End of the season

I’ve had some lovely e mails from people since this blog reached the 100,000 mark and I’m grateful to everyone who took the time to get in touch. It brought home to me how many people are passionate about Derbyshire cricket yet are not lucky enough to live close enough to see as much as they like. I thought I lived a distance away, but when you get e mails from people in Nigeria, Qatar, Australia and the USA you almost feel like a local!


I used the phrase ‘lucky enough’ in relation to watching Derbyshire and I’m convinced that wording is appropriate. There are many times over the years that I have gone away from games, shaking my head and wondering at the point of it all. I’ve seen Derbyshire hopelessly outclassed in matches and when the highlight, as it has been on occasions, has been a bit of fielding, or the wicket-keeper, you know the side has problems.

No matter how bad things might have seemed on occasion this year, there is light on the horizon. Irrespective of losing three bigger names, there are some fine players at Derbyshire. If you cannot enjoy the prospect of watching Chesney Hughes, Wayne Madsen or Wes Durston then there’s something wrong with you. Greg Smith is a good cricketer and with less bowling to do can be a punishing and exciting batsman. Dan Redfern is too good for this year to be anything other than a blip.

Next year offers an opportunity to see perhaps two of the fastest bowlers on the county circuit. If the two Marks, Footitt and Turner, hit their straps they will probably be the fastest opening bowlers in the country. I can’t wait to see those two bowling together…

There will be more to come in over the winter, but for now we are all going to have a hole in our lives. I used to enjoy the football season, but it now gets little more than passing attention from me. Like many others, the ridiculous wages, low morals and poor attitudes of too many of the players have seen my interest wane. I still follow Derby County’s results but not with anything close to the interest I have in the cricket club.

We all have our opinions on Derbyshire, but all of our lives would be much the poorer without it. I wonder how fans of Kent, with all their money worries, and Leicestershire, with all the internal fighting, must feel right now. Other, bigger counties have serious money problems, generally caused or aggravated by building plans that are too ambitious and recruitment policies that have risked long-term pain for short-term gain.

Derbyshire have been prudent. It would be great if we could afford every big name who became available. Kirby? Shah? Sidebottom? Yeah, we’ll have them all and be the cricketing equivalents of the Harlem Globetrotters, or perhaps a professional version of Lashings CC. I’m no more sure of the success of that approach than our current one to be honest. It is hypothetical anyway and I remain convinced that picking up rough diamonds from elsewhere and polishing them will, in time, produce the goods.

Look at Worcestershire. Were they the second best team in Division Two this year? Probably not, but through a good team spirit and all-round contributions they have gone up. The margin between top and bottom is minimal and could be addressed by a new strike bowler, a wicket-keeper who contributes with the bat, the right overseas player and a positive attitude. We have the latter and have just picked up the first two. The wait to see the third will be fascinating, as well as who else comes in.

One final word on the blog. I won’t promise a daily one over the winter as there’s often little to write about, but there will be at least one a week and when anything happens you’ll read about it on here.