Northamptonshire v Derbyshire RLODC

Northamptonshire 311-7 (McManus 107, Taylor 75,  Zaib 62, Aitchison 2-43)

Derbyshire 312-2 (Reece 106, Godleman 87, Masood 53*, Came 43*)

Derbyshire won by eight wickets 

Well,  Derbyshire's Royal London tournament might not have been the most fun you can have with your clothes on,  but we finished it in style today,  with a resounding win over Northamptonshire by eight wickets.

In the process they scored their highest successful run chase in one day cricket and the result was never really in doubt after Luis Reece and Billy Godleman added 204 for the first wicket.

Both batted splendidly and after difficult seasoons it was good to see them in such fine form.  Reece looks a class act in this nick,  while Billy looks so much better when he goes for his shots,  rather than just occupying the crease.

It was a fine batting track and when they went in quick succession,  Masood and Came eased us to the win with an over to spare.  Masood was just as he has been all summer,  but Came looked very good today.  Anything short or overpitched went a long way and I maintain that if he can get past playing Came-os he will be a good player. Maybe next season he will kick on.  I hope so.

Earlier Aitchison took two key wickets of Vasconcelos and Young,  as otherwise we may have chased 350+. Zaib batted beautifully again,  as he did in the Blast against us,  while Tom Taylor again illustrated what a good player we let get away.  The best knock came from McManus,  who was stylish and later brutal,  before injuring himself early in our reply and having to leave the field.

Aitchison was the pick of the bowlers,  although Watt and Dal did a good job in the middle overs.

But then came Reece and Godleman.  How nice to see them back in form for the closing fixtures in the County Championship. 

On this form we may yet do something special.

Book Review: Laker and Lock - The Odd Couple

Was there ever a greater, longer-lasting or more influential spin pairing than Jim Laker and Tony Lock?

The longevity of their careers and the successes within them suggest not.  Their names are synonymous with the Surrey side that won seven successive titles in the 1950s (though fortuitously in 1954, when only the weather robbed Derbyshire).  Laker the best-known,  primarily for the unlikely to be repeated feat of 19 wickets in a Test against Australia at Old Trafford in 1956. For the rest of his days it irked Tony Lock,  the surprise among cricket fans being that he only took one,  more than that his colleague took nineteen on a spinner's wicket. 

As personalities they were diametrically opposed.  Laker,  the laconic Yorkshireman, not saying too much but making it pertinent and often pithy when he opted to.  Lock the more volatile,  the southerner who bristled with aggression on the field and wore his heart on his sleeve. 

For all the near-five thousand wickets they took together - and Lock,  who played longer,  took nine hundred more than his regular team mate - they were never especially close.  Indeed,  it was only when they slipped into all too short retirement that they got on better. But each was the perfect foil for the other, Laker the off spinner of the subtle variations,  Lock the slow left armer, not averse to reverting to bouncers if a batsman outstayed his welcome.

Laker faced challenges with an arthritic and calloused spinning finger,  which eventually forced his premature retirement.  Lock,  who by general consensus threw his quicker ball in the 1950s, reinvented himself and became arguably an even better bowler after a change of action.  He also took on the captaincy of Western Australia and led them to their first Sheffield Shield,  then Leicestershire,  taking them to their then highest-placed finish in the County Championship,  second place. 

Christopher Sandford is an experienced writer and does a fine job with his subjects,  both of them with stories worth the retelling. Both men struggled with authority and tales abound of their frequent brushes with establishment figures.  Both also died too young,  Laker at 64, Lock a year older when his time came.

Their stories are neatly intertwined and by the end of it I was firmly of the opinion that Tony Lock was undervalued as a cricketer.  Only seven men have taken more first-class wickets in the history of the game and he also held 830 catches,  202 from his own bowling,  124 from that of Laker. While Laker became a respected commentator,  his death widely mourned,  Lock became embroiled in scandal which tarnished his sizeable legacy.

But what players they were,  what giants of the game. 

And what a very good book this is. 

Laker and Lock: The Odd Couple is written by Christopher Sandford and published by Pitch Publishing. 

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire RLODC preview

Mickey Arthur has announced an unchanged squad for the final fixture of a somewhat disappointing Royal London Cup campaign,  against Northamptonshire tomorrow.

The question is whether either Mitch Wagstaff or Archie Harrison come in for the experience.  I couldn't call that one,  but in the interview on the club site today,  the Head of Cricket enthuses about the progress of Nick Potts,  who has been given opportunity and done well. So maybe one of them will get the chance tomorrow. 

With Suranga Lakmal and Zak Chappell in next year,  to join Conners,  Aitchison,  Scrimshaw and Potts,  he refers to our having a 'bouquet'  of quick bowlers to pluck from and use according to conditions.  Add in Reece and Dal and we seem well-equipped in that area.

He also discusses the search for a replacement for Shan Masood,  and whether to go for one player to cover everything or 'bringing in a rock star'  for the Vitality Blast.

I don't get the impression that the winter will be one of massive change,  but Arthur refers to thirteen players coming off contract at the end of 2023, so he can tailor the squad to his needs for 2024.

Which sounds very much like most of the squad will be playing for their county futures next season,  with every incentive to continue their progression, or return to their glory days in some cases.

