Season review

For a side that based on the predictions of most critics was supposed to roll over and die, before ending bottom in everything, Derbyshire punched above their weight in 2019.

Mid-table in the RLODC, seventh in the four-day game and semi-finalists, praise be, in the T20 was a fine start for David Houghton. He recruited shrewdly in his coaches, Dominic Cork doing especially well in the Vitality Blast, and oversaw the season by exuding a reassuring calmness. I have heard no ill spoken of him and the respect of the players and supporters is evident when one walks around the ground.

The perennial financial constraints meant that he needed his big players to stand up to be counted and he was rewarded in spades. Billy Godleman had his best season, captaining in all formats and doing a solid job. He passed a thousand runs in the county championship and was only 26 runs short in the one-day formats. He led from the front, batted in his unique style and was a run machine, topping two thousand runs for the summer. We are lucky to have him.

His opening partner Luis Reece perhaps suffered from having to do too much bowling, but also had a fine summer. Over 1400 runs and almost seventy wickets in all formats made him a massive player for the club, all of it done with a smile on his face that showed a man who was enjoying life. Maybe a middle order role would be more beneficial for his batting, as well as his body, but his 184 against Sussex in the final home game will live long in the memories of those who saw it. He can rest easily this winter, like his captain, having done as much as anyone could have wished.

There was a little decline in the four-day returns of Wayne Madsen, who got 204 at Bristol but only 590 runs in his other 23 innings, but he remains the wicket most wanted by opponents and over 1650 runs in all competitions confirms there is plenty in the tank yet. In full flow he is still a joy to watch, while his fielding saw him take 35 catches in all formats. He remains a huge player for the club and one to enjoy for as long as it lasts.

Tom Lace enjoyed a fine summer in the middle order, though making only occasional appearances in the one-day side. His poise and balance at the crease was reminiscent of Ian Bell and three centuries and the same number of fifties in nineteen innings suggested him as one to watch. If Houghton can persuade him to make Derby his home for the next few years it would be a major coup this winter. A top five of Godleman, Reece, Madsen, Lace and du Plooy would give us our strongest in many a summer. At 21, Lace has the potential to go a long way in the game.

Leus du Plooy came in after the summer started and missed several weeks after breaking a thumb at Durham. Thereafter, he exuded class, exquisite timing and a destructive inventiveness in the one day game that is the preserve of the best. He took time to come to terms with the red Dukes ball on English wickets, something he had not faced before, but still averaged 40. In the one-day game he had a shot for every ball, while his fielding was reliable wherever required. If his bowling develops as it looks possible, we will have an extraordinary player on our hands, Houghton sensibly having extended his contract to the end of 2022.

It was a mixed season for Alex Hughes, whose early century at Bristol was his only one of the summer. He had few opportunities in the one-day game, such was the form of those above him, but was a key member of the attack in the T20, where his accuracy and variations made him hard to get after. His fielding remains brilliant in any position and criticism needs to take account of an injury that saw him struggle over the season's closing weeks

There were mixed returns too for Matt Critchley. He endured one of those seasons encountered by most young players, a batting average of 22 half that of his bowling one, where he struggled to take wickets in the four-day game. The injury that saw Matt McKiernan miss most of the summer, together with the lack of development with Hamidullah Qadri gave him a free run at the spinner's role. Mark Watt bowled tidily on occasion, but looks a one-day player only, so the club needs Critchley to kick on another year. The talent is there, for sure, but the spinner's role is very much up for grabs at the club and winter work is needed for a player of obvious talent.

Fynn Hudson-Prentice started the summer in the second team on trial and after some fine displays earned a 2.5 year contract. When he broke into the senior side he became a key member, playing some punishing innings and having a knack of breaking partnerships. Time will tell if he is a genuine all-rounder, but he has all the assets to become a really good county cricketer. Sussex's loss is very much a Derbyshire gain and he will prove another fine acquisition by the Head of Cricket.

It is hard to over-praise Ravi Rampaul. At the end of last summer he looked unfit and a shadow of the erstwhile international bowler he was. This year he responded to being the leader of the attack with remarkable consistency and fitness, taking 75 wickets in the various formats. Time after time he broke through, maintained control and was both shock and stock bowler. With better support at the other end we should have earned four-day promotion, but Logan van Beek disappointed as overseas player and Tony Palladino, while still a model of accuracy, struggled with injury as the season went on and understandably lost a little nip at the age of 36.

Harvey Hosein was entrusted with the gloves for most of the summer and was steady, both behind and in front of the stumps. Standing up his handling is not so sure, but the lack of quality spin meant this was rarely an issue. His batting was stylish when he got going, though early uncertainties took his average under thirty and more power at the crease would see him cement his role in the side. Daryn Smit took over for the T20 and kept beautifully, standing up as the pace was taken off in the middle overs and making few mistakes. He skippered a largely experimental second team well, but had few opportunities to bat at senior level.

The lack of progress by James Taylor and Alfie Gleadall saw both released, though they have only to look to the example of Hudson-Prentice to see what can happen if you go away and work at your game. Sam Conners did better and was retained, but will know that he has to get fitter over the winter. There is an opportunity for him if he does so, as his natural talent, whippy pace and height give him the basic tools of the trade.

Dustin Melton earned a contract for next year towards the end of the summer, on the back of some good displays for the second team. His pace was undeniable, but he will need to work on the line and length to become a regular next year. Like the departing Logan van Beek, raw pace is fine, but at senior level they will just wait for the bad ball and punish you. The potential is worthy of examination, but time will tell if senior cricket is a reality for him.

Finally, and a little out of turn, Anuj Dal. Released by Nottinghamshire, he looked good as a batsman but lacked opportunity, then turned out to be a very useful bowler, with a bustling medium pace. He too was rewarded with a contract, this time for two years, and it was well deserved. A batting average of 22 and bowling one of 20 suggests he too could add to the county's clutch of talented all-round cricketers, while his brilliance in the field is always likely to give him an edge in selection discussions.

It was an exhilarating summer, for Derbyshire and for cricket supporters generally. There were frustrating sessions of old-style Derbyshire ineptitude, but there was increasing evidence of a proper side emerging. If one of the spinners develops, or we sign one from elsewhere, with a good overseas seamer it would make a huge difference to this side. A deal for Tom Lace would leave no concerns over the batting and supporters can look forward to 2020, and all it offers, with a degree of anticipation and excitement.

Thanks to all of you for your support of the blog over the summer. Growth has again been remarkable and the two million views barrier has been left well behind.

I will be back soon - and I look forward immensely to your end of season comments.

Middlesex v Derbyshire day 4

Middlesex 260

Derbyshire 304-7 (du Plooy 100*, Hosein 57, Bamber 5-93)

Match drawn

There's not much to say about the shortened final day of the summer's cricket season than that two players who emerged during it made the biggest impression.

Leus du Plooy became the first Derbyshire batsman to make home and away centuries against Middlesex, ending a highly impressive first summer with the county in a way I expect to become quite commonplace. The raising of the bat and removal of the helmet to reveal a bandana could become a regular occurrence if this summer is anything to go by and his class has been evident from the start of his career with us.

So too that of Fynn Hudson-Prentice, who again showed how he could become a key player in the years ahead with a breezy cameo. Twenty wickets at 23, together with a batting average of 34 suggests that in Fynn and Luis Reece we have two genuine all rounders, not just bowlers who bat, or batsmen that bowl.

The recruitment of those two this summer has been a massive plus, but a look at the playing staff on the club website shows that strengthening is needed over the winter.

It lists twenty players on the staff, but that includes Tony Palladino, who plays only four-day cricket, Mark Watt who played only a few one-day games and Daryn Smit, who has been primarily in the seconds. With Logan van Beek there and already gone, Darren Stevens another and likewise, Qadri a third and going, it leaves a paper-thin squad in urgent need of reinforcement. Hopefully one of those might be Tom Lace, who is also up there, but still technically a Middlesex player.

I will be back over the weekend with my end of season review, and I look forward to your comments in due course.

Middlesex v Derbyshire day 3

Middlesex 260 (Reece 4-61, Hudson-Prentice 3-65)

Derbyshire 199-4 (Hosein 56*. du Plooy 55*)

Derbyshire trail by 61 runs

Maybe because it was the season's penultimate day, perhaps because we did pretty well, but I really enjoyed today's cricket from Lord's.

