Brief blog...

I shall be brief tonight as I have a very early start tomorrow.

Andrew Bairstow is now available to Yorkshire tomorrow in the following squad:

Gale (c), Bairstow, Ballance, Brooks, Hodd, Hodgson, Lees, Lyth, Plunkett, Pyrah, Rafiq, Rashid, Sayers, Sidebottom, Wardlaw.

It is a decent squad, but no more than that. If we are serious of making an impression on the competition this year we should be beating a Yorkshire side shorn of several big stars.

The Derbyshire side looks likely to be as I suggested last night, though Peter Burgoyne could miss out on a Headingley track that rarely favours spin. There will also be a decision over the wicket-keeping role, with both Poynton and Johnson in the squad.
 

Finally tonight, you may have read that the club has appointed a chaplain, Revd Tim Wright of Boulton St Mary's Church, Alvaston, It is a forward-thinking move and recognises that cricket is a sport where independent support, advice and guidance, even just a friendly ear, can come in useful.

The club should be applauded for this which will doubtless be well utilised. Mind you, when I told my old Dad tonight he cast his mind back to earlier days.

"Time was when we looked like we'd signed Charlie Chaplin" he said, with a trademark chuckle.

You can't beat the old ones. We used to sign them...