Final words on 'Ignorantgate'

There is mounting pressure on Mickey Arthur at the moment, although he will probably be oblivious to this, being away in Canada at their ten-over competition.

I'm still not expecting any change at Derbyshire, because I feel the county has backed into a corner from which it will be difficult to extricate itself. 

But the Head of Cricket needs to take ownership of the current situation at the county. 

When he arrived he was bullish. He remains so, it's what he does. But remember when he told supporters to judge him when he had HIS team? 

Well, every player who turned out for the county in 2026 was either signed by or given a contract extension by Mickey Arthur. By extension, we must assume he has got HIS team and so it was only fair for 'ignorant' supporters to judge him on that basis. 

People are entitled to those opinions, as long as expressed without undue hostility or rudeness. That's where I come in on here, filtering anything inappropriate (though there hasn't been much) and ensuring criticism is valid.

Again Mickey told us that he intends to reflect but he has had success around the world and, if he keeps doing what he has always done, it will come at Derbyshire. The timescale wasn't mentioned and I would quite like not to be in a care home by that stage..

He is neglecting the fact that his success has come as cricket supremo at national level. He hasn't had to develop players, he merely picked the best of those developed by others. If they didn't do the business, it was simply a case of sending them back for someone to mend and picking someone else. The cricket equivalent of a trolley dash, perhaps, where you ensure you pick up the good stuff.

I would argue that is a considerably different and in some respects easier gig than that of a bona fide county coach. There, you have to develop players, nurture them, celebrate the good times and help them through the bad, build them up and keep them focused. John Wright said as much, comparing his time at Kent and his time in charge of India. 'I just need to make sure all the practice balls are there', said John in his trademark deadpan style. There's not much you can tell Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly and Sehwag, after all.

But at this stage the overwhelming evidence is that Mickey doesn't have that county coach skill set. If he had, surely we would have seen the evidence in five years? There might have been a more obvious pathway to the senior ranks than there is? We might have seen Nick Potts emerge before he was 24 and Rory Haydon get opportunity in something other than adversity?

He cannot expect supporters to be happy, after five years when progress has been akin to that of an especially arthritic snail on bumpy terrain. Many judged him after three years, a few more after four and the rest now, after five. He was silly to use the word 'ignorant'. And I am choosing my words wisely, because like many others I am not ignorant...

My concern is that if he is talking in such disparaging terms about supporters, what is he saying within the confines of the dressing room? There have been a couple of incidents within his tenure that suggests it might not always be pleasant and those who have heard him berating the team after a loss have been quite shocked.

Is that what you would call a productive environment? I wouldn't and while I appreciate that tempers can fray in any work situation, how a manager deals with it largely dictates the ethos and productivity of it. 

The best managers keep people on an even keel, they are fair, easy to talk to and responsive to challenges. If Mickey is losing his cool with players, he has shown he cannot then switch persona and give good interviews. For that matter, nor should he try to. 

Cliff Gladwin was volatile and anyone who dropped a catch off him got the sharp end of his tongue. But it was forgotten as soon as they went off the pitch. Eddie Barlow never lost his temper, but after a bad performance would tell his team they would talk about it tomorrow, with clear heads, away from the heat of the moment.

Cricketers are no different to anyone else. They know when they have had a bad day and don't need someone berating them, as they don't do it deliberately. 

Maybe that's the way forward. Providing a more relaxed, nurturing, encouraging environment in which players are encouraged to express themselves. Dermot Reeve was very good at this and people produce their best when unafraid of the consequences of their worst. Maybe Mickey stays out of the dressing room and leaves the pep talks to the other coaches, who strike me as more level-headed, easy-going guys, ones you would strive to impress. Focus on recruitment, talent-spotting, contracts and leave the inter-personal stuff to those who are better at it.

I'm not going to write about this again, my life is too short. Honestly, I think Mickey could take a chainsaw to the crooked spire at Chesterfield and get away with it. But I will maintain to my last breath that giving him a two-year extension was one of the most illogical things the club has ever done. 

Players might want to play for Mickey Arthur, but if you provide the right environment and pay the going price, most of them will go for the opportunity, regardless of the coach.

Plenty of good players came through the doors before Mickey. 

And they will do so long after he's gone. 

Mitch Wagstaff, Joe Hawkins, Will Rogers

I think it is fair to say that there have been times, in the sixty years that I have watched Derbyshire, when Mitch Wagstaff would have become a regular in the county side. 

There was much to like in him as a player. A left-handed opener who could bowl useful leg spin? Yes, please, we will have some of that. 

The problem was that Mitch struggled to translate obvious talent into the weight of runs that made his cause compelling. Few of us have played at first class level, but those I have spoken to - and they are many - tell of the final leaps, to county second team and then the senior side, being the biggest. It is all well and good scoring regularly in high standard league cricket, but the next steps are the big ones. Not to mention coming to terms with the fact that your cricket is now your income, your lifestyle dependent on your form and success.

For all that Derbyshire have struggled in recent summers, it wasn't easy to see a path into the first team for Mitch. When he did get opportunity, it fell at inopportune moments, such as facing Yorkshire on a Chesterfield green top and then Jimmy Anderson on a similar surface. 

He can play, there is no doubt of that. There was a gritty fifty against Matthew Fisher and Ben Coad at Scarborough in 2023, followed by 78 against Glamorgan at Cardiff. Yet he could never find a permanent slot in the batting line up and never made his argument sufficiently compelling at the level below. 

Was he an opening bat who bowled a bit? Or an all-rounder? Had he progressed sufficiently to become a county regular? Tens of thousands play recreational cricket, but only a few hundred have what it takes to become long-term professionals. 

At 23 a decision had to be made, but I have no doubt that Mitch will continue to score runs and take wickets in league cricket for many years. He might join those who tour the circuit in second team cricket, seeking opportunity, but there also lies a challenge. Even a player as prolific at that level as Savin Perera has failed to secure a permanent deal and the standards are clearly very high.

