Gloucestershire gloom

I’m not sure whether they have installed revolving doors or ejector seats at Bristol, but the speed with which players are leaving the club brings the words ‘rats’, ‘sinking’ and ‘ships’ to mind…

Anthony Ireland has gone to Middlesex, Steve Kirby to Somerset, Will Porterfield to Warwickshire (“you’ll be the next England opening batsman, son…”) and Gemaal Hussain to…who knows? The thinking money is on Nottinghamshire, but county fans are disappointed in his decision to leave after just one season of a two-year deal. You might call it ambition, others could call it disloyalty. Say what you like about Graham Wagg, but he gave Derbyshire good service after we gave him a fresh start. In my opinion, Hussain owed Gloucestershire at least a second season after he had been rejected at four other counties, but I suppose he’s entitled to sell his services to the highest bidder while his star is in the ascendant. If he had a poor year next season, he would be in a much weaker bargaining position, undoubtedly a factor in his decision.

With Vikram Banerjee also set to leave and Kadeer Ali supposedly talking to other counties, Gloucestershire coach John Bracewell looks like having either a very young squad or one made up of Kiwis with English passports next season. Losing such players should, of course, free up some money in their playing budget but they have also to make considerable savings. It is by no means clear whether James Franklin will return either, so if you think Derbyshire have problems, spare a thought for one of several counties (Kent, Leicestershire and Yorkshire are others) who are worse off.

Reports suggest the latter have signed Ryan Sidebottom with the money freed up by Jacques Rudolph’s departure and they may not sign an overseas player next year. Others suggest that Surrey wanted to sign Will Porterfield but couldn’t afford him. The latter I find quite staggering and suggests that their backroom layoff has had an impact on the cricket budget. It also lends credence to John Morris’ assertion that too many ordinary players are demanding inflated sums. Porterfield is a decent, but by no means exceptional batsman who misses a fair amount of cricket with his commitments to the Irish national team. The same goes for Niall O’Brien, a steady wicket keeper and on his day exciting batsman who may be leaving Northamptonshire. Potential employers have to accept that he could miss up to half a season, a consideration when they are doing any cost/benefit analysis.

So to Derbyshire, and there was a nice piece by Dave Griffin on the funeral of Ian Buxton on the club site yesterday. It would appear he got a good send off with many former team mates present and it was richly deserved. I once bought some cricket gear from his shop in Chesterfield and he was extremely helpful and courteous, even if I was a little awe-struck in his company as a youth. He even gave me his autograph, which I still have to this day. If you’ve not been on the blog before, my appreciation of Ian Buxton can be seen in last week’s posts.

Nothing much else to report at this stage. Thanks for your positive comments on the site’s revamp and also for your continued interest.

See you soon!