Thoughts on The Blast and a way forward for Derbyshire

It has been another disappointing T20 summer for Derbyshire. 

Few among the support will have gone into the Vitality Blast with high expectations. Yet it has still been frustrating that the same failings have come back to haunt us. There were close finishes, but the big moments went the other way too often for comfort. Inexperience in some quarters, or a lack of mental toughness? There will be different opinions on that.

I know my own lack of confidence in the batting unit to chase and the bowling unit to contain has seeped into my reports and comments. Even the experience of sixty years of watching struggles to keep the sunny side up all the time.

The batting was too heavily dependent on Martin Andersson and Nye Donald. Once they had gone, the run rate usually dropped. If they failed, the shockwave impacted adversely on the rest. 

Donald remains an astonishing talent, an entertainer par excellence, but my concern remains how many matches he has won, at least until yesterday. How many times have his innings crossed the line from 'highly entertaining' to 'match winning'? Perhaps they might be considered so if those further down lent greater support, but he could be one of the biggest players in the world IF his knocks frequently continued outwith the Powerplay.

That said, he averaged over 40 in the competition this year, which is extraordinary given how he plays. The game changes all the time, but fifty years from now there will be youngsters watching him today who will regale their own children and grandchildren with tales of watching him bat. I know I haven't seen anyone quite like him and I saw Wilkins and Kuiper at their best. I would love to see him succeed in the four-day game, but suspect that in this form, franchises and a T20 deal is the most that we will see him.

I was not convinced by his glovework, which sometimes highlighted how infrequently he does it, while his captaincy was only adequate. Too often a bowler was given a second, even third successive over with an inevitable detrimental  consequence and there appeared no real game plan in the field, no match ups. It all seemed pre-determined, rarely the way to success in an unforgiving format, where you need to think on your feet.

Losing one of these responsibilities might be a way forward, the restoration of Brooke Guest behind the stumps the most likely and welcome move.

Nye will always be the first name on my T20 team sheet. But I don't think he will change his game, so to maximise his input the rest of the side needs to be looked at over the winter.

Andersson has been a superb signing. His medium pace can develop further and his variations with it. But a player who can bat in the top three with success AND offer some handy overs is a prize indeed. 

The crucial number three berth was never successfully filled this year, while the decline in Wayne Madsen's returns was a further issue. We will likely see the county legend in 2027, but now know that it will be in red ball and 50-over cricket only. How he is replaced will be key to any upturn in T20 fortunes next summer. Matthew Montgomery could come in higher, where he wouldn't have to hit from the get go and he may be the best bet for the Madsen role at four. The similarity in style, if not yet weight of runs, should make the parting easier to bear.

You don't easily replace those runs with one man. The team has to be reshaped and there has to be a greater collective approach to setting and chasing totals.

Ross Whiteley scored steadily, but had a highest score of 46. There will be consideration over a new deal and it will depend on if there is anyone better for that role. Of the other all rounders on the staff, Anuj Dal hasn't been seen as a T20 player and Luis Reece has had a lot of injuries. More on that later.

Neither Yusuf bin Naeem nor Amrit Basra made the best of opportunities, but it was telling that when Harry Came was brought in against Somerset he batted three, which was the logical slot for Basra to play. The jury is still out on his ability at this level, but to judge him on batting in the last three overs of an innings is unfair. Naeem clearly has talent and plenty of time on his side, so hopefully his time will come again. Came did pretty well, but I don't yet see him as a T20 regular. I would love to be proved wrong and more knocks like the one yesterday would do that.

The side always seemed both a batter AND bowler short. The absence of Chappell, Moore and Brown cannot be ignored, but nor can their respective inexperience and more recent poor returns in the format. Chappell was the most missed, not least for his lengthening of the batting line up and ability to hit long at the end of an innings.

The bowling was the curate's egg. Those injuries gave opportunity to Nick Potts and he did pretty well. Another winter working with Chris Wright should see him improve still further and if he can hit his yorkers more often he could be a real talent, his changes of pace being good to see. Ben Aitchison started well, but I don't see white ball as his stronger suit at this stage.  He is an outstanding red ball bowler and perhaps could  earn a deserved breather for T20 another year, like Rory Haydon.

That would depend on overseas and domestic recruitment. I thought Akif Javed got better as the tournament progressed and he became more accustomed to the pitches. An early reluctance to bowl yorkers was odd and his tendency to drop short and also overstep was costly on occasions. I wouldn't be averse to his return, when he would have this experience to draw on, but even if the international fixtures allowed it, I don't think we should sign both he AND Sufyan Moqim. Neither are natural fielders and offer nothing with the bat. One of the overseas has to do that in this side, for sake of balance. Nor is it ideal to have two players in the side whose language challenges make contribution to the group dynamic problematic.

Moqim was excellent, although a return for either depends on the pitch strategy for 2027 and I suspect Javed may be more readily available. Having said that, the other domestic bowling success was Jack Morley and unless we produce dry slow pitches (like Old Trafford) then two non-batting spinners doesn't make a lot of sense. As a friend wrote in an email to me last week, when we have a stronger spin than seam attack,why didn't we play to that strength? Aside from the fact that none of the spinners have any batting credentials, of course, but it is a moot point

So how can recruitment help? Domestically, we could do worse than look at Sol Budinger, who seemed more peripheral at Leicester, even before his injury and could give the innings a super-fast start with Donald, as well as affording an important left/right combination. He is a mercurial talent but maybe needs the right environment in which to thrive. At his best he is a southpaw Donald and extremely dangerous. Andersson could then drop to three, with the ability (and instruction) to try to bat through the rest of the innings. Any successful T20 side needs such a player.