It is the same for Joe Hawkins. He is clearly a talented player and will likely show that for Staffordshire in the years ahead. Yet people who know the requisite standard better than you and I have decided that he isn't quite good enough to succeed at county level. 

I'm not sure how you make that call on a 19-year-old and there are plenty of examples of players who worked out their game at a later age. Yet such is the cruel world of professional sport and in Joe's case there were better batters ahead of him, as well as two better spinners. The counter- argument, of course, is that he offers an all-round game that they don't, but perhaps one of the facets of his game had to be that little bit more advanced for him to progress.

Joe can now work out what he wants to do next and joins a very long list of players who starred in age group cricket, but didn't make that next step, for a range of reasons.

As for Will Rogers, it seemed a more clear-cut decision. At the time it was a short notice and short-term signing and nothing in his record at second team level suggested that he would play in the first team during anything other than an emergency.

Perhaps at some point he will find a club that suits his talents and he can produce the goods. It will not be at Derbyshire and that didn't really look likely.q

I wish them all well.

Ross Whiteley signs one-year white ball deal

I think a few people will be surprised at the announcement of a new deal for Ross Whiteley.

He didn't have a bad Vitality Blast, but nor did he win the matches that you would hope a recognised 'finisher' would.

In such situations one has to consider how you would replace the player in question. As I have written before, this is far from a vintage year for players who are out of contract. I could see no one within the list who had the skill set of Ross and so the case for retention became stronger. 

I would expect this to be his final year and in what looks like a stronger group of players becoming available in 2027, I would be astonished if we couldn't find someone younger to do what he does. 

However, he remains a player capable of clearing the boundary and even in his late thirties, he is one of the best boundary fielders in the game. If he can turn the clock back and show his best form it will definitely be to Derbyshire's advantage.

He is also a nice lad and I wish him the very best for 2027.

'They're getting better and better...'

'The players are getting better and better' says Mickey Arthur on a regular (too regular) basis in interviews.

So while acknowledging that statistics perhaps don't give the full picture, they are the currency by which a cricketer is judged and I thought I would look at the figures for 2025 and 2026

They make interesting reading ...

Player               2025 average       2026 average

Came                     38.3.                      25.1

Reece                    64.3.                      36.2

Montgomery        75                           27.1

Jewell.                  48.0.                      22.3

Guest.                   36.1.                      22.1

Dal.                       28.1.                      18.7

Andersson.          49.6.                      41.3

Madsen.              57.91                      38.05

Aitchison.            21.5.                       25.7

Chappell.             22.9.                       29.8

So of the regular players, only two BOWLERS, Ben Aitchison and Zak Chappell, improved their batting average, year on year. 

Montgomery had one innings for Notts last year 

Bowling? 

Player.                   2025.                    2026

Aitchison     19 at 33.                   58 at 20

Andersson.   9 at 54.                   23 at 30

Chappell.     34 at 37.                  14 at 40

Dal                19 at 30.                  11 at 27

Reece.          50 at 19.                   8 at 23

Potts                                              13 at 37

Haydon.                                         22 at 22

So two bowlers improved dramatically, while the last three had seasons badly disrupted by injury. Haydon emerged as a bright talent, while Potts, who didn't play red ball last year, had an encouraging summer and earned a new 2-year deal. 

I think Chris Wright can be pleased with his input in a first season as bowling coach. Meanwhile Ben Smith appears to have a lot of work on his plate to repair broken confidence and techniques.

In short, regardless of what they do in the gym or the nets, how many they hit and where they hit them, the statistics don't lie. 

They aren't getting better.

But we knew that, didn't we? 

Season review

At the start of the summer I wrote that for Derbyshire to challenge, most of the players needed to be at, or close to their best on a regular basis.

If one looks at the end of season averages, you could count those who will look back on 2026 as being their best form on the fingers of one hand. 

For any improvement in 2027, either the playing or coaching personnel needs to change - and that probably requires money we don't have and players better than appear to be available - or Mickey Arthur needs to find a way to get much more from those at his disposal.

For all of his protestations that 'they are all massively improved', the evidence points to the contrary. I present that in a couple of days time.

Cynics of 'old cricket', often played on uncovered pitches, will point to the batting averages and suggest that player X can't have been that good, with his average in the 20s. They ignore the fact that pitch preparation was less advanced and the rain often created surfaces that were not called 'sticky dogs' for nothing. Not to mention that there were some serious bowlers around...

Sadly, most of Derbyshire's batters in 2026 averaged the same, so therein lies the crux of the problem. A combination of injury, age, confidence and the wrong position in the order accounted for most of the batting and was a factor in their under achievement. It is hard to get away from the fact that for Harry Came, Luis Reece and Wayne Madsen, 2027 may be their last in Derbyshire colours. Certainly all need better figures and luck than this year, but perhaps it is time for a somewhat essential reset. 

Matthew Montgomery looked a good player on occasion, but I expected more after his move from Nottinghamshire. There were no three figure scores and like Came, he plays across the line too often for such an elevated position in the order. Yet the Head of Cricket, as we have seen on a number of occasions, doesn't like to admit error and persevered with a player who might have done better at five. 

Caleb Jewell also endured a wretched summer and the county will doubtless seek a more reliable top order overseas replacement for 2027. That position is SO important for a club like Derbyshire, yet the market is shrinking for batters of the requisite quality AND desire to play all summer in England.

Wayne Madsen had two centuries and remains one of the side's best two batters, but there were signs that time was catching up on a man who owes nothing to the county. Like others, he was more uncertain at the start of an innings and we must hope that he has another good year in him and doesn't tarnish a deservedly fine reputation by going on too long.

Martin Andersson was the one shining light in the batting and often looked on a different level to his teammates. Results would have been quite different without his skills and finding him support is very much needed for the side to progress.

