The case for Mickey Arthur

Regular readers of this blog will already know this, but I disagree with the comments of those suggesting that there should be a parting of the ways with Mickey Arthur.

For one thing, the club could not afford to pay off a coach of that stature. Someone of international reputation seldom becomes available, very rarely does so with Derbyshire in mind and even less frequently opts to join the county.

By the time his contract is up, Arthur will have been at Derbyshire for four seasons, assuming that he doesn't decide combining the role with his position in Pakistan is too much in between times. But I expect him to honour that deal and preserve his reputation as a coach in doing so.

Season one, by general consensus, held considerable promise. The batting improved, we were harder to beat, one of the overseas recruits was outstanding and several players made positive steps forward. There was a very good T20 campaign, the only black mark being the final 'display' at Somerset, when we didn't really turn up.

Season two, this year, has been a disappointment. I will not deny that and for me the wheels started to come off when Arthur was allowed to job share the role with the one in Pakistan. I do not think there can be any doubt that this had a negative impact on morale at the club, even if no one has openly made such a comment.

Perhaps the Head of Cricket is one of those rare people who can combine two high profile roles with success. It may be that next season we're all sitting in front of our computers and waxing lyrical over a summer of great enjoyment and progress. 

But to ensure balance, it doesn't look that way right now. Poor decisions were made last season, with regard to the retention of some players in the hope they might progress further, but perhaps we were limited by the availability of those who might improve things.

One of the overseas recruits for the first two seasons, Suranga Lakmal, has been a disaster. There is no other way to put it, given that he has missed at least half of his time with the county through injury, and looked anything but a cricketer of high international pedigree in the rest. There has been the occasional flicker, but a man brought over to lead an otherwise young attack has been unable to do so. The averages do not lie and eight wickets at 54 each is a meagre return on a sizeable investment.

Yet Shan Masood was a resounding success. So too was Zaman Khan this year, whose variations in pace and toe crushing yorkers were wonderful to watch, unless you were 22 yards away. While the jury is out on Haider Ali, who found unusual ways of getting out and never learned the benefits of playing straight early on, no one could deny that he entertained royally. A century at Chesterfield was a season highlight for me and he had an excellent attitude from start to finish.

So what about season three? I have said all along that this will be the season by which Mickey Arthur would be judged. He has assessed his staff, realised that some of them were not quite of the requisite standard and put plans in place to improve things. 

Both Zak Chappell and Matt Lamb have improved the overall quality of the side, although the latter has found his season sadly truncated by a back injury that may require winter surgery. David Lloyd looks like he will do the same, while Pat Brown is a trade up on George Scrimshaw and certainly more likely to play different formats.

Mohammad Amir's reputation precedes him and has said that he would play for any Mickey Arthur team, anywhere in the world. He is a world class operator and in a 2024 season where competition for the best will be severe, the Derbyshire supremo has got a head start on the opposition in his overseas recruitment.

I understand additional signings are not too far away and Arthur is a major reason in people being willing to come to the county. How would Amir feel now, were Derbyshire to change tack? Or the others for that matter? 

Mistakes have been made, on and off the pitch. The Godleman situation has been an unnecessary distraction, perhaps Arthur's style of man management has not always been what was needed at this level. Certainly blameless pitches at Derby have seen us hard to beat, but if the groundstaff are given leeway to leave more grass on next year, there is talent in the squad to make the third year a special one.

If the remaining three signings (after all, he said there would be six) are up to the standard of the first three, our squad in 2024 should be the strongest for years. With players of such quality to add to the likes of Madsen, Guest, Reece and Dal, Derbyshire SHOULD challenge in all formats next summer.

Get the pitches right and manage the group properly. The results should follow. If they do, we can all acknowledge a slow build done well. 

If they don't, then questions should and will be asked.

I am hopeful and will keep my fingers crossed that optimism is justified.

Weekend thoughts

I have had a few messages regarding the Derbyshire coaches and their whereabouts at present. A few people appear concerned, with Mickey Arthur in Sri Lanka with Pakistan and Ian Bell on coaching duty with New Zealand. Ajmal Shahzad has been working with the Trent Rockets, while Daryn Smit is with England under-19s.

The bottom line response is fear ye not. Arthur will be back in Derby before the game against Yorkshire at Scarborough, while Shahzad is already back after his duties in Nottingham ended. I understand that Bell's involvement with New Zealand was expected and factored into his role at Derbyshire. Meanwhile Smit has assistance from Gareth Marshall and Ben Hutchinson, besides Alex Hughes and Chris Highton being with the second eleven.

