Monday musings...

That old idiom "You can't have your cake and eat it" is quite appropriate for Derbyshire cricket at the moment.

The good news is that we have signed one of the most explosive batsmen in this form of the game in world cricket for the forthcoming T20. One of the complaints of previous campaigns has been that we had no one at the top of the order who was a real powerhouse. A Dave Warner-type player who could get us off to a flyer in the first 5-6 overs of the innings and, on his day, put us out of reach.

Well, we've got one now, albeit a man who doesn't look in especially good nick at the moment from his performances in the World Cup and in the Caribbean. In fact, powerhouse openers must be like buses. You wait a while for one to come along and then two arrive at the same time. So not only have we got Loots "The Bazooka" Bosman but Chesney "Boom Boom" Hughes. The latter is my nickname for him, by the way, but feel free to use it. If it appears on T shirts I'll just take my percentage…

Strangely, the feeling remains that, much as we needed a boundary-clearing opening batsman, on this season's form we perhaps need a "go to" bowler, a man the skipper can rely on to put the ball in the right areas for most of the time. Charl Langeveldt did that for us a couple of years ago, while Michael Holding did the same thing for Kim Barnett in the 1980's. When someone gets into the groove you need somebody to put it up 'em - sorry if that sounds like I'm confusing Madonna with Corporal Jones in Dads Army…

There's two problems to that of course. One is that our skipper is an outstanding batsman in his own right, albeit one not entirely suited to this format. The other is that there aren't that many of those bowlers around, as they're mostly on the international cricket merry go round and are struggling to get off.

Realistically, even the best bowlers will get an occasional tanking in T20. Were he theoretically available and had we notionally the money to sign him, Dale Steyn is one of the best in the business, but even he can go in excess of ten an over when up against someone in prime form, on a good track and with short boundaries.

My big concern for the T20 is that we may be unable to defend totals of even 180-190. Maybe I am doing them a disservice, but outside of Robin Peterson and Tim Groenewald, there isn't a bowler who could be regularly relied on to keep things tight. Perhaps one route might have been to offer Buck a mid-season break, to recharge his batteries ahead of the important remaining Championship campaign. Such an approach would have had its merits, but could potentially have been a source of friction and would also incur additional costs for a third player. On the other hand, the skipper might have quite enjoyed a breather.

Given the international schedule, there would have been limited options available anyway, but most fans would have enjoyed seeing Charl Langeveldt back, while another possibility would have been South African seamer Juan Theron, rapidly building a reputation for himself in his homeland as a miserly death bowler. Theron also did well in limited IPL opportunities and at 24 looks likely to have an excellent future as a bowler who swings the ball at decent pace.

In fact, he must have been on the county's radar, having played as professional for Audley in Staffordshire. An international call up seems likely for a man with a first class bowling average of 22 and I'm surprised that no one has made a move for him in the T20, with its more open qualification requirements.

Anyway, it is all hypothetical as we have to go with what we have. I expect improved performances in the T20 this season, but the bowlers have to up the game for me to get any more excited than that.

I don't think we'll be ordering the Finals Day merchandise just yet...