I thought Luis Reece and Fynn Hudson-Prentice bot did very well in the morning session, and whatever else happens over the winter, I think that we have two genuine all-rounders in that pair. Both average more with the bat than the ball  and will continue to progress in the years ahead.

Later, Godleman and Reece came out as if it was a Vitality Blast match, putting on 49 runs before each was out quickly, Wayne Madsen going in between for a first baller. At 55-3 a rebuild was needed, but Hughes helped Leus du Plooy add 48, before an unbroken stand of 96 between the latter and Harvey Hosein gave Derbyshire a position of dominance.

It was as well as I have seen Hosein play, the caveat being that Middlesex had a bizarre theory that he was weak against the short ball. This was disproved in convincing fashion, with a series of powerful hooks and pulls that merely confirmed it as one of his stronger strokes.

At the other end the silky du Plooy also eased to a composed fifty, an innings replete with the caressed cover drive that is fast becoming his trademark shot. Increasingly I am of the opinion that I have seen no better timer of a ball since Azharuddin and the thought of watching him over the next few summers is an engaging one.

As for the game, if the weather allows a full day tomorrow, there will doubtless be a last afternoon run chase. Derbyshire may want that extra run for a bonus point, but with the forecast showery a positive result looks unlikely and they may just aim to bat on.

A draw would make no difference to our league position, however, so we may be in for some interesting cricket tomorrow.

van Beek returns home

Logan van Beek ran in hard for the first game of his Derbyshire career, did the same in his last and maintained that same, one hundred per cent commitment throughout.

No one could fault his efforts for the club and despite his on field struggles he remained a genial, approachable lad. There was a ready and regular smile on his face and he bought readily into the club ethos.

Yet the bottom line was that his figures were not remotely close enough to a level required for the high pressure gig of overseas professional. In the county championship there were just nineteen wickets at 38 runs each, figures that ideally needed reversed, while a career batting average in the mid-twenties slipped to the mid-teens in Derbyshire colours, as the Dukes ball and English wickets proved challenging.

After a domestic winter in New Zealand where he had over forty wickets at fourteen each, we can only assume that whatever the quality in their national squad, there is not a lot of depth. Logan never found the right line and length consistently, and while he had a good bouncer that surprised a few with its venom, the perception from the boundary edge was that he was an 'Ooh' bowler, who beats the bat enough to impress those viewing, but bowls a length that will do that but not take wickets.

I watched a lot of him this summer, with time to do so post-surgery, and spent a lot of that time willing him to succeed. There were good spells, when he troubled batsmen, but most overs contained a 'release ball' that the batsman could get away for runs without being frustrated out. He would continue to run in hard, sometimes ending up on all fours with the effort, but it just didn't work out for him.

He never let us down in the field, where he was athletic with sure hands. His catch against Durham at Derby in early season turned the game, his subsequent spell perhaps as good as it got. Maybe, had he been playing under a European passport as a Netherlands player we may have been more understanding and he may have done better, but that overseas role is a tough gig.

He was not the first to find the going tough. Several before him came over in Kolpak and overseas roles and buckled under the strain. A player as brilliant as Lawrence Rowe couldn't cut it, nor Nantie Hayward, Hashim Amla, Dilshan, Telo, Rutherford, Broom et al. There is a world of difference between being expected to contribute to a win and being the one who does the winning.

I'd be surprised if he makes his goal as a Kiwi international, but you never know. Matt Henry struggled at Derbyshire, stood out for Kent and played a pivotal role in the World Cup this summer, as did Jimmy Neesham. None of those above were bad cricketers, some were great, but for whatever reason it never really worked out for them in Derbyshire colours.

The wording of the news in the club Twitter feed today suggested that he won't be back another year, given the benefit of the doubt on improvement. I think that is right, because to take the next step as a team we need a seam bowler who will lead the line. Rampaul has been brilliant this year, but will likely be in the new competition next year, after a stellar T20. Tony Palladino cannot go on forever and both Melton and Conners have much to do to prove themselves.

I think we may look to Australia, who have no international cricket over the next English summer and there are several players there who could do us a fine job. We would do very well, and may need to rob a bank to afford the likes of Hazlewood and Cummins, who may prefer to rest anyway, but there are others who would be very good options.

I am sure that Dave Houghton already has options and with Cameron Bancroft already signed for Durham and Travis Head for Sussex, other counties are already moving fast.

Last winter's evidence suggested that Houghton likes to move quickly on contracts, so expect news from Derbyshire in the coming weeks.

Middlesex v Derbyshire day 1 and 2 - plus Qadri leaves

Long, compressed hours at work have meant that I had no time to write about the little play on the first two days of this game, but the upside is that, weather permitting, I may get to see some play on the last two days of the summer's cricket.

I haven't missed much to be fair, though Luis Reece reaching fifty wickets for the summer was a terrific landmark. If the game has sufficient time left for him to reach a thousand runs - and he needs a further 82 to do so - he can put his feet up in the knowledge of being the first Derbyshire player to complete the 'modern double' of a thousand runs and fifty wickets. Either way, he can reflect on an outstanding summer.

There was a wicket at Lord's too for Sam Conners, who just might be the young breakthrough seam bowler we have been waiting for. He seems to have the requisite attributes, and just needs the luck with injuries and the right mindset to progress now.

Yesterday's news was dominated by the departure of another young Derbyshire player, following those of James Taylor and Alfie Gleadall last week.

Hamidullah Qadri will be joining Kent from the start of next season and, like all Derbyshire supporters, I wish him well.

As an honest man, I am not devastated by the news, nor surprised, as there were murmurings of Kent interest a few weeks ago. They have sought a spinner since Adam Riley's departure, another of those young players whose promising career was wrecked by too much advice (Tom Knight, anyone?) and asking him to change the muscle memory of years of bowling to his detriment. They are in division one, so you can't blame the player for seeing greener grass on the other side of the fence.

Maybe, if they let Hamidullah progress naturally and give him time, there will be a decent bowler in there. Spin bowling skills take a long time to master, but he didn't seem to have kicked on since his early performances for the Derbyshire senior eleven. I watched him in a few second team games and he didn't look especially threatening, though his summer has been dominated by his studies.

Truth be told, it was hard to see where he could break into this side. Matt Critchley is not much older but considerably better, at least in limited over formats, as well as having the talent to become a genuine all-rounder. Qadri doesn't appear to have that natural ability with the bat and Mattie McKiernan may well be a good additional option for the club across formats.

We will remember his five wickets in Cardiff a couple of summers back, which won us a memorable victory. That may prove to be the precursor to a career in which he becomes something special, or might just be another of those occasions where a player has his afternoon in the sun.

Either way, his future feats lie elsewhere and a club with a limited budget must ensure that the money we would have spent on these young players is well used.

An affordable and quality overseas, a younger seamer and a spinner (unless we sign one as overseas) would appear the major winter needs. Yet the academy failure to produce cricketers with the ability to progress is an ongoing issue, one that doesn't yet appear to have light at the end of the tunnel.

Middlesex v Derbyshire preview

My last preview of another season in which blog visiting figures have been broken and it seems to have flown by. A sure sign of having fun, as the old saying goes...

We visit Lord's tomorrow for the final four days of cricket this summer, which is not the worst place in the country to reach a conclusion. It affords a quick opportunity to put the travails of Saturday behind us and give the supporters a last winter warmer, before we replace baseball caps with woolly hats and follow the lesser sports of winter.

A squad of thirteen has been announced which holds no real surprises. I'd be surprised if Alex Hughes plays, but it would be nice to see Sam Conners get a run out at the end of a truncated season, to see what he might offer another year.

The squad as announced:

Godleman, Reece, Madsen, du Plooy, Hosein, Hudson-Prentice, Critchley, Dal, McKernan, Conners, Rampaul, Melton, Hughes

McKiernan v Conners for the final place, I think, both of them keen to have a bowl in senior cricket before the season end, having had seasons too truncated for either of their satisfaction.

It would thus appear that Logan van Beek has played his last game for the club, barring a close season contract offer that would surprise pretty much everyone. No one will ever doubt his commitment to the cause, because he gave a hundred per cent in every game, but the statistics on which cricketers stand or fall do not add up for the genial Kiwi.