After a few days off, the players will be working hard ahead of that Yorkshire game, when we are likely to welcome back Wayne Madsen, Leus du Plooy and Zak Chappell.

There are plenty of suggestions flying around regarding potential Derbyshire targets, after Mickey Arthur said he ideally wanted two players for every position. That prompted Dean to contact me and suggest Michael Burgess as a possibility as back up keeper. While not really an advocate of a 'spare' keeper when your first choice is as good as Brooke Guest, Burgess is a good enough player to play as a specialist bat, averaging 35 in first class cricket and scoring quickly in the T20. Aneurin Donald could be an option too, after his stint with us at the start of the Vitality Blast, but he is contracted at Hampshire to the end of next season.

Burgess is out of contract at Warwickshire, as are Andy Umeed and Lewis Goldsworthy at Somerset. They seem to have a glut of talented players, as they showed in the One Day Cup game this week. Neither of them has played much this season, which rather seems a waste of considerable talents. Certainly someone who can play the sort of innings Umeed did should be gracing the first class game on a more regular basis.

Next year's squad will be substantially different to the one that started this summer. Missing will be Billy Godleman, Leus du Plooy, George Scrimshaw, Suranga Lakmal, Haider Ali and Mark Watt. 

Meanwhile there are question marks over Tom Wood, Mattie McKiernan, Alex Thomson, Archie Harrison and Mitch Wagstaff, all of them at the end of their current deals. 

Hand on heart, my guess is that Thomson may be retained, as I think he has been the most consistent of the slow bowlers this summer and offers an all round game. With Watt away for chunks of any summer and McKiernan seen as a T20 specialist, the fact that there are few better spinners around is in his favour.

I couldn't call the decisions on Wood and McKiernan, but would be surprised if the latter was retained after minimal opportunity this year.

As for Wagstaff and Harrison, I am not sure how you make that call, when there have been few second eleven games and they haven't had senior opportunity. It can only be made on performance in the nets and an informed assessment of their potential at this stage. 

Since I haven't seen them, I will not comment further. But if released, it seems tough to be good enough at 18 but not at 19.

It wouldn't be the first time, however, nor will it likely be the last. Yet money can only go so far and to get Derbyshire moving and afford the players he wants, sacrifices will need to be made by Mickey Arthur.

Having already signed Lamb and Chappell, the three new recruits, plus the established group of Madsen, Reece, Guest, Came, Dal, Conners and  Aitchison gives the Head of Cricket a strong-looking squad for 2024. It will be HIS squad and HIS responsibility to get the best from it.

The other overseas recruits, like Mohammad Amir, will be crucial. With the T20 World Cup on during our Vitality Blast, the very best players in the world will be unavailable for such roles.

In which case, it should be to Derbyshire's advantage to have a Head of Cricket who will know who is outside of a talented Pakistan squad earlier than anyone...

Derbyshire v Somerset One Day Cup

It was lovely to be back at the Incora County Ground yesterday, with the sun shining and a good crowd in attendance. It was lovely to meet with old friends and make some new ones. I especially enjoyed meeting Ethan, a young fella with a phenomenal knowledge of Derbyshire, cricket and cricketers at a very tender age.

It was also nice to see Derbyshire players chatting with him and enjoying his company as much as he did theirs!

On the pitch it was the same old story. A weakened home attack did Ok, but on a typically blameless wicket they were hit around by Andy Umeed, who played a fantastic innings. Someone with that talent should be playing regular first team cricket, and with good support from Dickson and Goldsworthy he took the Somerset innings well in excess of 300.

I enjoyed watching Sam Conners and Harry Moore opening the bowling. Local lads, nice actions, a pleasure to watch. Both took stick later, but there was much to enjoy in watching them run in hard and bowl with no little skill. Moore looks a serious talent and one has to remember that he still has time at school before he is even regularly available for the first team. At sixteen he has the potential to be a serious player.

The batting wasn't so good. Reece was clearly unhappy to be given out, but the top four had gone in the first four overs, rendering it more a run limp than chase.

Haider Ali, playing his last game, again played some lovely shots, but his dismissal and that of Guest seemed to make the result a formality.