Another player I like, again lacking opportunity is Will Rhodes at Durham. A gritty competitor, he could be a handy all rounder in this format, as well as an opener in the red ball game. If they could pick up these two - and finances are likely to be a challenge - they could consider just one overseas player. Perhaps someone in the vein of Romario Shepherd, Shadab Khan or Sikander Raza, although Worcestershire would surely want him back. One would hope that Mickey Arthur's Big Book of Contacts could find an all rounder of sorts, ideally one who offers a different angle, or perhaps unorthodox spin? Hayden Kerr was a decent asset in 2022, to give but one example in the recent past. The team's balance would look far better if the overseas player had another skill set.

Wouldn't this side, on paper at least, offer greater potential?

Donald, Budinger, Andersson, Montgomery, Naeem/Basra, Rhodes, Shepherd/Raza/Kerr, Guest, Chappell, Potts/Moore/Stewart, Morley

If there was sufficient budget for a second overseas, bring back either Moqim or Javed. Better still, perhaps another with multi-discipline skills. As I have written before, Brandon McMullen of Scotland is a serious talent and the success of George Munsey at Nottinghamshire highlights how experience of UK pitches is very much an asset. Indeed, I would consider him for that first role,  a dynamic bat, more than useful bowler and brilliant fielder.

So an alternate eleven might read:

Donald, Budinger, Andersson, Montgomery, Naeem/Basra, McMullen, Rhodes, Guest, Chappell, Moore/Potts/Stewart, Morley/second overseas

 I would expect Matt Stewart to be on the staff next year and he might push Potts for a place in the white ball eleven, at his current rate of progress. So too could Harry Moore and perhaps T20 and four overs at a time eases him back into the first-class game?

How do they afford this? Tough decisions have to be made, but I would sadly release Caleb Jewell, Anuj Dal, Pat Brown and Ross Whiteley. I don't think Mitch Wagstaff has convinced enough to remain either. He will be 23 in September, has not yet broken through and at this level patience will be limited. He needed weight of runs in league and Second XI and that hasn't happened.

It hasn't worked out for Caleb this year, while the returns of Nuj have been in decline for a few summers now. Pat is another single-format player, which is tough to justify and Ross...well, he is the finisher, but isn't finishing. A wonderful fielder, but he should be getting us over the line in tight situations and isn't. The game on Friday night was a clear example of this.

All of these are players whose best cricket I have enjoyed immensely, but progress requires change and that necessitates tough decisions being made. There can be no room for sentiment in professional sport.

At the very least, the team I listed above would offer seven/eight bowling options and bats deep, as well as having a specialist wicket-keeper.

What do you think? I am especially interested in your overseas batting/bowling/genuine all rounder suggestions. Even if the complexity of the international calendar means the county may get down to their tenth choice before striking gold...

At a members forum earlier in the year, Mickey Arthur said that the thrust of recruitment this winter would be on white ball cricket and it is clearly the area of greater need. We *should* remain competitive in the red ball game, but the right signings could see that extend to white ball too.

Postscript: I am aware that Budinger and Rhodes are under contract until the end of 2027. I am equally aware that modern contracts are barely worth the paper they are written on and seem heavily weighted in favour of players. If they are offered greater opportunity elsewhere, in a short career they will generally seek their release and take it.

Whether they interest Mickey Arthur only he knows, but both are players I feel could enhance the Derbyshire squad. 

As for overseas players - well, he knows a lot more players than I, but Derbyshire prospects would improve if they offered balance to the team and better complemented its existing personnel.

Besides fitting into the available budget, of course...

Book Review: The Englishman by Tim Brooks

My first reaction on receiving this book was one of surprise. Pitch Publishing, long-established as publishers of excellent sports nonfiction, moving into the realms of fiction, albeit with a sporting theme? Yes and to very good effect.

Tim Brooks follows the journey of an Edwardian cricketing prodigy with the world at his feet, who leaves university to defend all he holds dear – only to find himself in the ranks of the lost generation in the war to end all wars.

The author has written three previous books, all of them well received , including the excellent Bat Maker of Copenhagen, based on the true story of a World War Two cricketing hero.

In this one, the theme bears similarities to The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje, with the central character badly wounded and with no recollection of his life before the war or how he came to be on the island of Corfu.

Yet it is in the sketching of that previous life that the book finds its strength. Real life cricketers flit across the pages, such as Phil Mead, CB Fry and Jack Hearne, brought vividly to life by a writer who clearly knows his cricket from the passages of play described herein.

So too in the descriptions of Edwardian life, Oxford gentility and the idyllic setting of Corfu and its long history of cricket. It can and will be enjoyed by those who want a hugely entertaining story, as well as those who come across it for the cricket content.

As I reached the final pages, I was certain that this book could easily translate to a mini series, or to a film itself. To replicate the quality of the prose here would be a challenge, while the in game footage would need to be realistic enough to convince cricket fans of its authenticity. But as myriad successful books and films have shown, there is great interest in the Edwardian era and the privileged lives of society's higher echelons.

This is a hugely enjoyable read that I rattled through in just a couple of days. Then wanted to start again. When that happens, you know you have just read something special.

Well done Tim Brooks and well done Pitch Publishing. This is a beautiful story, expertly told and if there is any justice it will sell in large quantities.

The Englishman is written by Tim Brooks and published by Pitch Publishing.

Derbyshire v Leicestershire Vitality Blast

Leicestershire 171-8 (Turner 79, Green 34, Javed 4-23, Montgomery 3-26)

Derbyshire 172-3 (Donald 91, Came 45*, Ahmed 2-46)

Derbyshire won by 7 wickets

I cannot have been the only one with a tear in my eye as Wayne Madsen walked down the pavilion steps with his wife and daughters this afternoon, en route to his final T20 innings for Derbyshire.