Going back to tomorrow, our hosts have an exciting batting lineup that posted 370+ against Lancashire in their last match,  yet still lost. It is a dead rubber,  but a win,  ahead of the crucial last three County Championship games where we could still be promoted,  would be good for morale.

Likely home side:

Vasconcelos,  Gay,  Young,  Zaib, McManus,  Miller,  Sales,  Buck, White,  Russell,  Heldreich. 

The season end is fast-approaching, a summer that regardless of this competition has exceeded the expectations of most. 

Only thirteen days of our first-class season remain,  so we must make the most of them. 

Derbyshire v Yorkshire RLODC

Derbyshire 109 (Came 19, McKiernan 17)

Yorkshire 110-9 (Waite 23, Hill 21, Conners 5-28, Aitchison 3-33)

Yorkshire won by one wicket

While the game at Queen's Park was a very good,  gripping one today,  it was ruined to a great extent by a wicket that was at best sub-standard. 

It was a shame.  The tracks for the Middlesex game at Chesterfield and the truncated Yorkshire T20 were excellent, but this was awful for a first-class game.  Balls lifted off a length or shot through at ankle height,  making confident shot-making a lottery, wicket keeping a greater challenge than usual. 

The sight of Mickey Arthur and Ryan Duckett on the square in the interval between innings confirmed what a lot of us knew very early,  when Luis Reece was hit on the grill of his helmet from one that lifted off a good length.  He wasn't to be the last,  but Derbyshire battled hard.  Came lasted longer than most, McKiernan hit the only six of the innings and Aitchison again belied the tale,  told elsewhere,  that he is 'one of three number elevens'. 

I said at the 35-over mark on Twitter that 120 would take some chasing and we sadly fell short of that as Yorkshire bowled well.  Those extra ten runs might well have made all the difference. 

Conners bowled splendidly for his best List A figures,  while Aitchison did too but was very unlucky. Reece dropped one from him at mid wicket that,  in the words of Cliff Gladwin,  'he should have caught in the cheeks of his a**e', before holding the same batsman,  Duke,  off a more difficult chance at the other end. 

 I was surprised to see Potts bowled before Reece or Dal and the youngster leaked a few more than the surface warranted,  despite producing an excellent yorker at the death to make it interesting. It happens with young bowlers,  perhaps the excitement of a helpful wicket making them lose their natural rhythm.  He will learn from the experience. 

Waite chanced his arm and made crucial runs,  while Hill batted very well for the visitors and steered them near to the win, before losing concentration and edging behind. But umpire Shanmugam turned down what looked a clear inside edge when nothing else was near the ball,  early in his innings.  A very good leg before shout was also turned down by the same umpire,  but the bottom line,  poor wicket or not,  is that we again failed to get enough runs.  Sadly,  a sentence I seem to have repeated too often for comfort in recent weeks.

I am unsure what penalty there may be for this wicket,  or if there will be one,  but although it resulted in a very exciting and close game,  first-class cricket should be played on first-class wickets.

This was a long way from that,  I am sad to say. 

Derbyshire v Yorkshire RLODC preview

Mark Watt returns to the Derbyshire squad for tomorrow's game against Yorkshire at Chesterfield.

The Scots left-arm spinner has a good record at the ground and against the opponents,  so while the result is largely academic after the washout against Kent,  closely followed by 'tapegate',  a win would do nicely.

Shan Masood returns,  as does Billy Godleman in this thirteen:

Godleman,  Masood,  Reece,  Came,  Guest,  Dal,  Harrison,  Wagstaff,  McKiernan,  Watt,  Conners,  Aitchison,  Potts

Bottom of the table,  Derbyshire will want to win to better illustrate the progress made this year. Yorkshire can still qualify,  but a loss tomorrow will end their interest in the competition. Their squad is:

Fin Bean, Dom Bess, Ben Coad, Harry Duke (W), Will Fraine, George Hill, Will Luxton, Tom Loten, Mathew Revis, Jack Shutt, Harry Sullivan, Jonny Tattersall, Matthew Waite.

Openers Fraine and Duke have been responsible for a large part of their success so far,  putting on several large opening stands. Early inroads could be beneficial for Derbyshire and I am going for a home win tomorrow.

Always assuming the rain holds off,  of course... 

Thoughts on Masood and the way forward

Once again the worst of Derbyshire support appears to have surfaced on social media after yesterday's announcement of the departure of Shan Masood.

It is wholly unfair to blame the player for going where the money is.  As I have written before,  this is a short career and if anyone out there says they wouldn't move their job if offered considerably more money for doing so, I don't believe you. We are all,  to some extent,  motivated by money,  enabling us to live our lives and look after our families.

It is a consequence of only offering,  or being able to offer,  a one-year deal.  Unless Masood is set to call time on his international career,  there is no guarantee of his availability next year,  nor any that he will average, in a wetter summer with greener wickets,  what he did for us this year.

But of course we pick him until season end.  We are short enough of players as it is and his professionalism will ensure he offers the level of commitment that he has all summer. 

It does leave us needing another overseas batsman,  of course and I agree another experienced domestic batsman would be an asset. Your guess is as good as mine on the former,  but Mickey Arthur would ideally want someone who is available for most of the summer.  The captaincy might be a nice carrot to dangle in front of his choice, assuming that player was suitably experienced.