More on him later, but tomorrow's game could, if one believes reports in the weekend media, be the last for Middlesex by Dawid Malan, apparently a target for Yorkshire. The white rose county seem to be heading into Nottinghamshire territory, though this will be worth watching, as he has two years on his current deal.

Whether it makes any difference to a potential Derbyshire move for Tom Lace is the angle in which I am most concerned.

Derbyshire V Essex T20 Semi-Final

Essex 160-5 (Delport 55, Westley 39, Hughes and Reece each 2-24)

Derbyshire 126 (Hughes 23, Harmer 4-19, Nijjar 3-26)

Essex won by 34 runs

Alas, the writing was on the wall for Derbyshire today, from the moment that Simon Harmer won the toss for Essex and opted to bat.

The wicket was slow, it enabled the ball to grip at times and later, when Harmer came on, the spin was considerable.

Delport could have gone early, a skied pull going between converging fielders, but the fielding wasn't quite there for us today. There were several half chance run outs that need to go your way on the big occasions, while a handful of ground fielding errors were untypical of recent form.

Delport took advantage of some variation of line and length to play the match-winning innings of 55 from 31 balls, while Westley kept the other end ticking over.

There wasn't much wrong with the bowling. Fynn was a little more expensive than usual, while it never seemed a wicket for van Beek. I said on Twitter during the first game that I would have gone for Stevens in his place, and it may just have been his type of surface. Still, it didn't happen and we actually did well to drag Essex back to a total of 160 in their twenty overs. Hughes and Reece did especially well, further proof perhaps that the Kent man might have enjoyed conditions.

Luis Reece set off like a train with two fours and a six in the opening over, but a brilliant catch by Wheater saw him depart before he inflicted enough damage to make a difference. Godleman smoked two fine boundaries, but was then bowled by a ripper from Harmer, who got extravagant turn throughout.

Madsen looked good on the sweep and was taking toll of Nijjar's left arm spin, before he miscalculated against a quicker ball, left his leg stump open and was bowled. Du Plooy went to another that turned a long way, while both Critchley and Dal went to shots that didn't warrant replays.

Hughes fought for a while, but Nijjar turned one past his outside edge as he came down the wicket and he was easily stumped. With 75 needed from 44 balls at that point, the game was gone.

Essex brought on Lawrence's off spin to capitalise on conditions and he bowled Hudson-Prentice, as the collapse became definitive. Derbyshire were eventually all out for 126, after some late blows from Smit, van Beek and Rampaul took the score closer than was actually the case.

It was a disappointment for the support, both those who travelled and those at home, but the Derbyshire squad has broken new ground this summer and can be proud of their efforts. A small squad has done very well to get through to the end of the season, though not without injuries. Smit undergoes surgery on a shoulder injury on Monday, while others have been held together with tape for a few weeks now. With four days to go, they will be ready for a deserved rest.

It was no disgrace then, in a summer when they have mixed it with the best and often come out on top. Something to build on in future years, when having experienced the occasion, they will be more ready for it next time.

Earlier, Nottinghamshire completed an awful year with a late collapse that was as inexplicable as it was inept. The difficulties of batting second notwithstanding, they should have made 11 from the last 12 balls with wickets in hand. Why they sent in Patel, the slowest man in the team, when quick running was going to be needed, I have no idea. It  suggested muddied thinking that has ravaged their summer.

Still, every cloud has a silver lining, eh?

As for the final, the winner will likely be the side that wins the toss. I suspect Worcestershire, who held their nerve well, will retain their trophy.

Vitality Blast Finals Day preview

Somewhere in Australia, tomorrow, Kane Richardson and Billy Stanlake may well flick through the Sky TV channels and sit down to watch the Vitality Blast finals day from Edgbaston.

In their turn, each could have been there. Richardson withdrew from his Derbyshire contract to 'protect his workload' after selection for the World Cup, in which he played two warm up games, together with two in the tournament. He then failed to gain selection for the Ashes tour, which has left him protecting his workload for quite a long time.

Stanlake meanwhile sustained the latest stress fracture to blight his career and we will likely never know if his ninety miles an hour projectiles from around seven feet in height would have proved effective. Certainly it would be a brave man who went down that path again.

Yet despite those disappointments, despite what appeared then and now as panic signings of Darren Stevens and Boyd Rankin, Derbyshire will turn up at Edgbaston tomorrow with every chance of creating a shock.

To most, we are making up the numbers. 'Little Derbyshire', they usually say in a patronising manner, before they roll out that perennial phrase 'the only county to have never been to finals day'. It has frustrated and annoyed us all, despite, until now, its accuracy.

Essex supporters, on hearing the draw for the day, raced on to Twitter to proclaim it 'almost like a bye into the final', which betrayed a lack of class, together with a lack of knowledge. Because in sport, as in life, anything is possible.

Those of us who are battle-hardened over decades of supporting the county know that there are two sides to our cricket. We never know which side will turn up on a given day, yet in the season now drawing to an end there are increasing signs of a side that is learning to win with discipline, talent and professionalism.

We are still capable of sessions of madness, yet there is an increased resilience down the order that is starting to see the sprouting of something that could be special down Derby way. Yesterday's four-day win over a good Sussex side was an example, fighting back from being all out for 138 on the first day to win by nearly 200 runs. All that with an attack of three 23-year olds, plus one of 24 on his championship debut.

Regardless of tomorrow's results, Dave Houghton has done an admirable job in his first season. Likely mid-table in fifty-over and four-day cricket, which has seen them punch above their weight in the eyes of many critics, they have knocked out supposed heavyweights and strapped the belt around their waist in a tough T20 group. It saw them beat Yorkshire twice (comme d'habitude) do the same to Lancashire at Old Trafford, then beat the reigning champions at Derby, after narrowly failing to do so at Worcester.

Any side that takes beating us for granted is in for a surprise. The top four of Godleman, Reece, Madsen and du Plooy is a match for any in the country, with 1500 runs between them in the tournament. While the concern may be what happens if they don't come off, the threat is also what happens if they do. With a quartet of all-rounders to follow, as good a wicket-keeper as there is in the country and the tournament's leading wicket-taker to spearhead the attack, we need fear no one.

On these big occasions, the best roll up their sleeves and get on with their job, respecting, but not worrying unduly about the opposition. Essex will be tough opponents, and on a likely slow, previously used end of season wicket, their spinner, Harmer, may be a danger, as will be the evergreen Ravi Bopara. Likewise they have some fine batsmen, but I wouldn't swap top fours with them. With neither Amir or Zampa available, the game will not be dominated by overseas players.

Worcestershire have Wayne Parnell and Hamish Rutherford back, the latter well-known to Derbyshire supporters. With Rikki Wessels and Moeen Ali in prime form and a parsimonious bunch of seamers headed by Pat Brown, I think they will be too much for Nottinghamshire. Our local rivals need Alex Hales to fire at the top of the order or it will heap pressure on a young middle-order that has been exposed in four-day cricket this summer. Steve Mullaney will also be a key man, while Dan Christian is always a danger in the closing overs.

Supporters might like the idea of a final against our local rivals, though our record against them in the competition isn't the best. I'd prefer Worcestershire, but of course we need to win against Essex before getting too carried away.

Either way the players and staff have done an extraordinary job to get here and I applaud Dominic Cork for giving us our day in the sun. After that dreadful performance against Leicestershire, hardly anyone expected us to progress, yet Cork, in true bullish fashion, said that we now needed to win the next three.

We did, and the one after it, in a performance of great professionalism at Bristol.

Don't yet discount similar heroics tomorrow, as someone could be the Frankie Griffith of 2019. While there may be a consideration of  recall for Darren Stevens, after recent stellar form for Kent, his value as a closing overs hitter is likely to be overlooked in favour of Anuj Dal, whose brilliance in the field offers additional value to his fleet-footed running between the wickets and tidy bowling.

Good luck lads. You have made us proud.

You can win it from here.

Likely side: Godleman, Reece, Madsen, du Plooy, Hughes, Critchley, Hudson-Prentice, Dal, Smit, van Beek, Rampaul.

And now for your comments...

Gleadall and Taylor depart as winter overhaul begins

At least for now, the future of Alfie Gleadall and James Taylor does not lie with Derbyshire.

Both have been released from the club and are free to pursue their ambitions elsewhere. At nineteen and eighteen respectively, it seems harsh, but then professional sport is harsh and unforgiving.

