrealistic to suggest he was always an innocent bystander.

What it is safe to say was that he remained a batsman of rare talent at county level, one of the best that the county has had. Despite the unconventional method, Barnett watching was always a joy.

Indeed, relegating him to second place is difficult, but while Barnett was every inch the star at local level, Eddie Barlow was an international star who transformed the county. Indeed, had the South African all-rounder not come to Derbyshire cricket and shaken it up from its foundations, I doubt we would have experienced the subsequent success.

Before he arrived we were at our lowest ebb, a poor side under Brian Bolus, but Barlow, through a strong work ethic, force of personality and sheer talent, made us a side to be reckoned with. While individually the side was of only moderate ability - at least on paper – collectively they were dangerous opponents who you discounted at your peril.

As an eye player, Barlow was past his best as a batsman, yet still produced enough innings to make a difference, some of them quite brilliant. If quick runs were required, Barlow would hit a quick 50. If we were under the cosh he might counter-attack, or would just as happily dig in to frustrate opponents. Irrespective of the style that he adopted, you always felt it was part of a plan and eagerly awaited developments. As a bowler he would always take wickets when they were needed, often in clusters as he changed the direction of a match. He caught most things that went his way too, usually at slip.

Yet it was his captaincy that set him apart. At first you’d see him make a bowling change and wonder at the rationale, yet it soon became evident as a wicket fell. Fields were changed and catches went to the man who had just been moved. Those making a mistake in the field and opponents would be fixed with a basilisk stare, often while those chunky forearms wiped perspiration from his brow. The game rarely stagnated as Barlow didn’t allow it, preferring to challenge the opposition as well as his own team.

It was a magical time to be a fan and I lapped it up like everyone else. We didn’t win every match, but we went down fighting and won many more than we were used to. The cricket was aggressive, whether batting or bowling and Edgar John Barlow was the hub, the catalyst, the star and our hero. We’ve had better batsmen and better bowlers, but none who so captured our imagination or had a greater influence. As a schoolboy at the time, watching the bespectacled Barlow gave me hope that I could play the game, irrespective of my visual shortcomings. Inspirational, for sure.

I’ve written before that two Derby Evening Telegraph headlines will stay with me forever. “Rams sign Dave Mackay” was one. “County sign Eddie Barlow” was the other. Both gave me goosebumps then and still do when I think about them.

Best B? Best any letter for me.

End of argument

The A-Z of Derbyshire Cricket - A is for Adams: Chris Adams

The original idea for the A-Z of Derbyshire cricket came from Nathan Fern, then of the Derbyshire CCC marketing team. I presented my thoughts on the best candidates for each letter of the alphabet once he had done so and it generated a lot of interest.

That was three years ago and I've had several e mails asking if I could highlight the posts from earlier, as the readership is now considerably higher than it was at that time. So here they are in - somewhat unsurprisingly - alphabetical order. They are presented in the way in which they first appeared, but are now captured by labels for future reference and with the same header. Hopefully that will make them more accessible and I'd like to think that they will create talking points and generate comments over the long winter.

It could all have been done by web poll, but I'm wary of the merit of such polls as they give unfair weighting to the opinion of young people, who are generally (but not always) more technically competent and confident. You may disagree with me, but the comments boxes allow your opinions to be heard and I look forward to them.

As an example, I recently saw a web poll that declared Garry Barlow was the greatest-ever songwriter and Take That the greatest-ever group. I’m not so sure that you could discount Lennon and McCartney for the former, not to mention Gershwin, Berlin or Rodgers and Hammerstein. Are Take That better than the Beatles, or the Rolling Stones? Is Barlow a writer of greater, lasting material than Jimmy Page and Robert Plant in Led Zeppelin? Not so sure...

Comparing players from different generations is impossible, as the game has evolved dramatically. WG Grace would probably not make 200 runs in a season today, but was a giant of his era and crucial in the development of the game. Was Wally Hammond better than Peter May, or was Dennis Lillee better than Harold Larwood or Tom Richardson?

Nathan’s first choice at A was the worthy Albert Alderman, opening batsman in the Championship side of 1936. For me, the selection was the antithesis of voting for modern players and was perhaps a vote for an old-timer for nostalgic reasons, especially coming, as it did, in a year when we celebrated our 140th anniversary.

Was Alderman better than Chris Adams? I didn’t see him, but my Dad did and reckons he was ‘workmanlike, but nowt brilliant.’ While his solid batting in 1936 contributed to the success that summer (as Denis Smith was woefully out of touch) he experienced many fallow seasons. He was a sticker, like Alan Hill and Steve Stubbings in more recent times and was probably worth a few runs more than his average suggests. Nathan pointed out that they were runs made on the uncovered wickets of the time and there were some truly great bowlers around in the 1930s, perhaps more than is the case today. By extension, there were some quite ordinary ones too, of a lesser standard than the average today. Alderman averaged 25 from over 500 first-class innings, largely at the top of the order.

Chris Adams’ form in 1996 could have won us the Championship and it was sad to see a player with so much talent ultimately flower elsewhere, as the highly successful skipper at Sussex. He played some fine innings for us though, learning a great deal from Dean Jones. He averaged just under 39 in first-class cricket and a run more in the one-day game, as well as an impressive 30 in T20. A very good player indeed, was Chris Adams.