The innings didn't follow the script, as he was bowled by Rehan Ahmed for two, but we can perhaps attribute it to the Bradman-style guard of honour, sportingly offered by the Leicestershire players as he reached the middle. It was a mark of the respect in which he is held in the game and he will have been pleased to sign off his final T20 appearance with a comfortable and professional team win, perhaps with a tear like the rest of us.

Earlier, the Leicestershire innings was a bit of a mess until Ashton Turner went into overdrive. Thankfully, no one afterwards was able to say 'you ain't seen nothing yet' and the final total was a seemingly adequate, but no more, 171-8

Turner is a good player but has had a mixed time with Leicestershire, including three ducks. Here he opened up in fine style after reaching his half century, striking Moqim for three sixes in his final over. The visiting innings would have been in a sorry state without his innings of 79, as only Green and Evison otherwise contributed.  

The Derbyshire spinners did well, keeping their discipline and the ball away from the short boundary side of the pitch. Yet the star turn was Akif Javed, who has improved as the tournament has progressed. He bowled with pace and aggression to take a splendid 4-23, while Matt Montgomery was very tidy with 3-26.

The home reply was typical of the season, as Donald and Andersson passed fifty in the fourth over before the latter was caught. It brought in Harry Came, who batted in stylish manner to the end, sensibly willing to play second fiddle to his captain as Nye Donald went on to his highest T20 score. He batted just 38 balls for his 91, 7 fours and 7 sixes among his shots, yet there was greater restraint too, which was pleasing to see. This time he saw his team close to the line before holing out on the boundary edge, leaving Came and Matthew Montgomery to ease Derbyshire home.

It was a good win but I won't get unduly carried away, as Leicestershire have looked very ordinary  this summer and the result merely decided bottom and second bottom in the group.  I have no idea why they don't open with Patel and they miss the dynamic Sol Budinger, currently injured.

Still a win is a win and on Wayne's Big Day that is what we all hoped for.

On to the One Day Cup now, but first a mid-season break, until July 21.

Madsen to retire from domestic T20 cricket

Wayne Madsen's appearance for Derbyshire against Leicestershire at Derby tomorrow will be his last in T20 cricket for the county, it has been announced.

He will continue to play red ball and 50-over cricket for the remainder of this season and, from the wording of the press release today, one assumes he will be available in these formats in 2027. 

He retires from the domestic short form game as the fourth highest scorer in T20 history in this country and we can consider ourselves fortunate to have seen one of the genuine all-time county greats in Derbyshire colours. 

His improvisation, range of strokes and power hitting made him nigh-impossible to bowl at, when he was at his best.

For what it is worth, I feel that he has made the right decision. This will enable him to see more of his family, who are now based in South Africa, while still able to contribute in the longer forms of the game. 

There has been a falling off in his output in the Blast this summer and it is unforgiving for senior players in the field. Wayne will continue to be an outstanding captain, batter and role model in the longer forms of the game and this decision may even prolong his career in those formats. 

He currently tops the county batting averages in red ball cricket and I expect a strong finish to the season from him. 

It is too early for goodbye, which will be an emotional time for all supporters. Yet for now it is appropriate to thank him for the wonderful service that he has given, as well as the entertainment that he has provided in T20 cricket over so many seasons. 

I hope supporters will give him the standing ovation that he deserves at tomorrow's game against Leicestershire and that that he marks his final appearance in the Blast with a good innings and a win.

How they replace him in T20 cricket is anyone's guess, but you can read my thoughts on a possible way forward for the county in short form cricket on Monday morning.

For now, Wayne - it has been a pleasure and I hope it continues to be in red ball cricket for a little while longer.

Thank you for those white ball memories.

Durham v Derbyshire Vitality Blast

Durham 165-7 (Ackerman 69*, McKinney 31, Akif 3-30, Potts 2-27

Derbyshire 160-6 (Andersson 44, Came 35*, Carse 2-28)

Durham won by 5 runs

Derbyshire's bowlers did a good job at Chester le Street tonight, albeit in conditions that were helpful to them.

Again both overseas players bowled well, but so did everyone else. Matthew Montgomery was left on an over too long and his second was punished by Ben McKinney after a good first (and a first ball wicket) but as a collective effort I thought it was excellent. Jack Morley again bowled an intelligent spell and Nick Potts was back to his best after punishment on Wednesday night. Martin Andersson also mixed up his pace well and proved hard to get away.

No complaints about that at all and the fielding was equally good. Special mention needs to be made of Ross Whiteley, who saved a lot of runs at long on with some excellent (and very brave at times) stops.

The home innings was kept afloat by Colin Ackermann, who although not as fluent as usual played a doughty knock for his side.

Derbyshire needed 166 to win as a consequence and quickly lost Donald and Naeem, both playing with undue haste in the circumstances. In their defence, it was clear that second use of a pitch that was far from true was going to be a challenge.

Andersson, as he has done so well this season, mounted a recovery with Madsen at the other end. Neither found the boundary regularly, but adopted a similar method to Ackermann and Derbyshire reached halfway at 71-2, needing 95 to win.

A slog sweep six from Madsen on the resumption signalled intent, but he hit Sowter to mid off later in the over and the rebuild had to start again. Sadly Andersson followed in the next over after a good knock and Derbyshire's hopes were dwindling.

Montgomery hit a couple of sixes before going the same way as Madsen but Derbyshire reached the last three needing 39, with Came and Whiteley at the crease.

They came close but in the end the collective nous of Raine and Potts was too much and Derbyshire slipped to another defeat by five runs

Close but not close enough. Perhaps the story of the competition this season.