That both boys have talent is undeniable. You don't play national age group cricket without that, but to progress to senior ranks, so much more is needed. You need the basic skills, but the mental approach has to be right, so too the willingness to get the body ready for the demands of the senior game.

Talking to Derbyshire players this week, most of them are carrying injuries. In some cases they have been for weeks, but it is this willingness to handle the pain barrier that sets apart the best. To make it as a contracted county cricketer, you are in the top 0.5% of players in the country, but it needs everything to be right. Not just ability, but a desire to get better, a willingness to listen and learn, as well as get your body right. Miss out one of those things, and all the natural talent in the world won't see you make it.

Few teenagers are blessed with strong physiques, but both these lads looked like they need to do some growing and filling out before they could potentially become county players. Sam Conners has been retained, and he has shown, in glimpses, the aptitude for the professional game, as well as the height, which is always an asset for a quick bowler.

Whether he will make it is a moot point, but he will know the work that lies ahead, A county with a limited and finite budget that allows only a small squad cannot gamble on two youngsters being fit next year, when they weren't for most of this. Better the budget goes on someone further on in his development, who can make the transition NOW to first-class cricket.

It seemed to me that neither Alfie nor James were close to the requisite standard at this stage. It may be that two or three years of mental and physical development might make a difference. They may get another chance to play second team and may make a better first of things next time, but wouldn't be the first lads to dominate at age group level and fail when they mixed it with the big boys.

I will retain the memory of Alfie bowling a rip-snorting yorker at Durham last year, ripping out a stump in the process, but he needs to fill out a lot to do that consistently. So does James, though both may make tracks elsewhere for trials over the winter.

There is a lesson for the county here, however. Last winter we were told that the three youngsters were making excellent progress and it was expected that they would push for the senior side. They didn't, and while bullish comments are fine in the world of sport, reality is also important.

They need look no further than Fynn Hudson-Prentice for inspiration. A player engaged by Sussex at 18, he was released at 20, but look at him now, at 23. He learned from the experience, went away and worked on his game (and physique) and this weekend will be a key component of a Derbyshire side in the Vitality Blast Finals Day. The same goes for Anuj Dal, released by Nottinghamshire at 21, but now looking better prepared for the game two years later, perhaps reinventing himself in the process.

Gleadall and Taylor's turn may come again, but for both there is a lot of work ahead,

Derbyshire V Sussex day3

Derbyshire 138 and 437

Sussex 231 and 163 (Critchley 3-9, Dal 3-11, Hudson-Prentice 3-36)

Derbyshire won by 181 runs

The last two days of cricket in Derbados could scarce have gone better than they did.

Derbyshire roundly thrashed Sussex, ending their promotion aspirations while perhaps realising that it could have been us pushing to go up.

First day struggles notwithstanding, we played some excellent cricket here. Yesterday's Godleman/Reece stand was extraordinary, as was the bowling that preceded it. Today, without the injured Tony Palladino, an inexperienced attack tore through the visiting ranks.

Once again, Hudson-Prentice was outstanding taking the wickets of van Zyl and Wiese in successive balls. Yet so was Anuj Dal, who might just be confirming himself as a bowler who can offer useful runs, rather than the other way round. Who knows, a winter's work may see the emergence of a genuine all rounder.

Matt Critchley took the last three wickets and ensured that not only we go to Edgbaston in good heart, but have a day tomorrow to work on those T20 skills.

This morning's collapse suggested that Sussex may have a glimmer of hope, after a fine spell by Ollie Robinson, but they couldn't put together any kind of stand.

A win like that will keep us in good heart until the Spring.

A couple of wins on Saturday will see us floating on air until then.

Derbyshire v Sussex day 2

Derbyshire 138 and 360-2 (Reece 184, Godleman 106*, Madsen 42)

Sussex 233 (van Zyl 60, Garton 50, Reece 5-63, Hudson-Prentice 3-47)

Derbyshire lead by 265 runs


Today was my last day of 'live' cricket this summer. Fittingly it dawned sunny, if not especially warm and there was a decent crowd of seasoned regulars in attendance, together with some loyal support from the south coast.

It all kicked off early when play began, with Rawlins, who looks like a player who will never die wondering, played a couple of streaky shots for four, then holed out to Melton at wide mid on. Next ball, Brown gave a routine catch to Hosein, and a healthy overnight position was in danger of evaporating.

Luis Reece took both wickets, the second his fiftieth of an excellent summer. Whether he can sustain the workload of being a senior seamer as well as opening bat is debatable, but his importance to this side is undeniable, and was emphasised later. When he followed it with the wicket of van Zyl, who had led a charmed life yesterday, Sussex were in trouble.

Wiese, as he has done so many times, hinted at a recovery with some powerful strokes through the covers, but Hudson-Prentice worked up good pace from the Racecourse End and, beating him for pace, had him caught by McKiernan at long leg. He also had Jordan caught behind in a lively spell, which only ended with the advent of spin at both ends, one assumes to improve the slow over rate. It served to increase the run rate too, as Garton and Robinson clumped away in bucolic fashion.

A merry stand of 33 ended when Robinson assayed a reverse sweep to a straight ball from Madsen, missed and was palpably leg before. The umpire took a long time over what appeared a straightforward decision from behind the bowler's arm on the boundary, but the finger was eventually raised to local satisfaction. Garton continued on his merry way to an excellent fifty, before holing out from an uppercut at third man, a second catch for McKiernan, a first wicket for Melton, a 93-run lead for Sussex.

The feeling at the lunch interval, certainly among the travelling support, was that the lead would be match-defining. Instead, the afternoon and early evening became a masterclass from Luis Reece. He followed on his five wickets and the award of his county cap with a magnificent innings of 184 from 189 deliveries. His batting form has been patchy this summer, mainly on account of his bowling workload, but here he was superb, strong on the drive and pull, excelling on the sweep. His timing was exquisite throughout as good a knock as you would wish to see and he is quite a cricketer, one we are lucky to have.

Only Garnet Lee, in 1926, has previously scored 150 runs and taken five wickets in an innings for Derbyshire in the same match. That puts Reece's feat into context and I doubt Garnet scored a century in a session in doing so, as Luis did here between lunch and tea.

At the other end Billy Godleman eased past a thousand runs for the summer in first-class cricket and two thousand in total, annus mirabilis indeed. The two innings were great contrasts, Billy happy to knock it around in true Godlemanian fashion, but the partnership of 274 was the county highest for any wicket against Sussex. Thanks to club historian David Griffin for the statistics.

Godleman moved to yet another century, his sixteenth in first-class cricket for Derbyshire, but lost Madsen after an attractive 42, caught off a lifter from Reece Topley. He and Dal then saw it through to the close, which was reached, after all that had preceded it, at an extraordinary 360-2.

A special way to end a summer's live cricket watching indeed.

Postscript: it was a pleasure to meet so many lovely people around the ground over the past two days. Some for the first time, others once more. It was a thrill to do so and to hear your kind words.

Winter well, and I hope to see you again when it starts once more next Spring.

Derbyshire v Sussex day 1

Derbyshire 138 (Dal 35, Wiese 4-18)

Sussex 116-3

The last match of the county season is always one of mixed emotions.

Friends made and met, matches won and lost, exhilarating performances to remember, as well as a few to forget as quickly as possible. You cherish every day, especially as you get older, keeping fingers crossed that after another long and cold winter, we will all return again and be well.

Most cricket supporters are seeing this as a watershed summer, where things may never be the same again, while for players it is one of opportunity. There will be contracts for The Hundred for the best, a nice little earner to supplement their contracts, but the feeling around the ground today was one of hostility, fear and, it must be said, downright loathing.

It is hard to think how the English cricket authorities could have made a bigger mess of things than in a new competition that 'simplifies' a twenty over match. A competition that has been blessed by sell out crowds, terrific cricket and Derbyshire appearing on finals day, relegated to a sideshow that no one wants outside of the ECB.

Today it was nice to catch up with friends old and new at Derby. I had a chance encounter with Howard, a Derbyshire man through and through but now living in Florida, which put my trip to see the county into perspective. It was pleasant to spend time chatting Derbyshire cricket and family life, such meetings a major plus of writing this blog.