Where does that leave Billy Godleman? I don't think he should be skipper and I remain surprised that a deal for next year was forthcoming, so early this summer. If he stays on he must focus on his batting,  but the argument for reaching an agreement on cancelling next year is compelling. Good a servant as he has been,  the argument for retention with a season highest of 38 is not strong, this after a below-par 2021. 

We must not forget that the players who have signed deals for 2023 will be on improved contracts, nor that our budget is limited.  Nice as the thought is that we need X new players,  more likely is that we have to be patient.  Perhaps the great overhaul comes at the end of next year,  when many current contracts are up and Arthur can reshape his squad through natural wastage.

I have seen several people suggesting a move for Staffordshire-born Tom Fell,  who has been released by Worcestershire. It holds appeal,  as he is a player of undoubted talent,  but the fact is that his batting average is the same as his age,  29. Is that enough,  even after making allowances for his illnesses?

The next month or so will be crucial to a lot of careers around the circuit.  Some of those players will benefit from a change of scenery,  but I am not expecting wholesale changes at Derbyshire.

An obvious new overseas batsman,  maybe a domestic batsman and another seamer, at most. 

Unless,  of course,  there are potential outgoings we know nothing about at this stage.. 

Masood to leave at season end

The news that Shan Masood will leave Derbyshire at the end of the summer is disappointing,  yet inevitable.

Despite the county making what I understand was a very competitive offer,  we will always struggle to compete when the 'big counties'  -  those with Test grounds and budgets -  come to the table.

It is frustrating,  but we have no option but to accept it and move on.  Masood put himself in the shop window this summer and has served us very well indeed.  He can leave with his head held high and has conducted himself admirably throughout the summer.

For Derbyshire,  the search for a replacement is already underway. Whether they can find an overseas with the same willingness to lead by example and to take the weight from others in the side is a moot point,  but Mickey Arthur may or may not opt for a like for like replacement.

The one uncertainty in our side this summer,  however,  has been the opening batting.  Neither Billy Godleman nor Luis Reece has scored the weight of runs to stake their claim for permanence in the role,  while Harry Came,  despite looking classy at the crease,  has frustratingly found ways of getting out when well set.  Perhaps next year will see him emerge,  as this year has seen Brooke Guest and Anuj Dal seize opportunities with both hands. 

So there will be a change next summer,  as was always possible.  I wish Masood well, wherever he ends up,  but life and Derbyshire will go on. His season with us has been memorable and those who saw him enjoyed the experience.  Sadly,  like Michael Di Venuto before him,  I never saw him make three figures 'in the flesh', but thanks to the excellent streams these days I have throughly enjoyed the remote experience. 

There is no news as I write about his destination,  but were I a betting man my money would be on Yorkshire or Warwickshire. The former because post-racism scandal they will be keen to sign an Asian player to hopefully engage with the local ethnic communities,  the latter because they seem to be signing left,  right and centre,  with money to burn. 

Whoever it is will get a fine player. 

I have no doubts that Derbyshire will do the same in due course. 

Derbyshire v Kent RLODC - washout

No balls were bowled at Derby today, as the overnight rain had proved to be too much for the outfield to absorb, the umpires calling it off at 2.15pm.

It was a damp ending to our Royal London qualification hopes, the only ball bowled today proving to be the ECB curveball that imposed a two-point penalty on the club. This for Mattie McKiernan's bat being deemed too wide in the game against Hampshire, having failed a bat gauge test.

Now, I get that bats have to be a certain size and if the offending blade exceeded it, then fair enough. But an IMMEDIATE two-point penalty? A tad draconian, is it not? If Mattie had gone out with a bat the width of the wickets I could have understood it. If he had denied it all, the same. Rules are rules, but surely penalties have to be commensurate with the scale of the offence? 

Would a warning and a suspended penalty not made more sense? After all, in docking two points you are bracketing the club with Leicestershire and Durham, who received a similar penalty for multiple behavioural/disciplinary offences on the field. It isn't really on the same scale, is it?

To be clear, the player didn't win the game with a swashbuckling century, he scored seventeen runs. The penalty is akin, as one observer put it, 'to using a sledgehammer to crack a nut'.

Once again the ECB are found wanting when it comes to dealing with those who play the game.

It leaves a sour taste. And also sets a precedent, as you can bet your bottom dollar that I and many others will be watching to see if other counties are treated the same for similar breaches in the future. 

Anyway, time for home tomorrow, after a washout and a defeat in my two 'live' games. Such is life, but I will be in my armchair on Sunday for the match against the Yorkies, dead game or not.

In closing, thank you so much to those who came to say hello over the two games. It is always lovely to put a face to blog contributors and I was able to do that in a few cases over the two days.

It really was a pleasure, so thank you all, whether with two legs or four! 

Derbyshire v Kent preview RLODC

Looks like a truncated game today for me, with overnight and morning rain likely to cause a delayed start.

From the announced twelve, the final call is likely to be between Archie Harrison and Nick Potts, with the latter likely to get the nod and this team to play:

Reece, Came, Masood, Wood, Guest, Dal, Hughes, McKiernan, Aitchison, Potts, Conners.