Book Review: A Fine Line - How The Spireites (Almost) Reached The FA Cup Final by Matthew Rhodes

A little bit of a departure for me, with this one. I haven't reviewed a football book on the blog before, but knowing many of you, like me, follow the sport in the winter, I thought that you would be interested in this stirring local tale.

it is Matthew Rhodes' first book and if the name seems familiar, he is the former Senior Sports Editor for North Derbyshire Radio, who interviewed me regularly over the last couple of seasons about Derbyshires fortunes.

Now a freelance sports journalist, he provides live audio commentaries and written match reports for Flash Score, but has returned to his first love, Chesterfield FC, for his first book.

I hope there are many more, because he tells this tale in engaging fashion, helped by eye witness reports and comments from fans, writers, players and administrators alike.

And what a tale it is. Although not a Chesterfield fan as such, I follow their results and those of Burton Albion because of the local connection and clearly recall the astonished reaction, as the 'Derbyshire minnows' made the semi-final of the FA Cup. And oh so nearly got to Wembley.

It is hard to believe that this is now thirty years ago, but Matt's account makes it as fresh as if it happened last season. Managed by former Tottenham and Derby star John Duncan and with a young, soon to be star in Kevin Davies, who later played once for England, the side also featured Sean Dyche, who has since become a highly-respected manager, heavily influenced, as he says, by Duncan.

A lot of the book brought back memories for me as a child and a young man, queuing for cup tickets in the old-fashioned way and hoping they wouldn't run out before you reached the front of the line. Going to matches in conditions that were far from the sanitised stadia of today and in some ways all the better for it. 

It makes for an exciting read. History records what happened, of course, but Matt Rhodes has done a really fine job in bringing together many disparate strands and making this the definitive account of how a little local club came within a disallowed goal of Wembley. He has even included an interview with referee David Elleray, which gives a unique perspective on the thought process behind the goal that never was.

Chesterfield drew that first, enthralling game 3-3, against an opposition side that included such players as Ravanelli, Festa and Juninho. They couldn't raise themselves to such heights in the replay, but what a cup run, what a season and what memories they made. It put Chesterfield on the map and made local legends of all of those involved.

I would heartily recommend this book to all Chesterfield fans, as well as those who enjoy a good tale of underdogs mixing it with the big boys. 

Nice work, Matt. In football parlance, the boy done well! 

Durham v Derbyshire Vitality Blast preview

Both Derbyshire and Durham have announced unchanged squads for the penultimate Vitality Blast game at The Riverside tomorrow.

The only potential change to the Derbyshire side from that which lost to Somerset last night is whether Ben Aitchison replaces Jack Morley. 

The home side have the following 14 players in their squad for the game: 

Kasey Aldridge, Colin Ackermann, David Bedingham, Brydon Carse, Graham Clark, Shafiqullah Ghafari, Alex Lees, Ben McKinney, Callum Parkinson, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Luke Robinson, Ollie Robinson, Nathan Sowter.

Derbyshire do not have the best of records on this ground and I don't expect that to change tomorrow. They have only pride to play for, while the home side need to win and then beat Lancashire in their final game to potentially qualify for the quarter finals.

Brydon Carse, David Bedingham and Ben Raine are back in their squad and again, I expect them to be too strong for Derbyshire on another hot evening.

What do you think? 

Derbyshire v Somerset Vitality Blast

Somerset 214-6 (Smeed 89, T Rew 39, Kohler-Cadmore 39 Andersson 3-33, Sufyan 2-33)

Derbyshire 187-7 (Donald 65, Madsen 44, Whiteley 28, Came 28, Sams 3-29, Ball 2-35)

Somerset won by 27 runs

There was another of those innings from Aneurin Donald tonight, as Derby basked in the evening sunshine on one of those days you never want to end.

Six fours, six sixes, six overs. It was magnificent while it lasted, as it always is when his hands, eyes and feet are synchronised. I've never seen anyone in Derbyshire colours who strikes the ball so cleanly, or who gives such entertainment and frustration in equal measure.

it was, as General Bosquet might once have said magnifique, mais ce n'est pas le T20 batting. I wish Nye could learn from even someone like Will Smeed, who knocked it around when the bowling deserved it and hit it into the middle distance when it didn't. Over the years I have thrilled at Sobers, Gayle, Azharuddin, Kuiper, de Villiers and Richards. Wonderful batters all, mainly because they went through the gears as the game situation warranted. Nye gave Derbyshire a wonderful base, but you rarely win a match in six overs of batting, however magnificent. It was perfect for T10 or the other competition, but with 14 overs to go, an opportunity missed, for me. 

No one else was likely to match his power, with Derbyshire again chasing 200-plus. Both overseas players did a good job tonight and Martin Andersson put in a good shift with the ball, but Smeed and Kohler-Cadmore took a liking to Nick Potts, who had probably his only down day of the tournament. It happens, he will hopefully learn from it and come back stronger.

After Donald's dismissal, Derbyshire never threatened to keep up with the required run rate. Came and Madsen played some nice shots, but the Somerset bowling was an object lesson in closing down an innings and they ran out easy winners. Their fielding was also top drawer with some stunning catches taken, which always makes a difference.

With that, Derbyshire's interest in the knockout stages has finally gone, but that has been a pipe dream for a while now.

We move on and hope for better fortune and performance in the One Day Cup.

Derbyshire v Somerset Vitality Blast preview

Mickey Arthur has named an unchanged squad for the game at the Our Co-op County Ground tomorrow night.

I suspect the only decision he has to make is whether to restore Ben Aitchison to the side, in place of Jack Morley. The rest of the eleven I fully expect to be unchanged. 