On the field it was rather as might have been expected. A Sussex side pressing for promotion, opting to bowl on a morning that was conducive to seam bowling. With an attack that contained three international bowlers and two young ones of genuine potential, batting was never easy. After the early loss of Luis Reece, Godleman and Madsen hinted at better things with a stand of 42, but after their dismissal in quick succession, either side of lunch, it was all downhill. du Plooy played a few pleasant shots, but some anaemic ones were coupled with sharp catching to adverse effect on the total.

du Plooy perished to a quick-witted rebound, Palladino to a fine grab by Rawlins at gully, but Hosein and McKiernan were both castled in consecutive balls by the excellent Wiese, one of the best Kolpaks on the circuit. It was an inauspicious championship debut for McKiernan, but his time will surely come.

My main concern, watching from various locations around the ground, is that we seem to have a lot of talented 'bits 'n' pieces players, but for another year need them to kick on to the next level. We know that Hughes (missed here), Dal, Hudson-Prentice, McKiernan and Critchley can all bat and bowl, but their natural place in the order is not obvious. Dal is the most stylish, but scored pleasing runs today on the back of a bad trot, despite a nasty blow on the thumb. I would bat both he and FHP  above Critchley and Hosein, but winter progress may see a natural batting order evolve. What was obvious was how badly Tom Lace is missed, as a quality middle-order batsman.

Tea was taken on the dismissal of Dal for a spirited 35, the innings ending at 138.

Yet any suggestion from the last wicket stand of 29 that conditions had eased were put to bed, as Palladino and Reece bowled beautifully with the new ball. Salt was caught by the swift-moving Critchley, running forward from slip, before Wells was comprehensively bowled, also by Reece, a bail being broken in the process. At the other end, Palladino, three wickets short of 350 for the county in first-class cricket, shaped the ball beautifully in both directions and gained several moral victories. A convincing shout from bowler, keeper and slips for a catch behind from van Zyl was met with a shake of the head from the umpire.

Thereafter, aside from FHP's removal of Beer, van Zyl and Rawlins rebuilt for the visitors. Melton, while lively, struggled for the right line and length in a short spell and there were too many extras from the home attack, twenty by the 25th over being overly generous. van Zyl continued to lead a charmed life and from successive deliveries from Luis the off bail was clipped, but not removed, then he was dropped by Critchley at gully. Rawlins too could have gone from strokes inappropriate in the last ten overs of the day but somehow they survived.

Derbyshire V Sussex preview

Dustin Melton potentially makes his championship debut for Derbyshire tomorrow, while Sam Conners is also in the 12 for the final home game of the summer against Sussex.

Alex Hughes and Ravi Rampaul earn a rest  as Derbyshire go with the following 12:

Godleman, Reece, Madsen, du Plooy, Dal, Hudson-Prentice, Hosein, Critchley, McKiernan, Conners, Palladino, Melton

I look forward to seeing the final cricket of the summer in what promises to be decent weather. The visitors are pushing for promotion and for me the big challenge is getting through the game with no injuries to key personnel ahead of Saturday's finals day.

Fingers crossed for some good cricket, and the inclusion of some of these names in the 12 will make it well worth watching.

I look forward to seeing some of you there!

Last two books available

In the course of a clear out chez Peakfan, I found what may well be the last two available copies (certainly from me) of In Their Own Words: Derbyshire Cricketers in conversation.

I am very grateful that the book was blessed with universally positive reviews and the friendships that it brought me have been an absolute joy.

The book recounts the county's history, since the Second World War, through the eyes and words of the men who helped create it. Beginning with the county's legendary then 98-year-old former groundsman Walter Goodyear, the book is made up of a number of interviews with personalities from every decade since the end of the war. Key characters from across the spectrum of cricket in Derbyshire each give their personal take on team-mates and opponents, trophy successes, fall-outs and life on the cricket circuit. 

County legends, including Edwin Smith, Harold Rhodes, Brian Jackson, Bob Taylor, Peter Gibbs, Geoff Miller, Wayne Madsen, Graeme Welch, Devon Malcolm, John Wright, Tony Borrington and many more talk about their lives and careers inside and outside the game, including an array of fascinating anecdotes to make this a club history with a difference.

A sampling of reviews:

"A very satisfying read. Particularly rewarding. In Their Own Words is an excellent book, and will be of interest well beyond the East Midlands and the Peak District." --CricketWeb.net

"The anecdotes are interesting, quirky and as funny as anecdotes should be, and yet there's something a little different here. A compendium of tales and gossip, history and reminiscence. More than facts, more than memories and more than Dolman's own excellent knowledge of the game a passion for Derbyshire CCC." --DeepExtraCover.com

"Inspired. Comes over well. Thoroughly enjoyed In Their Own Words. I have certainly found out more, enjoyed it and hope that other readers will read it and I wish Steve every success with it." --AndrewRobertsCricketStatistics.com

If you would like one of these two books, I will bring them to the Sussex game, where I will be at most of the first three days. I will happily inscribe it as you wish for the one-off price of £6.

If you can't make the game but would like one, please let me know and the price, including postage, is £9

Either way, drop me an email to peakfan36@yahoo.co.uk

Incidentally, there are a couple of copies of my biography of Edwin Smith available through Amazon, though at wildly different prices of £14 and £34.

That one has long since gone out of print, I'm afraid.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing a few of you at Derby. Please do say hello if you see me, as it is always nice to put a face to a blog name!

Negativity is disappointing

I understand that somewhere, on a forum far,far away, someone suggested that I might be 'spinning' that Derbyshire had enjoyed a good season.

I haven't read it, because I have enough to keep me busy on here, but seriously, do I need to 'spin' to anyone that we have not done too badly, at the very least?

There are fourteen counties out there who would have loved a crack at finals day and seven of them will be hosting The Hundred next year. These are counties with massively more money than Derbyshire, who register annual profits bigger than our budget and are able to recruit from the biggest names in the international game.

There's Lancashire, who beat us yesterday, but who we beat in the T20 on their own turf to qualify for finals day. They carry a professional staff of 24, according to their website, plus Jimmy Anderson and Jos Buttler who rarely play. Then there's Essex, who we play in just over a week's time. They carry a staff of 26, aside from a second T20 player, for comparative purposes. Worcestershire have 21, Nottinghamshire 20, Middlesex, who have had a poor summer all round, 22-24, depending on counting only one of several T20 specialists and excluding Eoin Morgan.

Then there's Somerset, who I hope win division one this summer. They have a staff of 28, which enables them to rest key personnel, handle injuries and play specialists in the format that suits them best. Squad size enables counties to employ several players as 'format specialists', so the likes of Sam Robson at Middlesex only hits a red ball, while Ross Whitely at Worcestershire rarely hits other than white. There are plenty of examples around the country.

Yorkshire have a squad of 31. Granted, they lose players to England, but that's a big squad to give everyone enough cricket at first team level, even second team level for that matter. We beat them twice (again) in T20 this year, for the record.

Derbyshire? We have essentially got through the summer with a squad of FOURTEEN players, namely:

Godleman, Reece, Madsen, du Plooy, Hughes, Critchley, Hosein, van Beek, Hudson-Prentice, Smit, Palladino, Rampaul, Lace, Dal

Of those, Lace is on loan from Middlesex, while du Plooy and Hudson-Prentice only joined part way through the season. McKiernan has missed the entire summer with injury, Qadri has had studies and England under 19 selections and Conners, Taylor and Gleadall have missed more than they have played. Watt played a few one-day games, Stevens and Rankin even fewer and Smit has played only T20 at senior level.

So for a six-month season we have got by in selecting from very limited options and yet still made finals day in the T20.

One could understand it had they crashed and burned. At any point we were only a broken finger or a pulled hamstring away from a crisis, but it speaks volumes for player fitness and the work of the conditioning staff that they have largely come through it.

No need to 'spin' anything. We have done remarkably well. Few counties manage to fire in all formats, or even two for that matter. As we know from the past, there's a lot that simply never get going. We should have done better in four-day cricket, but there's a point where sportsmen reach burn out and the limitations of an ageing attack, at least, are known.

If you can't be proud of their efforts, there's really no hope for you.

Lancashire v Derbyshire day 3

Derbyshire 244 and 129 (Hughes 33, Madsen 28, Bailey 3-14, Parkinson 3-28, Maxwell 3-39)

Lancashire 418 (Rampaul 3-47, Dal 3-60)

Lancashire won by an innings and 45 runs


Well, the rationale of Derbyshire's decision to bat first in this game was proven today, as the wicket started to offer considerable turn on the third day.