Yousaf bin Naeem showed promise, even though tasked with batting higher than he would have preferred. Meanwhile opportunity largely failed to knock for Amrit Basra, who is another with a big year ahead in 2027. So too Brooke Guest, one of my favourite players but whose batting appears currently in freefall. 

There was no balance to the batting order, with too many people seemingly unsuited to their role in the side. Somewhat similar to the episode of that old classic TV cricket comedy, Outside Edge, when everyone wanted to bat number five.. 

This can only be laid at the door of Mickey Arthur, who has had five years to get 'his team' yet still hasn't recruited a top order that works. Luis Reece remains the best bet for the top of the order, but only if his body still allows it. Technically, he is the best oprning bat on the staff, but injuries have taken their toll and I doubt he can still bat AND bowl as he once did.

Why has the batting as a unit failed? Form is temporary, class permanent, as the old adage goes, but almost everyone? My theory, for what it is worth, is that the environment is not conducive to freedom of expression, on or off the pitch. I get the impression that most of the lads in that batting line up need boosted, perhaps their egos massaged, an arm around the shoulder. Those over the top assertions about the players in public count for nothing, if you are roasting them within the confines of the dressing room and shredding their confidence. 

As for the bowling, it was Ben Aitchison's year. Week after week he bowled beautifully, kept going until almost the end of the summer and also contributed two centuries to the cause. We are very lucky to have him and I hope that he sees his ambitions can be fulfilled at Derbyshire when his contract is up for renewal.

Nick Potts improved and showed he could handle a bat too, but perhaps like Pat Brown, who didn't play this summer, he needs a stock delivery that he can depend upon. The variations in all formats were impressive, but less so were the runs conceded as he strove for something different every ball. Sometimes, making the batters work is more effective than keeping them guessing, especially when those variations were often varied in their line and length.

Rory Haydon burst onto the scene and did well, though it did not escape notice that his opportunity only arose through the selection of Muhammad Abbas for Pakistan tours. We must all hope that the stress fracture which ended his summer can be fixed in time for 2027. To which. I can copy and paste the name of Harry Moore.

Even Zak Chappell, a war horse of previous years broke down and missed the second half of the summer. The side missed the balance that he affords and again, supporters must keep fingers crossed that he is restored to full fitness next year. 

Meanwhile Anuj Dal announced his retirement from the game. There is a role for someone there and hopefully it can be grasped as well as Nuj at his best did. Perhaps there lies a niche for Amrit Basra? 

Derbyshire started the season with what the Head of Cricket described as 'two of the best young spinners in the country'. Yet one took his wickets at 47 each and the other didn't take any.  Shoaib Bashir bowled some controlled spells, but the question remains whether the county has a need for two specialist spinners. Jack Morley did well in the Blast, but opportunities to field more than one spinner in the modern game are few and far between. Could the limited budget be better used? Again, next year is a big one for both players.

The second overseas role was split between Muhammad Abbas and Brett Randell. The former, justifiably a legend of the county circuit, was a disappointment and took nine of his 23 wickets on a sporting wicket at Worcester in the final game. They cost him over 30 runs each across the summer, which was not expected, nor as good as needed.

Randell did well, a bright spark in the closing weeks of the summer. He ran in hard, fielded tigerishly, contributed valuable runs and fitted in admirably.

You could point to four Championship wins as a reason for encouragement, but to do so ignores the obvious flaws that Mickey Arthur seems incapable of addressing. Long-time readers will recall my concerns that he would not have been my pick for the job when he was appointed. I take no pleasure in having been proved correct and the sad reality is that supporters look like having another two years of the same under-achievement to 'look forward to'.  

He will point to the absence of key bowlers as a reason for failure, but their hopeful return next year will not shore up the batting. I have no beef with Ben Smith as batting coach, but just as Chris Wright brought improvement in the seam attack, is it time for a new voice in the ear? Or a new man at the top, with greater skills in man management? 

The performance at Worcester merely reinforced the opinion of most supporters that it is not working. I can only speak for myself, but regardless of who comes in the door to play, I have no real expectation of any improvement at Derbyshire until the coaching staff is overhauled and a new Head of Cricket is in place. That looks like being two years, like it or not. And I still find it hard, after FIVE years of underwhelming cricket, to write that.

For all that we have heard ad nauseam that people 'want to play for Mickey Arthur', I have the impression that the players we NEED probably don't. We need fighters, those who roll up their sleeves when the chips are down and would be unafraid to say their piece in the dressing room. One looks at Worcestershire, where Matthew Waite and Tom Taylor are uncompromising cricketers who serve them well. Or players like Ben Raine, Ryan Higgins - gutsy battlers to a man. 

I'm not sure that Mickey's reported dressing room autocracy would work well with that breed of player. But by crikey, what we would give for one or two of them.

In any organisation that I can think of, a roots and branches review of the staff would take place after the summer we have witnessed. Derbyshire finished sixteenth out of eighteen counties, after all and they did little in white ball cricket. I can also think of a good few people who would hold up their hands, tell the board they can't do it anymore and walk away. Neither of those things appears likely, so the silence appears to be a strong and disappointing acceptance of our lot. 

Other 'smaller' counties have over-achieved this year, won trophies, competed strongly, got the best out of what they have. Not all of them with markedly better squads than Derbyshire, but with someone in charge who got the best out of them, creating an eleven that was stronger than the sum of its constituent parts. I always recall the words of Walter Goodyear, when I asked him about the strength of the sides when he was at the club, between the 1930s and 1980s.

'It were Derbysheer agin the world' he said. Never underestimate the value of a siege mentality. But you need the right man to cultivate it.

I do try to look beyond results, at the 'bigger picture'. I know we have had two England players this summer, that Mickey has a seat at the top table, that because of him our name is known around the world, that he has so many contacts...but five years on, where are the results? Surely all of these 'benefits' have a positive consequence?