I have no real expectations of a result tomorrow, against the side that won the Vitality Blast last season. Somerset have proven a little more fallible this year and have already lost five matches, but I suspect they will have too much firepower for Derbyshire tomorrow.

They inflicted a first defeat of the competition on Northamptonshire the other night, beating them by 105 runs. It would appear unlikely that they would change a winning side and so I expect them to field the following eleven:

Smeed, Rew, Rew, Kohler-Cadmore, Goldsworthy, Sams, Overton, Thomas, Shaw, Meredith, Ball

It would be nice to be more positive, but the results have given little cause for it in this competition. While Derbyshire are a solid red ball side, I have less confidence in our white ball side, at least in this competition.

Having said that, I would be delighted to be proven wrong. 

Lancashire v Derbyshire Vitality Blast

Derbyshire 150-9 (Andersson 49, Montgomery 26)

Lancashire 150-8 (Livingstone 31, Hurst 30, Moqim 3-15, Montgomery 2-29)

Match tied

I perhaps saw the 'future of cricket' tonight and was far from impressed with it.

For the first couple of overs you could watch the game and its many camera angles, before it switched to a fixed camera at either end, with plenty of adverts for the 'premium stream'. Which was fine, until it switched to a scorecard and commentary only - but with plenty of adverts for the 'premium stream'.

I considered paying for the 'premium stream', but considering it justification for their 'thought process' and didn't bother. Besides, I had no real desire to watch interminable crowd shots and Lanky the mascot strutting his stuff, nor filling in a lengthy form, so I didn't. If this becomes de rigeur I might find another hobby, or just watch video reruns of old games on YouTube.

It was awful.

Anyway, by then the Derbyshire innings was in terminal decline and they limped to a final score of 150-9. Andersson batted well, so too Montgomery for a while, but it was a slow pitch and the advent of the spinners strangled the Derbyshire batting. Donald hit a couple of sixes but his pinch hitting was never likely to succeed against one so wily as Jimmy Anderson.

That strangulation suggested that Derbyshire's selection of Jack Morley instead of Ben Aitchison would prove crucial. He bowled well, as did Montgomery, while Moqim was excellent. It was a pitch made for him and his 3-15 gave Derbyshire every chance.

I can't be the only one, however, to wait for defeat to be snatched from the jaws of victory. Javed bowled well, exceeding 90mph at times, but his no ball in the penultimate over cost six from the free hit and the last over looked tight for Potts. Pace or not, Javed went for ten an over and it wasn't - or shouldn't have been - that kind of pitch.

Potts started the last over well, with yorkers, then opted to bowl short and went for two boundaries. It left Lancashire needing one from the last ball, when he returned to a yorker and bowled Hurst, who had kept his side in the game. It was a good effort from the youngster, who continues to impress.

But Derbyshire again should have closed out that game. With 37 needed from 17 balls, it was another frustrating end.

Bit like the competition for us, really

Lancashire v Derbyshire Vitality Blast preview

I haven't done a preview for tonight's game before now, as life got in the way.

To be honest, I could copy and paste what I have previously written about this competition. Derbyshire have the talent to beat Lancashire at Old Trafford tonight, but whether they do is anyone's guess. The bottom line is that we never know which version of our team will turn up, on a given day. 

I watched Yorkshire easily beat Leicestershire at Headingley yesterday. It was hard going, because of their insistence on panning to the crowd at every opportunity, sometimes at the expense of the action in the middle. There's only so many mug shots and carpool karaokes a man can handle..

Yet primarily it was tough because this is a Yorkshire side that sits top of the northern group, yet for 90% of the games between the two counties, Derbyshire were comfortably on top. 

I watched AJ Tye and Hasan Ali produce text book death bowling to snuff out any chance of a visiting challenge. Fast, straight yorkers, then a couple bowled wide. Impossible to hit for six, consummately professional. When we have two bowlers who can bowl like that, as Charl Langeveldt, Zaman Khan and Lockie Ferguson used to do, I will get excited about T20 prospects once more. 

I don't see any change in the Derbyshire side tonight, although Harry Came, Shoaib Bashir and Jack Morley are also in the fourteen. It is possible that a dry, spinning pitch might see an extra spinner play, but it would again shorten the batting.

Lancashire will also likely be unchanged from the side that lost narrowly to Nottinghamshire. The challenge will again be working our way through a lengthy batting order, one that took the game away last week after a good start. 

Failure to win ends Derbyshire hopes of qualification, although for me that ended at Queen's Park. Maybe even at Headingley, if I think about it, when worrying signs of fallibility were there for all to see.

We will see later.

Weekend thoughts - overseas recruitment and an emphasis on multi-discipline players

There is one week to go in the Vitality Blast group stages, in the course of which Derbyshire will play four fixtures. 

It is still technically possible for them to qualify as one of the best-placed third place teams, but while my optimism is well known to regular readers, I hope my realism is even more so. 

Losing Zak Chappell, Harry Moore and Pat Brown from the likely first-choice eleven is oft-cited as a reason for the poor results, but only the former was likely to play a major part. Could we really place additional weight of expectation on the shoulders of Moore, if he regains full fitness? He has played less first-class cricket than Nick Potts and will come into 2027 off the back of two seasons without stepping onto a pitch.

The same goes with Brown. He looked very good in his first summer with the county, but a serious injury severely impacted him last year and he has played no cricket in 2026. He may, or may not, be around for 2027 and might see a fresh start as better for him. Almost certainly any new contract with Derbyshire would need to reflect the uncertainty over his fitness and his underwhelming returns - albeit injury-affected - last year.

