Book Review: The Cricketers' Who's Who 2025 with a foreword by Rory Burns

Which current Derbyshire player can solve a Rubik cube in thirty seconds? And which one cites 'otter watching' as one of his interests? For that matter, who played chess at national level and who speaks fluent Spanish?

The answers are at the end, but the 46th edition of The Cricketers' Who's Who is no less compelling than its predecessors. For me, it has long been the 'go to' book for information on players and the one that you ensure is safely in the bag when heading off for a day at the cricket.

Wisden will always be the most collectable of cricket books, but with passing years and less acute eyesight, I find it an increasing challenge to read these days. With so much cricket around the globe to cover, it dictates font size must be small and a large print edition doesn't appear likely!

The Cricketers' Who's Who focuses on the game in which I have the most interest and it is a joyous read, always. While complete currency will always be a challenge given the nature of overseas recruitment, it does an extraordinary job of providing last year's county averages in all competitions, biographies of contracted players and responses to 'quirky' questions, as well as others about the game. The top women players are also included, in a book that is an essential purchase for the discerning cricket fan.

With a foreword by Rory Burns, the book packs so much into its 640 pages. 

There is a long summer ahead. Treat yourself to a book that will be the very best companion during the usual rain breaks.

The Cricketers' Who's Who Is published by Fairfield Books

Answers: Nick Potts is the Rubik master, Zak Chappell likes his otters, Luis Reece played national level chess and Anuj Dal is a fluent Spanish-speaker

Anniversary celebration at Buxton

Buxton Cricket Club are holding a celebration of the famous - or infamous - snow game of 1975, when Derbyshire were caught on a wet wicket after an unseasonal snow storm.

"When I went out to inspect the wicket, the snow was level with the top of my boots. I'd never seen anything like it."  - umpire, Dickie Bird. 

To celebrate the famous event, Buxton Cricket Club has invited players and officials from that game back to the ground. There'll be a buffet lunch, interviews with some of the players from 1975 and a keynote speech from Geoff Miller OBE (who played in the game).

To mark the occasion further, the club plans a ‘Cricket for All’ big club day with games for all ages and standards to watch while you enjoy the bar refreshments and cake stalls. There'll be a snow machine for the young to enjoy! 

The event is on Sunday June 1 between 1pm and 4pm and tickets can be booked here

It sounds a lot of fun and I hope that it is well supported!

Derbyshire v Gloucestershire day 3

Gloucestershire 222 and 259 (Charlesworth 110, Reece 4-45)

Derbyshire 391 and 93-1 (Jewell 51*, Came 27*)

Derbyshire won by nine wickets 

Derbyshire completed a thoroughly professional victory over Gloucestershire at the County Ground today, winning by nine wickets with over four sessions to spare. 

It was an outstanding performance from the start and as I wrote the other night, they have now set a standard they must endeavour to match throughout the season. 

Gloucestershire were always likely to fight on the last day, but the dismissal of Bracey and van Buuren in the morning session meant they were facing an uphill battle, despite a fine century by Ben Charlesworth, eventually dismissed by Luis Reece in what seemed a definitive moment in the game.

There were four more wickets in the innings for Luis Reece, giving him ten in the match, while David Lloyd took two with his offspin as the visitors were eventually bowled out for 259, leaving Derbyshire just 91 runs to win.

10-97 in the opening match was a magnificent return for Luis Reece. This was the Reece of old, running in hard and with the chance to have a breather when his turn comes to bat. Blair Tickner will have a fight for the new ball when he gets here, but that's not a bad thing!

Although Lloyd departed, caught by Ollie Price off the bowling of his brother Tom,  Came lent admirable support to Caleb Jewell, who completed a second highly impressive half-century on his debut.

The Tasmanian has wonderful timing and a full range of strokes, yet he shows serious power, especially through the off side.

The only shadow on the Derbyshire performance was what looked like a serious injury sustained by Aneurin Donald, landing heavily as he prevented a boundary and seemingly damaging his shoulder or elbow. No doubt we will hear about that in due course and I'm sure we all wish him a speedy recovery. 

There can be no complaints after this performance. It has been some time since Derbyshire delivered one of such total conviction and professionalism in red ball cricket. 

Wayne Madsen led the side very well and the bowlers were supported in the field in a genuine team effort. I don't think a session was lost in the game and if we can reproduce that form moving forward, a few of the so-called experts may have egg on their faces, later in the summer.

Great job, boys. Fair to say we all enjoyed that!

Shall we stop the season there?!

Derbyshire v Gloucestershire day 2

Gloucestershire 222 and 128-3 (Charlesworth 77*)

Derbyshire 391 (Madsen 118, Came 83, Chappell 61 de Lange 3-31)

Derbyshire lead by 41 runs 

Derbyshire ended up with pretty much the total I expected today, although the way that they did so was considerably different. 

