Hello hello hello...

It's good to be back again after a nice break down south. Dad came through his operation with flying colours and is now back in the pink, while we'd some grand days out in God's own county.


I managed to see two sessions of play with my son at Chesterfield on Wednesday, leaving when Northamptonshire's ninth wicket pair were firmly entrenched at tea on a wicket that seemed to be easing. An occasional ball misbehaved, as evidenced by a bouncer from Groenewald that cleared the batsman AND wicket keeper. Yet the way Derbyshire approached the chase suggested that a good finish was in prospect and I actually fancied our chances on Thursday before the rain ruined the contest.


It was fairly evident that Groenewald and Jones are very tired, the result of being the only fit seamers all season. Jones continues to soldier on, which makes him a crowd favourite, but they need some support. Again, Mark Footitt's turning his ankle on the morning of the match was unfortunate and few could deny that Derbyshire have had cruel luck this season.


I spoke to a few people at the game (no, I didn't introduce myself as Peakfan...) and most seemed to think that we've just had one of those years. There were a few comments about wicket-keepers, with most thinking that Steve Adshead was a solid keeper. He took a very good catch and handled the ball well. I've not seen him bat, but his career record suggests he can do the business. Thanks for all your comments and mails on the subject, which are appreciated, though the correspondent who cites the byes conceded by respective keepers misses the point a little. It is more down to runs scored and chances missed. Byes (as conceded by Adshead above) you can sometimes do little about, but the other things are crucial and Goddard fell short of expectations.


As for his replacement, much will again be decided by money and the availability of other players. Like a contributor on the post below, I also heard rumours of Greg Smith being approached by other counties, though they are just rumours at this stage. IF (note, IF) Smith left as well as Wagg, John Morris may opt for a more experienced keeper than, say, Joel Pope. The question is whether we want two young keepers vying for a place, or one older head who we know can do a job. The concern about Pope is that second team runs don't always translate into first team ones, as we saw with Lee Goddard.


At this stage of the year many players are sounded out about their plans and many end up staying put. Smith is, to my knowledge, under contract, but we saw with Kabir Ali last year at Worcester that this can count for little. As I said a few weeks back with Graeme Wagg, money talks for most of us and you cannot blame anyone wishing to better themselves financially.

Someone at Chesterfield suggested we should have broken the bank to keep Wagg, but we can't. If we'd matched Glamorgan's offer (we're still assuming he's going there) then other players would have wanted parity in due course. If a player is substantially ahead of others in his returns that is one argument, but Wagg's figures were not exceptional and Smith, Hughes and Madsen would all have a similar contribution to offer in their performances, as of course do Peterson and Rogers. However important a player, you cannot spend more money than you have, a basic piece of economics that some would do well to remember.

Speaking of Rogers, I read a piece while I was away that suggested that overseas players who have been here EVERY year since 2006 will be able to stay. That may open the door for Rogers, but I would not be surprised if other counties covet the Derbyshire captain. With the ever-diminishing availability of overseas players of talent, Buck's feats at Derbyshire will have been noticed and others may make more lucrative overtures in due course.

Several contributors this season and a couple of people at Chesterfield suggested that Tom Lungley may go this year, but looking around the country at possible options there aren't many better ones. That perhaps highlights the paucity of English seam bowling depth, but there are few affordable ones out there who would be markedly better.

I have to say that I don't see Derbyshire winning anything in the next five years. If there was a knock-out trophy it may be different, but there is such a gulf between the smaller and the affluent sides now that we will always lose our better players to clubs who can offer bigger contracts. The days of loyalty are largely gone and Derbyshire's goal is likely to be remaining competitive and picking up untried and underperforming players elsewhere and turning them into good players, while finding and developing their own. That's not negativity, but realism. Whether John Morris or anyone else is at the helm, Derbyshire are not likely to threaten the likes of the sides we saw in last night's T20 finals, as we simply don't have the resources to do so.
If we can mount a challenge, as we did in the Championship last year and the T20 this year it will be an excellent performance. For us to win a tournament as things stand would need something quite extraordinary.

It won't stop us dreaming though...