I heard from an old school friend last night and in a long conversation he said 'You are still lumbered with good old Mickey, then?'. He is a long-standing Nottinghamshire member and the sad thing is that our Head of Cricket is a perceived figure of fun down the A52, with his over the top proclamations about players and prospects. I don't know about you, but I am uneasy with MY club, OUR club, being such a source of humour, with no suggestion that it is going to change any time soon.

So while I would love to leave you with reasons to be cheerful in 2027, I just can't.

With that, I must thank you for your loyal support, interest and comments throughout the summer. 

I had hoped that my sixtieth year supporting the club might be memorable for the right reasons, but it was not to be. 

But when we get to November and the fixtures come out once more, I will likely be looking at my options for travel and hotels and hoping for better. 

In the words of the old Italian proverb, hope is the last thing ever lost...

Postscript: it was a BIG mistake that Mickey did the interview at the end of yesterday's game. 

He was clearly agitated and to refer to loyal club supporters, who were here way before he arrived and will be when he is gone, an unfortunate footnote in our history, as 'ignorant' is both unacceptable and indefensible. 

He should be pulled up about this and should apologise. Or he should go. 

End of story.

Worcestershire v Derbyshire day 3

Worcestershire, 214 and 206 

Derbyshire 88 and 157

Worcestershire won by 175 runs

It seemed almost impossible that the Derbyshire second innings could be as awful as the first, but they came awfully close today. 

Only late and spirited resistance from Luis Reece (49) Amrit Basra (40) and Nick Potts (29) took the game into the afternoon. Derbyshire recovered from 39-6 to 157 all out, but that late resistance shouldn't mask another woeful batting display. 

I take nothing away from Ben Allison, who took 6-42 in a fine display of bowling, but nothing in the demeanour of the Derbyshire top order suggested that the home side would need to wait unduly long for their end of season party. 

So it transpired. 

I will have more to say in my end of season review, which should be published tomorrow morning. 

For now, I will leave you to add your comments.

Worcestershire v Derbyshire day 2

Worcestershire 214 and 203-9 (Waite 73*, Abbas 4-63)

Derbyshire 88

Worcestershire lead by 329 runs

I still know and believe in the quality and depth of this squad.

 I hope that this gives us a real understanding as a squad and as a team as to what the requirements are to be successful because we’re incredibly ambitious.

“We’re incredibly ambitious as a squad, incredibly ambitious as players and as a team. This will go a long way to nailing those big moments and giving us a positive result.”

Thus spake Mickey after the Kent win, where, as so often has happened this season, Derbyshire took a step forward after two steps back. Followed by another step back. Perhaps they should take up line dancing.

We got back from Berwick earlier than planned, unwilling to ruin a lovely week with a cold, grey last day. So I saw all but the opening session of the second day and it wasnt easy viewing.

I didn't see too much wrong with the pitch. Yes, it moves, but isn't that part of the deal for the game, an even battle between bat and ball? Matthew Waite seemed to handle it fine, albeit aided by two dropped catches and another that was held, but off a no ball. It all became rather messy and Derbyshire don't just have a mountain to climb, they are going to have to do it without ropes and crampons. Chances of an away win, somewhere north of zero.

Fair play to Muhammad Abbas, who kept going at one end in the absence of viable alternatives and also in the search for another five wicket haul and ten in the match. Despite his couple of wickets, I was disappointed in Nick Potts, who really shouldn't be going for five an over on such a pitch.

I am sure that Leicestershire will watch the rating of this pitch with interest, but what I saw today didn't suggest the up and down movement that got them into bother. Nor, unless it was substantially different, did it look the sort of pitch on which you struggle to make a team hundred in your first innings.

I have no idea why Shoaib Bashir played here, because spin was never likely to play a part and he has run around the outfield with enthusiasm, but as much chance of turning his arm over as me.

It has made for a demoralising reality check ahead of the off-season. That the Derbyshire batting is poor cannot be argued. With everyone fit, the attack is capable of winning games and Aitchison with Abbas would have made hay here. But the batting - unless there is remarkable surgery from somewhere - means I only see more of the same in 2027. 

That includes more of the same rhetoric, the same monologues, the same nonsense from Mickey. They may be ambitious, they may be mustard keen, they may be entertainment machines.

But they are NOT getting better. Consistency equals better. Nothing more, nothing less.

My overwhelming feeling as they approach what will be the last day of the season, is that they are a poor side who occasionally play above themselves, when the better players carry the day. 

But major surgery will be required at the end of 2027. 

Unless something spectacular happens this winter.

Worcestershire v Derbyshire day 1

Oh dear... It all started quite well, but then rapidly went downhill - not for the first time - when it was our turn to bat. 

I have followed the game today but not seen it, only the wicket clips 

I will leave the comments in your capable hands..

Thank you in advance

Worcestershire v. Derbyshire preview

And so, seemingly only five minutes after the season started, we come to the final game of 2026.

I had hoped that the 60th summer of my support of the side would have been better, but hope springs eternal and perhaps it is season 61 that will be the start of something special. All in good time...

Anyway, Derbyshire travel to Worcestershire tomorrow and Mickey Arthur has named a 13-man squad. There is no Ben Aitchison, missing this final game with a groin injury and there is no Brett Randell either, unable to play, as I suggested last week, under the terms of his NOC. 

Muhammad Abbas will lead the attack and we must hope for a positive performance to take into the long, cold winter.

That Derbyshire squad: 

Wayne Madsen, Harry Came, Martin Andersson,
Luis Reece, Shoaib Bashir, Jack Morley, Will Rogers, Matthew Montgomery, Yousaf Bin Naeem
Nick Potts, Brooke Guest, Muhammad Abbas,
Amrit Basra

Worcestershire will again be led by Brett D'Oliveira, who has had an excellent summer and has been granted a well-merited testimonial year in 2027.