I left at that point, with things to do, but got back to Mum's to watch a valiant rearguard action, led by the masterful Anuj Dal. He is a lovely player to watch and one of the best runners between the wicket you could wish to see. Thomson lent good support, having bowled well earlier (as did Reece). 

Value for money came in a last wicket stand with Sam Conners, which added 88 in 15 overs. It allowed Nuj to reach a deserved ton and avoided the tournament ending in a real hammering.

It still was, but it was at least heartening that there was fight in the team. It was also good to hear Mickey Arthur say that there will be six new faces next year, suggesting he is well on with arrangements.

Lloyd, Brown and Amir will be three. The others we will find out in the coming weeks. 

Derbyshire v Somerset preview

Derbyshire and Somerset face off tomorrow to determine who finishes 7th in the group.

Only pride is at stake and Mickey Arthur has named a 13 man squad, with injuries, biting and opportunity, hopefully being given to another young local talent in Mitch Wagstaff.

Derbyshire squad:

Reece, Came, Ali, Guest, Lamb, Wagstaff, Wood, Dal, Watt, McKiernan, Thomson, Moore, Conners

Somerset

Umeed, Dickson, Thomas, Goldsworthy, Rew, Bartlett, Lamb, Davey, Thomas, Hill, Leonard, Brooks, Bashir, Langridge.

The weather looks good. Hopefully I will be down for a few hours during the course of the day. Hoping for a good day of entertainment and of course a Derbyshire win!

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire One Day Cup

Derbyshire announced the squad for the two weekend games, and it would appear unlikely there were any changes for the trip to Northampton tomorrow. 

I am unsure if Wayne Madsen will be available, or if David Lloyd will be fit. If neither of them are, there is a natural vacancy for Matt Lamb.

I won't see much, if any of tomorrow's game, as I will be travelling down to my Mum's and be busy with stuff for her.

Please put any comments and observations  in here and I will perhaps catch up with one or two of you on Tuesday at the Incora County Ground. I won't be there for the full day, but fingers crossed there is good action to watch!

Derbyshire v. Worcestershire 1-day cup

Worcestershire 254-5 (Ali 88, Libby 73, Jones 53 Conners 2-45)

Derbyshire 192 (Reece 96, Came 34, Brown 4-51, Baker 3-29)

Worcestershire won by 62 runs

Derbyshire were well beaten today, primarily by a very special innings from Kashif Ali.

I disagreed with one correspondent earlier. Sometimes you have to be prepared to give credit where it is due and the Worcestershire batter was quite brilliant today. I don't think it is possible to time a ball better than he did today and his brilliance took the game out of sight. 

Rob Jones and Jake Libby lent excellent support, and the Derbyshire attack was hit around the park. Ali scored his 88 from just 36 balls, an astonishing knock.

I thought Conners and Lakmal did OK, and credit is due to debutant Harry Moore. At 16 years of age I was playing for my school and club second team. The young giant did very well indeed and capped off his display with a wicket. He took some stick in his fourth over, but was no different to more experienced colleagues. I like his action and the fact that he doesn't try to bowl too quickly. 

His future looks bright, but I will caution against any undue optimism. I have seen plenty of young Derbyshire bowlers over the years, including a very talented Chris Armishaw, who took four wickets on Sunday League debut at Chesterfield but was seldom seen thereafter, opting for a career in banking, ahead of cricket.

I wish him well though and I hope he plays the remaining games in this competition.

The run chase was daunting, but the equivalent of chasing 180 in a 20 over game. While Came and Reece were together it looked on, but thereafter the wickets fell in too great a frequency. Impetus was lost as Tom Wood struggled, Madsen didn't last long and Ali was once again dismissed leg before, playing across the line. 

I have enjoyed watching Haider this year, but he has found odd ways of being dismissed and one would hope he would have realised by now that playing straight at the start of his innings was beneficial in English conditions. Thomson also went first ball and it was all terribly anti-climatic.

I felt sorry for Luis Reece who played a sparkling innings, but had little support. The highlight of the home innings, apart from his display, was the bowling of Pat Brown, who bowled cannily until Lakmal had a slog at the end. We have picked up a good one in Brown, both a very talented bowler and excellent fielder.

Played six, lost five. At the end of it all, disappointing once again. But today they were taken apart by a very special innings.

Sometimes you have to take that sort of thing on the chin.

Derbyshire v Worcestershire One Day Cup

Pretty much the same squad for Derbyshire, for this weekend's games against Worcestershire and Northamptonshire. But will it be the same team? 

