2011 conjecture

No doubt occupying the minds of Derbyshire fans at the moment are the issues of the retained list and who will be coming to Derbyshire over the winter.


I don’t expect many more to be released as there’s not many who are out of contract. We might lose a seamer, possibly two, but the nucleus of the squad is in place. I’m not sure if I can say that when we’re losing Rogers, Peterson and Wagg though…

So what about next season? I’ll tell you what I’d like to see. First, I’d like to see Derbyshire take any pressure off John Morris and give him a contract extension, so he can do the other things I suggest without fear. As you’ll see, there’s an element of risk, but I’m looking at long term, gain here. John Morris is more likely to be encouraged to experiment if his future is secured, so for me, that would be a smart move. No doubt there’s new tabs being opened onto 606 right now…

I’d then like to see us give an extended trial to Borrington and Redfern as openers, with Hughes having cemented the number three berth. At this stage the jury is out on both players, but they need to be given an opportunity to show if they can cut it at this level, as we'll never know unless they play. Borrington has rarely been given a chance to open, but should be in what is a specialist role, while Redfern needs to realise that attractive twenties and thirties need to be turned to worthwhile scores. It was interesting to listen to Mark Butcher on Sky recently, talking about how he was told to bat exactly the same between 25 and 50, 50 and 75 and so on as he did between nought and 25. It helped him to realise the need to stay at the crease and maintain concentration.

Redfern was tried as an opener pre-season this year to reasonable success. Maybe two boys who have come through the club together and are good friends may ‘feed’ off one another and spur each other on. I think it is worth looking at, unless John Morris has a cunning plan for a world-class opening batsman coming in…

Hughes would be at three, a position he has played with astonishing success, but more will be known about him next year and three youngsters “up top” could be too much of a gamble. After watching Derbyshire for forty years, I can safely say that Hughes is the best young batsman I’ve seen in the club colours, but he will also, like others of his age, experience difficult times.

I’d then have Madsen at four, where I think he would score even more heavily than he has at the top of the innings. He is probably our best player of spin, so would be an asset in that area. Greg Smith would be at six, a reflection of the fact that it is asking a lot of him to bat, bowl spin and seam and possibly captain the side, as well as taking a prime place in the order.

In between them I’d love to see an overseas batsman at five, maybe one who could bowl a few overs. We could really do with someone like Neil McKenzie or Dale Benkenstein, a player who would rally the troops and dig in, or counter-attack when things were tough.

Durston and Park? They'll need to battle for a place and would replace the two openers in one day games. I would love to see competition for places and these two are excellent one day cricketers. Their performances would show if they could play the longer game with success.

I’d then like to see a wicket-keeper who can contribute 500 runs as a minimum in the Championship. With Luke Sutton, Niall O’Brien and Tim Ambrose seeming to be available, there are options out there. Or could Steve Adshead score the necessary runs in a key position? It is another big decision for the Head of Cricket.

The bowlers? Jonathan Clare will benefit from a winter’s strengthening and practice, Atif Sheikh will be a year older, wiser and stronger, while Mark Footitt, if he works hard with Steffan Jones over the winter, could be seriously quick. Throw in the warrior that is Jones and the reliable Tim Groenewald and there’s a decent seam attack in the making.

Which leaves the big question. Is Jake Needham ready to be first choice spinner? I think he’s bowled well this season when given opportunities, but the question is if he can do it every day for five months. This is another reason why Morris should be given the security of a contract extension. It is a risk that may be worth taking, but in Morris’ situation I may be disinclined to take that risk with my future on the line. If Needham is not deemed to be ready, then another spinner needs to be on the list. In the absence of British spinners of talent, the only options then might be another Kolpak, which effectively narrows the choice down to South Africans or West Indians.

Taking that down further, to spinners who have played international cricket in the past two years, it leaves three options now that Botha has the South African one day captaincy. All are slow left armers, with the options Roelof Van der Merwe or Paul Harris of South Africa and Nikita Miller of the West Indies.

None would really offer the all-round option of Robin Peterson, although Van der Merwe is a one-day pinch hitter on occasion. All are good players who could do a job, though they may not be prepared to put their own international ambitions on hold.

Whether John Morris goes down this route for 2011 I couldn’t say, but these are sure to be some of the considerations in the months ahead.

Thoughts, my friends?