Their squad:

Libby, Waite, Singh, Roderick, Edavalath, Taylor, Cullen, D'Oliveira, Gibbon, Lategan, Ali, O'Connor, Hose, Finch, Allison.

The winners of this game could finish fourth in the table and both sides have the same number of points going into the game.

The forecast is set fair and we must hope for a good game of cricket and hopefully the right result.

As the season comes to an end, so does our final holiday of the summer. We are currently in Berwick-upon-Tweed again and so I will see little of the first two days. I will create a page, as usual, for your comments and will approve them as soon as I have the time to do so. 

It goes without saying I will be keeping an eye on the score and I look forward to seeing the final two days of the game - and indeed the season.

With so little between the teams it is hard to call the result, but a Derbyshire side short of so many first choice bowlers may find it hard to take 20 wickets here. 

We will see. 

Naeem signs new deal

It is good to see Yousaf bin Naeem has been signed to a new deal by Derbyshire, one that will keep him at the club until the end of the 2028 season.

Although the returns were perhaps not quite as he would have hoped, there was plenty of promise in the innings that he played this summer. Sometimes it is a case of looking beyond the runs scored and more at the way in which they are made. 

I don't think the player nor the coach probably see his future at the top of the order, but an opportunity arose and he has given it a good shot. Some of the strokes that he has played suggested a player well worthy of perseverance and he now has the chance to cement his place on the staff for the next few years. 

He seems to have been around for a long time, but he's only just out of his teens. 

I think there's a good player in there and I look forward to seeing his progress over the next couple of years - and hopefully beyond.

Weekend warmer

Thank you all for your continued excellent contributions to the blog. It would be much less enjoyable from my perspective if there were never replies and while I may not always agree with comments, as I have said before, they are all relevant. 

Please ensure, however, that your comments are not personal about other contributors. No matter how well other sentiments may be expressed, I will decline to publish if I feel a line has been crossed.

I thought I would take a little time, for this weekend warmer, to write a little about team needs and recruitment, as I see it. 

I don't think that there is any doubt that our greater need is to strengthen the batting. There has been a worrying fragility about our top order all season and this has to be addressed.

As others have pointed out, if we have a full complement of bowlers, our resources are probably the envy of most counties. Yet Zak Chappell, Pat Brown, Harry Moore, Rory Haydon, Luis Reece and Anuj Dal missed at least a good chunk of the summer, while Muhammad Abbas was away far more than was expected. 

He wasn't as successful as we all hoped - or should that be expected? I did wonder if this might be because players at a higher standard were getting nicks, while lesser mortals were simply missing the ball, because they weren't good enough. I don't know, but as Wilfred Rhodes once said, you are wasting your energy getting extravagant movement - all you need is half the width of a bat to avoid the middle and take the edge.

I agree with many contributors that Brett Randell seems more the sort of bowler that we need, but given the choice pre-season, who would have taken him over Abbas? For that matter, who had heard of him? As many others have written in the past, it's a funny game. 

The bottom line is that Abbas is contracted for 2027 and we must hope that he returns to prove a point. He has enjoyed a long and successful career and will not want a stain on his excellent record. Fourteen wickets at 40 is a poor return for a player of his stature, especially when the man brought in to replace him has 20 wickets at just 18 runs each, as well as averaging 23 with the bat. 

There is always the chance, of course, that he will not be allowed to return. Given his success in recent series, the Pakistan Board may not sign the No Objection Certificate and will retain his services to protect him. I don't think many would object to Brett Randell replacing him were that the case, as he has been terrific. Less well known than even Blair Tickner, yet more effective with bat and ball and with the same, committed attitude. Abbas is contracted, however, so that can't happen at this stage.

The batting is the problem and there are question marks against all but Martin Andersson, who has been magnificent. 

Harry Came, Wayne Madsen and Luis Reece are all out of contract next year. Came is an enigma and can look really good, but the reality is that in eight seasons he has only four centuries and his conversion rate of another 21 fifties is poor. Derbyshire need more than a mid-twenties average from him and my concern is that he appears to be seen as a red ball skipper in waiting. The extra responsibility may be the making of him - but it could drag him down still further. Far better, for me, that an overseas bat of quality comes in, aided by the carrot of captaincy.

Madsen is justifiably a county legend, but he is some way short of a thousand runs this year and although he is third in the averages, the decline has been evident. I hope that he plays red ball next year, but it will almost certainly be his last summer, so we must hope for a grand tour to finish. He owes Derbyshire nothing, but I hope that the end of his county career matches the quality that preceded it for so long.

Reece has been an outstanding signing, but the question mark is whether his body will allow him to continue being the influential cricketer he has been. He averages 38 with the bat this year - quite remarkable given the off field challenges he has faced - and is probably our best opener, but there have only been three wickets and his left arm variation has been sorely missed. Can he still be influential in one skillset and is it asking too much for him still to be a game-changing all rounder at nearly 37? 

Matthew Montgomery oozes class at the wicket, but an average of 28 suggests he isn't yet right for number three in the order. No centuries and four half centuries confirm his struggle and perhaps four/five is better for him, long term? I certainly don't doubt his ability, but he has yet to convince in the position that he has been given.

Then there's Brooke Guest, also out of contract next year. An outstanding wicket keeper after a shaky start this year, but his batting returns have diminished and he has only 333 runs in 20 innings, if his one century is ignored. I would like to see him higher, but the evidence isn't strong in support of that. 

When all of these challenges are looked at individually, it isn't hard to see why there has too frequently been a collective failing of the batting.

The additional challenge, of course, is that this is far from a vintage year for available alternatives who promise better. As others have pointed out, we need a couple of good, solid batters and one of them will almost certainly be from overseas. Those who are out of contract elsewhere AND unlikely to be re-signed don't promise more, for me.