From the names announced I would go for the following eleven:

Came, Reece, Lloyd, Ali, Wood, Guest, Dal, Thomson, Watt, Moore, Lakmal

Lamb, McKiernan, Conners also in the squad, but with nothing riding on the game, let's at least offer opportunity, eh? And even giving Sam Conners a rest, we still have eight bowlers in that side.

Worcestershire are very much in contention for the quarter finals, currently sitting in third place after a fine win against Northamptonshire yesterday. Rob Jones, formerly of Lancashire, made a sparkling unbeaten century against their opponents, dealt a bitter blow with Prithvi Shaw having to return to India with a knee injury.

Their likely side:

Roderick, Pollock, Jones, Libby, Kashif, Waite, Cox, Van Beek, Baker, Brown, Pennington

With Derbyshire past and future in their ranks, the game will make for interesting viewing. I won't see much of the game on Sunday against Northamptonshire, as I will be travelling to see my old Mum for a few days, ahead of her 90th birthday.

I hope to pop into the Incora County Ground for a few hours on Tuesday for the Somerset game, but will also be dropping into Pride Park, where a memorial brick has been put into the wall with my Dad's name. After his being a Ram since 1945 and a Derbyshire supporter since 1946 it was the least I could do.

If you are along at that one it will be nice to say hello! 

What has gone wrong at Derbyshire?

There have been a lot of comments over the last 24 hours and I thank you for them. Plenty of these have been on the blog, but there have been more that have come to me as emails, which I will respond to as soon as I have the opportunity.

I think there was a very pertinent comment made by David Lloyd after yesterday's game. His performances so far have suggested a man who will be prepared to battle, will be honest and will be happy to front up, when required. If he is not captain at least of the 4-day side next year, I would be very surprised and consider it an opportunity missed. I want such a man as skipper of my county.

'There is so much talent in the dressing room..' said Lloyd, 'we have one of the best squads in the competition'. Looking around the counties, I find it hard to argue with that assertion. 

So what is going wrong? Why has such a squad won only seven out of the 29 games they have played this season? Why am I, as a supporter for over 55 years, resigned to the fact that we are unlikely to add more to the wins column before the end of the summer?

For me, the blame has to be laid at the door of the Head of Cricket, Mickey Arthur. I expressed my concerns prior to his appointment and at the time that it was confirmed. I know that he is highly regarded as an international coach of teams containing elite standard cricketers. Therein lies the rub, because while the Derbyshire players are good, by definition of being 'first-class' cricketers, they are not the 'creme de la creme', as that well known cricket coach Miss Jean Brodie would have called them.

From what I have read and heard about Mickey, his coaching style can be abrasive and confrontational. That can work on a short-term basis, but is unikely to yield results in the long term. Nor is such a style conducive to a happy and productive dressing room, because an environment where there is an element of fear can rarely be so. I am not an internationally known cricket coach, but I am an experienced senior manager who people enjoyed working for. You cannot manage everyone the same way and expect them to respond in your desired manner.

My understanding of the fallout with Billy Godleman, which has come from several sources, was that it was not done in private and was embarrassing from all perspectives. I wasn't there, I am getting this second hand, but suffice to say it creates an uneasy working environment for those left behind.

As too, almost certainly, did Arthur accepting the role with the Pakistan Cricket Board. It is easy to say that there are benefits for Derbyshire in his being able to lure top talents from that country to England. It is also true, but my concern is the message that it sent to the Derbyshire players and indeed to his coaching staff. Essentially, it said he could handle the job part time and I remain to be convinced that anyone can serve two masters with equal care and due attention to detail. Results do not suggest it is working at 'our' end and he won't be around for the requisite development work over the winter.

It is a massive one for Derbyshire County Cricket Club. I felt last year that Arthur was unduly generous with one or two contracts that were handed out, perhaps blindsided by the 'potential' of some players that others struggled to see. Having done that, we move forward a year and really need to clear the decks, but within obvious budgetary and contractual constraints.

Can he do that? Are there players out there who are out of contract, see Derbyshire as the 'county of choice' and are within our budget? Not only that, are they genuinely better than we already have? 

I am not convinced. But nor will I accept that we have to spend and get ourselves into debt to compete. There are no guarantees that spending big gives guaranteed returns. A look at the averages of this year's overseas players in the Vitality Blast illustrates that. Recruiting sensibly and within budget is the only way forward, then creating and maintaining a positive environment in which they can flourish.