Unfortunately, we were batting for a second time, not having made enough in the first innings, and lost by an innings and plenty. The win saw Lancashire return to division one at the first attempt, something they really should have done. Then again, a club of their size should never have been relegated in the first place, a fate that will be replicated by Nottinghamshire, who have failed to bat an eyelid this summer.

Was the T20 finals day on their mind? I don't think so, they were simply outclassed by a much stronger side. I think a few of the players may be running on empty at this stage too, a downside of a small squad where everyone gets regular cricket, but because of injuries a few too many have had precious little downtime. The mental and physical demands at this level should not be overlooked.

Perhaps next week against Sussex might allow a couple of key Edgbaston personnel a breather, but there aren't many options, so maybe we go with what we have.

I thought we bowled well today, with a special shout out to Anuj Dal, who took career-best figures of 3-60, while Ravi Rampaul was his normal self with 3-47 as the home side made 418, a lead of 174.

The the procession started. I thought the skipper a shade unlucky with his leg before decision, but Madsen never looked comfortable and that is often a barometer of how things are for the batsmen. Only Hughes resisted for long and after Bailey removed the top order, Parkinson and Maxwell worked through the rest.

Hughes' gritty innings was ended by a special catch from Gleeson, while Dal undid some of his excellent earlier work, which included a fine run out, by calling Hudson-Prentice for a run that only he might have made at the danger end.

At the end of it all, that's four successive four-day defeats, a run that threatens to undo the many good days in the format at the start of the season.We must fight to turn this around, because a wooden spoon, still a possibility, would not truly reflect a season in which there has been much to admire.

More from me over the weekend. On Sunday I travel to God's own county and will be there for most of the first three days of the Sussex game.

Hopefully a few of you will be there too, a chance to say hello and farewell, before winter sets in once more.

Dal signs, Palladino conspiracies and Lancashire prosper - day 2

Derbyshire 244

Lancashire 269-2 (Bohannon 150*, Livingstone 70*)

Lancashire lead by 25 runs

The best news emanating from the Derbyshire camp yesterday was that Anuj Dal has signed a new deal that takes him to the end of 2021.

To some extent the jury is out on a batsman who has a lovely wristy style in full flow, a bowler who was perhaps the best on show against Australia. He has had limited opportunities in a strong batting side this summer, but several displays have hinted at a player worthy of perseverance. Certainly at 23 he has his best years ahead of him, and we should know over the next two years if he will make it or not. By then he will be 25 and will know his game. It is no coincidence that we have seen the best of Luis Reece and Alex Hughes since that age and I expect to see 'Nuj' prosper in the next two summers.

I also expect him to bowl more. His spells in the games I have seen him have been bustling and tidy, his usefulness moving forward in the one-day game especially obvious. While not quick, he runs in hard and may again get better. Meanwhile, he is an outstanding fielder and often has runs in the bank before he walks out with bat in hand.

His challenge will be gaining a higher position in the batting order. With Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Alex Hughes, not to mention Matt Critchley, he offers the county a batting order of enviable depth but the question of who bats where is a fair one. It can only be decided on those making the most of their opportunities when all are quite similar.

I wish him well. He's a lovely lad with a regular smile, one who looks like he enjoys his cricket. Long may that continue.

Meanwhile, comments elsewhere have hinted at there being 'trouble at mill' with regard to Tony Palladino's absence from the Lancashire game. Those comments rather ignored the fact that he didn't bat in the second innings against Australia because of injury and later yesterday took to Twitter to explain he had an ankle injury.

Why, oh why do supporters always need to look for something being wrong, and if they find nothing, try to create it? Why not trust a very good Head of Cricket to pick the best AVAILABLE side for every match?

I'm surprised to see Ravi Rampaul playing, to be honest, though he is a bowler of rhythm and his doing so likely keeps him ticking over ahead of finals day. Logan van Beek has had niggles for a few weeks, so they are obviously trying to keep him fit for Edgbaston, while the youngsters just haven't progressed.

I'd make exception for Sam Conners, who has looked to have potential in limited displays, but has had too many injuries for comfort. I am not yet convinced that Alfie Gleadall and James Taylor are anywhere close to senior selection, however and there must be concerns that a county with a finite budget cannot simply retain players on the staff  in the hope that they may make it down the line. That is surely a lesson learned over the past few years. There has to be something to justify retention.

Better for me that they go away, develop their physique as time allows and perhaps get a second crack when they are ready, if they get there. Dustin Melton has played second team games around the country for a few years, but perhaps now, physically and mentally, he is ready for the challenge.

Which is why we saw Lancashire ease past our first innings tally yesterday, with Josh Bohannon making a maiden first-class ton on a truncated day. They are runaway leaders of the division on merit and we don't want players injured with our biggest day in decades around the corner.

They will likely cruise past 500 today, I would guess, before putting us in again.

Time to dig in, boys.

Lancashire V Derbyshire day 1

Derbyshire 244: Godleman 111; Gleeson 5-64, Mahmood 3-45

Lancashire 20-1: Rampaul 1-4

A captain's innings from Captain Fantastic Billy Godleman single-handedly steered Derbyshire to a respectable first innings score at Old Trafford today, on a wicket that appears to have done something all day.

The skipper's knock ensured that our innings was competitive, although no one else really got going to lend the requisite support.

The home side struggled in their reply, so it is hard to assess the merits of that Derbyshire first innings right now.

We will have a better idea tomorrow, then I look forward to watching the last two days on the stream.

But tonight, let's toast the captain.

He really has had a special summer.

More from me tomorrow.

Lancashire V Derbyshire preview

A very brief preview today, after a long day  yesterday and an early start today.

No Tony Palladino at Old Trafford, where the assumption must be that the spinners will get plenty of bowling at this time of year, or that he is injured.

Hamidullah Qadri comes in, with the new ball shared by either Luis Reece or Fynn Hudson-Prentice. There's a long batting order, as we line up as follows:

Godleman, Reece, Madsen, du Plooy, Hughes, Critchley, Hosein, Hudson-Prentice, Dal, Qadri, Rampaul.

The home side has yet to be announced but expect Parkinson and Maxwell to ensure there is plenty of spin.

A good finish for both sides is important, with the home side champions elect and Derbyshire wanting to keep the momentum going - and avoid injuries.

More from me later, when I hopefully have a little time.

Morning after thoughts

It was a night oh oh what a night
It was it really was such a night (Such a Night, Elvis Presley)

Having got my inner Elvis out of the way, I can get on with my final thoughts on a pulsating T20 quarter final and look ahead to finals day.

We were quite simply brilliant last night, in every aspect of the game. The ground fielding was fast and alert, the throwing was quick and accurate, the catching, a late drop on the boundary by Wayne Madsen notwithstanding, solid and at times spectacular. When Matt Critchley held the remarkable diving effort, some way removed from a routine caught and bowled, I started to think it might be our night, and so it transpired.

The bowling was professional, accurate and skilled, the batting sensible and well judged. It was so nice to watch such a display and think it was MY team. OUR team. Derbyshire, at finals day.

The sad thing, of course, is that such events are no longer the preserve of the participating sides. My understanding is that the day was long since sold out, bar for each of the four clubs getting 750 tickets each. So the majority have gone to corporate clients and those who took a risk that their team would be there. Some are now offloading them, and as I write they are selling at between £120 and £270 online. No thanks...

With members likely to get first option, as they should do, there will be a lot of people disappointed at each county, even when a lot of the membership prefer the four-day game. 

After due consideration, I won't be applying for a ticket. For one thing, I don't think it fair, when I haven't attended, for logistical reasons, any matches in the tournament so far. I'm not that keen on the noisy side of T20 'in the flesh' anyway, but a 600-mile round trip plus a hotel and the ticket makes it expensive for me. I hope that those from the very vocal following who served us well last night will hopefully get their ticket and do us proud. Domestic reasons are also a factor and ageing/ailing parents north and south of the border are my priority right now.

I will watch from afar, as will many more of you, I am sure. It doesn't make anyone more or less of a supporter, but I do hope that the disappointingly low ticket allocation goes to the ones who are most deserving of them. Those who have bought tickets for most of the matches along the way deserve to be there, if they are able to do so. 

I actually think a lot of neutrals will side with us, supporting, as I always do, the underdog. Fans of the other counties involved will doubtless want us to beat Essex, seeing us as the 'easy option' en route to a trophy.