A magnificent stand in the morning, between Wayne Madsen, who progressed to a wonderful century and Harry Came, who batted with considerable charm, took them almost to lunch, before the latter seemed to misjudge the length and was leg before to Ollie Price 

It signalled a post-lunch collapse of true Derbyshire proportions, as 271-2 became 290-7. Guest seemed unhappy to be adjudged caught behind, but others fell to a combination of insipid strokeplay and better bowling. de Lange bowled especially well and quite quickly, several times ending prone on delivery with the effort. 

Truth be told, Gloucestershire were unlucky in the morning, edges falling short or evading the slips or stumps, while on the occasions the ball carried, the catches were put down. Yet Madsen and Came batted in resolute fashion to add 177 for the third wicket, a stand that should have allowed their side to push on to a winning situation.

They still took a first innings lead of 169 thanks to some fine later order hitting by Zak Chappell, who made an excellent 61 and, in company with Madsen and Morley, ensured that one hundred runs were added for the eighth and ninth wickets. But there will be disappointment when considerably more was on the cards at lunch. 

When the visitors batted again, Charlesworth, who interested Derbyshire last season, anchored the innings but played some fine strokes. There was less help in the pitch  but three wickets fell by the close, with the visitors still 41 runs behind.

While Derbyshire hold the advantage, they require early wickets tomorrow, as well as more astute captaincy from the incomparable Madsen. Price flicked one to leg gulley two balls after he had set one and he couldn't have done more on his return to the 'throne'. It is still hard to imagine a Derbyshire side without this remarkable cricketer.

Finally, I must commend the quality of the stream over these two days. The angles, editing and replays are really something and those concerned deserve all the plaudits.

Nice job guys! 

Now let's see if our lads on the pitch can finish it off tomorrow.

Early cloud cover would be nice, wouldn't it? 

Derbyshire v Gloucestershire day one

Gloucestershire 222 (van Buuren 67, Bracey 48, Reece 6-52, Dal 4-43)

Derbyshire 127-2 (Jewell 61, Came 29*)

Derbyshire trail by 95 runs

Hail the all rounders!

Derbyshire bowled out Gloucestershire for 222 at the County Ground today, a score that would have had the visitors' old middle order bat and later first class umpire, David Shepherd, hopping around on one leg. 

Missing three seamers who would have been in contention to play here (Tickner, Moore, Aitchison) the side bowled well as a unit but the ten wickets were shared by Luis Reece with six, the other four going to Anuj Dal 

It was superb bowling. Reece neatly topped and tailed the innings, with Dal ripping out the middle order. The greatest praise I could give Nuj is that it was like watching prime time Tony Palladino from the City End, few loose balls and testing the techniques of the opposition batters to the full

Meanwhile Reece, shorn of the responsibility of opening the batting, took the new ball and got movement both ways. He was running in more freely and bowling more quickly than I have seen for the past couple of seasons and it was great to see.

Others bowled well, yet without luck. Brown was lively, Andersson probing and although Chappell was a little out of sorts it didn't really matter.  The bowlers were backed up well in the field, especially in the slips. Jewell held two good catches, as did Madsen and we look a little more secure there at this early stage. 

I thought Wayne Madsen handled his bowlers well, after doing what all the best skippers do and winning the toss. It is clear the players are all behind him and that there is a good spirit in the camp. Long may that continue! 

The pitch is a good one. Good players can score runs, but there is something there for the seamers. That's my kind of pitch. I think Blair Tickner, wherever he is, will enjoy such pitches if they are to be the new standard.

For the visitors, Charlesworth set off with some sumptuous drives before becoming a little bogged down and getting out. Bracey and van Buuren mounted a steady rescue act, as they so often do, before Bracey was deceived by a full ball from Dal that dipped late. van Buuren threatened a big score, but top edged the first ball after tea into the safe hands of Chappell at long leg.

Derbyshire set off at a merry rate, reaching fifty in the eighth over before Lloyd was bowled by a fine ball from Price. Both he and Jewell had dished out punishment to Singh Dale and Taylor and the Australian progressed to a beautiful half century, full of fine strokes through the covers. 

His end was disappointing, as the whole-hearted de Lange, steaming in from the Racecourse End, had him hurrying against a bouncer which was sure to be repeated. Jewell took him on again and holed out to long leg, an unnecessary dismissal more in keeping with twenty-over than four day cricket. He will learn from it, I am sure, but the assertive start was reminiscent of Martin Guptill's assault on Northamptonshire in 2012, which turned out quite nicely. He will doubtless entertain this summer and his timing was quite exquisite today.

Throughout, the bowling seemed trickier from the City End and Price bowled a steady spell for the visitors before the close. But Came looked very good again, playing three sumptuous on side drives that Peter May would have been proud of. Meanwhile Madsen was circumspect, probably aware that a big innings from him could put his side into a very strong position. 

It could all go pear-shaped of course, but I liked the look of this Derbyshire side today.