Kent choose from a strong-looking thirteen, with former Derbyshire player Hamidullah Qadri included as well as Indian quick Navdeep Saini:

Denly, Blake, Compton, Evison, Finch, Gilchrist, Logan, Podmore, Qadri, Quinn, Robinson, Saini, Stewart.

With former Nottinghamshire players Ben Compton and Joey Evison in the squad, as well as Harry Podmore, who had a loan spell with us and Harry Finch, who played in our seconds earlier this summer, there is a strong East Midlands flavour to their side.

I suspect the toss witl be crucial and we must hope to come out on the right side of it this time. 

I wouldn't mind seeing a repeat of the Luis Reece masterclass from Worcester, and Shan Masood lasting longer than on my sighting against Hampshire. 

Fingers crossed for both - and a Derbyshire win, before I start the long drive home tomorrow.

Hopefully see a few of you there later! 

Worcestershire v Derbyshire RLODC

Derbyshire 312-9 (Reece 136, Masood 63, Dal 46)

Worcestershire 265 (Libby 126, Conners 3-37)

Derbyshire won by 47 runs

I have to confess to seeing very little of Derbyshire's game at Worcester today, as I was busy doing stuff for my parents.

But I was very pleased with the result and the return to form of Luis Reece. 

Reece has had a poor season by his own high standards, but these runs were scored against a good attack. Hopefully it does his confidence the world of good and from the sound of it this was an innings to savour. 

Good support from Masood and Dal too, while Sam Conners (henceforth known as, England Lions Sam Conners) appears to have blitzed their top order. 

So what were your thoughts on the game?

We appear to still have a chance to progress, but likely need to win our remaining games, against Kent on Wednesday, Northamptonshire and Yorkshire.

Can we do it?

Hopefully the answer to that is one familiar to Bob the Builder fans... 

Derbyshire v Hampshire RLODC

Derbyshire 246-9 (Guest 82, Dal 42, Came 33, Hughes 31, Barker 2-34

Hampshire 247-8 (Albert 85*, Middleton 64, Aitchison 4-39)

Hampshire won by two wickets

It was a good game of cricket at the Incora County Ground today, yet despite some fine individual displays, the team, performance wasn't good enough as Hampshire ran out winners by two wickets.

Derbyshire started well, but a too-familiar, collapse saw a decline from 49-0 to 58-4. An equally familiar recovery came from Messrs Guest and Dal and I seem to have spent most of this summer watching either those two or Madsen/Masood bat together.

The techniques of both were good, but the fitness levels admirable in searing heat. The running between the wickets was exceptional until even Dal's pace underestimated the accuracy of the fielders throw.

Alex Hughes played a nice cameo but Guest was again on a very high plain of batsmanship. I would argue that in all formats he is perhaps batsman of the season, especially when one considers he has played every match. He is a very good cricketer, on his way to becoming indispensable, his fitness levels remarkable. 

Despite those efforts 246 didn't look enough on a good day, good track and with bowlers having to toil in the sun.

Ben Aitchison changed the game with a superb opening burst that removed a strong visiting top order. His new run up suits him, much as conditions seemed to. With late movement and good assistance from the field, Hampshire were 36-4 in the ninth over. For all that Sam Conners and George Scrimshaw are excellent bowlers, Ben is for me the best prospect of the lot and he looked it today.

When Organ went to an awful shot from an even worse ball, the visitors were 68-5 and the game looked won. Yet just as happened earlier, a century stand from this time Middleston and Albert turned the game on it head.

Although Middleton was out to a ball from McKiernan that he could have hit anywhere but did straight to Dal at midwicket, Albert had the nous, composure and skill to see them over the line, while our backup bowling wasn't up to the standard of the admirable Aitchison. The latter slightly blotted his copybook with a late drop at slip that **might** have changed the result, but the visitors deserved their win and the retention of their unbeaten record in the competition. 

While three defeats from four matches doesn't signal the end of Derbyshire interest in this competition, it makes it unlikely. We can't afford to lose any more and the vagaries of a misfiring top order hurt us again today. Certainly a Masood duck wasn't in my plans as I drove down and once again the late order were left too much to do.

To close, thank you to those whose company and chat made today a pleasure, regardless of the result. 

You know who you are.. 

Player and club to be commended

Safely arrived at the Incora County Ground after a 4.45am departure from home, I wanted to take the time to comment on Anuj Dal's bravery and honesty in recounting his challenges and struggles with depression.

I have, over many years of writing this blog, always stressed that we, as supporters, have no idea what the players are dealing with in their personal lives. We don't have the right to, of course, but we shouldn't consider them exempt from the trials of everyday life 'just because' they are professional sports people. 

The likelihood is even greater of course. Where many of us loved our recreational game of cricket, we were never good enough for this level and the stresses that it brings. As Mickey Arthur said earlier in the season, as a player your currency is runs and wickets, your mood likely dependent on whether or not you are scoring and taking them. 

Which in a way makes Dal's statement a warning for all of us. In the latter part of last summer he started taking runs and wickets and theoretically should have been on a high. 

But depression, anxiety, call it as you will doesn't work like that. It creeps up unexpectedly, as I have seen with family members and friends, when least expected, when everything in the garden might otherwise appear to be rosy. 

The admission of a problem isn't a sign of weakness, merely a common sense understanding. It is very reassuring that Luis Reece, Dustin Melton and now Anuj Dal have all 'gone public'  with their challenges and praised the support they have had from both the club and the Professional Cricketers Association. 

Yet it is also concerning that this is three players on a fairly small staff and it hints that it is merely the tip of a very large iceberg across the professional game. 

We must hope that they all show the courage to speak up and that they receive a similar level of support from their employer that our players have. 

Of course, it goes without saying that supporters must play their part. It is always pleasing that critical comment from those on here is usually well thought out and well expressed. Social media elsewhere  has much to answer for in that respect and I only hope that others show similar consideration that you all do. 

Thank you for that. 

And well done to Nuj and to Derbyshire County Cricket Club. 

Respect to both. 

Derbyshire v Hampshire preview and McKiernan signs on

Mattie McKiernan became the latest player to sign on for another year at Derbyshire, as announced today.

The all rounder is a contender for most improved player this year, among several strong candidates. He bowled well in the Blast, has taken a few wickets elsewhere and has been consistent with the bat in all formats, making his maiden century at Leicester and playing several other fine innings.

The big thing now, of course, is if the players who have improved this year to make us a challenging side can go a step further to become one capable of a trophy. Strengthening is needed, for me and especially across the seam department.

With Sam Conners in England Lions action and George Scrimshaw at the other competition, Nick Potts is likely to open the bowling with Ben Aitchison tomorrow, although Archie Harrison is named, alongside Mitch Wagstaff. Conners will return for the next game, against Worcestershire. 

There is no Billy Godleman as a Covid precaution and no Mark Watt either, but Alex Hughes returns after injury as we field this likely side:

Masood(c), Reece, Came, Wood, Guest, Hughes, Dal, McKiernan, Thomson, Aitchison, Potts (plus Harrison and Wagstaff)

Hampshire have yet to announce their squad but last time out fielded this eleven against Northamptonshire, a game they won by eleven runs:

Gubbins, Donald, Prest, Brown, Middleton, Organ, Albert, Barker, Currie, Campbell, Turner. 

The top three sides in each group qualify, with the group winners automatically making a semi final, against the winner of a play off between a second and third placed side. 

Having lost to Lancashire, who top our group, and Glamorgan who are fourth, we now play second-placed and unbeaten Hampshire, in a game we really need to win to stay in contention. 

I will be delighted to be there tomorrow and look forward to seeing a few of you. Do say hello if you see me around the ground.

Since I am leaving Glasgow at around 5am for the drive down, look out for the sleeping bloke in the sunshine! Make sure to wake me if the sun is at its hottest...

Lancashire v Derbyshire RLODC

Lancashire 221-4 (Croft 87*, Jones 70*, Thomson 3-25)

Derbyshire 182 (Masood 82, McKiernan 27, Williams 4-20, Hurt 2-27)

Lancashire won by 39 runs

Derbyshire lost an absorbing game of cricket at Emirates Old Trafford this afternoon, but it could have been a very different result.

The bowling did well on a slow, but two-paced pitch where no one looked comfortable and fluent. Alex Thomson took three wickets to reduce the home side to 67-4, but after five overs in which he took 3-25 wasn't asked to bowl again, as Steven Croft and Rob Jones added an excellent 154 runs. Even the normally bucolic Croft was circumspect, while Jones hit only one boundary in his valuable and hard-worked half century.

He later fielded brilliantly in the covers, but Derbyshire's bowlers did well in that first innings and were backed up in the field. Watt bowled cannily and Conners wasn't far behind in a good display. 

Yet the feeling remained that we may struggle to score as Lancashire did, which made our gifting the first three wickets especially galling. 

I didn't understand Masood not opening, but Reece started well before giving it away with a totally unnecessary shot when the required rate was less than 4.5 an over. Then Godleman played an awful shot that confirmed his lack of form, before Came was strangled down the leg side. It was another poor start and left a mountain to climb. 

Masood again batted very well indeed, but needed greater support than the rest were able to offer. Guest, Dal, McKiernan and Watt all contributed, but none lent the level of support that Jones did for Croft. 

There was just a glimmer while the in-form McKiernan helped add 48 in 12 overs and the required rate was never really a problem, but someone needed to get forty-odd and no one did. I thought McKiernan, like Watt after him, got a questionable decision from an umpire who had a poor day. 

Masood's fine effort ended with an excellent catch, appropriately, by that man Jones in the deep and Derbyshire were left to wonder what might have been. 

As an aside, I thought Liam Hurt bowled well today, better than he did in his short stint for us, as did the young slow left armer, Morley. The latter's exaggerated appealing was both unnecessary and irksome, howeverand I was as unconvinced by his dismissal of Watt as the batsman was himself. 

We could, with a lot more savvy in the top order, have won this one. 

Am opportunity missed. 

Book Review:Between Overs - How Life Gets In The Way Of Cricket by Michele Savidge

The West Indian political intellectual, CLR James, once described his seminal work 'Beyond the Boundary' as 'neither cricket reminiscences nor autobiography'. It was an apposite description, equally relevant to Michele Savidge's wonderful book. 