Selecting Alderman also means that you overlook the claims of the brilliant Mohammad Azharuddin, who played some majestic innings for the county in an albeit brief stay. I would suggest that he played three of the best ten innings I’ve seen by a Derbyshire player, with his double century at Queens Park against Durham on a spinning track a quite sublime piece of batting.

It all comes down to preference. Alderman’s long service, Adams’ few seasons or Azharuddin’s year and a half? After a little thought, and aided by the way that the Indian genius (not a word I use lightly) left under something of a cloud, I’ll plump for Chris Adams. Perhaps if we’d noted his credentials and aptitude for captaincy a little earlier, the recent histories of Derbyshire and Sussex may have been considerably different.

In closing, a suggestion for what may prove the problem letters of X and Z.

For the former, I could give a few dozen examples of X-certificate batting over the years.

Z? No names, but there have been a few batsmen who have enabled spectators to catch up on their sleep.

Zzzzzzzz….

The A-Z of Derbyshire Cricket - L is for Lee: Garnet Lee

Without fear of contradiction, I think I could say that Derbyshire haven't had an L of a lot of good players beginning with that letter. They could have though...

For those with memories stretching back as far as mine, you will recall the summer when Eddie Barlow brought over three young South Africans to gain experience with our Second XI. One was the man who featured in my previous article, Peter Kirsten. The others were Allan Lamb and Garth Le Roux.

As we all know, Lamb went on to become an England legend, yet typically of the Derbyshire administration of the time, no one thought to check his credentials when he appeared for our Seconds. What might have been accomplished by a Derbyshire batting line up of Wright, Kirsten and Lamb at 2, 3, 4? Le Roux was strong and fast, eventually sealing his reputation in World Series Cricket as well as on the south coast for Sussex. Either of those players would have been a certainty for top spot in this category, but I think we were all happy with the choice of  Peter Kirsten...

We shouldn't forget the example set by Charl Langeveldt, but he only had one full summer in our colours so I discount him accordingly. There's also Charlie Lee, a batsman who came to Derbyshire from Yorkshire and ended up with 12,000 runs at an average of 27. He had eight centuries in that tally but his self-deprecating sense of humour suggested that his style was not always to the fans liking. In one of the old club year books he wrote that one newspaper suggested it would be nice if he batted against the clock, rather than the sundial! He could hit though and on one occasion clumped Jim McConnon of Glamorgan for five sixes on a turning pitch, winning a game in the final innings that the off-spinner must have fancied was his for the taking.

My choice for L supremo, however, is Garnet Lee, pictured above, second left on the front row in a photograph taken in front of the Ilkeston pavilion in 1925, his debut season. Astonishingly, the all-rounder didn't play for Derbyshire until he was 38, moving across the border from Nottinghamshire, where he struggled to keep a regular place in the side over seventeen seasons. He then played for eight seasons and was a key man in an ever-improving side. In those years he scored sixteen centuries and just short of ten thousand runs. They were attractively made too, in a side not always known for batting solidity. At Northampton in 1931 he hit eight sixes in an unbeaten 141 and there were plenty of knocks that suited the demands of the game.

In addition, he had a career tally of 397 wickets with leg breaks and googlies at a very respectable average of 28, with 313 of those coming in Derbyshire colours. Eighteen times he took five wickets in an innings and his greatest performance came in 1927 against Northamptonshire. Lee won the match single-handed, scoring an unbeaten century, followed by bowling figures of 7-78 and 5-65.

Even in his final season, at the age of 46, he was good enough to score a thousand runs and take sixteen wickets, yet he realised that there was a lot of emerging talent at the club, much of it nurtured by Lee in his work with young players. The Pope brothers, Les Townsend and Stan Worthington were all-rounders of ability and Lee knew the time was right to step aside. He became a first-class umpire, staying on the list until 1949, while during the war he coached at Repton School, playing a major part in the development of future club captain, Donald Carr.

Garnet Lee gave Derbyshire an experienced player of quality, at a time when their young players had only potential. He gave them breathing space to develop and made a substantial contribution to the club's history.

Trio of County Ground contracts as off-field review commences

All those recent knee-jerk reactions of supporters were proved to be my predicted waste of time today, when Ben Slater was offered a one-year deal in which to cement a place in Derbyshire's future.

The comments flying around at the recent news that Slater wasn't being offered a contract 'at this time' were silly, as the statement suggested that such an award may well be pending 'something' - whether an analysis of finances, an agent being more sensible with demands or whatever. Some of those comments were patently unfair, as the one thing you cannot doubt now is the professional nature of the club set up. If a player warrants a contract and his demands are sensible he will get a new deal. If performance, conduct or demands doesn't allow for it, he won't. It really is as simple as that.

I had little doubt an offer would be forthcoming once the barrier had been overcome. Slater didn't pull up trees in last season's performances, but there was enough promise to suggest that his displays were building blocks for the future. That the lad has the strokes and technique is not really the issue. We need to see if he has the temperament now and he has work to do in the coming months to prove that is the case.