Had Mickey Arthur asked Quentin Tarantino to script the opening day, it could scarce have gone better.

They have now set a standard for the summer and they must endeavour to meet it on a regular basis. 

That was an impressive day's work.

Derbyshire v Gloucestershire preview

After a long winter and two useful pre-season matches, county cricket resumes once more tomorrow. 

Reading season previews from various writers,  you could be forgiven for thinking that Derbyshire might as well not bother. One well-known writer said that Division Two is very open and 'anyone apart from Derbyshire and Glamorgan' can be promoted..that's an incentive right there..

I think the division is open. Logic suggests that Lancashire should get one of the promotion places, but both Kent and Middlesex will be pushing hard. There's a lot of bravado around other shires, but for all of the bigger names playing in the division, I don't see the likes of Northamptonshire, Leicestershire nor Gloucestershire being much better than us. I would like to think we can do better in this format than last year, but as I have written and said before, injuries will play a part, as will luck.

Harry Moore misses out in the squad for this first game with a back injury. Hopefully that isn't anything more than a niggle, but as I suggested earlier in the week, the final place tomorrow looks set to be between Nick Potts and Pat Brown. Logically, the England Lions tourist should get the nod, while Nye Donald is likely to miss out if Mickey Arthur's 'the only currency is performance' mantra is adhered to. It hasn't yet clicked for him pre-season, so Nye will probably have to wait his turn. I expect to see this side:

Lloyd, Jewell, Came, Madsen, Guest, Reece, Dal, Andersson, Chappell, Morley, Brown

Visitors Gloucestershire are without Cameron Bancroft and Cameron Green, but have a lively seam attack, spearheaded by Marchant de Lange, Zaman Akhtar and Ajeet Singh Dale. James Bracey will skipper the side that battled with Derbyshire for the wooden spoon last season. Their fourteen-man squad is as follows:

Bracey, Shaw, van Buuren, Dent, Akhtar, Phillips, Taylor, Singh Dale, Price, Middleton, Charlesworth, Price, Hammond, de Lange. 

The forecast is good and we look likely to get four days more cricket than we did in last season's opening fixture. I would like to think that six days playing on the square will have been beneficial and that Derbyshire will be quickly out of the traps tomorrow. There is batting depth and plenty of bowling options, never a bad thing.

I hope that they acquit themselves well. Looking down that side, the talent is clearly there and it is simply the case that it needs to be produced on a regular basis throughout a long - hopefully hot and successful - summer.

I will again be with you throughout and look forward to your involvement with plenty of comments as the season progresses.

Book Review: Sticky Dogs and Stardust: When The Legends Played The Leagues - Second Innings by Scott Oliver

Many years ago, when I first came to Scotland, I played for a few years in the then Scottish Counties cricket competition.

I played alongside a couple of professional cricketers. One of them had been a peripheral player at county level but was an excellent coach and improved my game considerably. The other was an Australian of some reputation, a wonderful player who seemed to score heavily every week, but had no idea how to explain to others what they needed to do to improve. Both were very good professionals, but experiences of other sides were varied, with their recruits lacking in one way or another, on or off the pitch.

Scott Oliver has followed his original book of the same title with another of similar quality. It is a rollicking read, choc-full of wonderful stories, players who left a lasting impression with their feats on the pitch and their 'talents' off it. Opening with Jesse Ryder, you get a very early idea of how the book is going to go and it is  hugely entertaining from cover to cover. I especially enjoyed the recounting of the Adrian Shankar tale, a player who was signed by Worcestershire on the back of his self-penned Walter Mitty-style press pieces, suggesting a player 'in the mould of Virat Kohli'..

As was the case with the first book, I was left in awe at the depth of research undertaken by the author, the number of people he has spoken to and the tales that he has unearthed. While it cannot be denied that any volume one will always contain the best subjects, this 'second innings' loses little in comparison. How could it, with the likes of Rohan Kanhai, Steve Smith, Chris Cairns, Abdul Qadir, Dennis Lillee and Joel Garner within its pages? 

I have no idea how blokes who worked in offices and factories all week prepared to face Michael Holding and Andy Roberts, or figured out the variations of Muttiah Muralidaran (as spelled here). But the stories of how they did so make this a book that should be in the bag of everyone heading to cricket matches this summer.

There will be lunch intervals and of course periods of rain. This book and its predecessor will be your best friends at that point. 

Every cricket fan needs these on their bookshelf. It is as simple as that. 

Sticky Dogs and Stardust: When The Legends Played The Leagues - Second Innings is written by Scott Oliver  and published by Fairfield Books

Derbyshire v SACA day 3

Derbyshire 406-5 and 226-5 (Andersson 67 retired, Dal 47 retired)

SACA 350 and 106-1 (Perera 56 not)

Drawn

Today's final warm-up game for the 2025 season ended in a predictable draw. However, the game was very useful - like the previous fixture - for getting people into form.