Some Essex supporters have already written us off, and Twitter comments last night suggested that drawing us in the semi-final was effectively a bye to the final. 

That would be a very big mistake to make. The more discerning will be aware of a top four that have scored 1500 runs in the competition thus far, an array of all rounders who ensure we bat low and have bowling options, together with Ravi Rampaul.

Ravi, for me, is player of the year. He has missed very little cricket, has over 70 wickets in all competitions and is the leading wicket-taker in the Vitality Blast. He has not just taken wickets, he has been parsimonious to the extreme and his overs at the top and tail of an innings have defined and decided several matches. 

When you consider that we have no T20 'expert' flown in, our efforts show the value of genuine team work. Watching things unfold last night, I was taken by how every single player knew his role and carried it out. No one was hidden away in the field and most of them were brilliant. The bowlers had a game plan that worked, giving no width and no variations in length to make getting at them easy. The batsmen just knocked it around, all they needed to do after the early Godleman and Reece salvos.

We may lose our semi-final, or lose the final. Then again, we could win this, because momentum is a wonderful thing to have on your side. Just as long as we pick up no injuries in the remaining championship matches...

One thing is for sure - the only ones who will discount this Derbyshire side are the ones who really don't know their cricket.

Isn't that a nice thought for a Sunday morning? 

Postscript - over TWO THOUSAND blog visits yesterday, and already over a thousand today.

Interest in Derbyshire cricket is booming...

Gloucestershire v Derbyshire T20 - FINALS DAY!!

Gloucestershire 135-7 (Cockbain 45* Critchley 2-21, Hudson-Prentice 2-26, Hughes 1-19, Rampaul 1-23)

Derbyshire 137-3 (Madsen 47, du Plooy 29*, Godleman 25)

Derbyshire won by seven wickets with 17 balls to spare


Dominic Cork came to Derbyshire as Vitality Blast coach with a view to taking them to finals day.

Tonight, he and his magnificent side did just that, took the monkey from the club's back and made it an unbelievably special night for everyone with interest in Derbyshire cricket.

It was a superb team performance, with the bowlers showing great discipline. There were only two wides and three leg byes in the innings, whereas the home side conceded sixteen extras. On a difficult pitch, such things make a difference and, apart from one over where van Beek was top edged for two sixes, boundaries dried up for Gloucestershire after a bright start.

A tumbling catch by Hughes removed the dangerous Hammond, Hudson-Prentice again making the key breakthrough, then Critchley pouched an injudicious reverse sweep by Bracey, from the bowling of Hughes. Alex was terrific, mixing up his length and pace to great effect and conceding only nineteen in his four overs. Yet so well did we bowl as a unit that no boundary was scored between the end of the powerplay and the fifteenth over.

A key moment came when home skipper Michael Klinger assayed a risky single to Rampaul, was sent back and run out by some margin by the man with the golden arm. Smit, who again kept beautifully, had the bails off in a trice and the home side were in trouble.

Higgins has been a regular thorn in our side of late, but a regulation caught and bowled to Critchley saw him off, before the bowler held a more remarkable one, running twenty yards towards mid on and diving full length to hold the big-hitting Taylor. Van Buuren and the excellent Cockbain battled hard, but apart from a couple of lusty blows that cleared the boundary, the bowling was relentless.

The blue-haired Reece, raising more money for good causes, bowled the other half of van Beek's spell, before Hudson-Prentice and Rampaul admirably closed out the innings. Ravi's command of line and length was again outstanding, conceding only eight runs from his last eleven deliveries, as the target was crucially kept under seven an over.

It could have been tricky, yet despite the constant comments from the commentary box that pressure would be building, we handled it with consummate professionalism. Reece and Godleman came out like Western gunslingers, blasting the ball to all parts and giving us around a third of the target in the first four overs, while the ball was hard. Although Luis was bowled by Tye, Wayne Madsen came in and looked immediately at home.

Godleman's bucolic knock ended with a steepler to third man, living and perishing by the sword, but he had done a job, and our two South Africans came together to nudge, nurdle and caress the score closer to the target. There were a couple of close shaves with tight runs, but it was canny stuff - take a two or four at the start of the over, then knock it around thereafter. It was reminiscent of Wright and Kirsten in their heyday, with confidence building as their stand passed fifty and the total got ever closer.

du Plooy's exquisite timing was again evident, just as was Madsen's class. The wristiness of his strokes was a joy, the ramp over the keeper, eyes on the ball to the last, the mark of a class act. He was out just before the end, lifting a flick off his legs to be caught at square leg, but it was job done at that point.

The winning hit, perhaps fittingly, was made by Alex Hughes. He has given a lot to Derbyshire, has endured his good times and bad, but is a key member of this side. He bowled well, fielded tigerishly and is one of a raft of all rounders whose presence has made this a very good team.

His four through the covers saw wild scenes on the boundary. The visiting fans were magnificent, in fine voice throughout, and it was touching to see the excitement among the players. New arrivals like du Plooy and Hudson-Prentice have a golden end to their first summers on the staff, while older hands, like Godleman, Madsen and Hughes (in experience at least) will be pretty emotional tonight. Dominic Cork appeared to be in his post-match interview, for sure.

Little Derbyshire aren't supposed to be at finals day, but they are there on merit. They recovered from an abject effort against Leicestershire to turn into a T20 juggernaut. The fielding was extraordinary tonight, Madsen's first over stop setting it off, while Dal, van Beek and du Plooy swept the boundaries brilliantly. Dal's speed over the ground was again impressive, fully justifying his selection.

Earlier today, Essex fans voted in large numbers, hoping to get Derbyshire in their semi-final and tonight they got their wish. After that display, they must surely realise that it will be no formality. Whether we win or lose, we have stunned the cricket world this summer, with great credit due to the team, the coaching staff and the supporters for a memorable few months.

Let that juggernaut keep rolling, all the way to Edgbaston. I can't get the smile off my face tonight and even our dog, Wallace, looks proud...

Well done lads. That was simply amazing.

Altogether now...Derbyshire, la-la-la....

Gloucestershire v Derbyshire Vitality Blast Quarter-Final Preview

Hands up anyone who thought that Derbyshire would still be involved at this stage of the Vitality Blast T20?

Not many, I guess.

I looked back at what I wrote before the tournament started, and found the following:

'Will we make the knock out stages? My head tells me no, because the absence of an extra top seamer  will hurt us on occasion. I look at other teams in a strong group and think that there will be times we will be chasing too many, even for a deep and talented batting side.

But Derbyshire have made us proud this summer, with some professional, polished displays. Be prepared for a few more of those, before this tournament concludes.

And if they get on a roll...'

Well, they got on a roll, perhaps found their best line up by accident, rather than design and find themselves on the verge of finals day. There may be a few bad memories of our last involvement, but we fell victim to Shahid Afridi's one innings a summer, together with poor captaincy on that evening.

This time could be different. We know our strengths, which are a team ethic worth its weight in gold, we field well, bowl with discipline and bat deep. Our top four is as good as any in the tournament, and if they fire, we have every chance of success.

I don't expect late surprises, because we know our best eleven now. I don't see Darren Stevens or Boyd Rankin involved, though a slow wicket might make the former a possibility. For me, the final eleven will be as follows:

Godleman, Reece, Madsen, du Plooy, Critchley, Hughes, Hudson-Prentice, Dal, Smit, van Beek, Rampaul

There's no news of the home side, as you would expect, but the key to success will be in removing Michael Klinger early. Skipper and talisman, this is his final season and he will be keen to finish on a high. Miles Hammond and James Bracey will lend good support, but I don't expect a high-scoring game.

David Payne is their leading wicket-taker, with Ryan Higgins and Andrew Tye lending good support. The battle against our top order is where the game may well be won and lost, my concern being that if they fail, the rest haven't had that much T20 batting of late.

From the perspective of the neutral, this is the least glamorous of the quarter-finals, something that you can bet your bottom dollar will be mouthed on Sky on Saturday night. For both sets of supporters, it represents an opportunity for a big day out, for Derbyshire in particular, new ground being broken.

For me, we have exceeded expectations this year. Solid in the RLODC, improved but still frustrating in the four-day game and coming through a strong section in this competition. They can be proud of their efforts already, and with some good summer recruits on board (and hopefully winter ones to come) this could be the catalyst for Derbyshire.