Equally interesting are the summer deals offered to seam bowling youngsters Greg Cork and Johnny Marsden. Press interest is likely to centre on the former (left), as it always will with such footsteps in which to follow. At nineteen, Cork junior bowls impressive left-arm seam that takes good wickets, hits a cricket ball very hard and fields brilliantly. There's not much to dislike in such a combination and I'm especially touched that our birthdays are only a day apart. OK, that and 36 years...

Expectation will be high, but I understand he's a grounded lad and will doubtless be encouraged to make his own way in the game by his coaches and father Dominic. We shouldn't expect the second coming, but hope for the continued development of a player who appears to have much to offer. He will be given opportunity if he works at his game, that's for sure.

Johnny Marsden is the least known of the three, but at twenty the word is that he is genuinely quick (too quick for the photographer who couldn't get his full head in the photo on the left...). Certainly that reputation has carried with him from his early days at Buxton CC and the opportunity to work at his game that the contract affords will be invaluable. Bowling coach AJ Harris has shown with Mark Footitt  that he can improve bowlers and I will watch his progress with great interest.

The signings follow on from my assertion last week that the progress of academy talent was the reason for the release of Ali Evans. That has been proven correct and the news releases suggest that Karl Krikken will now pursue other targets to further strengthen the squad ahead of 2014.

Such signings will come at a cost, of course and the review of the club's off-field spending is a sign that no stone is being left unturned in the quest to improve the playing budget. That such a review may ultimately result in job losses is unfortunate and will be worrying for personnel, but it is absolutely the right thing to carry it out. I hope that the requisite savings can be made without redundancies, but the number one priority has to be the playing side of any sports club.

I expect to see more news in the near future, so keep your eyes on the blog.

Enjoy your weekend. I hope to be back soon, with the next installment of the A-Z of Derbyshire cricket.

Midweek musings

Time for a short hello from me, to let you know that I've not left the country, but am busying away on blog content for the coming weeks and months.

Last night I enjoyed another lengthy chat with Derbyshire legend  - a word used advisedly - Harold Rhodes, who was patience personified in answering my many questions on his career. There were some very interesting and surprising answers to them and it will go down as one of the most enjoyable cricket-related evenings of my experience. I now have to write it all up and hope to present part one to you in a few weeks time.

There's little happening on the county circuit right now. Leicestershire have announced that they are looking for a batsman and a bowler for next season, which presupposes that the rest of the side is fine, but more likely that finances permit little more. They have some talented young players, but most of them need to mature quickly for them to do anything but struggle in 2014.

What surprised me was the assertion of their chief executive, Mike Siddall, that Joe Burns, the young Aussie who replaced Ramnaresh Sarwan in the overseas role, didn't adapt to the overseas role as well as they hoped. I'm not sure what they expected, as the lad had less than fifty first-class innings in Australia and averaged forty. Exposure to English tracks was always going to be demanding, as it has been to overseas batsmen since they started coming here. Burns averaged thirty, pretty much what I'd have expected with his record and experience. Any expectations above that were naive and unrealistic. Surely they didn't expect the lad to carry a batting line-up that was, at its best, fragile?

At least they've signed on four players today and can be relieved that Ned Eckersley intends to see out his contract - presumably before joining Nottinghamshire for 2015, if past events are anything to go by...

Meanwhile, our northern neighbours Yorkshire will not augment their T20 side next year with David Miller or anyone else, instead relying on the highly-talented Kane Williamson in all formats, but perhaps recruiting a T20 specialist if he is selected for the Kiwi tour of the Caribbean in late May through to July.

I think a few sides will join them, as the format of T20 next summer is far from conducive to imports. How many can afford to keep someone in this country for one night of T20 a week for three months or more? How many players would want to kick their heels in order to do so? Maybe the solution of a recent correspondent to the blog might find some favour - that players are engaged to play as a league professional at the weekends and for the county on Friday nights. That might help the cost and might keep the player in question in better touch than would otherwise be the case.

Then again, the forementioned player might pick up an injury in a league match that ruled him out of the more serious stuff, so it would be a risky move. More likely, for me, is that a few counties might consider a Kolpak, someone who could play in all formats and offer better value for money, as they'd be more likely to retain form.

How many players offer the right combination of availability, qualification and talent is a moot point, but I suspect a few county cricket chiefs might be scouring the names of South Africans, West Indians and Zimbabweans who have recently dropped from national favour and could be worth a polite enquiry.

I'll be back soon. Keep smiling.

Only 69 sleeps to Christmas...

Something for the weekend

I love Sunday mornings.

A chance to relax, catch up with the news, do a few jobs that need attended to and look forward to a nice meal and whatever else the day is set to bring.

So it is that today I catch up with a few queries from recent days, either from comments or e mails received.

John asked what the Derbyshire players will be up to in the winter and if any of them will be heading off to Australia. The short answer to the first question is that they will go for a holiday and then return, to work on their fitness and technique ahead of the 2014 season. Cricketers today are largely on year-round contracts and don't need to take a winter job in security (as Allan Warner used to do) or digging ditches (where Mike Hendrick found himself on occasion).

Some will have outside business interests to attend to. Wayne Madsen, for example, will doubtless help his wife in her sports coaching business, while other players will work towards coaching badges with a view to a future career in the game. One of the features of the club's blueprint was that young players should work towards coaching badges and be able to 'give back' to the next generation, which is the most laudable of ideas.