Before looking at what we learned, I think a round of applause is due for Derbyshire. Some counties declined to have a stream for their preseason. friendlies, which seemed a little lacking in forethought. You could see as the games progressed that the quality of the edits and replays improved and it was a good warmup for the excellent team behind the stream, as well as the players.

On the pitch, it was a good game of cricket and SACA are laudably showcasing some good players. Savin Perera, the opening bat, made another fifty against us, to follow the one last season and looks a very organised player. I do think it's a shame that talented young men are discarded at 20/21 when they maybe just need a little time. Like Dhariwal yesterday, I am sure Perera could do a job for someone and at 26 probably knows his game well, better than when he was on the Middlesex staff.

You could probably name nine of the side to play Gloucestershire on Friday, as I don't think the team for this game will be far away. The batting order looked in good fettle and they look likely to bat down to nine in the order with this lineup: 

Lloyd, Jewell, Came, Madsen, Guest, Reece, Dal, Andersson, Chappell...

Nye Donald is the only one who has looked to struggle pre season and today was dismissed for an unfortunate duck, playing on and dislodging a bail as he tried to knock the ball clear. He will come again, but needs to get some runs on the board to dislodge what looks a solid lineup.

Those last two places? I would assume Jack Morley will play, which means that the final place will be between Pat Brown and Nick Potts. It is too early for Ben Aitchison and Blair Tickner and I assume Harry Moore will have school. I couldn't call it, as the two available bowlers had fairly similar figures today.

Whoever gets the nod, we will go into the game with seven bowling options, including two spin bowlers and a left arm seamer. Good variety, so the trick now is to get the right men on at the right end at the right time. That's one for Wayne Madsen to handle!

Finally tonight, just an observation about the recording of scores in preseason games. In Derbyshire's first innings we were 406-5, despite only two men being dismissed. The previous day, Warwickshire used seven batters yet were 414-0 against Northamptonshire. I assume it is whether they retire 'out' or 'not out' and it doesn't really matter, at the end of the day. 

If it was me, I would retire not out, thank you very much...

I will be back soon. Let me know your teams for the first game when you can!

Derbyshire v SACA day 2

There have been two very good days of cricket at the County Ground, Derbyshire ending the second day 101 runs ahead with ten wickets in hand.

There was a good workout for all of the bowlers and the wickets were shared around accordingly. SACA got within range of the Derbyshire innings thanks to a very fine century by Kamran Dhariwal. 

His innings of 143 was full of excellent strokes and highlighted his talent. Formerly on the staff at Hampshire, if he continues in that vein further opportunities will surely come his way. There is no doubt that he can play, after an innings of that nature. 

Andersson and Dal opened the second innings and got Derbyshire away to a breezy start. The game is set for what could be an exciting finish tomorrow, but regardless of that, the county has had five good days of pre-season match practice so far and that is more than they had last year. 

I look forward to tomorrow and the conclusion of what has been a very good game of cricket.

Derbyshire v SACA day 1

Derbyshire 406-5 (Jewell 101 retired, Came 76 retired, Madsen 66 retired, Lloyd 61, Guest 55 not out)

SACA 42-1

Derbyshire lead by 364 runs 

Apologies for the late arrival of today's blog, but Mother's Day is Mother's Day and it has been nice to have the family around for most of it. 

Having said that, it was Father's Day earlier and I got to see most of today's play at the County Ground.

Very enjoyable it was too. A first sighting of Caleb Jewell was rewarding, the Tasmanian making a splendid century before retiring, unbeaten. There were some delightful shots through the covers and, like most of his kind, he is very strong off the pads. On the basis of today, he will be good to watch this year. 

So too will David Lloyd, who batted very fluently until adjudged lbw. Wayne Madsen and Harry Came also did well,  the latter looking in very good nick at this stage of the summer, the former pretty much as he has been throughout his career.

Although the scorebook read 406-5, only Lloyd and Reece were dismissed by opponents who featured four players (Basra, Johal, Khan and Perera) who appeared in Derbyshire's second team last summer. They stuck to their task well but the home side scored fluently throughout the day on a very good pitch. 

They replied with 42-1 by the close and there should be more good, hard work in store, with a favourable forecast, over the next two days. 

It made for enjoyable watching and a refreshing change from last year, when we hardly got outside before the season began. 

More from me tomorrow.

Season preview on North Derbyshire Radio

I was on North Derbyshire Radio again last night, speaking with Matt Rhodes about our chances in the 2025 season and for the opening game against Gloucestershire. 

You can hear the interview here

I am on at 34.30, but it is well worth a listen to the full show!

In other news, Blair Tickner took 3-18 in thirteen overs last night, for Central Stags against Auckland Aces.

Assuming there is no reaction to his spell after injury, we should be all systems go for him travelling to God's Own County.

Happy days! 

Yet another profit announced

Eleven profits in twelve years represents an astonishing piece of work by Derbyshires off field team.

