Something for the weekend

Former Derbyshire player Dominic Telo was in the runs for Western Province yesterday, making what was called a ‘sparkling’ 96 before being dismissed.


Telo is now skipper of the side, which for old cricket fans like me makes confusing reading. Western Province was one of the country’s top sides for many years and the home of Eddie Barlow, Adrian Kuiper and Peter Kirsten among others. The reorganisation of their domestic competitions means that they now play in what is effectively a second-tier competition. If you don’t have an animal name now in South African cricket you’re nothing (unless you’re a Titan, Knight or Warrior of course!)

That he could bat was evident to anyone who saw him, but Telo, who looked beautifully balanced and composed at the crease, got out far too often when he was going well. Twenties, thirties and forties are OK, but are ultimately frustrating for team mates and supporters alike. Even that 96, in his career record, will go down as a fifty.

Meanwhile, Greg Smith is playing for the wonderfully named Mountaineers in Zimbabwe (bet they climb the table well…) and bowled seven overs for twenty-five yesterday. Considering the opposition were 443-6 the last time I looked, I bet he’s glad he’d little more to do. There was another century for Garry Ballance for their opponents, the even more wonderfully named Mid-West Rhinos. I wonder if he’ll be tempted back to Zimbabwe cricket when he finishes his degree?

Changing tack, there’s a nice idea from Nathan Fern on the club site with his A-Z of Derbyshire cricket greats. He makes a very valid comment about web polls giving an unfair bias to young people, generally the only ones who can be bothered to vote yet often with the blinkered opinion of inexperience. I recently saw a web poll that declared Garry Barlow was the greatest-ever songwriter and Take That the greatest-ever group. I’m not so sure that you could discount Lennon and McCartney for the former, not to mention Gershwin, Berlin or Rodgers and Hammerstein. Take That better than the Beatles, or the Stones? Hmmm…

As I’ve said before, comparing players from different generations is impossible, as the game has evolved. WG Grace would probably not make 200 runs in a season today, but was a giant of his era and crucial in the development of the game. Was Wally Hammond better than Peter May, or was Lillee better than Larwood?

Nathan’s first choice at A was the worthy Albert Alderman, opening batsman in the Championship side of 1936. For me, the selection was the antithesis of voting for modern players and was perhaps a vote for an old-timer for nostalgic reasons, especially in a year when we celebrate our 140th anniversary.

Was Alderman better than Chris Adams? I didn’t see him, but my Dad did and reckons he was ‘workmanlike but nowt brilliant.’ While his solid batting in 1936 contributed to the success that summer (as Denis Smith was woefully out of touch) he experienced many fallow seasons. He was a sticker, like Alan Hill and Steve Stubbings in more recent times and was probably worth a few runs more than his average suggests. Nathan points out the uncovered wickets of the time, but there were some truly great bowlers around in the 1930s, far more than is the case today.

Chris Adams’ form in 1996 could equally have won us the Championship and it was sad to see a player with so much talent ultimately flower elsewhere, as the highly successful skipper at Sussex. He played some fine innings for us though, learning a great deal from Dean Jones in particular.

Selecting Alderman also means that you overlook the claims of the brilliant Mohammad Azharuddin, who played some majestic innings for the county in an albeit brief stay. I would suggest that he played three of the best ten innings I’ve seen by a Derbyshire player, with his double century at Queens Park against Durham on a spinning track a quite sublime piece of batting.

It all comes down to preference. Alderman’s long service, Adams’ few seasons or Azharuddin’s year and a half? After a little thought, and aided by the way that the Indian genius (not a word I use lightly) left under something of a cloud, I’ll plump for Adams.

Perhaps if we’d noted his credentials and aptitude for captaincy a little earlier, the recent histories of Derbyshire and Sussex may have been considerably different.

In closing, a suggestion for what may prove the problem letters of X and Z.

For the former, I could give a few dozen examples of X-certificate batting over the years.

Z? No names, but there have been a few over the years whose batting has enabled spectators to catch up on their sleep. Zzzzzzzz….

Postscript - Greg Smith 44 not out at the end of the day in a score of 132-5 chasing 460. They've got a mountain to climb...