Middlesex v Derbyshire day 1

As regular readers will know, I have a lot of time for Karl Krikken.

He has done a terrific job with the young players at the Academy and has taken them on to new heights since becoming head coach. The signs are that he will be outstanding in that role and we will see a talented crop of young players develop into talented professionals, serving the county with distinction for some years to come.

Having said that, I think he got his selection wrong today.

In his last thirteen innings in all competitions, Wayne Madsen has scored 14, 10, 12, 30, 1, 4, 0, 29, 0, 4, 1, 20 and 0. In the Championship those scores are 4, 0, 0, 48 and 0. On the other hand, Matt Lineker has scored 393 runs in three knocks for the Second XI.

I'm a big fan of Madsen, as a player and a man. I spent a pleasant half hour chatting to him at the County Ground earlier in the season and he is one of the nicest blokes you could wish to meet. He's also been our best batsman in the last couple of years or so, after Chris Rogers. Having said that, he needs time in the middle and a chance to get the ball in the middle of the bat again. Today should have been breather time, not an admission of weakness but an acceptance that every player hits a bad trot and needs to recharge batteries. With an in form batsman with the party, today should have been the day.

I know it is a big game, but big games need form players, something Madsen patently isn't right now. He'll come again, he's too good a player not to, but right now he must wonder where his next run is coming from. Look at it from another angle - had that recent record been that of a young player, a rest would have been essential. Experienced or not, Madsen needs the same.

To compound the problem, Martin Guptill now averages less than 17 in the Championship, 135 runs in nine innings, better than only Tony Palladino of regular players. 70 of those came in an important win at Cardiff, so his eight other innings have brought just 65 runs, way below expectations for an overseas player. Guptill did well in the T20 and scored a good hundred last weekend at Derby, but he will be disappointed with his contribution to the Championship campaign so far, as I'm sure fans are. Like Madsen, he's had his share of awkward deliveries, as he did today, but that's what happens when you open the innings.

The result, of course, was both of them back in the pavilion inside three overs.

There were decent efforts from Merssrs Durston and Smith, while Ross Whiteley played a good hand until he ran out of partners. Yet 252 after deciding to bat was only an average effort, quickly put into perspective by Middlesex's reply of 105-0.

At the end of day one we're tied to the railway tracks with the onrushing train yards away, the villain twirling his waxed moustache while cackling insanely.

In trouble? You bet. There's a lot of work to do from here.