Turning in a profit of £11K last year, which was challenging and which also saw more money than ever before ploughed into the cricket side, is a quite remarkable feat. 

Everyone involved deserves the highest praise for their efforts and as supporters, we can admire the fact that the club is as well run as any in the country. 

Yes, we would like to see that translated into results on the pitch, but perhaps that is coming as a consequence of the additional investment. 

Over the winter there has been significant investment in the players’ changing rooms, LED lighting has been installed in the Ryley Wealth Elite Performance Centre, ground-wide Wi-Fi has been improved and a new 900-seater stand has been erected adjacent to the Media Centre.

Well done, to each and every one of you.

Derbyshire v Oxford UCCE

Derbyshire 341-4 and 227-4

Oxford UCCE 123 and 148 (Patel 35, Lloyd 5-13)

Derbyshire won by 297 runs

Derbyshire duly wrapped up a convincing win over Oxford UCCE this afternoon, ending a pre-season friendly that could scarcely have gone better.

They will face much stiffer opposition as the summer progresses, of course, but they handled their opponents with professionalism and it was good to see how well things went in all aspects of the game. 

David Lloyd was the destroyer-in-chief, taking five wickets for just thirteen runs with his offspin. He could be a useful asset to the county this summer, allowing the batting to be lengthened, If required, but to no detriment of the balance of the side. 

Nye Donald had some time behind the stumps, while Brooke Guest ran around the outfield with his regular smile never far away. Eight bowlers were used and have got useful overs under their belts in this match.

The mood appeared to be good and it will be interesting to see what changes are made to the eleven for the three-day match against SACA, which starts on Sunday. Then it will be full steam ahead to the opening County Championship game of the summer, against Gloucestershire at Derby on Friday of next week.

Interesting news broke on that game yesterday, with both of their overseas players,  Cameron Bancroft and Cameron Green, missing from the visiting ranks until their second fixture. 

At least Caleb Jewell has arrived safely in Derby for his summer with the county. He will undoubtedly play in the final warm-up match, but the eyes of the Derbyshire coaching staff will be on New Zealand tomorrow evening, when Central Stags play their final match of the season against Auckland Aces. 

Hopefully Blair Tickner will be fit to take his place in their eleven. If he isn't, it may require Mickey Arthur to go back to the drawing board with a plan B.

More from me soon.

Derbyshire v Oxford UCCE day 2

Derbyshire 341-4 and 219-4 (Madsen 53 retired, Reece 39 retired, Khan 3-22)

Oxford UCCE 123 all out (Faleel 41, 

It was another good day and another good workout for Derbyshire today. 

The bowlers did their stuff, dismissing Oxford before lunch with all six bowlers used taking at least one wicket. Then afterwards there was more time in the middle, with Wayne Madsen moving serenely to a half century before he retired 

There was an earlier than planned dismissal for Nye Donald and he will hope for additional time in the middle in the next game against SACA.

If one assumes that this is the batting lineup for the first game, one of them will need to drop out to accommodate Caleb Jewell.

That will be the first big decision of the summer for Mickey. Arthur. 

While the result of this game is largely irrelevant, Derbyshire will hope for another good bowling performance tomorrow and a morale-boosting win.

445 runs ahead, it is fair to say they shouldn't be in danger of losing...

Derbyshire v Oxford UCCE day one

Derbyshire 341-4 (Came 103 retired, Guest 50 retired, Warner 3-61)

Oxford UCCE 33-1 (Potts 1-7)

Derbyshire lead by 308 runs 

There is no need for an elaborate match report on today's first play of the season, but Mickey Arthur will be very pleased with opportunities taken by his batters today. 

Star man was Harry Came, who compiled a delightful century. He looked secure in defence and had a fine and full range of strokes, especially strong on the drive and the glide to third man. There was good support in a half century from Brooke Guest, whose driving and cutting was as ever secure. Both men retired at tea, unbeaten.

Everyone else got in and contributed. It wasn't perhaps the strongest of attacks, but Jack Warner (not that one, or even THAT one!) ran in hard and deserved his return of three wickets. He plays his cricket at Barnt Green near Birmingham and looked a decent player. 

At the end of the Derbyshire innings it was nice to see Anuj Dal and Martin Andersson doing what we hope will become a regular occurrence this summer, with a fine partnership to stretch the final declaration score to 341-4.

There was time for a wicket before the close, Nick Potts taking it. He looked to be running in more freely than was the case last year and worked up a decent pace. I hope he can get his career back on track this year after a couple of summers ruined by injury. At 22 he has time on his side and maybe his new hair cut sees him channeling his inner Zak Chappell.

All in all, it was what was required from a first practice day of a long summer. 

Hopefully tomorrow brings more of the same. 

Book Review: Deadly - Derek Underwood, The Life of an English International Cricketer by Mark Peel

A combination of one of the more reliable cricket writers and a cricketer who rarely let anyone down was always likely to produce a worthy tome.