Nothing but praise from me for Dave Houghton, Dominic Cork and Billy Godleman. The skipper has transformed himself into a fine T20 player and has captained with authority, ably assisted by the sage advice of Daryn Smit and Wayne Madsen.

From here, it is who holds their nerve, who raises their game and who takes the catches when they are offered.

We can do this, you know.

And as always, your thoughts are welcome!

Quarter final thoughts and the unluckiest man at Derbyshire

I have to admit to being underwhelmed by the two Vitality Blast quarter finals so far.

The first, between Lancashire and Essex, went the way of the southern side. It is always nice to see a non-Test ground county progress, but the game was odd. Played at Durham, because of the Test match at Old Trafford, it offered little opportunity for any of the home side supporters to attend, without taking a day off for a cross-country trek. Why they didn't go for Birmingham or Derby is beyond me, each of them far less travelling.

Indeed, Derby would have provided a decent atmosphere with fewer fans, and the empty, echoing stands, together with a cold, damp night and an awkward pitch meant it was poor viewing. The redeeming feature was the always listenable Dominic Cork on commentary, but it was hard going for the neutral.

Lancashire lost because their big guns failed to turn up, and because Dane Vilas inexplicably gave the penultimate over to Liam Livingstone, a part-time bowler, when 24 were needed from two. By the end of it, Essex needed one, so as decisions go, it won't rank highly for the red rose support, who took to Twitter afterwards with unsurprising vitriol. They don't lose graciously up there...

Then last night Nottinghamshire cruised past a very average Middlesex side by ten wickets. Middlesex lost wickets early and when one of them was AB de Villiers, the game was up. Eoin Morgan tried his best but 160 never looked enough and Hales, with Chris Nash, eased to victory with overs to spare. The bowling was rather ordinary and some odd field placings made the result a formality from the end of the Powerplay.

The Derbyshire players have been hard at work ahead of their game at Bristol on Saturday, evidenced by the footage from the training sessions that have appeared on social media. It would be huge for the club to make finals day, and I just hope that we show up as the vibrant, aggressive Derbyshire on Saturday night.

In other news, perhaps the unluckiest man at Derbyshire reappeared in second team cricket this week and promptly scored an excellent century.

Matt McKiernan suffered a stress fracture in his back before the season, having worked hard to earn opportunity in an extended deal to the end of 2020. He only bowled a few overs as his rehabilitation continues, but Matt, also a fine fielder, was last man out for 134 in a total of 261, as the second team lost to a strong Middlesex side.

I think he would have been a good option in the T20, had he been blessed with better luck. The format is made for three-dimensional cricketers, which is my concern over Mark Watt. He is a handy bowler, but offers little with the bat and is not one of the best in the field. Nor am I sure his style would translate to the four-day game, whereas Matt would, I think, do so.

When a county like Derbyshire has a limited budget, they have to get value for money from players. Time will tell if Matt is blessed with better luck another year, but he strikes me as a player who wouldn't let us down if opportunity arose.

I'll be back later, or tomorrow morning, with a look at our quarter-final.

Melton signs to give another option

Yesterday, against a strong Middlesex batting line up that included Robson, Gubbins and Holden, two of who got centuries, Dustin Melton returned figures of 4-54 in eighteen overs of sustained pace. Against a score of 474-9, when the rest of the attack was hit around the park, they were impressive figures, but alone they don't tell the truth.

Three of his wickets were leg before, the other bowled. The videos show batsmen beaten by pace and movement, a combination so potent as to get wickets at any level. To be fair to the player he has been doing that all season, taking wickets regularly as a stand out performer in a second team largely made up of players on trial.

Which is why he fully deserves his crack at county cricket. Yesterday he was given a contract for the remainder of this summer and for next, which should enable him to show Derbyshire supporters what he can do.

For those who have only seen him in the game against Australia, he is better than he showed in the first innings of that game. I think nerves played a part, and he was much improved in his later spells, when he had calmed down and, I think importantly, swapped ends. He beat the bat against very good players, troubled a couple with his pace and looked like he belonged.

It is all on him now to show that is the case.

He will join a Derbyshire attack full of question marks. As they go past their mid-thirties, can Ravi Rampaul and Tony Palladino continue to take wickets, as the former has done splendidly this year and the latter for the best part of a decade? Can Luis Reece bowl so many overs and still open the batting? Can we find a reliable, wicket-taking option for the overseas role? Can one of the younger bowlers emerge as a viable option for the first team?

The latter has been a problem this year. For all the bullish winter comments to the contrary, James Taylor, Alfie Gleadall and Sam Conners haven't looked ready for senior cricket by some margin. Conners has looked the best, but has had his share of injuries, as has Gleadall, while Taylor appears to lack 'oomph' at this stage.

If those young players are to remain credible options, we need to find a way of getting them fitter and both mentally and physically prepared for being a professional quick bowler. As an old county legend once said to me, you need to get used to something, or everything, aching every day if you are going to make it.

For those who might say 'but we let good lads go in Cotton, Taylor and Davis' my answer is simple. Did we? Cotton has drifted out of county cricket after struggles with maintaining his weight and fitness, while Davis has taken just seventeen wickets at 38 for Leicestershire this season. As for Taylor, who started the season with a ten-wicket haul, he will likely end it with fourteen, as he has only been fit enough to play three first-class matches. Which was the reason why Derbyshire lost patience in the first place.

It is a tough gig and only the strong survive. The figures of Davis are startlingly similar to those of Logan van Beek, who has nineteen wickets at 38, so the task for Dave Houghton for another year is clear. If he can find someone like Michael Neser, who looked so impressive against us, it would be perfect. Joe Mennie, who did well for Lancashire in 2018, would be an excellent option too, an experienced, proven bowler who can contribute wickets and runs.

Dustin Melton may turn out to be another inspired signing by Dave Houghton, or may fall short of the exacting standards demanded of a good county cricketer. Yet he will have a fine coach in Steve Kirby and can draw on his experience, as well as that of  Rampaul and Palladino.

His physique and age suggest someone worth keeping an eye on. If he succeeds, another crucial piece of the jigsaw has been put in place.

Congratulations on the deal, Dustin.

We look forward to watching how you go.

du Plooy contract the perfect aperitif for Derbyshire supporters

Since he arrived in the early weeks of the summer, Leus du Plooy has provided something that was missing from the Derbyshire batting.

A touch of genius.

You have the classic style of Madsen, the unorthodoxy of Godleman and the alternate grit and panache of Reece. Now that important spark, the one that can turn a game in a few overs, or a couple of sessions, depending on the format and his mood.

Every side would like a player like him in their side, with a shot for every ball, timing to die for and a languid style that makes even the casual onlooker purr, as he leans into a cover drive. He has looked accomplished against the red ball in unfamiliar conditions, devastating against the white, all this despite missing a few weeks with a nasty hand injury, sustained in his first bowling spell for the county at Durham.

I had suggested that it wouldn't be too long into the winter before David Houghton signed him up to a new deal and he has beaten my prediction by several weeks. A new two year deal, on top of the one he had remaining, will see the player at the club until at least the end of 2022.

It is fantastic business. A top four of Godleman, Reece, Madsen and du Plooy pretty much guarantees runs in all formats, as it has this summer. With that quartet in place, the Head of Cricket can now concentrate on strengthening the bowling.

Leus may well go down as one of our best signings since John Morris brought Wayne Madsen to the county. Acting on a recommendation from Jacques Rudolph, Houghton brought him over for a trial, liked what he saw and signed him quickly to a two-year deal, to see what he could do.

Starting at eight in the order, he was quickly elevated and he has played some stunning innings. A century against Australia A, a fine knock against the full side, the demolition of Yorkshire at Headingley, fastest fifties in T20 and List A...the list goes on. It is easy to forget this is his first summer of English county cricket and he will only get better.

That will be in Derbyshire colours for the foreseeable future. Counties of our size must always be wary of predators lurking nearby and Leus will have caught the eye of most opponents this summer.

It is wonderful news, and like all of you I look forward to seeing the helmet removed and the bandana revealed to celebrate many centuries in the years to come. I expect his bowling to develop too, as someone who gives the ball a tweak and keeps a steady length, while his fielding is excellent, whether in the slips or further afield.

Special news indeed, in a special week.