Monday musings

Thanks to my friend David for alerting me to a piece I missed last week, which suggested that Worcestershire’s departing CEO Mark Newton expects a lot of established county players to be released this Autumn. Newton said that young players are cheaper than established professionals and that several counties will go down this route in an attempt to balance the books.

It is a nice introduction to tonight’s musings, following on from yesterday’s comments about the Academy. I’d interesting e-mails last night from Derbyshire fans who suggested that we should put our faith in John Morris. One also suggested we adopt the Leicestershire model in giving him the mandate to play youngsters as much as possible, with the security of an extended contract behind him.

We all know that Morris’ current deal expires next season and few would blame him for sticking with tried and tested players in such circumstances. Experienced players have been in pressure situations before and one would assume could then handle them better as they arise. This season Derbyshire’s players largely haven’t, which might then suggest we throw caution to the winds next season. ‘They can’t do any worse’ is the stock answer, though of course they could. We might get hammered out of sight, rather than being narrowly beaten, until they got to grips with the county game. Or maybe they won't...

It would be a cruel irony and for me a retrograde step if John Morris was to lose his post due to the failure of young players that his regime has brought through. Whatever some people may think, Paul Borrington, Dan Redfern, Jake Needham, Atif Sheikh and Tom Poynton have all represented their country at age group cricket (four at under-19 level) in recent years. In itself, that suggests they are highly rated within the game and that the Academy is doing its job pretty well. To be one of the best eleven cricketers in your age group at a given time is a not inconsiderable achievement.

When you add in the likes of promising batsmen, such as Ben Slater and Hamza Siddique, there’s talent coming through, albeit not as quickly as some may wish. Perhaps that is the real issue that needs addressed in the close season, a coach who can take the youngsters from the Academy under Karl Krikken and help them to progress in the Second XI. If they are better prepared for first team action it is obviously of benefit to all concerned.

One recent correspondent cited Ross Whiteley’s spectacular double century for Chesterfield as proof that he is ready for the first team, but I’m not so sure. He has made few runs in the Second XI this season and his bowling seems to have gone back a bit too. Tom Lungley has a Derbyshire league double century under his belt, but no one thinks him anything more than a steady tail-ender. I rate Whiteley, but somehow he needs to step up his game to be a county player. There is a huge gap between top league and first-class cricket, although the best, after an acclimatisation period, usually rise to the top.

The right coach can help in that process. No disrespect to John Sadler, but we perhaps need a good coach more than a senior professional in the Seconds next year. Another correspondent last night asked how we were once able to attract big names to the county, in naming the best players he’d seen here. Barnett, Adams, Morris, Cork, Dean and Blackwell all came through the ranks under a very good coach, primarily Phil Russell.

John Morris, Andrew Brown and Steffan Jones have work to do with the senior players and now need someone between them and Karl Krikken to get the best from a promising set of young players at a key stage of their development. Alternatively, we might need to restructure the existing staff, bringing in another senior coach with either Brown or Jones taking the young tyros.

As to the names we recruited, Phil de Freitas wanted to stay in the north and we were a decent side at that time, while ‘Pop’ Welch wasn’t wanted at Edgbaston. Devon Malcolm was picked up from the leagues, as of course was Wayne Madsen and Karl Krikken. There are two things that will bring players to your club – the right salary and the prospect of being part of a successful side. We can’t confidently offer the latter at this stage, so producing our own becomes even more important.

Getting the right person in charge of Second XI development next season might just be the best signing made this winter by John Morris. At the end of a difficult season, the best way forward would be for the Committee to give him a contract extension, encourage him to play youth and to make a sound appointment as Second XI coach.

If such a decision brought through a similar crop to those named above, we might well have a Derbyshire side to be proud of in a few years time.