Which brings us neatly back to getting more from the players who are here. 

Several good cricketers have, in my opinion, gone back this year. Is this down to the coaching, to their having 'topped out' or to the management style? It would be very interesting to hear Arthur's thoughts on this, because he has been conspicuous by his absence after matches for a good part of this season.

Like many other supporters, team selections have baffled me at times. That's OK if a left-field call produces dividends, but the decisions made have rarely done that.

For example, it is patently clear that two of our existing spinners will not be here next season. Mark Watt will be with Scotland at the World Cup, while it is hard to make a case for Mattie McKiernan, when he has largely been a peripheral figure for much of the summer. Fifty-two overs bowled all summer, I make it.

So why play him now? What happens if he scores a quick 50 and takes four wickets, when the decision to release him has perhaps already been made? Why not play Tom Wood, a mercurial local talent, and give him the opportunity to win or lose a contract? Either he or Matt Lamb could have offered a spin option and much more with the bat. Poor Mattie has bowled thirteen overs in three games, faced two balls with the bat and been out to both.

Why play Anuj Dal yesterday instead of either Wood or Lamb, but not bowl him? Why continue to play an overseas player (Suranga Lakmal) who has been underwhelming at best, when he won't be here next year? Why sign a talented middle order batter from Pakistan and get him to open the batting on early season English pitches? 

There are so many examples. I think supporters would be more understanding of the remainder of the summer if the likes of Wood, Wagstaff and Moore were given opportunity. More appreciative of their success and more understanding if there were defeats. Maybe we can salvage something from a wretched summer by letting them see what is required.

Members and supporters deserve answers. One contributor made the good point that Derbyshire may well make their best appointment of the winter in an appointment to the club board, replacing the loyal and long-serving Colin Tunnicliffe in the Spring of next year, when he stands down.

I have massive respect for what Colin has done for the club, both on and off the pitch. But the reality is that he is 72 years old. The game has changed since his day, as life has changed. I am only ten years or so outside of a long career in public libraries, but I wouldn't now put myself forward for a senior position in them.

We need someone younger, more in tune with the modern game, perhaps more willing to hold the Head of Cricket accountable for decisions that are being made on the playing side. Going a step further, perhaps even a cricket committee could be established, reporting to the board, a conduit for cricket matters and not allowing the Head of Cricket - whoever it is in the future - the complete autonomy they have had in recent years.

It works at other counties and I am sure there are several former county players who would relish the opportunity to be involved in some way. Because let's face it, everyone on the club board is very well qualified for the role that they hold on it and do sterling work, but none of them have the background in and the experience of professional cricket, nor are able to challenge the Head of Cricket on decisions, performances and results. Of a CRICKET club.

It may well be that Mickey Arthur has some stunning signings to unveil in the coming months. I hope that is the case, but we need to recruit well and augment a group of cricketers who have a lot of talent but are simply not producing the results that they should be.

I have mentioned before that the pitches at Derby need to offer more to everyone. It is all very well saying that we are hard to beat at Derby, when we all know the reason why.  Get more grass left on them, or take more off, find a way to make both your new recruits and your existing stars excited at the prospect of the 2024 season. Trust your players to deliver.

Let's face it, a squad with Came, Reece, Lloyd, Guest, Madsen, Chappell, Dal, Conners, Amir, Aitchison and Brown available for selection should win their fair share of cricket matches.

IF they are well managed, well coached and appreciate the tactics, the team selection and the environment that is being created.

On too many occasions this season, the body language of the Derbyshire players has suggested those things are not currently happening. 

Why is that? I hope that the answers are forthcoming in the weeks ahead.

To close, answering a question that has been asked of me - do I think Derbyshire are further forward than they were under Dave Houghton?

Aside from the individual development of some players, no. There was light at the end of the tunnel in September of last year, but maybe it was only just a burglar's torch..

Next season has to be better than this one, or we have to go back to the drawing board.

Warwickshire v Derbyshire One Day Cup

Derbyshire 247-9 (Lloyd 65, Guest 57, Hannon-Dalby 4-49, Brookes 3-44)

Warwickshire 248-6 (Rhodes75, Burgess 46, Bethell 44, Reece 4-43)

Warwickshire won by 4 wickets

At the halfway stage of this game, I felt that Derbyshire had a pretty good chance of winning it.

The first innings total was not overly impressive, but on a pitch where timing was elusive, there was spin for bowlers and big boundaries, everything was in Derbyshire's favour.