The even shorter answer to John's second question is 'no'. The Australian experience for Derbyshire players last winter was hardly one we would wish to replicate. Ross Whiteley came back with his game far from enhanced and has subsequently left the club, Dan Redfern looks set to do the same and Tom Knight had to work on his technique, to my knowledge, after flaws crept in down under.

Given the club's tight financial situation, I'd have thought that the cost of such trips could be better utilised in other ways. With young players there's also the risk that different coaches might try to 'tinker' with their game in a well-intentioned, but ultimately detrimental manner and I'd be surprised to see the Oz experience repeated sometime soon.

Dan got in touch to say that there's less movement among players because counties carry younger squads with only established and contributing senior players. He's right and the finances and requirements of the modern game mean that few clubs carry senior professionals in their late twenties on decent salaries who are outwith the first team. The ECB incentives ensure good representation among the under 26's, but you'll not find too many above that age around the circuit and outwith the senior set up. Changed days indeed.

Finally, Greg suggested by e mail that we should go for a Kolpak to strengthen the side. I've mentioned this myself and the club's commitment to fielding 'nine plus two' in all matches certainly allows for it, but it depends on the right player being available at the right cost. I also think it more likely to have happened if we'd stayed in the top tier and, as I've written before, we need to ensure that any signing now will make a major difference.

I'd certainly be unhappy to see a route through to the senior side blocked by an overseas player who was only marginally better than what we have. If a good South African all-rounder who offered a seam-bowling option came on the market it would be useful, but I can't think of any who would satisfy the stringent ECB qualifying regulations, nor my own, for that matter.

One to think about, perhaps.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

When Sachin came to Chesterfield

All good things come to an end and that is no better proven than in the news that Sachin Tendulkar will retire from all forms of the game next month, after playing his 200th Test match.

By any standards by which you care to benchmark, Tendulkar has been one of the greats and must surely now be considered the best after Bradman. In my time I have been privileged to see some of the greatest players in cricket history and the likes of Garfield Sobers, Barry Richards, Viv Richards and Ricky Ponting have been a joy, even when they were making runs against the team I supported.

My Dad told me from an early age that I should always see both sides in any match and I’ve always done that, whether in football or cricket. Only the most partisan of fans could fail to enjoy the batting of such players as those above and Tendulkar has been touched by greatness since we first saw him as a teenager.

That was at Chesterfield in July 1990, when he played for an Indian team managed by the great Bishen Bedi. A pre-match pleasure on a sunny day was seeing the great slow left armer bowling a few in practice, a reminder of that classic, easy style that graced the game for so many years. Derbyshire posted 235 in 55 overs, with a fine century from Kim Barnett and runs from both Peter Bowler and John Morris. For a long time we looked like winning easily, especially when the visitors slipped to 88-4, with both Mohammad Azharuddin and Kapil Dev back in the pavilion. A notable scalp was on the cards.

The batsmen were all troubled by steepling bounce on a lively track, especially when Ian Bishop was bowling seriously quickly from the pavilion end. Bishop took an early wicket but had moral victories several times an over. The diminutive Tendulkar, coming in at number three, sparred at several balls and the battle seemed uneven, as if one of the world’s fastest bowlers was bowling at a schoolboy. Which is exactly what it was, of course. Bishop was a West Indian Test star, the youngster was barely seventeen years old and looked younger.

We continued to chip away at the Indian batting but no one could perturn the little player, who had an obviously impressive technique as well as the most phlegmatic of temperaments. He was not at all fazed by the occasional ones that passed his bat, but the longer he stayed there, the more time he appeared to have to play his shots, against all but Bishop. Even then he was working the lifting ball off his hip and there was a delightful, Boycott-like force off the back foot that brought a murmur of acknowledgement from Dad. “He can bat, this lad. I like the look of him” he said, which has always been the most effusive of praise from his lips. He's reminded me of that early judgement a time or two since then...

The calculation came down to a tricky twenty-odd from three overs and with Bishop to bowl at least one of them, it was obvious where the key to the game lay. Surely the youngster’s charming but charmed life against the scarily quick but genial Trinidadian couldn’t last?

It could. As Bishop dropped another ball short, climbing and homing in on the batsman’s chest, the fledgling maestro rocked back and pulled the ball a country mile over the trees by the old score box. It was an enormous hit for a player who looked too slight to produce such a shot, the result of fast footwork and impeccable timing. After that, the Indian side won in a canter, their young star finishing unbeaten on a superb unbeaten 105 out of 239-8, the win coming with just two balls to spare. His timing was impeccable, just like that of his retirement, with a planned final appearance in his beloved Mumbai.

Prior to that innings at Chesterfield, Sachin's previous best one-day score was just 36, so we were in at the start of something very special. He has subsequently scored a staggering 108 one-day centuries and has become a global brand and icon of his country - indeed the game as a whole. Despite living his life in the spotlight, he has remained a man of charm, modesty and consummate professionalism.

A Test average of 54 is impressive, but perhaps no more so than a one-day international one of 45, a first-class one of 58 and a T20 average of 33. He has also been a useful bowler and has had stints as captain. Perhaps the only disappointment has been that his international commitments have seen him spend only one season in the county game, a year with Yorkshire as a teenager. It was asking a lot of a young lad, no matter how talented, to adapt to life in a foreign country in such a key role and Tendulkar’s class came through in glimpses, rather than with the evidence of a mountain of runs.

