Monday musings

After a weekend that could scarcely have been improved on if written by a top script-writer, Derbyshire face a massive game at Queens Park on Wednesday in which winning is essential to maintain a chance of promotion in the County Championship.

I'd accordingly expect a result track at Chesterfield, although they usually are. Batsmen get a reward for strokes on a quickish track with a short boundary, while bowlers get more bounce than the norm and sufficient movement to maintain interest, even with the Tiflex balls that are being used to general concern this season.

Irrespective of the result and the rest of the season, surely no one will argue when I say that this has been a season of major progress. We could easily go up, with Northamptonshire and Middlesex set to meet again before the end of the season, but could also finish in the bottom three, scant consolation for a very encouraging and competitive campaign.

I have always said on this blog that John Morris set the ball rolling with the recruitment of a better quality of player than we have seen for some time. Players like Wes Durston, Wayne Madsen, Tim Groenewald, Tony Palladino, Chesney Hughes, Luke Sutton and others were always likely to do a good job once Morris persuaded them to join the county, but it is no coincidence that for most their best form has come since Karl Krikken took over.

I'd a lot of time for John Morris but perhaps man management wasn't his strong point. Never having played for him I don't know, but Karl Krikken seems to get the best out of players and the improvement in the younger ones, in particular, has to be one of his major contributions to the campaign. None of us know whether Krikk can bring a similar class of player to the club, but after 25 years-plus in the game I expect him to know plenty of people, just the same as Luke Sutton. If these two identify the players they want, Chris Grant will then handle contract negotiations and we will continue to progress.

The third place positions in the CB40 and Championship are very much the result of a team effort. Only Northamptonshire have more batting bonus points, while only they and Gloucestershire exceed our bowling points. NINE players average between 29 and 41 with the bat, while five have taken their wickets under thirty. The spirit at the club is obvious, especially in the commitment of the overseas players. Guptill's joy at reaching three figures is tangible, his commitment in the field an object lesson. Usman Khawaja played most of the time at Derbyshire on one good leg. Overseas players and professionals are looked up to in any club and we have been lucky in two positive role models.

Of course, with the Academy being the focal point of the future side, the role of Krikken, AJ Harris and Howard Dytham will continue to be critical to our future and the signs are good. Today we read of two bright young players, Harvey Hosein and Will Davis, being selected for the England Development Programme at Under-16 level. Davis, a quick bowler from Staffordshire and Hosein, a wicket-keeper from Matlock appear to have all the credentials for success, including coaching from men who really know what they are doing.

They are, of course, the latest in what is becoming an exciting long line. From those in or around the first eleven, through to the likes of Slater, Siddique and Higginbottom and younger ones like Burgoyne, Cork and White, the hard work of the Academy is starting to bear fruit.

Former England man Keith Fletcher once said that if one in every three of your young players comes through it is well worth the investment. All the signs point to players like Redfern, Whiteley, Knight, Poynton and Borrington becoming fixtures in the next few years and Derbyshire will reap the rewards for the hard work both in their performances and in ECB funding. While the senior players from elsewhere will still have a role to play for the forseeable future, in the medium to long term I can see Derbyshire teams made up of Academy graduates as seniors, hopefully thanking the club for their time and investment with a level of loyalty that has not always been the case in the past.

When players enjoy the dressing room environment and the company of people they have grown up with, there is a far greater likelihood of their staying. Chris Grant's new structure, offering appropriate remuneration to young players in direct correlation to their performances, is a sound first step towards a bright long-term future at the club.

As for the short-term future? We need to beat Northamptonshire. If we do, promotion is very much a possibility.

If we don't, I'm still more optimistic about the future than I've ever been. There's always next year.