The wilting of the White Rose

Some win eh? While I am not going to get carried away with the first two matches of a T20 campaign that promises to be long and arduous, it doesn't stop me celebrating a Derbyshire performance of high quality at Headingley last night.

We won the first two games last season, of course, then fell apart faster than one of my school woodwork projects thereafter. Yet the feeling remains that we are much better equipped this time around, albeit in a section that has more than its fair share of big guns. I said earlier in the week that I would be happy to win one of the first two, so am naturally ecstatic to go into our first home game on top of the league - and no, I'm not having a laugh…

Bear in mind that we have won these two games without star all rounder Graham Wagg, who will hopefully be fit to take his place in the side in the next couple of weeks, while Charl Langeveldt's arrival should hopefully help to counteract the kind of assault made by Jacques Rudolph last night. In a first choice side, Langers would replace Chris Rogers while Wagg would presumably come in for Tim Groenewald, leaving this side:

Bosman
Hughes
Smith
Peterson
Durston
Wagg
Sadler
Park
Goddard
Jones
Langeveldt

That is quite a team, with three main differences from last season.

Firstly, the return of Langeveldt gives us that crucial "go to" bowler, so important to a captain. Our slower bowlers have been highly effective thus far, but Langeveldt and Jones are experienced, wily campaigners who would give us a plan B if someone took a fancy to them.

Secondly, the signing of Wes Durston has given us a second experienced spinner to bowl in tandem with Robin Peterson, but also one who can score quickly and field with brilliance. In short, he adds balance to the side. Our alternative would have been to play Wayne Madsen or Jake Needham, neither of whom have a sufficiently strong second string to be considered a genuine all rounder.

Thirdly, and crucially, we now have serious fire power at the top of the order. I had reservations about Bosman after seeing him in the Caribbean, where he seemed out of sorts, but there is no doubt that if he fires in even 25% of our games, we are likely to win them. In previous seasons we have carried far less of a threat at the top of the order, but the advent of Bosman gives us someone to inflict serious damage on the opposition in those crucial, field-restricted overs at the start of the innings.

Even more importantly, he is now partnered by a young batsman in Chesney Hughes who has to be our brightest batting prospect in twenty years or more. Youngsters of nineteen rarely score as fluently or heavily as he is right now, and while he will undoubtedly suffer lean periods in the years ahead, his potential is evident. The thought of Bosman and Hughes getting going at Chesterfield is mouth-watering - they might just need to clear the kiddies play area...

John Sadler showed last night that we have boundary clearing ability down the order to seven, with Garry Park a talented insurance policy at eight and Lee Goddard and Jones capable of runs at nine and ten if required.

No rash predictions from me, as I've seen too many unfulfilled starts of promise over forty years and counting, but I will say that this team has the POTENTIAL to do well. The coming weeks will highlight whether that can be transferred to sustained performance, but last night should ensure that those new seats at the County Ground, together with plenty of others, are occupied for the next few games at least.