So it follows that Mark Peel's biography of Derek Underwood is an outstanding read.

There was nothing flashy about the former Kent and England man. He went about his work with a familiar, trudging gait and was close to being a captain's dream. On any pitch offering help - and there were plenty in the 1960s, as tired old outgrounds were starting to slip below an acceptable standard - he was, as his nickname suggested, 'Deadly'. When conditions were less in his favour, his innate accuracy enabled him to slow down the scoring rate, giving little away to the greats of the game, many of who were playing county cricket at the time.

In that attitude he should have been a Derbyshire player and it was interesting to read that, when his involvement in World Series Cricket saw him initially sacked by Kent, he was approached by then Derbyshire captain, Eddie Barlow about a move to the County Ground.

It never happened, of course and Underwood remained a man of Kent until the end of his playing career. 

What a career it was. Almost 2,500 wickets at a shade over 20, with 297 at 25 in international cricket. The astonishing thing is that he was not always an automatic pick for his country. He wasn't strictly speaking a spin bowler and there were no real similarities between him and Norman Gifford, a fine but lesser bowler who was sometimes preferred. 

Critics said he bowled too quickly and was afraid to give the ball air, which was valid on a perfect pitch. Yet it also meant he was hard to get away and he could be relied upon to keep one end quiet, at least. 

His 7-50 against Australia on a rain-affected pitch at The Oval in 1968 earned England a draw in the series and set him off on an international career that saw him respected around the world. 

He appears to have been an admirable man too and those consulted in the excellent research for this book all bear testimony to a life well-lived. His friendly persona made him a popular host on cricket tours in later years and his passing last year was mourned throughout the game. 

This is an outstanding read, the latest in a long line from the publisher. My only grouse is that a career so spectacular was worthy of a statistical breakdown at the end. That apart, it is a book well worth the time and follows in a rich sequence of excellent volumes from the author. 

Recommended. 

Deadly: Derek Underwood, the Life of an English International Cricketer is written by Mark Peel and published by Pitch Publishing

Red ball county preview

It would be very easy, when putting pen to paper for this season preview, to cast my mind back to September and the end of a fairly mediocre season. 

There was little of excitement to write about and I had pretty much written off any possibility of the same in 2025. 

It may turn out to be equally anti-climactic, but it doesn't need to be that way. 

Every season throws up a surprise package in sport, a team that plays beyond the sum of its parts, gets off to a flyer and makes everyone else sit up and take notice. 

There is no reason why it should not be Derbyshire. If you look down the team, there are players of talent, potential and experience. There are also those who are playing for a new contract, which is always a consideration. Most have points to prove, which could go either way, of course.

There are question marks. Some of these are over fitness, mental toughness and technique. The ability is there, as it has to be at this level. The key will be in Mickey Arthur getting the players to produce their collective best form on a consistent basis. 

We are not a team of superstars. There are few within it who can win a match on their own. But just as in 2012, when the team pulled together to produce something special, maybe the same spirit can be galvanised once more. Even in 1936, when we won the County Championship, we were far from a good batting side. Yet runs came down the order and someone always ensured the side had enough for a keen attack to work with.

Wayne Madsen is back as red ball skipper. Maybe reluctantly, as he has surely had the opportunity to return as captain before now, but he is by a distance the best option available. He lifted the second division trophy in 2012 and while it would be optimistic in the extreme to expect him to do the same this year, we only need a good start, decent luck with the weather and injuries and to hold our catches to make a decent fist of things. The Derby pitches will be key and if the planned use of hybrid tracks comes to fruition, we have the bowlers to make good use of them.

Blair Tickner returns after a spell last year that didn't go as planned, but was one in which his ability and attitude was clear. He has something to prove - not least his fitness after a shoulder problem - but an opening partnership with Zak Chappell will be dangerous. Zak was outstanding last summer and is so important with bat and ball. So too Ben Aitchison, who should return in early season to offer another excellent red ball option. We must hope his injury troubles are behind him and he can now go on to a long and successful county career.

After a good tour of Australia with England Lions, Pat Brown will want to make an impact in all forms of the game, while Harry Moore will hope to build on a fine first summer once he finishes school in June. With Nick Potts working his way back from injury and keen to get what looked a serious talent back on track, we should have the ability to take wickets - IF they all stay injury-free.

Jack Morley will likely be the lead spinner and is another young player with potential. Alex Thomson will possibly play a more peripheral role, but will aim to do well when opportunity presents itself. Mitch Wagstaff will hope to force his way into the reckoning too, though whether as a batter who bowls a bit, or a genuine all-rounder is currently up for proving

Martin Andersson joins a group of all rounders that also includes David Lloyd, Luis Reece and Anuj Dal, so competition for places will be strong. Sometimes last year I felt we almost had too many options and didn't always use them to best effect. All of them need to pitch in with bat and ball to support a batting line up, which while talented, was never reliable last year. That two of them have opened the batting in the past could be useful, although whether that is to stabilise and innings at 30-3 or face the second new ball at 270-3 will depend on the effectiveness of the 2025 batting model.