Yet we didn't bowl particularly well. Luis Reece was the pick of the bowlers and Alex Thomson the best of our spin trio, but it is fair to say that Warwickshire's spinners - one of them a part time bowler and another a 17-year old debutant - outbowled our equivalent. I thought Taseem Ali bowled splendidly for them and looks set for a bright future.

George Rhodes played the decisive innings, mixing sound defence with good running and placement. He received good support, but I don't think the visiting bowlers did very well here.

Earlier, a good innings from David Lloyd and a more belligerent one from Brooke Guest got Derbyshire close to 250. It should have ensured a closer finish than it was and the end of the game also signalled the end of Derbyshire's interest in this competition for 2023, at least for me.

It is time to try a few players now. It makes sense to offer opportunity to players who have a part to play in the future and I would like to see Wagstaff, Wood and Moore given a chance in the remaining fixtures.

At the very least, the sight of three academy products in the Derbyshire eleven will be something for supporters to cheer.

In all fairness, this competition again has given little else. We have generally batted OK, but shorn of several senior bowlers, we simply haven't been able to compete.

Warwickshire v. Derbyshire one day cup preview

Wayne Madsen is unavailable for tomorrow's game at Edgbaston, which for me points to an opportunity for Tom Wood to impress.

Wayne is almost certainly going to be replaced by either Wood or Matt Lamb for the game. Having already beaten Warwickshire twice in the Vitality Blast, Derbyshire will be full of confidence ahead of the game.

Their hosts don't have an overseas player for this competition, but Ed Barnard has been in sparkling form with both bat and ball. They have lost a lot of players to the other competition and so I would look at this game as one that is winnable, from a Derbyshire perspective

I would also like to see the return of Anuj Dal for this match and Derbyshire revert to an eleven that includes two spinners, with Wood's slow darts as another option.

Hoped for team:

Came, Reece,Lloyd, Wood, Ali, Guest, Dal, Thomson, McKiernan/Watt, Conners, Lakmal

Lamb and Moore also in squad.

There is no news as yet of the home squad, but they are unlikely to change a winning side, one that has won four from four so far.

Likely side:

Barnard, Yates, Burgess, Rhodes, Brookes, Smith, Shaikh, Booth, Lintott, Miles, Hannon-Dalby

Despite all the absentees, they have a good side, but three young players in the middle who we might hope to expose if we can take early. wickets. Their full strength side sailed through the Northern group of the T20, yet we still managed to beat them twice. 

If we don't win tomorrow, my gut feeling is that the rest of this competition is to offer experience only, but there is enough talent in the Derbyshire side to turn expectations on their head.

It looks like there will be some rain around tomorrow, so both skippers will probably hope to win the toss and bat second, knowing what the challenge is going to be.

We will see soon enough.

Postscript  - Henry Brookes and Jacob Bethell have been released from The Hundred to play...

Closing thoughts on yesterday

Warwickshire next for Derbyshire at Edgbaston on Tuesday. As I wrote last night, we can't really afford any more slip ups and for me that includes the team selection.

I agreed with a comment last night, that everyone in the lower order was batting a place too high. We will never know if the selection of Anuj Dal would have changed the result, but for me it was an odd call to omit an all rounder who is not only your best fielder but also vice-captain. 

Mattie McKiernan bowled only four overs and got a first-baller to a shot he didn't have to play. I understand picking three spinners if you are choosing from Bedi, Prasanna, Venkat and Chandrasekhar, or if you are playing on a pitch resembling a beach, but not, for more than one-offs, with ours. 

So I think we got it wrong yesterday.

It might also have been the day to bat first. Bowling to defend a total might not be our strength, but on a very hot day, getting the opposition running around for a few hours could have been beneficial. It is all easy to say with the benefit of hindsight, of course, but games are won and lost on such decisions.

A friend sent me a video of the Haider Ali dismissal and having studied it, I am happy to admit the umpire got that one right. The Derbyshire batter pushed his left pad outside the line of off stump after contact, which on another day might have got him the decision he wanted. But fair play to the umpire, it wasn't an easy call but he was 100% correct in making it. 

It just shows what a tough job they have with no replays at their disposal and most of them do a very good job. Of course no one gets it right every time, in any walk of life and generally it evens out over time, if you play regularly.

