Derbyshire v Gloucestershire preview

I have to say that I never expected Gloucestershire to do as well as they have this season. A young and inexperienced squad had risen to the occasion in the Championship and done well, despite a few drubbings in the T20.

It shows what is possible with a team effort and a few judicious signings after a winter of upheaval and Derbyshire will need to be at their best to beat them over the next four days. Surrey-bound Jon Lewis will hope to leave them on a high and as a team they can already be proud of what they have achieved this summer.

For that matter so can Derbyshire. For most of the campaign we have competed and until some of our younger players mature we can ask for no more than that. Leicestershire are another side we must hope to emulate, again fighting above their weight, at least in the T20. Few teams have the playing strength to sustain a challenge in all forms of the game and Derbyshire must aim to finish the season strongly to fill supporters with optimism ahead of the next campaign.

The DET suggested today that the team will be unchanged from Lords, which means no return for Dan Redfern after injury. It also means that neither Paul Borrington or Matt Lineker play. I can understand that after both Wayne Madsen and Martin Guptill scored runs in the last CB40 game, but it doesn't stop me feeling sorry for Matt Lineker who can do no more than he has to get into the side. I hope that both players repay Karl Krikken with runs, but I might have been tempted to drop Madsen down the order to accommodate Lineker.

Another player who needs to repay the head of cricket is Greg Smith, whose current situation puzzles me. I would have thought that a county would by this stage have held up their hand and expressed interest in the all rounder. None, to my knowledge, have done so. Essex were mentioned as a possible home, but I have seen no confirmation of interest from there, or indeed anywhere else. I just hope that the player or his agent haven't shot themselves in the foot by turning down a Derbyshire offer in the light of one from elsewhere that hasn't materialised. With Derbyshire having retracted their offer, might Smith not find himself in limbo, with no county prepared to take a financial hit in the form of ECB penalties for a non-qualified player? We'll see...

Anyway, the season's big finish starts here. With several players within range of a thousand runs for the season, there are plenty of incentives to do well.

Here's hoping.