I wasn't sure what to expect, but worked my way through this one, relishing every page turn, in just a couple of days. Far more easily and quickly than it would have been to write. 

By the end of it I felt I had read one of the better cricket books/autobiographies in a long time.

It is far more than the tale of a young girl growing up in a Derbyshire village, discovering cricket and the genius of Viv Richards in particular, usurping her crush on David Cassidy. The author's lifelong love of Caribbean cricket shines through, not just in her fantasy eleven, made up of players from that region. 

It is an extraordinary read about an ordinary childhood, a life writing, working in and enjoying cricket and the challenges in getting through it all and surviving to tell the tale at the other end. 

It is witty, engaging, happy, sad, absorbing and memorable. Dealing with the challenges of ageing parents struck a chord with me, the harder ones of loss highlighting what inevitably is to come. The author is candid about her battles with depression after the loss of a baby and her parents, as well as dealing with the unwanted attentions of various cricketers over the years. Sexism and harassment has been rife, I am saddened but not surprised to say.

The book is a celebration of life, love, cricket and relationships. Hers with her father very similar to me with mine, the company, chats and memories the same.

It is more than 'just' a cricket book. You will likely laugh out loud, shed a tear or two and come out the other end feeling that you have read something special.

I cannot recommend this highly enough. 

Between Overs: How Life Gets In The Way Of Cricket is written by Michele Savidge's and published by Pitch Publishing

Lancashire v Derbyshire preview

It is a fair illustration between the cricketing haves and have nots when you see the two squads for tomorrow's game at Old Trafford. 

The home side have lost a lot of players to the new competition but still have a strong-looking squad. So do we, to be fair, but ours is pretty much everyone we have left..

Never mind, Shan is back and everything in the garden is rosy. Hopefully he hasn't forgotten how to bat in his mid-season hiatus and logically he will replace one of the spinners for tomorrow's game, most likely Alex Thomson. Thus I would see us line up:

Godleman, Masood, Came, Reece, Wood, Guest, Dal, McKiernan, Watt, Aitchison, Conners.

There is a strong argument for having Brooke Guest at three, but a stronger one still for having him bat through the innings outside of the Powerplay, as he did so well yesterday. I would certainly have him higher than six though and potentially batting with the tail.

Lancashire name a strong squad as follows and captained by Keaton Jennings:

Jennings, Wells, Balderson, Bell, Blatherwick, Bohannon, Croft, Hurt, Jones, Lamb, Lavelle, Morley, Sundar, Williams

I see these as two well-matched sides, with the home side's powerful top four of Jennings, Wells, Croft and Bohannon perhaps key to the match. Indian all-rounder Washington Sundar has been in good form, while Kiwi Will Williams has a British passport and recently signed a 3.5 year deal. 

If Derbyshire can get through that top order, then what the wider cricket world might see as a surprise might happen. 

Based on our overall level of performance this year, I would say we have a decent chance here.

We have beaten them in the Vitality Blast. 

Why not again? 

Book Review: The Nine Waves- The Extraordinary Story of How Indian Cricket Took Over The World by Mihir Bose

There was a time when English touring sides sent to India were 'B' teams and were effectively there as missionaries, spreading the game to a colonial outpost.

It was somewhat patronising, but in those early days the talents of the best were not essential to win matches.

Fast forward less than a hundred years and Indian cricket holds the keys to the world game. Some might say holds it to ransome, but the rise of the game in that country and the development of the national side as a cricketing force is beautifully documented here by Mihir Bose, one of the great writers of Indian cricket.

It is, in my opinion, a tour de force. My first cricketing memory of India was the side who won their first series in England in 1971. Beautifully captained by Ajit Wadekar, they had four outstanding spinners, two very good batsmen and a world-class short leg in Eknath Solkar.

In the intervening period they have produced many of the game's greatest players and their names flit across the pages of this majestic read. Bedi, Kapil Dev, Dhoni, Azharuddin, Tendulkar, Kohli... they are all here and the background information and sheer depth of research in this book is quite humbling.

I will confess to being less of a fan of the modern Indian side, with their 'get dirty, look ugly' motto borrowed from Australian sides over the years. It sits at odds with me, having grown up watching their 'gentlemen of the game' over the best part of a half century.

Yet the joy of this book, which goes back to the first Test side of 1932, is how beautifully it traces that history and how we have got to where we are today.

If you know nothing of Indian Cricket history it makes a wonderful starting point.

If you do, it will only add to your knowledge and provide hours of rich entertainment as you read of their feats, trials and tribulations. 

A wonderful, engaging read.

The Nine Waves: The Extraordinary Story of How India Took Over The Cricketing World is written by Mihir Bose and published by Pitch Publishing

Book Review: Of Battenburg, Bombay and Blag - Tales of a Club Cricketer Gone Rogue by Vic Mills

Recent years has seen a number of cricket books written about the 'careers' of the ordinary cricketer. Memories of their years of playing, following and enjoying the game, wherever it has taken them.

Michael Simkins 'Fatty Batter' remains the best of these in my opinion, though this substantial tome is a worthwhile read, not just because of the sheer range of its coverage and its engaging style of writing. 