I would love to see Amrit Basra come through and he is a very exciting player to watch. But again, I haven't yet seen anything to suggest he could transform the order. My concern with Amrit is that he has all the shots but doesn't choose them wisely. Runs haven't come easily in the second team and he is another who needs a strong 2027 to remain part of the plans for the future. 

There is always the possibility that someone may come onto the market unexpectedly, perhaps needing to move because of personal circumstances. I have every confidence that the club will be monitoring the situation around the country, ready to move if opportunity presents itself. The flexibility to do so will be dependent on the announcement of the England central contracts, either in late October or early November. 

If Derbyshire need to cover the cost of Shoaib Bashir for 2027, the capacity to do much more than replace an overseas player will be limited. They have Ben Aitchison coming to the end of his contract next year and will want to do everything they can to retain his services, as they will with Harry Moore. Finance isn't easy at our end of the game and there is a clear gap between 'we need to do' and 'we are able to do'. 

If Bashir doesn't get a central contract, I assume there is then another decision to make next year. His cost has to be justified by returns and he may be another about who considerable discussion will take place. Is there someone out there who might offer a spin option at lower cost? Maybe one such option could be Shaariq Sheikh, who has had a good summer as captain of SACA. Last week at Chesterfield he scored 37 and 48, as well as taking 5-10 and 3-63 with his leggies. Again, that comes with the caveat that success at second team level is no guaranteed indicator of it happening at a level above.

So my projections for next summer and my hopes for our progression will be tempered by the knowledge that the batting has major concerns, alternatives aren't obvious and money is tight.

But to end on a bright note, we saw when we signed Shan Masood that one prolific batter can both carry and inspire a batting lineup. Techniques can be honed and people can come back into form. It is much easier coming into bat at 140-1 than in the first over. Never underestimate the contribution of an opening bat who puts overs into the legs of bowlers and takes the shine from a ball. 

That's why I would have loved us to be able to move for someone like Will Rhodes, but he has now signed a new deal with Durham so we move on.

It is going to need a lot of work, in the nets and offices, to get there.

But it can be done. 

It promises to be an interesting winter.

Postscript - a final word on the Northamptonshire 'light' story.  The umpires have taken considerable flak online and some of that directed at Sue Redfern has been a disgrace. 

Supporters need to realise that the ECB issue guidance on the level of light at which umpires have to take the players off. The umpires simply followed that guidance. 

So if any supporter out there, presumably from a Northampton postcode, has any remaining grouses about this, take it up with the ECB...

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire day 4

Derbyshire 372 and 286

Northamptonshire 310 and 326-6 (Vasconcelos 132, Procter 51, Harrison 50, Randell 3-54, Abbas 3-64)

Match drawn 

There wasn't a point today when I felt that Derbyshire would win the game against Northamptonshire. 

Any turn was slow, any movement off the seam, other than with the new ball was minimal. Both Mohammad Abbas and Brett Randell put in sterling shifts and their combined economy was probably what saved Derbyshire. Yet neither looked like running through the opposition batting on a very good fourth day pitch.

Ricardo Vasconcelos batted superbly and at lunchtime it seemed like a case of damage limitation, as he and Luke Procter opened with a stand of 152. The home side will rue the slow batting when he was out, when only 36 runs were scored in the next 14 overs against tight bowling and some good fielding .

They accelerated later,  but with only 23 runs needed, first bad light and then light rain prevented a home win. Part of me feels that they were robbed after a very professional run chase, but the reality is that they should have been aware of the weather forecast and pushed the game to a conclusion - notwithstanding the risks involved - before the weather front came in. The umpires followed the rules and them's the breaks, regardless of the comments of some Neanderthals on social media.. 

I understand the frustration of home fans and that they 'only' needed 23 and 'could' have played on. But conditions were deemed poor by the umpires, who took them off, never to return. Regardless of the challenge of batting, if you have ever had to field in bad light you will know that it isn't the easiest of tasks either.

Shoaib Bashir also bowled economically today, but for me it highlighted the importance - should that really need done - of Ben Aitchison to this side. So many times this season he has taken early wickets and that would have meant a totally different run chase today. No disrespect to Nick Potts, who did well when he came into this game as a substitute,  but he doesn't offer similar control nor penetration, as his second innings figures show.

So we move on to Worcester next week, with the last of the walking wounded. We won't see Aitchison, who will likely not be fit but wouldn't be allowed to play after being substituted, while Brett Randell would likely need to be be granted an exemption from his NOC to play one more game. 

There may also be a question mark over Brooke Guest, who had a lot of work to do in standing up to both Randell and Abbas and took what appeared a fearful blow on a finger near the end of play. 

We will find out in due course, but Derbyshire got out of jail here in the end. 

Hopefully we can get a result at Worcester, sending all of us into autumn and winter in good heart.

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire day 3

Derbyshire 372 and 286 (Andersson 62, Potts 57, Randell 45, Guthrie 3-61, Harrison 3-74)

Northamptonshire 310 and 37-0

Northamptonshire need 312 runs to win

Another spirited fight back by the Derbyshire lower order gave them a chance of a last day win at Northampton today.

Half centuries by Martin Andersson and Nick Potts (his first) with another good supporting knock from Brett Randell saw Northamptonshire set 349 to win. By the close they had reached 37-0 in 16 challenging overs.

Good as the recovery was, it does not mask another failure by the top order, something that has to be addressed over the winter. While allowances can be made for Yusuf Bin Naeem, finding his way in the game, neither Harry Came nor Matthew Montgomery can be happy with season averages of 25 and 28 respectively. More is needed - and is essential - for improvement in 2027.

Andersson was again excellent, but Derbyshire hopes were boosted by a stand of 99 between Potts and Randell. Potts has had a good game here and confirmed his season of promise with a crucial knock, mixing sound defence with crisp strokes. Meanwhile Randell again highlighted his importance in these closing weeks and has done an excellent job for the county.