Like many before him, however, the experience probably did him good and went some way towards the making of the batting maestro we have all enjoyed for over twenty years.

So too did that innings at Queens Park, Chesterfield.


Thanks Sachin, for a career touched by genius. It has been a pleasure to watch from start to finish.

http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/53/53143.html

Midweek musings

If this week's county cricket news were to be visually represented in the style of a film, it would probably be as a derelict western town, with tumbleweeds blowing across the street. It's been that quiet...

Charlie Shreck, a good bowler whose career has been ravaged by injury, has been released by Kent. One suspects it is the final stage of a career that has brought him 432 first-class wickets at thirty runs each - a decent, but not spectacular return.

It would be hard to see another opportunity for a bowler who will be 36 in January and I'd certainly not advocate a move for him by Derbyshire. As I've said before, I'd back our seam attack against any in division two and want to see a natural progression from the Academy, through the second team and into the first eleven. The potential of some of those youngsters is considerable.

If I'm honest, I've only seen three players thus far announced as released who I'd have liked at the County Ground. One, Will Smith, has moved to Hampshire, presumably on an impressive salary. Another, Joe Gatting, would be an asset but will almost certainly stay down south. I am still not convinced that players brought up on southern tracks score heavily 'oop north' and I don't think there's any great likelihood of the former Sussex man being a trail-blazer in that respect.

The other who interests me is Stephen Moore. He only played two first-class games for Lancashire this summer, but they are awash with young batsmen, hence the decision to let him go. In the YB40 he averaged 27, while in T20 he was their highest scorer, racking up 338 runs at a strike rate of 143.

There will be those who, because they always do, will cry 'he's past it'. There will be others who wouldn't be keen as he's played for Lancashire. Then there will be those who, like me, will look at a player of 32 who has a first-class average of 36 and stroke their chins thoughtfully, something akin to a jazz fan in the midst of a long, long solo.

Moore can play. A one-day average of 30 and a T20 one of 29 confirms that. It may be that a move to a positive environment where he is valued would serve the player well. Few would be better from that perspective than Derbyshire, although whether we could get anywhere close to his Lancastrian salary, especially if there was competition for his services, is a moot point.

Given my track record of suggesting Will Smith the night before he was announced as a Hampshire player, the chances are that tomorrow morning he will be unveiled as a Worcestershire player once more. I'd like to think that his name has at least been mentioned in despatches down Derby way though. The memory of his blistering, 42-ball 74 at Old Trafford in July will no doubt linger, especially with David Wainwright, from who he took 23 in an over...

That's it for now. I'll be back soon, but now have the pleasure of writing up the first part of the interview I did with county legend Harold Rhodes the other night. He's every bit as nice a man as he was an outstanding bowler.

If I can do our chat justice, you're in for a treat in the near future.

See you soon.

Contract entitlement

There have been a few comments flying around in recent days with regard to players who have or haven't justified contract offers  on the basis of second eleven performances. As is all too often the case, such comments are largely based on supposition and conjecture, rather than fact.

I like facts. A larger part of my professional career has been based around the provision of information  and statistics to justify service improvements and initiatives and when you dig deep you can often find some worthwhile figures.

To be fair, I didn't need to dig too deep on this occasion, as the information is out there. A glance at the statistics that matter - the Derbyshire Second XI championship batting averages in this case - tells you all you need to know about eligibility or 'worthiness' of contracts.

Name	M	Inns	N/O	Runs	Avg	Top	50s	100s	S/r	4s	6s	%Team	Ct	St	R/O
PM Borrington	9	13	2	457	41.55	107	2	1	41.32	61	1	16.61	6	0	1
S Elstone	7	10	2	369	46.13	110	1	1	66.01	53	4	15.67	7	0	2
B Slater	5	8	0	279	34.88	80	2	0	48.44	35	0	15.28	3	0	1
TC Knight	8	7	2	172	34.40	54*	1	0	50.74	16	3	10.15	7	0	1
WJ Durston	3	4	1	164	54.67	97	1	0	65.34	22	2	18.22	3	0	0
BA Godleman	6	10	0	150	15.00	36	0	0	54.74	24	1	6.91	7	0	0

That top six run scorer list perhaps holds only one real surprise, the presence of Tom Knight, a fast-developing batsman who could push hard for inclusion in the senior side next summer if he continues to work hard. Wes Durston is in there, on the back of four innings, but the key statistics are those of the other four batsmen.

The figures make awkward reading for Billy Godleman, whose first eleven statistics bear a fairly direct correlation to those in the second team. He would have hoped for more than 150 runs from ten innings, with a highest of just 36.

Paul Borrington tops the run scoring chart and has a healthy average of 42, adding to some improved first team displays in one and four-day cricket. Ben Slater averages just under 35 from less innings, given that he was in the first team squad for much of the second half of summer.

Scott Elstone? Top average at 46 and he scored his runs faster than even Durston, which speaks volumes for his ability to play shots and find the gaps. Were it not for the Slater 'issue', there would be no question of his deserving a contract. Nor should there be any more - and note also that his sparkling fielding also effected two run outs, while his off-spin may also be utilised, especially in one-day cricket.