As well as covering his own cricket experiences, there are first hand accounts on Test matches, The Hundred and the IPL, as well as World Series Cricket, which he was one of the relatively few to witness first hand. 

The author has had a life well-lived and the book contains enjoyable accounts of watching cricket in both Australia and India, neither of them by conventional means.

Most recently he created Project Front Foot, a cricket academy for the children of South Asia's largest slum in Mumbai. Today that same project supports refugee cricketers in Europe.

Reading this entertaining book, I am reminded again that cricket is far from being 'just' Test cricket. In the grand scheme of things it is not even about that.

As I, the author and many more have experienced, the game opens doors in an individual's life and creates opportunities for lifetime friendship and enjoyment.

At the end of it all, that is worth far more than the winning and losing of a Test series.

This is another worthwhile book from Pitch Publishing and I hope it does well for them and for the author.

Of Battenburg, Bombay and Blag:Tales of a Club Cricketer Gone Rogue is written by Vic Mills and published by Pitch Publishing

Essex v Derbyshire RLODC

Derbyshire 318-6 (Guest 88, McKiernan the 72*, Reece 52)

Essex 226 (Richards 46, Roelofson 43 Aitchison 2-21, Reece 2-30, Watt 2-49)

Derbyshire won by 92 runs 

Derbyshire eased to an emphatic win over Essex at Chelmsford this afternoon.

The result was never in doubt once Brooke Guest and Mattie McKiernan launched an excellent partnership of 125 in 15 overs, that helped towards 174 runs coming from the last twenty.

Both were excellent, sensible and fast with the running at first, before becoming more expansive with their strokes as the bowlers tired and the end of the innings came. 

Earlier Godleman and Reece led off in fine style, before the skipper gave it away at the end of the Powerplay, when looking as good as he has all season. Came looked stylish, as he often does, but got out without going on to a match-defining score. Wood went second ball and Reece, after a good display, popped up a tame caught and bowled.

Dal and Guest provided a busy 'engine room' and restored the equilibrium after the slip from 117-1 to 117-4, before the eventual match-winning partnership took Derbyshire past three hundred and out of sight.

Guest is a very fine player and has been hugely enjoyable to watch all summer. McKiernan is one who makes the most of every bit of his talent and today was unforgiving on any bowler who missed his length.

The home side were never really  in it. Roelofson played some nice shots but got bogged down, while Richards later played an array of shots unbecoming of a number ten. But the bowling was keen and Guest, behind the stumps, quite excellent. Dal, who fielded brilliantly as always, effected a fine run out as the batsmen had brain freeze, while McKiernan did the same on a fiercely hit return to run out the non striker.

I thought Ben Aitchison bowled very well today, with nary a bad ball, while  Luis Reece looked more lithe with the ball than I have seen this season, perhaps at the point of trusting his body again after his winter surgeries.

Most of all, this was a good come back by Derbyshire after the opening loss, much more the sort of display we have become accustomed to this year.

And Shan is back for the next one... 

Essex v Derbyshire preview

Derbyshire will hope to return to winning ways at Essex today, after the poor opening performance against Glamorgan.

A thirteen-man squad has been announced, with Alex Thomson back in after injury and Archie Harrison dropping out. The batting looked light in the last match and for all his effectiveness as a bowler, Mark Watt is no number eight. Logic suggests the following eleven, with the last two as drinks carriers:

Godleman, Reece, Came, Wood, Guest, Dal, Thomson, McKiernan, Watt, Conners, Aitchison, Potts, Wagstaff.

Four seamers and four spinners in that side, so enough bowling, as long as we bat fifty overs this time..

As for Essex they have the following thirteen:

Westley, Beard, Benkenstein, Browne, Buttleman, Das, Khushi, Nijjar, Porter, Roelofsen, Richards, Rymell, Snater.

I expect Derbyshire to bounce back here and get out first in the wins column for this competition. 

Shan Masood will be back for the next match. 

In other news, the planets have aligned and I will be at Derby for the two home games against Hampshire and Kent. It will neatly bookend a few days of doing things for my parents and I look forward to catching up with friends old and new!

Do please let me know if you plan to be at one of them and it will be good to catch up. 

Thanks to..

The Grumbler's newsletter, for news on players who are out of contract this year. I had a request to put something together and was able to utilise the efforts of a very worthwhile e-magazine to subscribe to

You can get it direct to your email account here

https://countycricket.substack.com/

Well-known and promising players identified as being out of contract this September include:

Derbyshire: Mattie McKiernan, Mikey Cohen

Durham: Graham Clark, Alex Lees, Sean Dickson, Paul Coughlin, Ben Raine, Ned Eckersley, Chris Rushworth, Matt Salisbury, Mark Wood, Matty Potts, Brydon Carse. 

