What purpose Derbyshire?

I read those words every now and again in the media and social media. Every time it annoys me (there are serial offenders) and although they don't just refer to us, it has the same effect each time.

Well, for one thing, like it or not, we are one of the best run clubs in the country. 'On course to be debt free by 2024' was what I took from the announcement of another profit this year. That is quite staggering, not just in cricket, but in professional sport. We cut our cloth to suit, but we wear it well. While the past twelve months have presented challenges, prudent house keeping has seen the bottom line in the black ink, rather than red. That without the vast majority of off-field income from concerts and events, though the 'bubble' that allowed overseas teams to stay and work at the Incora County Ground was a fair substitute and helped immensely.

Compare that to some bigger counties, reportedly millions in debt. These are worrying times around the shires, but the best sleeping patterns are likely to be found in the Peak District.

Then there's the academy. We haven't produced enough in recent years, but there are signs that the tide is turning. Alex Hughes, Harvey Hosein, Tom Wood, Nick Potts, Sam Conners and Nils Priestley are on the current staff and have emerged through the academy and/or local league system. There will be more, under the shrewd tutelage of Daryn Smit and Dave Houghton has got the balance right between recruiting locally and picking up unpolished diamonds elsewhere.

For example, Luis Reece, Wayne Madsen and Matt Critchley have all earned selection for teams in the new 'elite' competition. Would any of them have done so without Derbyshire? Luis was released by Lancashire and may well have drifted out of the game, while Matt may never have had the opportunities at that county that have seen him emerge as a potential England player. Meanwhile Wayne may or may not ever have played county cricket, without John Morris giving him a trial all those years ago.

Brooke Guest, Mattie McKiernan and Ben Aitchison were largely overlooked in Lancashire too and could yet become established county players. Good players all and how sweet would it be to see them mature and be successful in Derbyshire colours. The same goes for George Scrimshaw, released by Worcestershire, but who is to say that he might not become a classic late developer? One who bowls at 90mph...

Let's not forget Billy Godleman. After leaving Middlesex, his subsequent release by Essex might have seen him too drift from the County game. Instead, he has been county captain for five years and is respected across the country as a tough competitor, one who has made Derbyshire his home. For Godleman read Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Anuj Dal, good cricketers who lacked opportunity at the clubs where they learned their craft. Both have shown already that they can score runs and take wickets against good sides - and they will only get better.

We have also lost players to other clubs. Ben Slater, Will Davis, the Taylor brothers and Callum Parkinson have all gone on elsewhere, something that will always happen. It is why it is important to have eighteen counties. The cream will rise to the top, but greater opportunity creates a larger talent pool, which can only improve standards. Look how Billy Root has prospered at Glamorgan, after barely getting a game down the A52. Sometimes an environment just fits for a player and their development flourishes within it. Ryan Higgins at Gloucestershire is another example, as might be Tom Lace, erstwhile of this parish, in due course. 

Of course detractors will also point to the likes of Leus du Plooy, Michael Cohen and Dustin Melton and ask what they offer the English game?

The answer is simple. They improve standards, quality and entertainment. How could you not thrill at du Plooy's wonderful century at Nottingham last year, or his assault on Olivier at Headingley? Is there much more thrilling than two bowlers of genuine pace and aggression running in hard and unleashing thunderbolts, unless you are at the business end, of course? When laws and regulations allow them to qualify and play in this country, why shouldn't they? And why shouldn't it be Derbyshire - and Dave Houghton with his extensive contacts - who reap the benefits?

Finally, let's not ignore history. The success of the county streams over the past two summers have highlighted that many people support and follow a county, even if their lifestyle and location means they can rarely attend in person. It makes you no less a supporter, but that support is based on decades old rivalries before mobility of labour created a county diaspora.

Imagine football, if it was decided there would only be a Premiership and no other sides. This is what some want to happen in county cricket, eight or twelve sides who supposedly represent the best the game has to offer. 

The trouble is that I can think of dozens of players at counties who might then be overlooked that I consider very good cricketers. Some of them likely better than ones who have had national call ups in recent years. 

There may be trouble brewing, if the big counties want bigger slices of the 'Hundred' pie. But don't let anyone tell you that they want to do it for anything other than greed. 

As we go into Derbyshire's 150th season, we are in rude health and have a great deal to offer to the wider English game.

Enjoy it, as I do. 

Especially when we stick it to one of the so-called bigger sides...