There's no such thing as a contract entitlement. You get what you work for in life and are generally rewarded for good performance. On that basis, Scott Elstone thoroughly deserved his one-year deal and Paul Borrington justified his current one. Billy Godleman can be considered fortunate to have a two-year contract on last year's figures, while Ben Slater is considerably less so, at this stage.

You can't blame Elstone for that, though. Good luck to the lad - I hope he scores a barrow load of runs next summer.

I look forward to seeing him in Derbyshire colours.

What a busy old day!

Thanks to all those who took the time to get in touch by e mail or with comments over the past couple of days.

As always, I am grateful to hear from you and appreciate your interest both in Derbyshire cricket and the blog. The Ben Slater 'contract' has caused quite a stir, but I remain confident that the lad will be in Derbyshire colours next summer - and also that we will be in a good shape for a promotion push by that stage.

To answer a couple of fairly regular questions - I really don't spend ages on the blog, a question asked by Duncan, who is starting his own. I write quickly and usually have what I want to say in my head from my drive home at night. I'd say that the blog averages out at around half an hour per evening; sometimes more, sometimes less. Interviews take a little longer, but family Peakfan are a long way from deprived of my company and time...

The other question was why I remain positive after a season in which we were relegated. Simple - because there's a bigger picture. The club is well-run, with the nucleus of a side that will challenge next summer. The extent of that challenge will largely be dictated by winter recruitment and the progression of young players in the club.

As I wrote last week, I'd reckon you could name six of a first choice side next year right now. But if Chesney Hughes returns to full fitness, Alex Hughes and Peter Burgoyne make progress and we can get a good pair of openers together by whatever means, we won't be far from the business end of the table.

I don't do knee-jerk reactions, because in doing so you leave yourself open to looking an eejit after the next game. Teams win and  teams lose in any sport, but while it is disappointing when it happens, unless a side is in a very obvious nose-dive they normally turn it around. This Derbyshire side is somewhere between the ones we saw book ending the summer - perhaps not as consistently good as later season suggested, but certainly better than early displays suggested. Time and greater experience will aid improvement and I fully expect a championship challenge - with the right attitude from day one.

If technology had enabled me to write this blog at other stages of our history, such positivity would have been in short supply. It doesn't take a lot of thought to see the 'up' side of the current setup. Trust me, if you think it's been bad at times, you should have seen us pre-Barlow in the 1970's...

You got a prescription for anti-depressants with your annual membership.

Until the next time, my friends.

PS I didn't bother replying to the chap who asked why I blogged on Derbyshire when I obviously saw far less cricket than he did and therefore wasn't qualified to do so.

There were a few things I could have said, but I'm way too polite...suffice to say it is comment, not commentary. Been over that old chestnut before, old lad

Book Review - Never a Gentlemen's Game by Malcolm Knox

Over the years I have worked my way through thousands of cricket books. Tour accounts, biographies, autobiographies, club histories - I've not read them all, but probably more than most.

On the basis of that track record, I'd say that the modern era is a very fine one for cricket writing and there are some excellent authors out there. Up there with the very best, on this evidence, is Malcolm Knox. Among many other things he is former cricket correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and this book is genuinely a masterpiece.

It isn't new. Indeed, it came out before Christmas last year. I have had it for some time, courtesy of the publishers and wanted to do a review that did it justice, so I have read through this one twice. It does, after all, cover a period of the game's development of considerable interest to me, but in all those years of reading, I haven't seen one that made such an impact.

This is, in short, quite brilliant. It may not be to the taste of those who enjoy their cricket reading light and fluffy, like one of Mary Berry's cakes, but if you're looking for a read that will tell you what the game was like in the late nineteenth century and you're happy to take your time, this is one for your Christmas list, beyond doubt.

The author paints a vivid picture of the major protagonists of an era far removed from the game for gentlemen as most picture it. Thus we see teams and individuals only prepared to tour when their at times exorbitant financial demands were met. The leading figure of the day, W.G. Grace, only agreed to tour Australia as an 'amateur' captain on guarantee of a fee of £3,000, plus free travel and expenses for his wife and two youngest children. Such a fee had the purchasing power of around £215,000 today and is but one illustration of the player's keen idea of his worth, while his professional team mates took home less than a tenth of that figure and chuntered in the background.

There are tales of gambling on matches, while the characters of the period flit across the pages in captivating style. We read of players falling ill with smallpox, contracting a 'social disease', having fights, stealing from team mates and going out to play considerably the worse for wear. Of sides travelling with only twelve players for a tour lasting months, of a player selected as reserve wicket-keeper in error, never having done so in his life.One of the finest Australians, 'The Demon' Spofforth gave it all up at the height of his powers to emigrate to England and run his father-in-law's company, turning out for Derbyshire when time permitted. Some declined to take time off their work to play.

It is breath-taking, spell-binding stuff, one in the eye for those who say that modern players don't know how to behave like their predecessors. This extraordinary book confirms that nothing in the game is new. Crusades against throwing, tragic personal lives, riots on and off the field and a desire to make money on all sides makes this a must-read book.

Disputes were not settled over a gentlemanly glass of port. Jackets came off and they were often resolved by fists and long-time feuds. If you read this book you will never picture the formative period of the game's history in the same way. It is quite simply outstanding.