Essex: Tom Westley, Jack Plom

Glamorgan: Kiran Carlson, Billy Root, Joe Cooke, Jamie McIlroy, Timm van der Gugten, James Weighell

Gloucestershire: Miles Hammond, Ian Cockbain, Graeme van Buuren

Hampshire: Felix Organ, Aneurin Donald, Chris Wood

Kent:  Alex Blake, Zak Crawley, Darren Stevens, Hamidullah Qadri

Lancashire: Steven Croft, Jos Butler, Jimmy Anderson, Richard Gleeson, Liam Hurt

Leicestershire: Harry Dearden, Sam Evans; Hassan Azad, Nick Welch, Ben Mike, Harry Swindells, Chris Wright, Abi Sakande, Gavin Griffiths

Middlesex: Eoin Morgan, Tim Murtagh

Northamptonshire: Josh Cobb,  Ben Curran, Charlie Thurston, Nathan Buck, Freddie Heidreich

Nottinghamshire: Sol Budinger, Joe Clarke, Haseeb Hameed, Matthew Montgomery, Stuart Broad, Toby Pettman, Matt Carter

Somerset: George Bartlett, James Hildreth, James Rew, Tom Bainton, Ollie Sale, Sonny Baker, Max Waller

Surrey: Jason Roy, Jordan Clark, Matt Dunn, Nick Kimber, Amar Virdi, Dan Moriarty, James Taylor, Conor McKerr

Sussex: Ravi Bopara, Delray Rawlins, Jofra Archer

Warwickshire: Ryan Sidebottom, Matt Lamb, Manhaj Johal

Worcestershire: Josh Dell, Tom Fell, Jacques Banton

Yorkshire: Joe Root, Matt Revis, Matthew Waite, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Duke, Harry Sullivan, Josh Sullivan, Jack Shutt, Steve Patterson

There are others, but these are the bigger names. Some fine players among them too, many almost certain to sign new deals with their current clubs. You couldn't see Chris Rushworth anywhere but Durham, for example, nor Root and Bairstow anywhere but Yorkshire. 

Nor is it an exhaustive list. There are those who may well move county yet are still within contracts, just as Matt Critchley did last year. It appears unlikely that Gary Ballance will stay at Yorkshire, either looking for a fresh county start or returning to Zimbabwe to represent the country of his birth. 

I am surprised that Durham have allowed so many to get to the end of their contracts, Yorkshire too. There are names in there that will make a few sit up and I would love to see Ben Mike at Derbyshire, but there are likely seventeen other counties thinking the same! 

So who catches your eye - and equally importantly might be affordable and realistic? 

Chappell signs and Masood returns

I am unsure as to whether the greater surprise today was in our signing Zak Chappell for the next two seasons, or the news that Shan Masood had not been selected for the Pakistan series against the Netherlands.

The latter is a somewhat bizarre turn of events. Having picked him but not played him in the recent series against Sri Lanka, he isn't picked for the next series, despite having no opportunity to impress or otherwise. 

After the season he has had one would have expected him to be a shoo-in. For me, at 32 he must wonder how he gets back in. From a purely selfish perspective he could announce his international retirement and sign a two or three-year deal with us, but that is his call - and Mickey Arthur's, of course.

I would now expect him to be back for our remaining RLODC games  and his presence will doubtless galvanise a team that seemed to lack confidence in the last game.

As for Chappell, he is a player I have always liked and a classic case of one who goes to a 'big' club and sees his career stagnate through a lack of opportunity. Both Gloucestershire and Middlesex wanted him, but the lure of Mickey Arthur and Ajmal Shahzad was strong.

He is tall, quick and aggressive, a similar type of bowler to Steve Kirkby in his pomp. He cited the bounce and carry at Derby as major factors, as well as, one assumes, not having to uproot his home life. I think he will do well, and will develop with both bat and ball.

It's funny, with Aitchison, Scrimshaw, Conners, Potts and Chappell, there's an argument that our greater need for another year is a quality spinner. Yet Suranga Lakmal should be back, as well as Anuj Dal and Luis Reece, so we don't lack seam options. That's even before we consider any development in Archie Harrison, who seems a very talented all-rounder. 

I suspect a few surprises come the end of season, as the Head of Cricket seeks to put his own 'stamp' on the squad. 

Dobell reports new signing..

George Dobell of the Cricketer is tonight reporting that Mickey Arthur has agreed terms with Nottinghamshire all rounder Zak Chappell.

If true, that would be a very good signing. 

More tomorrow, when I suspect there will be a press release from the club.

For more see https://www.thecricketer.com/Topics/countycricket/zak_chappell_swaps_nottinghamshire_derbyshire_mickey_arthurs_impact_continues.htmlere

Derbyshire v Glamorgan RLODC

Derbyshire 110 all out (McKiernan 43, Van der Gugten 4-41)

Glamorgan 112-2 (Carlsen 54*)

Glamorgan won by eight wickets

Notwithstanding the absence of several players and without wishing to take anything away from Glamorgan, that was a desperately poor performance by Derbyshire today.

The fragility of the 'alternative' top order was laid bare and it was only a battling late innings by Mattie McKiernan that made the result semi-respectable.

I didn't get carried away by the Shropshire run-fest, as it counted little in the grander scheme of things. Winning the toss might have helped, but to be bowled out in thirty overs was, for me, unacceptably poor.

They can and must do better than that. 

Watt returns for Royal London Cup

Not much time tonight, but just wanted to mark (pardon the pun) the return of Mr Watt of that name for the RLODC.

He is a canny bowler and good cricketer, one I am pleased to see strengthen the ranks.

Hopefully we make a good start against Glamorgan tomorrow. It will be a tough game against the reigning champions who have lost few to the new competition. 

We will see.