Something for the weekend

I was surprised to wake up this morning and read that Wayne White is now a Lancashire player.

I had heard rumours that he was unhappy at Leicestershire, but that was hardly surprising after the season they had last summer. White was a good player in a poor side, which can be enough for players who enjoy being a big fish in a small pond, but was unlikely to be so for a player who is fast becoming a genuine all-rounder with justifiable ambitions. Sure, he bowls a fair few bad balls and can be expensive, but he has the ability to bowl the wicket-taking deliveries too.

Likewise, with the bat he can hang in there and fight the rearguard actions, something he has had to do regularly, but can play some attacking innings when the situation demands. He is, in short, a dangerous and improving cricketer, as 600-plus runs at 29 and 43 wickets at the same last summer amply illustrates.

So, as I was asked in an e mail today, should we have tried to sign him? To which my answer is 'no' and here's why.

First, the playing budget is spent. You don't add Chanderpaul, Godleman and Johnson to a squad, as well as offering improved deals to key young players and expect to sign White too. Remember, we need money in the pot for the second overseas role for the T20 and we're hardly among the most affluent counties.

Second, I'm not sure, for all his talents, if White is yet a player who will do well in the top tier. He is good, but not yet outstanding, at both disciplines.In another couple of years he could be, but I'm unsure as to how he would fit into the current Derbyshire side.

Good as he is, could you see him breaking into the current top six? I can't. Similarly, is he a better seamer than Palladino, Groenewald or Clare? Again, I don't think so. If he isn't an automatic choice, I'm not sure that a move would have been worthwhile, as established county professionals don't come cheap. Nor can we pay the going rate for such a player and have him in the seconds for much of the time, even if he was prepared to do that, which seems unlikely

So why Lancashire? Well, they wanted him, could afford him and are fairly convenient from a travel perspective. He'll be close enough to his friends and family, while my guess is that he will prove a key component of a Lancashire side that I think will win the second division in a canter after last season's traumas.

They have a lot of good young players and I would suggest that White will be the long-term replacement for Glen Chappell, a player who has given superb service to the red rose county.

It is yet another sign of the development of the Derbyshire side though. Had White been available last winter, when we were preparing for a division two campaign, I'd have had him like a shot. Yet the development of Ross Whiteley, the all-round importance of David Wainwright and the talent of our main seam bowlers has been heartening to see.

I have every confidence that Wayne White will thrive at Old Trafford and hope he does so. I have even greater confidence that our vibrant young side will acquit themselves well and that the two sides will renew hostilities in 2014.

In division one.