Vasconcelos and Procter batted well to get their side to the close unscathed, but they will need to do more tomorrow, especially in the first session, which has yielded the most wickets throughout the match. 

I thought Abbas bowled beautifully in his spell tonight, conceding only one run in five testing overs.

We will need more from both overseas players tomorrow, but the game is beautifully poised, going into the final day.

Leicestershire decision rankles

I have to admit to feeling uncomfortable with the Leicestershire pitch verdict.

Their punishment consists of the loss of all 19 points earned in the win over Glamorgan, an extra eight-point penalty and a £5,000 fine. A further eight-point deduction has been suspended for a year. It all but condemns them to relegation. 

They scored 151 and 257 in the game, against Glamorgan's 152 and 214. Two batters, Sheridon Gumbs and Kiran Carlson, made 90s and the final innings lasted 86 overs, the game ending on the morning of the fourth day. 

Really, is that so bad? Or is that a very good cricket pitch that made for an absorbing game? 

I don't think they were overly bright in shaving both ends and leaving grass on in the middle. It didn't look good and yes, it made them an easy target. A non-Test ground county, trying to get a result...whatever next?  But there were a lot of low scores around that week and how is it worse than Yorkshire 185 and 82, Surrey 83 and 187-9, a fortnight later? Other than that the latter was at The Oval and finished on the third day...?

Nor do they appear to have thought through giving access to the unscheduled filming of scenes for a forthcoming  Bollywood movie, seemingly about Sourav Ganguly, in the days before the game. The head groundsman said that he didn't have access to the square, which seems a classic case of putting commercial needs ahead of the practical ones of running a cricket club. I have no idea what money that brought in, but I hope it was substantial.

But again, was it any worse than the anodyne pitches that produce a four-day runfest, too often artificially massaging the averages of batters and driving bowlers to frustration? 

The issue appears to have been uneven bounce and batters were hit on the hands a few times. I have sympathy, but that kind of thing has been happening since the game began and you should have seen it back in the 70s and 80s, let alone on uncovered pitches. Remember the story when Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie was repeatedly rapped on the hands when Hampshire were bowled out at Burton in 1958, during the game that effectively finished in a day? 'For God's sake someone catch the thing', he allegedly said, as Jackson and Rhodes caused mayhem.

I'm not advocating that sort of pitch, but there has to be some encouragement for bowlers, a challenge for batters. Goodness knows, the game is heavily enough weighted towards the willow, with bigger bats, shorter boundaries, blameless surfaces and better protection than there has ever been. 

Cricket isn't and shouldn't be just about the hitting of fours and sixes. I have watched too many matches where I lost interest at the end of day two, when it was clear that the massive score posted by the team batting first was going to be matched by their opponents. Thereafter, it simply became something of interest to statisticians and those wishing to inflate their average for the summer. 

It needs looked at and I would bet my shiniest shekel that this wouldn't have happened if the pitch in question was on the square of a Test-playing county, or that of a host of the 'other competition'. 

Don't get me wrong, Leicestershire returning to division 2 is probably better for the red ball prospects of Derbyshire in 2027. Durham were too good by far this year, but what looked like being an excellent relegation battle has now become something of an enforced formality. 

It is wrong and yet again evidence that in the ECB, cricket has an organisation that is unacceptably poor. 

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire day 2

Derbyshire 372 

Northampton shire 310 (Vasconcelos 58, Procter 54, McManus 53, Zaib 46, Randell 3-48, Potts 3-51, Reece 2-48)

Derbyshire lead by 62 runs

Apologies for the late blog tonight, but this has been family night and only now have I time to add a few thoughts on the day's play. 

I thought Derbyshire fought back well, after the home side had got themselves to 187-2 in reply to Derbyshire's 372. Vasconcelos, Procter and Zaib all batted well, but thankfully all got out before going on to a match-definimg score. The introduction of Nick Potts made a difference and his figures of 3-51 turned the game, after he came in as an injury substitute for Ben Aitchison, whose stellar season would appear to be finished.

Once again Brett Randell was excellent  and his 3-48 contrasted with the 0-62 of Muhammad Abbas. Their respective figures for the summer are interesting:

Randell has 17 wickets at 18, with a wicket every 41 balls 

Abbas has 11 wickets at 46 with a wicket every 105 balls

I know which one I would prefer for 2028...

It was good to see Luis Reece back bowling and his two wickets today were twice as many as he previously had all season. He has been missed and we must hope he is restored to full fitness next year.

As for the match, Derbyshire took a first innings lead of 62 and we must hope tomorrow doesn't see one of the anaemic batting displays that have tarnished the summer. With Kent almost certain to beat Lancashire, Northamptonshire have to chase whatever we set them in the final innings.

Derbyshire will hope that target is over 300, but tomorrow is a big day for both sides. 

It has been an absorbing contest so far..

Seconds win by one-wicket!

The young Derbyshire second team won an extraordinary one-wicket victory over SACA at Chesterfield today. 

59-3 overnight quickly became 68-4 with the wicket of Zak Chappell, before Niall McHale (37) shared in a stand of 64 with Mitch Wagstaff. 

When the former was dismissed, Joe Hawkins quickly followed, before 15-year old Theo Brown came in to share a stand of 85 with Wagstaff.

The latter proceeded to an excellent century before being dismissed for 105, which brought together Brown and George Blount. Their stand of 68 took Derbyshire to within ten runs of the win, before Blount was run out, then Brown was dismissed for an outstanding 87. 

It left Jake Green and Sam Keeling-Wright to seal the one-wicket win, after a wonderful game of cricket.

Scorecard and clips here

New one-year deal for Pat Brown

I think that supporters need to give the benefit of doubt to the new contract for Pat Brown in 2027, that has been announced today. 

We didn't see him play in 2026 and we saw a very limited version of him in 2025. Anyone who has had a bad shoulder injury will know how debilitating it is and Pat's affected both his ability to bowl and to throw. 

