Worth a read

Every now and again I get an exceptional comment from fans that is more than just a few words. It is good to bring these to wider notice at that time and such a comment came in last night from Notoveryet. You may or may not agree with the idea (I'd be interested to hear from you on that) but it is well thought out and  - well, I reproduce it below so you can see for youtself!

"Tonight was one of the few games that didn't clash with work commitments and close enough for me to get to. It brought back my comment a few nights ago - do we have the batting to chase 200?


The answer's yes but not every game, and I'm afraid that's what our T20 is going to look like. A dodgy stumping tonight didn't help us but our bowling was staggeringly naive at times. Notts bowlers were intrinsically no better than ours and a lot less experienced, but knew where to put the ball - full and straight - and had some subtlety and variety. Ours were too often in default mode - bang it in short and wide and hope for a wild slash.

This, for me, is the biggest indictment of John Morris' time. Our bowling has simply withered on the vine, dependent on varying quality of imports with no development or progress for our home grown talent. It's not surprising when we have had no bowling coach for two years, then bring in someone who can't do a lot of coaching when he's playing all of the time.

Let's face it, Derbyshire does not need a new head of cricket. Seven years of Morris / Houghton hasn't taken us very far, and in all honesty, it hasn't worked in a lot of other teams either. It's a great comfort blanket to have one man to blame or praise but has little else to commend it.

I hope that Chris Grant's idea is a team approach, in which several individuals combine their particular talents. This ensures continuity as people move on or change roles. Which brings me to my suggestion for a landmark signing - someone who knows the club inside out, lives locally, is doing a great job of supporting young talent at his present club, can still conjure occasional miracles as a player and captain, has never made any secret of his wish to finish his career with us, knows and gets on well with Krikken and Sutton, brings a high profile, and whose signing won't prevent us having a good overseas batsman.

I'm talking about Dominic Cork, obviously. A leadership team comprising him as the inspiration, mentor and on-field coach, Sutton as the planner and tactician, and Krikken as the co-ordinator, talent-spotter and technical coach. I think this will work.

Cork sounds as though he could be up for it as long as he doesn't want sole command and control. Earlier in the year, he tweeted "I always have a soft spot for Derbyshire. One day I would love to turn them into the Sussex of the north. Winners!!!!"

I know there is history that gets in the way, but perhaps a new chairman who isn't shackled by it and doesn't have the fragile egos of some of his committee that helped to drive Cork away could be the one to make it work.

At the very least, it's more likely to work, and cheaper, than bringing in an old overseas warhorse in the hope that they will do what Eddie Barlow did, but won't leave a structure behind that will bring long-term stability and progress."

The idea has much to commend it, as the correspondent points out. Cork knows the area and club and for those worried about old issues recurring I'd suggest that he is a far more mature, less confrontational player than the one who left Derbyshire for Lancashire. His son is currently in the academy and he has done a good job at Hampshire, still turning in decent figures after over twenty years in the game. It could, as pointed out, be affordable.

I only have three issues. One is that he may decide that his growing media career offers him the long-term security that he may wish, although much will depend on the strength of that desire to come back and turn us into a good side that can compete against the best on a regular basis.

The second is that the player/coach role may be attractive to the players I mentioned the other night and a good few more, but a standard overseas role for six months may not be a sufficiently attractive package. While they may be prepared to commit for something that gives them a start in a career after they stop playing, I'm not sure that big names would commit to six months of helter skelter for anything less.

The third is Cork's age. He'll be 40 at the start of August and the appointment couldn't realistically be seen, at least in any playing role, as anything but short term. To get more than one season out of him would be impressive, despite the fact that he still looks as fit as the proverbial butcher's dog. Time waits for no man, as the old saying goes.

Still, it is a worthy idea and that media role I referred to could see us attract more interest than has been the case for some time (the skipper's excellent newspaper blog notwithstanding).

Like I say, I'd welcome your comments. Thanks to Notoveryet for producing an excellent, thought-provoking piece.