Madsen will again lead the batting - how often have I written that over the years? At some point Father Time will catch up, but there seemed little sign of that last year and there may yet be life in the supremely talented old dog beyond this summer. 

Caleb Jewell arrives from Tasmania after a troubled winter in which his form at least seemed to be returning at its end. At his best he can really bolster the batting and engender confidence, as Shan Masood did three years ago. Good judges in Australia rate him, but the side needs him to hit the ground running.

I would like to see Harry Came as his partner, but I hope Harry remains assertive. Too often last season he appeared to be bogged down with responsibility and his natural fluency disappeared. Towards the end of the season the strokes returned and so too the runs.

Brooke Guest could well continue at three, but so too could Luis Reece or David Lloyd. There is much to commend a left/right partnership in the top order, so it may be fluid, depending on the first wicket to fall. Meanwhile, Aneurin Donald will want to show that he can play match-winning innings in the long form. We all know he can hit a ball a long way, but he is at a stage in his career where he should realise you don't need to do it to every ball in four-day cricket. If he can marry his wonderful timing and power to greater game awareness, we would have a special player on our hands. 

He will also continue to be back up wicket keeper to Brooke Guest, although that seems as onerous a task as it once did for those on the staff in case Bob Taylor was injured. Guest's level of fitness and high standards are a huge asset to the club and he will prove a trusty advisor to Wayne Madsen.

Confidence will be high at this stage, as it will be around the eighteen first-class counties. I am making no bold assertions, as I don't think it is helpful, but IF we can produce our best form consistently, we should win our share of games. 

If we don't, it will be another of those seasons, I'm afraid. 

But like all of you, I wish them only the best.

Thoughts as the season approaches

A week today, weather permitting, Derbyshire will step onto the County Ground for the first time in 2025. 

It will be a friendly game against Oxford UCCE, but an opportunity to see our side in the flesh once more.

There was mixed news from overseas this week. Caleb Jewell returned to the Tasmania side and made 45 and 100*  in their final fixture against New South Wales. It was a decent attack too, but most interesting was the fact that he batted at four, rather than his usual opening role. Whether that is an option for Derbyshire I don't know, but it is certainly food for thought. 

However, Blair Tickner has had a shoulder niggle that has kept him out of the Central Districts side in recent matches. He should return for their final game and if all goes well he will arrive to take his place in Derbyshire's second fixture of the summer.

Starting the season with an overseas bowler who has a shoulder injury is not ideal and with Harry Moore still at school and Ben Aitchison not quite ready, we may start our opening game missing three seamers. 

I am sure that if the worst happened,  Mickey Arthur has someone in line to step in for red ball cricket, but he will hope to go with his original choice. There will be plenty of match fit Australian and New Zealand bowlers who could come in at short notice on a short-term visa if needed, of course.

Moving on, I was again talking to Matt Rhodes of North Derbyshire radio last week and you can hear our chat about all things Derbyshire here

It includes my thoughts on Allah Ghazanfar, our new mystery spinner, as well as the selection of Harry Moore for Hundred.

I always smile when I hear the term 'mystery spinner'. Ghazanfar is an outstanding bowler, but I recall when a chap turned up to our preseason club nets claiming to be one.

After watching a lengthy selection of full tosses and long hops, our club wicketkeeper sidled up to me.

'Mystery spinner, eh? I reckon the only mystery is whether he goes for fours or sixes...' 

'But can you read him?' I asked, conscious that if he got it right he might be a potent weapon

'It doesn't matter', he said. 'No bugger's going to be missing anything that he is tossing up'.

Which is what happened when he played a few games. Length and line would have been useful for any spin to be effective..

Finally today, thank you to those who have made donations towards the running of the blog, either on a one-off or regular basis. You can do so easily by clicking on the 'donate' button in the top left hand corner if viewing on a computer. Alternatively, you can do so through PayPal, If you prefer. 

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Our last week without county cricket, folks.

Exciting, isn't it?

Moore and Madsen picked for Hundred - and Blast thoughts

The news that Wayne Madsen and Harry Moore have been picked for this year's version of The Hundred was no surprise on the one hand, more so on the other.

With Pat Brown and Nye Donald already selected, Derbyshire will be without four of their first choice players for the One-Day Cup, which has led to considerable wailing and gnashing of teeth on social media. 

Yet supporters will need to accept - as I have - that the game has changed and the 50-over competition, whether we like it or not, is a development one. It is a chance for peripheral players to stake a claim, for young ones to make a name and for players possibly to change county and impress potential new suitors (assuming his own county has the resources to let him leave..)