I have no idea what the pitch will be like at Edgbaston, but I would swap McKiernan or Watt for Dal. I don't know if Madsen can play again, but I dare say we will find out sometime on Monday.

Meantime, enjoy your weekends!

Durham v Derbyshire One Day Cup

Durham 333-8 (Clark 89, Lees 62, Jones 56, Trevaskis 76* Thomson 3-53)

Derbyshire 306 (Madsen 65, Guest 63, Came 44 Pretorius 4-56)

Durham won by 27 runs

There were several points during a valiant, but vain run by Derbyshire today when I thought that they had this game in the bag.

The turning point, for me, was the questionable leg before decision against Haider Ali, who looked in fine touch. He also looked to be outside the line of off stump and obviously playing a shot when he was given out. The scorebook doesn't tell the whole story, but Haider had to go.

He and Madsen had looked to be in control, as later did Guest and Thomson. But wickets fell to shots that were not really necessary given the game situation and Derbyshire, having played three spinners and omitted Anuj Dal, perhaps rued the decision later in the day.

McKiernan also fell to a shot he didn't need to play first ball and although the chase was admirable, I was left with a feeling of what might have been.

It was good to see Madsen back and batting beautifully, just as Guest did later. But the Durham attack did well and were exceptionally backed up in the field, where several fine catches were held.

I thought Alex Thomson had a good all round match for Derbyshire, but the not very north east-sounding pairing of Trevaskis and Pretorius bowled too well at the death. A required rate that at one point was just above five an over climbed to north of eight and we couldn't get there, with wickets falling at too frequent intervals.

Earlier Lees and Clark batted very well and looked set for a huge total, but a fightback put Derbyshire to parity before Trevaskis, with an unbeaten 76 from just 54 balls, took the game away again  

While qualification is still possible, Derbyshire have to win all their matches from here. 

I am not convinced that we can, but time will tell, as it always does.

One that got away, for me. Just as when we played here in the Vitality Blast.

Durham v Derbyshire preview

There is an old saying that you never change a winning team. 

After all, Derbyshire played very well against Sussex in one of the more complete team performances that I have seen.

However, after being excluded for the first three games by the Werthers Originals, or whatever they are called, he has been recalled by Derbyshire, as they are entitled to do. I think we'll  find a place for him, don't you?

The most likely omission is one of the spinners. My guess is that this will be the final 11:

Reece, Came, Lloyd, Madsen, Ali, Guest, Dal, Thomson, Watt/McKiernan, Conners, Lakmal

Lamb, Wood and Moore are also in a 15-man squad.

There is no Ben Raine and Mattie Potts for Durham, but having scored 427 in their last game against Sussex they could have bowled Claude Raines and Paul Potts and still won. Lees and Bedingham have been in fine form all summer and getting them early will be key to the result.

Their squad:

Lees, Potts, Bedingham, Borthwick, Bushnell, Clark, Coughlin, Drissell, Gibson, Jones, McKinney, Pretorius, Trevaskis, Robinson.

It should be a good game, between two sides whose batting is stronger than bowling. I think Derbyshire have enough to go one better than the Vitality Blast game on this ground and come away with the points.

The forecast is good, so let's hope captain Guest calls correctly and we can chase again!

What do you think?

Postscript: whenever I see the name Pretorius, I'm minded of a team mate of mine, Billy, with the same name. 

He pulled a hamstring before a game one day and since we had no 12th man he agreed to play.

In true 'Outside Edge' fashion, I put him at slip, where he dropped three catches. So I moved him to third man and everything went off the edge. 

He then batted number 11, with a runner, and was run out, forgetting that he didn't have to run...

Quite a character was Billy! 

Derbyshire v. Sussex One Day Cup

Sussex 299-8 (Haines 94, Pujara 56, Lakmal 4-60)

Derbyshire 302-2 (Came 94, Reece 92, Lloyd 86*, Ali 24* Lenham 2-61)

Derbyshire won by eight wickets

Today's performance was as professional and controlled as it is possible to witness.

Winning the toss helped, choosing to chase was certainly to our advantage, but everything about that display was a pleasure to see.

I thought Brooke Guest and Anuj Dal ran things very well on the pitch. The bowling changes were not formulaic, the fielding positions were thoughtful and the bowling was controlled and steady. All of the spinners did well on a pitch that didn't really offer a great deal to them, while the attack was led by Suranga Lakmal in some style.