Derbyshire has missed the depth and power that Chappell adds to the batting, almost as much as his bowling. Whatever the improved batting abilities of Nick Potts and Ben Aitchison, neither of them are yet more than good number nines. Yet both have additional batting pressure because our overseas picks are clear tens and elevens. 

That is my 'beef' with Mickey Arthur's overseas selections. I don't blame him for re-signing Caleb Jewell after a very good 2025, but I wasn't then and am not now convinced that he will get better. A career average of 32, as he approaches 30, is less than, to use an example, Harry Came. I could get behind someone in their early 20s with such an average, but otherwise it suggests a technical flaw that opponents have exploited with worrying frequency. 

If finance is an issue (and it usually is) then perhaps the money on a second overseas player next year might be better spent on a solid county professional? There would be savings on air fares, accommodation and a car, before any other benefit is considered and with the ECB keen to change to one overseas player per county from 2028, perhaps it would be better to recruit someone now who might offer multi-format options and depth. 

According to The Cricketer, Hampshire are very interested in Anuj Dal, after their disappointing summer in red ball cricket. Nuj has been a good servant to Derbyshire but perhaps a fresh challenge might be what he needs, after a few disappointing seasons. He seemed to have made it in 2022, when he averaged 73 with the bat and took 34 wickets, but his batting average has declined and there have been only four fifties and one century since then. Similarly, his bowling is useful, rather than deadly and maybe the county needs to look at other options. Especially when there are doubts over the fitness of Luis Reece, while Martin Andersson still seems to be more of an occasional bowler.

One such might be Danny Lamb, likely to be released by Sussex but an all-format player of clear talent. So too Will Rhodes, who struggles for game time in a strong Durham squad but is a solid left-hand bat and handy seamer, again across formats. There are others, seasoned professionals who offer good multi-format value.

Such players could be important to Derbyshire, who cannot carry a large squad and need players who can contribute in both red and white ball cricket.

Which brings me back to overseas players. Akif Javed and Sufyan Moqim look decent, but both are bowlers only. That being the case, they need to be winning games and neither - in limited performances in Moqim's case - has looked like doing so. 

Perhaps we need to look at players who can contribute with bat, ball and in the field. Neither Javed nor Moqim could be confused with Keith Boyce in the field and they aren't batters either. A player who can give impetus with the bat and bowl some overs is the ideal and single-discipline players have to be very good at that to succeed.

Before the season started, I felt Worcestershire had recruited well with Usama Mir and the explosive Sikandar Raza, and so it has proved. A batting leggie and another who hits a long ball - what's not to like? Shadab Khan took the game away from Derbyshire on Wednesday with 58 from 22 balls, before taking three wickets. Nottinghamshire picked up George Munsey from Scotland and he has done very well for them. There are others north of the border and Michael Leask, an aggressive bat and handy spinner, as well as brilliant fielder, could have done a decent job. So too Brandon McMullen, who I have long since espoused, a player who contributes in all disciplines. There's also Harry Tector of Ireland, a fine bat and handy spinner. 

I just feel that bringing over players unknown in this country is fine, but just as English players won't know them, they will also be unaware of our pitches and players. If they are learning as they go, the risk is that the tournament is gone before they have fully adapted.

That is rather what has happened here. Javed bowled well on Wednesday, but in games where you really needed the overseas to set the standard, earlier in the competition, he was found wanting. A good overseas would have closed out at Chesterfield and Headingley, two games that will still remain frustrating ten years from now. 

It needs a rethink. I am not as qualified as Mickey Arthur, but I hope that I apply a liberal coating of common sense when I write. Our Vitality Blast side this year has looked unbalanced, oddly short of batting AND bowling. An emphasis on the recruitment of players who can offer both would be pretty sound strategy.

As always, I appreciate your thoughts.

Derbyshire v Lancashire Vitality Blast

I didn't see all of last night's game, but once again it illustrated the frailties of this side in this format. 

The batting is capable of scoring 200, but they have to, because the bowling isn't especially strong. It is hard to criticise Aitchison, who hasn't missed a game this season and must be tired, but his lines and lengths were off last night, as they were against Yorkshire. He is an outstanding red ball bowler but not yet the real deal in the white ball game.

The same goes for Andersson. The six wickets against Leicestershire seem a distant memory and the combined five overs for 84 runs were the issue last night. But it can happen at T20, to anyone and McDermott, who has struggled to buy a run, and Shadab put the game out of Derbyshire's reach with powerful, clean hitting, albeit aided by too many balls that were there to be hit.

Montgomery returned excellent figures, while Potts had a fine all round game and continues to develop. The two overseas did OK, with Atif's final over, chock full of fast yorkers, a stand out. Why it has taken until now to show these is a moot point. 

The batting? Basically it confirmed my assertion of two days ago that we don't chase well and contained several echoes of Clive Dunn's Corporal Jones character in Dad's Army, running around shouting 'DON'T PANIC!'

Did Madsen need to step away and play the shot at the end of the power play that turned a good one into something average? Did Montgomery need to go for six and hole out on the boundary edge with men back, when we were ahead of the rate and he had just come in? Did Donald, after a sparkling innings, need to go big once again, having done all the hard work and got it down to 79 off nine? Meanwhile, my frustration with Basra continues. He is clearly a fine player but appears only to have an 'on' or 'off' switch with nothing in between. 71 needed off eight overs, when he too tried to repeat a shot he had just played and also holed out. It only needed common sense from there and it appeared to have left town..

Perhaps rather than getting involved in range-hitting golf simulations, the players might benefit more from watching videos of how Dean Jones, Peter Kirsten and Mohammad Azharuddin chased down totals. A boundary an over, work the spaces in the field, run hard, limit the dot balls. In the modern game, with modern bats, you *should* make a run chase of single digits per over. Sadly, the Derbyshire mantra appears to be 'six or bust' and too often for taste it isn't six...