Never a Gentlemen's Game is written by Malcolm Knox and published by Hardie Grant books. It is available on Amazon priced £16 and from all good book shops

The return of the all-rounder

More good news for Derbyshire today, with the return of a very useful all-rounder for next season.

Yup. Chesney Hughes has successfully come through an operation on his shoulder and should be fit in time to play a full part in next season with bat and ball. We missed Chesney's left arm 'darts' this year, especially in one-day cricket, when he often brings an element of control with balls fired in at the batsman's feet, as well as greater variation than some might give him credit for.

I expect to see him drop down the order next summer and he would be a good asset to us at five or six, able to offer useful variety with the ball, alongside whoever is selected as first-choice spinner. Slowly but surely the squad is being tweaked and a team for next summer is taking shape.

I've seen a few comments and had several mails about the Ben Slater 'situation' and most are critical about the decision. On first hearing of it, I was inclined to agree, but after due consideration I don't think that it's necessarily as clear cut as that. I think Slater is a talented prospect who may yet end up signed for 2014, but as I wrote last night we may be erring on the side of caution to see what other options are out there.

Few fans would argue that an experienced opening batsman would be of immense value to our side next summer, nor disagree that such a player would not come cheap. As Karl Krikken said last night, sometimes tough decisions have to be made.

At the same time, it would be patently unfair to assume that such professional people as Krikken and Chris Grant, both of who want Derbyshire success with even greater passion than we do, would willingly let first Ross Whiteley, then Dan Redfern and now Slater leave in a period of three months.

Other factors must be coming into play. We know that Whiteley's desire to go to Australia this winter and the club's reluctance to allow him to do so led to the impasse that saw his departure. For all his talent, the club's hand was forced and for me, the right decision was made.

I'm not going into the realm of supposition over Redfern's release, but logic suggests that the club again had little choice, for whatever reason. Why else would they allow a player with two years remaining on a contract, one in who they had invested perhaps ten years of time and money, to leave? He had a disappointing summer for sure, but only last year looked on top of his game.

Which brings us to Slater. A player out of contract, who 90% of supporters probably expected to see signed. We know that the playing budget is tight and that we need another opening batsman of greater experience - is the player's agent perhaps placing an unrealistic value on his services? I assume that Slater, like most players, has one and, if nothing else, it has to be considered a possibility.

I'm a firm believer in common sense and logic. These tell me that laying the blame squarely at the feet of club officials may not simply be unfair. It could be wrong.

I could be wrong too, but there are always two sides to every story - including this one. And that second side is perhaps the only way to make sense of it all.

Elstone signs one-year deal as two depart - at least for now...

There is mixed news tonight for Derbyshire cricket fans, as one player earns himself an incremental contract ahead of 2014, while two others - one for the time being, at least - fail to earn new deals.

Scott Elstone (pictured), formerly of Nottinghamshire, has earned himself a one-year deal after a series of sparkling displays for the Second XI in all formats of the game. He is a player with a fine range of shots and is blessed with the undeniable gift of timing, a skill that enables him to score quickly when well set. A Burton lad, I'm pleased to see him given the opportunity. What he makes of it is entirely down to him.

His performances for Dunstall this season have been excellent, but he has scored freely - and crucially against some decent bowlers - for the Seconds to earn himself an opportunity to make an impact on the first-class game. At 23, he has time on his side and offers useful off-spin and brilliant fielding to make a strong argument for a place in the side.

A brief YB40 innings this summer was neither here nor there in making a case, but he now has an extended chance - something that must have seemed unlikely at the start of the summer.

At the other end of the emotional spectrum, Ben Slater hasn't yet been given a deal for next summer, despite some encouraging displays and a fair run in the senior side. He will be disappointed, as a number of fans will be, but the wording of the press release by the club suggests that the door is not necessarily closed on him.

My suggestion would be that we're trying to bring in a batsman of greater experience and need to see if the money saved on, among other things, a contract for Slater is enough to help to lure someone of the requisite talent to the County Ground.

It would be easy to make a knee-jerk comment and say that it is an outrage, or something similar, but I'm prepared to hold fire and see what transpires at this stage. We are all agreed that we want to see a winning Derbyshire side and, as Karl Krikken points out over on the club site, difficult decisions sometimes have to be made, especially when the club has the most finite of budgets to work with.

The message would appear to be clear to Ben Slater. Prove us wrong. He is further back in his development than either Scott Elstone or Paul Borrington and the latter would now appear to have a chance to make the final year of his current contract a telling one. If he doesn't, then Slater needs to use the summer to score as heavily as he can, hone his technique, build his strength and make a case for himself. It wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility for him to secure a deal elsewhere - Leicestershire, anyone?

I don't see the door closed at this stage and if no one better becomes available for 2014 and Slater isn't picked up elsewhere - who knows?

As for Ali Evans, he has done fairly well in limited opportunities and has taken regular wickets in the Seconds, but the writing appeared to be on the wall when we were running out of fit seamers and he still wasn't picked in the late summer.