The club must be confident that the operations he has had on the shoulder - and a further one to tidy things up - will have the desired effect and allow him to play in 2027. It is important that comments on that contract reflect the bowler that we saw in 2024, when his variations, much as they did when he first burst onto the scene, caused consternation among batters. Back then, he was quick, yet with no discernible change to his action he had several variants. He could also nail the yorker with greater frequency than most and that was missed this year.

You don't make international standard without having something going for you and at his best both his bowling and fielding are of the highest class.

My understanding is that he is available for all formats, yet the likelihood is that Derbyshire will focus on getting him fit for white ball cricket, where where it is clear that his strength lies. 

I hope he returns to his best. If he doesn't, I would think it unlikely the contract will be renewed again, but if he can return to the player that we saw in his first season, he offers something special to the bowling line up. He needs only to look at how Ben Aitchison has recovered so well from major injury for inspiration.

There's a lot of work ahead, but I wish him well, as I'm sure you all do. 

Hopefully we can see Pat, Zak Chappell, Rory Haydon and Harry Moore all fully fit in 2027. 

It would make a considerable difference to our prospects.

Absorbing game at Chesterfield

There was another absorbing day of cricket at Chesterfield today, although the Derbyshire second team face an uphill task on the last day against SACA.

Replying to the visitors total of 279, Derbyshire were all out for 141, with Niall McHale making 34 and Feroze Khushi 32. Shaariq Sheikh took 5-10  with his well-flighted leg spin, before SACA were themselves bowled out for 167. Sheikh top-scored with 48, while Ajay Khunti made 43, leaving Derbyshire 306, the highest score of the game, to win.

Matt Stewart took 4-46, while there were two wickets each for Will Rogers and Joe Hawkins.

At the close, Derbyshire had reached 59-3, with Wagstaff unbeaten on 30. 

247 more to win seems a big ask for a young batting line up.

Scorecard and clips here

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire day 1

Derbyshire 372 (Madsen 151, Aitchison 106, Randell 36, Guthrie 3-66, Sanderson 3-72, Conway 3-75)

Northamptonshire 15-0

Derbyshire lead by 357 runs

It was a thoroughly absorbing days cricket at Northampton today, one in which Derbyshire recovered remarkably from the perils of 107-6 soon after lunch to end on 372 all out.

There was an element of deja vu for seasoned watchers. Back at Lord's in May, Derbyshire recovered from 130-5 to 338-6 thanks to centuries from Wayne Madsen and Ben Aitchison. Today, the same pair added 197 together, as each made their second century of the season.

It was a good toss to win, with the ball nipping around in the early morning dampness and Derbyshire's top order displaying the worrying frailty that has been an unfortunate feature of the summer. Harry Came failed to trouble the scorers and will likely be disappointed with his current  season average of just 26, while Luis Reece was unlucky to be given leg before when just outside the line, after he and Madsen had suggested a rebuild.

But the home attack made good use of conditions and I suspect that most people expected Northamptonshire to be batting before tea. 

Madsen and Aitchison had other ideas. The skipper came into the game on the back of a rare bad trot, only 95 runs in his last eight innings, with three ducks. He started sketchily but gradually the trademark sureness came into his batting. He became ever more expansive as the day wore on, without assaying anything overly ambitious. On this performance, rumours of his demise are premature, because this was height of summer Madsen, leading from the front and offering sage counsel to Aitchison, as he built his own innings.

And what an innings it was. I remember writing about Ben two or three years ago, when some were suggesting he wasn't a batter, merely a merry tail end clumper. There have been sufficient incidences since then to suggest another string to his bow, although there may still have been those who wrote off his century at Lord's as one of those things. After today, they can no longer do that, because some of his strokes were of the very highest order. A clip through mid-on was indicative of pedigree, while successive cover drives for four from the bowling of Conway could scarce have been bettered by the man at the other end. 

His century, like that of his captain, was greeted by a roar from the away dressing room and his return to the pavilion, after eventually being caught in the deep, was greeted as the return of the conquering hero and was fully deserved. 

Afterwards, Brett Randell came in to play a delightful cameo that took the score past 350 and highlighted his own ability with the bat, before he was bowled by a slow yorker from Conway.

Conway, like Guthrie and Sanderson, ran in hard all day, but his ridiculous 'celebrappeal' when he thought he had dismissed Yusuf Bin Naeem was unnecessary and frankly embarrassing. So too another appeal from Sales, a good cricketer, who blotted his copybook by only realising that no one else was interested when he had almost reached the striker's end.

There was even time for Abbas to hit a six over third man before the Derbyshire innings came to a close on 372, made at a very respectable 4.5 runs an over. Madsen had eventually been well caught from a leading edge for 151, an innings of which he can be very proud.

The home side faced ten overs before the close and Derbyshire's bowlers were very accurate, even though it was clear that conditions were easier than they had been earlier in the day. 

They reached 15-0 in the evening sunshine.

A word too about the stream, which I thought was excellent, while the two commentators were very even-handed in their comments and listenable. I don't know who they were, but they added to the enjoyment of the day, so fair play to them.

All in all, that was a wonderful day's entertainment.

In that, it was a reminder that there are all too few left this summer.

Hawkins stars for Seconds at Chesterfield

Zak Chappell captained the Derbyshire Second XI at Chesterfield today, at the start of a 3-day friendly against the South Asian Cricket Academy.

Indeed he won the toss and elected to bowl,  but would have been concerned when SACA reached 190-2 in the afternoon, Shafi making 68 and Tangirala 41. 

Then Joe Hawkins worked his way through the order to good effect and they were all out for 279, with the young all-rounder taking 7-63, his best figures by some distance.

Derbyshire reached 58-3 by the close, with Chappell and Khushi unbeaten and Rogers, Wagstaff and Kelly the men out. It will be interesting to see how a young Derbyshire side gets on tomorrow with the bat

Scorecard and video clips here