This - at last - was the bowler I thought we were getting when he signed. He varied his pace, used the full width of the crease and bowled with great intelligence. With support from everyone else he ensured that Sussex never really got away, despite an excellent innings by Tom Haines.

Cheteshwar Pujara also batted well, but struggled with his timing and never really broke free of the shackles imposed by the home attack. A total just under 300 seemed gettable, as long as we got a decent start.

The fielding was excellent, Dal a standout wherever he was. Good catches were held, with Lakmal taking a good one that belied his age.

The last five partnerships by Harry Came and Luis Reece have added 165, 360*, 71, 134 and today 159. It is fair to say that whatever shortcomings there may be elsewhere in the side, we have an opening partnership. Came went off like a rocket, with Reece happy to play second fiddle until he got his own eye in and his share of the strike.

It was beautiful to watch, again, it has to be said, on a pitch that would give a batter fantasies. There were shots all around the wicket and the only disappointment was that both men were caught in the 90s, failing to put the cherry on the icing of the cake that was an excellent team performance. It is nice to watch the growing understanding of the two men and it augurs well for our future.

It was a first chance to see David Lloyd on home turf in Derbyshire colours and he didn't disappoint. He is very strong in late cutting and pulling, entertaining the crowd with a sparkling display in which he saw his team to victory with an unbeaten 86 from just 63 deliveries. Haider Ali knocked the ball around nicely to complete a consummate, professional performance, but did treat what looked a good crowd to a trademark six over midwicket.

The game was finished in style. If this was a trademark and regular Derbyshire performance, it would be so much easier writing this blog.

It was helped by a visiting side that looked deflated. They put down two chances that would be deemed regulation at this level, while the ground fielding was much less sharp than that of Derbyshire.

I look forward to your comments tonight, which should be a pleasure for you to contribute!

Durham next, a tougher game but we travel in high confidence.

Derbyshire v Sussex Metro Bank Cup preview

I couldn't begin to call the final eleven that will take the field for Derbyshire tomorrow, but I am delighted to see 16-year old Harry Moore named in the squad for the first time.

He might play, because Nick Potts is omitted and the choice will presumably be down to whether we choose an extra spinner (McKiernan) or the three seamers we have opted for to date. 

David Lloyd is back in the squad and will make his home debut in our colours. Squad:

Came, Reece, Guest, Ali, Lamb, Lloyd, Dal, Wood McKiernan, Thomson, Watt, Moore, Conners, Lakmal.

Either way it will be special for the young man.

Sussex have also named fourteen and their squad is:

Haines, Alsop, Carson, Carter, Clarke, Coles, Crocombe, Currie, Hudson-Prentice, Hunt, Karvelas, Lenham, Pujara, Ward

Two former Derbyshire players in that squad and it is fair to say that this is a much win for the home county. We have not yet reached the point of no return in the competition, but I wouldn't bet my last dollar on qualification in the top three were we to lose this one.

It is likely to be another high scoring game and hopefully Derbyshire can do better in managing their innings than in the two previous matches.

We will find out soon enough!

Derbyshire v Glamorgan one-day cup

Derbyshire 298-8 (Came 73, Reece 69, Ali 63, Guest 35 Kellaway 3-41)

Glamorgan 299-3 (Ingram 115*, Carlson 65, Bevan 44, Root 34*, Byrom 30)

Glamorgan won by seven wickets

In doing the write up for today's game, I considered doing a copy and paste from the previous match report, against Gloucestershire.

The reasons for the eventual defeat were exactly the same.

At 240-2 after 40 overs we were set for a final assault that could and should have taken us to a total around 340 to 350. Certainly in a Vitality Blast match that would have been the expectation. A hundred off the last ten is far from uncommon, with two men set at the crease and batting to come.

Instead, we managed a very ordinary 58-6 and the result of the game, on another fairly blameless wicket, didn't really look in doubt after that.

Lakmal and Conners bowled OK, as did Dal, but the fact that Derbyshire used eight bowlers tells its own story. I am still unsure why Luis Reece isn't coming on until seven other bowlers have turned their arms, because this is a very weak Derbyshire attack.

It would appear that our only possibility of a win in this competition would be in winning the toss and chasing a total. But for much of the season winning even the toss has proved problematic, so I don't expect that to change anytime soon.

All of the top four batted well, however once again none of them went on to a score that would be considered match-winning or even match-defining. Came and Reece continued their excellent form, Guest was busy after a slow start, while Ali was again classy, hitting strokes with power and a delightful wristiness. