Arthur closing in on overseas target...

I would like to thank Gareth for sending me a link to a piece in the cricketer which suggests that Mickey Arthur is close to the second overseas signing for 2023.

You can see the article here, but the interesting section is:

"I could pull the trigger on a guy tomorrow I've just got to see how it ties in with budgets," Arthur, the former South Africa, Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka head coach, told The Cricketer.

"There is potentially another guy we've got in the loop. We are looking to see how that pans out before I commit totally to this player."

"There are a host of them that want to come here. I've got my eye on one young batter that would be very good for us."

I like the idea of a young batter. Someone with a reputation to make, hopefully available for the full season and with the ability to score heavily across the formats.

It all suggests that we should have some one in place before Christmas and that we can all go into our festive period excited at what the future holds.

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to find out who it is!

County to feature in 'Blast Off'

I'm afraid that time ran away from me yesterday and work took too great a chunk from my available time to comment on the day's big news.

Which was, of course, that Derbyshire will feature in a tournament-opening Vitality Blast 'Blast Off' double header at Edgbaston, which will see us play Lancashire while Birmingham Bears take on Yorkshire, on Saturday 20 May. It is a big occasion for supporters and one which will feature all of the razzmatazz of finals day. Who knows, it may well turn out to be a portent of things to come..

It highlights the tournament in a grandstand way and sees it come very much to the forefront of public consciousness, all this in May, when the county game usually sees its participants jostling for early dominance in the season.

The downside is that Derbyshire are the only side involved who are effectively giving up home advantage. They are the designated home side for their game, while it is Birmingham's home game anyway. The counter arguments that I have seen are that it is one less game for supporters to go to and that we are not really a home side.

But does that matter? We played very well on this ground last year and for me getting this tournament into minds so early in the summer can only be a good thing. It is innovative, it is making people aware that there is a better tournament out there than the one which has been marketed to death, yet still only sees the bulk of its attendance figures through promotional giveaways.

The Blast is a  very good competition. How else would England have become world champions in the format? The players in that side grew up playing in our domestic T20 and honed their skills in it. Derby to Birmingham is not that far and the club have already said that they will lay on coach travel to and from the ground. You get to see two games of cricket and this is in the price of your membership, if you chose to go down that route.

There was a time in my life when I had 40-50 miles in each direction as my daily commute. I didn't find it too difficult at the time and I wouldn't find it an issue to travel to support my favourite sports team, particularly when I could just jump on a luxury coach and relax.

Cricket supporters around the country have spent the last twelve months mobilising in support of the existing county structure. The dangers facing it were clear and the franchise competition is still out there, its supporters still vocal.

I am just pleased to see the counties fighting back with innovation of their own. Perhaps the following season it will be a different four counties involved, a different venue. I would assume so, but I hope that supporters of all four clubs get behind this.

From the perspective of the players, the opportunity to play in front of what should be a large crowd can only be positive for them. Big game experience can only be gained by playing in big games, there is no simulator that can otherwise replicate everything.

I accept that there will be other views and it is, of course the prerogative of the individuals concerned to hold those views.

But I like this. I like to see my county involved in innovation.

Bring it on! And remember, it is Blast Off, not Bake Off...

Weekend warmer

There's not a lot to report on this week, aside from Alex Hughes moving into coaching.

It gives Derbyshire a very solid coaching setup and should ensure that progression from the Academy/Pathway is seamless. His departure from the playing staff does, however leave a gap in resources for T20 cricket, where he played a key role. It may be that Mickey Arthur is looking to recruit someone with all round skills for that competition.

I was surprised last year when Hilton Cartwright joined but then didn't bowl at any point. Someone who can offer a few useful overs in that competition, as well as scoring quick runs, will always be an asset.

It wouldn't surprise me to see the second overseas role split with one player for 4 day and 50 over cricket, the other for the Blast. It just seems unlikely that you would get someone able and willing to commit to a full season, or that a player could stay fit for a full season, given the demands of the current game.

So we must play a waiting game, until individual commitments and international fixtures for 2023 are finalised.

But things are looking good for next year. I think we have already made more signings than I expected, but this coming season will be seen as a watershed, with so many players coming towards the end of their current deals. The winter next year will likely see a few changes, although many have the opportunity to extend their stay at the club with an impressive 2023 season.

It can't come soon enough for me!

Hughes moves into coaching

It is very much the end of an era, with today's announcement that Alex Hughes has retired from the playing side at Derbyshire County Cricket club, to move seamlessly into coaching.

He will take charge of the second team as part of his new role as Analyst and Support Coach, doubtless taking some of the pressure from Daryn Smit in the process.

He is a perfect candidate for the role. It's funny, during the summer just past I stood talking to him for 20 minutes during a rain break in one match. In the course of that conversation I said to him that I thought he would be a good shout for second eleven coach, pretty much an ideal mentor for young players making their way into first class cricket. He didn't say anything, maybe it hadn't been discussed at that point, but I am pleased that we will retain someone of his talents in some capacity. Also that mystic Peakfan retains his powers...

He has been a good, solid county cricketer. Maybe the runs and wickets that I expected, early in his career, didn't quite follow on, but then opportunity seldom knocked for him in recent seasons. He became somewhat pigeonholed as a one-day player, which is understandable, given the all-action nature of his game.

I couldn't see how he could fit into a first choice side in the coming season but the new role seems like a perfect compromise to me. He is very much a thinker and I will always maintain he was a good captain who got away. Those lads coming through the academy have got a supportive, intelligent bloke to look after them, that's for sure.

I will miss, as will many others, his gritty determination and not inconsiderable skill, particularly when backs were against the wall. Yet will also miss his improvisation and powerful stroke play when time was running out and runs were still needed.

As a bowler he was canny. There were plenty of variations of pace and although none of them ventured anywhere close to 'lively' he was a bowler who made opponents work for their runs.

In the field he was excellent. A safe pair of hands at slip, on those increasingly rare occasions when he played four-day cricket, but equally reliable in the deep when the big shots were being unfurled, especially in T20 matches. He was quick across the ground and put down very little that came his way.

I wish him the very best in his new role and I am pleased that we will still see him around the County Ground, hopefully for some time to come.

Thanks for everything Alex.

Weekend warmer

So England are the world champions in T20 cricket. Which suggests to me like they all got a pretty good grounding in the Vitality Blast, that same competition the ECB appear to want to marginalise in favour of a tin pot tournament that bothers very few.

Fair play to the side which looked pretty impressive throughout. With a top seven as good as that (that still doesn't include Root or Bairstow) most can only envy the depth of talent in our game. Produced by eighteen first class counties of course, let's not forget that. We never really needed to see what the rest of them could do, but with Woakes, Curran and Rashid all pretty handy with the bat, this really is a side that will take some beating.

It has been a fairly quiet week on the Derbyshire front, but the players have returned to training and it is good to see our new players involved.

Thanks to all of you for your contributions to my question last week, as to which overseas stars of the past you would bring into the current setup. Hypothetical of course, and there is no right or wrong answer, it comes down purely to personal preference.

For what it is worth, allowing only for the perceived area of greatest weakness in the current squad, I would have brought in either John Wright or Chris Rogers to open the batting in both 4-day and 50 over cricket. Both would be perfect, but if I had to name one I would take Wright, only because I rarely saw him fail. While Rogers was also a run machine, he rarely scored many when I was in attendance, much the same as Michael di Venuto.

That would then enable me to bring in a T20 specialist and I would have to pick Adrian Kuiper. For all that there have been better batters and bowlers at the county - and to be fair, between you all you named them - Kuiper was a 'gun' finisher.

I have seen every Derbyshire overseas player since Chris Wilkins, the first, in 1970. Chris was the only one remotely close to Kuiper as a long hitter. I would have loved to have seen the South African all rounder with one of the modern bats, as the ball went a country mile with the ones available at that time.

Add in his bustling medium pace and his excellent fielding and Kuiper would easily have been a multi-millionaire in the modern game.

I hope you enjoyed the little bit of fun, so here's another one for you for this week.

Which overseas player, or players in the world game currently would you bring in for the season ahead? You can split the role, should you wish, but be realistic as to who we could get. No Indian players for T20, of course, and my guess would be a maximum spend of 150K.

The international future tours programme can be found here

Have fun!

Weekend warmer

It was great to see the bumper crowd that attended the bonfire night celebrations at the Incora County Ground on Friday.

An equally successful festive season will be perfect for Derbyshire, generating the crucial off field income that will allow Mickey Arthur the money required to improve fortunes on the field.

I doubt that anyone is unhappy with the way that the winter has gone so far. Logically, all that remains is the recruitment of the overseas player, or players to replace Shan Masood.

I am not sure if the World Cup has featured those players, but there have been some standout performers. I was less impressed with Sikandar Raza as the tournament went on, his batting looking a little too frenetic against good bowlers. His bowling was more impressive and while I am sure there will still be interest from the county circuit, the recent recruitment of Mark Watt pretty much legislates against him being on Derbyshire's radar. I can't see us needing four spinners, with two then unlikely to play much cricket.

One player who has impressed me has been Suryakumar Yadav of India, who batted well against Derbyshire last year. He seems to have elastic wrists and some of the shots he has played have been quite spectacular. I was surprised to find out that he is 32 and thought him a younger man. Which in its own way speaks volumes both for the sheer quantity of talent in that country, as well as the merits of the later developer.

It is a shame that Indian players cannot play in the Vitality Blast, as most of their stellar line up would be huge draws. It is hard to gauge though whether any would be equally successful, or interested in a contract for longer form matches.

I would be surprised if Mickey Arthur was able to find a player available for most of the season, as Masood was last year. Even more so if that player was as successful. While not in any way meaning to diminish his efforts, he perhaps had the best early season wickets for a decade on which to bat, while Suranga Lakmal probably thought he had arrived in the wrong country, with what he had to bowl on.

It could be that this time next year we are all hailing the latter, if April sees more traditional English wickets. I suspect had he not had the elbow injury, some of the wickets as the season progressed would have been perfect for his talents.

As a bit of fun, here's some nice thoughts to occupy you over the next few days.

Which Derbyshire overseas player of the past would you recruit to enhance the current squad?

I am going to ban the selection of Eddie Barlow, because anyone who saw him would appreciate that him in the side would automatically improve it by 20%, regardless of his individual contribution.

There is no right or wrong answer, but I would be curious and delighted to see everyone's thoughts. I will then tell you my decision next week.

Have a good one!