I think he is an early 'casualty' of the rich crop of seamers emerging from the club's Academy. Besides Matt Higginbottom, whose future would appear to yet to be decided, there's Greg Cork, Johnny Marsden, Tommy Taylor and the massive - there is no other suitable word - Ben Cotton. Take a look at the picture of him receiving his Academy player of the year award from Chris Grant to see what I mean. I'm reminded of the words of Bill Shankly on introducing the colossus that was Ron Yeats to the press at Anfield - "Take a walk around our new centre-half..."

Some of these lads are our next seam bowling generation, the natural successors to Palladino, Groenewald and Footitt. How nice it is to see the conveyor belt moving again, the production line of Derbyshire-born seamers back in operation. I would be thrilled to see some make the senior side in due course and the awards won by Cork, Cotton and Higginbottom this year suggests this could feasibly happen.

I wish all three players well in 2014. Evans will doubtless return to the Scotland fold, while the names of Elstone and Slater promise to feature heavily in local cricket at different levels.

Finally tonight, confirmation that Shivnarine Chanderpaul will definitely return in 2014, ready to play for what appears to be the full season. Whatever you read about the West Indian suggests that he is enjoying his stay locally and we could well see his stay extended still further.

On that optimistic note, I bid you adieu for the evening and look forward to your comments.

The winter blog

I was genuinely surprised today.

I saw that Sussex had released Joe Gatting, a young player who appeared destined for better things and not just because of the family name. A first-class average of 30 doesn't truly indicate his talent and I would have thought he will be picked up very quickly by a discerning county, as the lad can play either form of the game with equal relish (not the type his uncle Mike liked...)

I'll not set a hare across the park by suggesting he should come to Derbyshire, as my guess would be that he will stay down south and prove a point before too long. I am surprised to see him let go, though and wouldn't be surprised to see Middlesex as the obvious next port of call.

Anyway, on to news of the winter blog. As you will realise, writing about Derbyshire cricket when there's not any cricket being played poses a few practical problems, but I've some exciting things lined up for the coming months. I intend to blog two to three times a week about player rumours and information that emanates from the club. With discussions ongoing regarding the ground development plans and where that might be there is plenty to keep an eye on.

Nor have we yet announced the contractual situation regarding a few players whose current deals expired at the end of the summer. Matt Higginbottom, Ben Slater and Ali Evans will all hope for 'proper' contracts and we'll doubtless hear the result of discussions on that in the near future. Then there's new players, where it gets pretty exciting.

I will also be running a few interviews with former Derbyshire stars and I am thrilled to be able to announce that club fast bowling legend Harold Rhodes has kindly agreed to be interviewed as the first of these.

Some of you will recall that around a year ago I commented on the book of a hundred Derbyshire cricket greats, saying that the basic premise was flawed. Neither on a local nor national scale has Derbyshire had a hundred truly great cricketers in our 140-year plus history, but Harold is definitely one of them.

1073 wickets at a shade under 20, together with a shamefully low two Test caps and scandalous treatment by the cricket authorities over a supposed 'throwing' controversy - it promises to be an exciting interview and a preliminary chat with him has already revealed a couple of issues that were overlooked in John Shawcroft's ghosted autobiography of a few years back. I've a lot of questions for him and look forward to sharing his responses with you in the weeks ahead.

I also hope to interview other Derbyshire personalities during the winter, time permitting, so watch this space!

Another thing that will be finished off over the winter is the A to Z of Derbyshire cricket. This interesting series was, you may recall, started by Nathan Fearn when he was at the club, but ceased when he moved to a marketing role with Burton Albion. Our opinions often differed on the selection, which stopped after we had agreed that Peter Kirsten was the best ever 'K'.

With the blessing of Tom Holdcroft at the club, I will finish the series over the winter months and look forward to your comments on my selections for the letters L to Z. No, make that W, as we've had no one worthwhile whose name began with Y and, somewhat unsurprisingly, no X's or Z's...

So that should all keep me busy, around the usual work and domestic commitments. Thanks to all of you for your continued support in a summer that saw more visits than ever before. July, August and September produced new monthly records nearing 25,000 hits and I am grateful to you for looking in on a regular basis.

An overdue thanks also to Sportskeeda followers, where the posts have had an additional 80,000 reads and where the blog is now featured on the site's home page. I had no idea that things would develop in this way when it all began five years ago and I'm thrilled - make that overwhelmed -  that sometime in the next couple of months the site will reach half a million visits.

Derbyshire cricket eh? Alive and well and the Falcons will be back.

Roll on 2014!

Midweek musings

Sorry about the lack of blogging in the early part of this week, but its been a busy few days on the domestic, social and work front.

Warm congratulations to all prize-winners in the annual club awards. They were all pretty much as expected, with the main award-winner, Wayne Madsen, ensuring that my cricket kit remained intact for another season's use...

It is pretty quiet on the cricket front otherwise. Phil Jaques has parted company with Yorkshire and headed back to Australia, David Sales has been offered a new deal at Northamptonshire and Graham Napier has signed one at Essex. There have been a few players released around the country, but no one of particular merit as far as Derbyshire are concerned.

A big round of applause too for Harvey Hosein, a 17-year old wicket-keeper batsman of considerable promise, who has been called up for the England Development Programme. It is further evidence of the talent coming through the academy and the youngster's progress is something to keep an eye on.

I'll be back tomorrow, with news of the blog plans for the winter ahead.