According to a contributor on the Forum, we're now being linked with Kent's Martin Van Jaarsveld. As a concept it is sound and as a player he would improve our side, even though he's had a poor season by his lofty standards. A player with international experience, Van Jaarsveld has been a run machine for Kent and would doubtless contribute for anyone else. Married to a northern girl, I could buy into the rumour and the idea that she wanted a move north.
Would he come to Derbyshire? I don't know, it would depend on various factors. If he was available, I doubt we alone would be interested (always assuming we are, of course...) I am unaware of his qualification status, but suspect he is qualified by either residency or marriage by now. Picking him up would also be a major signing and with Chesney Hughes and Wayne Madsen qualified next summer, fielding VJ and an overseas player would still leave us within the terms of the blueprint, playing nine English-qualified players per game - and many of them under 26. Mind you, that assumes that Greg Smith doesn't stay, in which case he would be the non-qualified. Given the choice, who would you rather have?
Still, its all supposition and rumour, nowt more than that. Today's game is farewell to the CB40 for this year and I was interested to see Paul Farbrace of Kent say that they were not beaten by a better team at Derby and that they had been their own worst enemy this season with some performances. He could have been talking about us, to be fair and it shows how a handful of performances can tarnish a season when you consider that we could easily finish third bottom in the CB40 and Championship with a poor finish.
Derbyshire have produced a lot of solid, competitive, aggressive and entertaining displays this season, but a handful of games where the intensity or skill level dropped have cost us. Worcestershire in the CB40 and T20 at home, Netherlands home and away in today's competition, Northamptonshire - these are the games that have spoilt an otherwise good season, when we have mixed it with the big boys and given as good as we've got against all but Nottinghamshire.
With no overseas player, today will be a tough one to end positively, but I'm sure the players will give 100% as always. Win and third place is ours. Lose and third bottom will be.
More later.
Add to the poor performances the following:-
ReplyDeleteFirst innings at Bristol,
First innings at home v Middlesex(although a strange decision to bat first),
First Innings at Lords(Once again a strange decision to bat first,especially after being taken apart by their seamers less than 24 hours previously)
Other than that we have been competitive at worse and menacingly efficient the rest of the time.Rain spoiled matches at Northants,Canterbury and Chelmsford where we could have asserted our ascendancy.
Donny Scorpion