Our best chance of success this year is in the T20, especially after the announcement of Allah Ghazanfar as overseas player for that competition. The announcement of Harry Moore in the Birmingham squad is a bold one and probably suggests he will play in the Vitality Blast this year. Is it asking a lot of a young man who hasn't yet played a T20 match to be participating in the ultimate of slap and giggle cricket? Perhaps, but Moore is a precocious talent and while Derbyshire will field two players over forty in the Blast (Madsen and Patel) it looks likely they could also field two eighteen-year olds in Moore and Ghazanfar. 

So what is your first choice Blast side, assuming fitness and form? I would likely go with:

Jewell

Donald

Madsen

Andersson

Whiteley/Lloyd

Guest

Patel

Chappell

Moore

Ghazanfar

Brown

You could go with Donald as wicket-keeper, but especially for a mystery spinner you need your best man behind the stumps. Andersson opened with success for Middlesex last year and there will be a decision between Whiteley (who really needs to play this format if he is going to) and Lloyd. 

Ross gives you another left-hander but perhaps his might be a floating role, to keep the bowlers changing their lines if Jewell went early. 

Conversely, Lloyd is a quick scorer and a bowling option, but the addition of Ghazanfar gives Derbyshire a VERY strong bowling unit for all surfaces.

Brown, Chappell, Moore, Ghazanfar and Patel. I am loathe to heap expectation on to the shoulders of two players still in their teens, but that might be our strongest-ever T20 attack.

Consider me excited. It could go wrong, of course and injuries can derail any side, but that looks a pretty decent side to me 

Thoughts? What would be your first choice eleven? 

Derbyshire swoop for Afghan ace Ghazanfar

Today's announcement of the signing of 18-year old Afghan 'mystery spinner' Allah Ghazanfar for the Vitality Blast has probably taken the cricket world by surprise. Yet that in no way reflects on the ability of a young man who is very highly thought of in the game, after a stellar start to his career.

Certainly the Mumbai Indians thought highly enough of him to pay 4.8 crore (around £450K) for his services for this year's IPL, before a back injury ruled him out of the competition, as it did the Champions Trophy. Based on his performances in 2024, it is likely that his appearance in those tournaments would have heightened awareness, but put him well outside of Derbyshire's budget. It is equally fair to say that this signing probably wouldn't have happened without the international contacts of Mickey Arthur. The Derbyshire Head of Cricket is good friends with Mahela Jayawardena, the head coach of Mumbai and former Sri Lankan captain.

Of course there is a risk in signing an overseas player of such tender years, just as there was when we signed the largely unknown Zaman Khan, also for the Vitality Blast, a couple of years back. There is also risk in signing a player who has missed several months of cricket with a back injury. But Derbyshire will have done due diligence on that one and will have been assured of his fitness for a stint in the Vitality Blast.

So what sort of player are we getting? 

If you Google his name he comes up as an offspin bowler, but that isn't close to the full story. Few have been able to consistently pick Ghazanfar's variations in his short time on the first class cricket scene. There is the carrom ball, top spin and back spin in his armoury, making him a challenge to take on with confidence. His fast action preserves the mystery and to merely play him as an off spin bowler is fraught with risk.

 He emerged from the 2024 Under-19 T20 World Cup, where he took eight wickets at an economy rate of just 3.35 runs per over. That he was initially preferred by Mumbai for this year's IPL, over the talented Mujeeb Ur Rahman of Bangladesh, speaks volumes for his talent and huge potential.

In senior cricket he has just 30 wickets in 19 T20 matches, but has only gone for six runs an over. Whether some wiley old professionals might work him out is a moot point,  but the merits of signing a player that many will not have heard of is that few will have faced his potent blend of spin both ways. At 6'2 he will also get bounce and is very much the sort of aggressive spinner that Samit Patel alluded to our needing, a few weeks ago. I look forward to watching his bowling partnership with the Derbyshire white ball captain.

A highest score of 1 in his five T20 knocks suggests he hasn't been signed to lengthen the batting, but if he can keep control or wreak havoc in the middle overs of matches he will have done his job. A YouTube video of his 31 against South Africa in a fifty-over game suggests he can handle a bat and hit a long ball, but supporters will hope we don't often require his services. 

Others may disagree, but I applaud this signing. It is left-field  and innovative, something that I cannot criticise. A lack of experience may come into the equation at some point, but age isn't an issue if you have the talent. Hampshire signed the precocious Lhuan-dre Pretorius, only a year older, a few weeks ago, confident that the young South African tyro can translate his clear talent to English pitches. And who is to say that Harry Moore might not play a role in the tournament this year? Youth should be no barrier and if you are good enough, you are old enough. Sachin Tendulkar let no one down when he was overseas player for Yorkshire at the age of 19.

I will be fascinated to see if Ghazanfar, the first Afghan overseas player to represent Derbyshire, can do similarly.

Based on what I have seen, I wouldn't bet against it. Have a look at this footage below, which clearly shows what the talented young man has to offer.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Kjwp3Zexzgg?si=LfXUr_l_iKtnW9dm

Welcome to Derbyshire, Allah!