There will be assertions that 'we can still qualify' but supporters know these are empty promises. We don't bowl well as a unit and we don't chase totals. Opponents will play on this - I know I would - and four wins from four against Durham, Lancashire, Leicestershire and Somerset (reigning champions, no less..) isn't going to happen.

Once again, Derbyshire illustrated that there is talent a-plenty within the ranks, but until we play better AS A TEAM and manage game situations better, they won't be making space in the trophy cabinet anytime soon.

Derbyshire v Lancashire Vitality Blast preview

I don't see any change to the Derbyshire side for tomorrow's game against Lancashire at Derby.

Regardless of the result, the eleven that played against Yorkshire on Sunday represents our best chance of winning games in this competition, as things stand. 

It doesn't look like either Zak Chappell or Pat Brown will play any part in the Blast this year, which has been a blow, for sure. 

So the likely Derbyshire side will be:

Donald, Andersson, Naeem, Madsen, Montgomery, Whiteley, Basra, Potts, Aitchison, Moqim, Javed

Came, Jewell, Haydon, Morley also in the squad. There is an argument for Morley to be in the side, but that would leave a lengthy tail and would appear less likely, to me at least.

Lancashire are missing their England men, Salt, Buttler, Mahmood and Wood, but still travel with a strong fourteen:

Keaton Jennings, James Anderson, Tom Aspinwall, George Balderson, Jack Blatherwick, Paul Coughlin, Tom Hartley, Matty Hurst, Michael Jones, Liam Livingstone, Ben McDermott, Joe Moores, Shadab Khan, Harry Singh

Ben McDermott returns to the club where he had his first English experience, while Shadab Khan lends his considerable international experience with bat and ball. 

Can Derbyshire win? Of course. The batting has again done well in this competition, but the bowling has been the issue. I think they are better at setting a total than chasing one, but the issue has been restricting opponents, regardless of what total is posted.

I will follow from afar, but will leave you to comment as I am unlikely to see much/any of the game myself.

So, who is feeling hopeful? 

Brief Monday thoughts

My wife and I are away again this week to our favourite haunt of Berwick-upon-Tweed and won't be back until Friday.

Accordingly, I will create a page for your comments on the game against Lancashire, if you could append them in due course, please.

I won't write about the game, but will add a few observations when I have a chance to do so. 

Derbyshire are now bottom of the group and although their NRR remains good, thanks to the batting, the chances of the knock outs are now slim. We still have to play a Lancashire side strengthened by Buttler and Salt twice, as well as Somerset, who are rather good at this format.

I accept that our first choice side would likely have included Chappell, Brown and Moore. We also need to remember that Aitchison and Potts between them have only 90 overs of experience in T20 (not that Moore would improve that). Such inexperience is telling and winter recruitment, whether of overseas or domestic players, has to do something about it. Javed bowls with serious pace at times, but his own inexperience of English pitches shows in perhaps a lack of pace variation, while a yorker (or even a low full toss) might be better options at times. 

We will see. Anyway, off on the road now and I will catch you when I get the chance.

Derbyshire v Yorkshire Vitality Blast

Derbyshire 215-9 (Madsen 62, Andersson 51, Whiteley 36, Tye 3-36, Hasan Ali 3-39)

Yorkshire 215-8 (Revis 69*, Luxton 46, Ashraf 40, Aitchison 3-46, Sufyan 2-32)

Match tied

Another desperately poor display of death bowling by Derbyshire saw them squander another winning position at Chesterfield today. 

Yorkshire needed NINETY-THREE from the last six overs of the game and they got, or were allowed to get, 92 of them, as the game ended in a tie. 

It was exciting, I grant you, but when Martin Andersson bowled a 15th over full of wides and full tosses, then Javed lost his radar and went for 14 off the first three balls of the next, I messaged a friend and said 'the discipline has gone'. We were in trouble and collectively the bowlers lost it. You shouldn't lose from there and that Derbyshire has squandered two winning positions in the two matches against Yorkshire is very poor.

I take nothing away from Matthew Revis, who followed on from the example of Faheem Ashraf and hit through the ball, which too often for comfort was put into the slot by the bowlers. The fielders almost got them out of it, as some fine boundary catches were held, but holy moly, there was some bang average bowling in those closing overs.

In contrast, after a vibrant start in which they were rollicking along, Derbyshire added only 10 runs from the last 14 deliveries of their innings. Yorkshire got 43 from the last 18. The home side managed 4 sixes in their innings, while their opponents managed 15. Small margins, but I felt at half way that Derbyshire were 15-20 runs short of impregnable, on a small ground with a lightning fast outfield.

It feels like another loss tonight. Madsen, Andersson and Whiteley batted splendidly earlier, while Naeem played an innings of great promise and later held a fine boundary catch. But Yorkshire were a player down, when George Hill had to leave the field ill and they shouldn't have been allowed to get back into that game.

Revis played a fine hand, as Luxton did earlier as wickets fell around him. For Derbyshire, the jury is still out on Akif, who hasn't yet bowled a yorker to my knowledge and it cried out for it today. Oh my Zaman and my Lockie long ago..

 I thought Sufyan bowled intelligently, adjusting his length so batters had to hit to the longer square boundaries, but none of the other bowlers emerged from that game with any credit. And Sufyan followed in the tradition of our overseas spinners by not getting a hand on a catch that went high enough to allow him to start a crossword first.

Hugely disappointing again. I suspect that those will be my 'school report' words on this competition when our involvement finishes. I accept we have bowlers missing, but at the first sign of pressure, the bowlers fold.

Lancashire next, on Wednesday. 

Thank goodness we will be on holiday...

Derbyshire v Yorkshire Vitality Blast preview

There has been no squad announcement from either Derbyshire or Yorkshire ahead of tomorrow's game at Chesterfield. 

That being the case, I am making assumptions here.

I expect Derbyshire to omit Caleb Jewell and go with their two overseas bowlers. While Harry Came has made a strong case for inclusion, with two T20 centuries for the Second XI, he played for Swarkestone today and I don't think that would have happened were he in contention for this game.

I expect Mickey Arthur to go with this team:

Donald, Andersson, Naeem, Madsen, Montgomery, Whiteley, Basra, Potts, Aitchison, Javed, Moqim

Basra and Naeem could switch, depending on their form in the nets. 

I watched Yorkshire lose away to Hampshire on Friday night, a game that the home side came close to throwing away with some silly shots. The white rose county fielded Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf as overseas, as well as Sam Whiteman, who spent most of his life in Australia, and Andrew Tye. Throw in Moeen Ali and it was a side far removed from days when county borders were carefully scrutinised to check eligibility for Yorkshire colours. 

Their side was:

Bairstow, Lyth, Luxton, Whiteman, Moeen Ali, Revis, Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Tye, Chohan, Moriarty 

Derbyshire cannot afford many more slip-ups if they hope to qualify. As I have written before, they need everyone on top of their game to win, but I do think this side gives the best opportunity of doing so. 

At some point this golden run against Yorkshire has to come to an end, but we must hope it continues for at least another year. Of course, the brutal truth is that, bragging rights aside, it counts for nothing if they fail to qualify. 

For Derbyshire to do so, they need to show more nous when they are batting, especially in the Powerplay. Nye Donald has to see his job as continuing throughout the innings, not ending at the end of the sixth over, while foolhardy strokes to *maybe* get another boundary in the sixth over usually only puts teams under unnecessary pressure when there are at least three wickets down and plenty of time to bat. The odds on winning lessen dramatically at that point.

They should have beaten Yorkshire at Headingley and the win against a resurgent Nottinghamshire side was there for the taking at Trent Bridge. 

Winning those games would have seen them on top of the group right now.

Tomorrow we will see if anything has been learned in the course of those defeats.

With a capacity crowd, it should make for a great afternoon's entertainment, but because the gap is too wide between our best and worst games, I really can't call this one.

Fine win for Seconds against Lancashire

In a return to winning ways, Derbyshire's second team beat Lancashire by eight wickets at Westhoughton CC this afternoon.

Lancashire got off to a flyer, thanks to Harris and Hurst and had 60 up in five overs. Hurst top scored with 46, while Fonseka made 36 and Sutton an unbeaten 28 as they posted 190-6 in their 20 overs.

The wickets were shared around, with Ajay Khunti taking two and, encouragingly, Luis Reece bowling a full allocation of four overs and taking 1-36.

He was out early in the Derbyshire reply, but Mitch Wagstaff scored 38 and helped Harry Came take the score to 92 before he was dismissed. Then Brooke Guest came in and he, with Came, took Derbyshire to victory with an over to spare and without further loss 

He finished 36 not out from 26 balls, while Came went to a splendid century and finished unbeaten on 108 from 59 deliveries, including 3 sixes and 14 fours.

It was an excellent return to form for the side, after the defeat to Leicestershire earlier in the week and takes them to the top of the Northern Group table.

No Yusuf Bin Naeem in the side...does that mean he is lined up to play against Yorkshire on Sunday, or might Came have eased a way into the side with today's knock?

Scorecard and video clips here

Derbyshire replace Ghazanfar with Moqim

So we will not now be seeing Mohammad Ghazanfar in Derbyshire colours this summer. The Afghanistan cricket board have withdrawn the player's availability, to manage his workload. 

Mickey Arthur has moved quickly and has engaged the services of Sufyan Moqim, who was due to start the tournament for the county, until the end of the Vitality Blast group stages.

So Derbyshire will have the services Moqim, Akif Javed and Caleb Jewell to choose from and can play two of them.

Jewell had another failure for the second team today, making only eight against Leicestershire at Belper, so Arthur may be tempted to field the two bowlers against Yorkshire at Chesterfield on Sunday. That may in turn see an opening for Yusuf Bin Naeem and Derbyshire could go with this side:

Donald, Andersson, Naeem, Madsen, Montgomery, Whiteley, Basra, Potts, Aitchison, Javed, Moqim

It highlights once again the challenge of trying to put a squad together for the English county season. It is little wonder that the move to one overseas player per county in 2028 is gathering pace, because that in itself is proving the challenge. Most counties have nigh-revolving doors of players flying in for a few games, then out again. Lancashire yesterday signed Pakistan international Shadab Khan, while Surrey engaged Josh Philippe, the Australian wicket-keeper/bat, both for the remainder of The Blast

Arthur clearly rates Moqim, a young bowler on the rise in Pakistan, so we must hope he quickly comes to terms with English wickets.

Welcome to Derbyshire, Sufyan.

Seconds lose at Belper

There was a disappointing defeat for a strong  Second XI at Belper today, when they went down to Leicestershire by three wickets.

Nye Donald opted to bat but was back in the pavilion after three balls. Martin Andersson made 44 and Ross Whiteley 48, but only late impetus from Ben Aitchison (29 from 13 balls) took Derbyshire to a passable total on a small ground. 

They finished on 193-9 but Liam Trevaskis (65), Ben Mike (41) and George Maddy (38) saw the visitors to a win with two balls to spare 

Ben Aitchison took 3-32 and Matt Montgomery 2-34, but both Jack Morley (0-46) and Nick Potts (1-47) were expensive on a poor day.

Scorecard and clips here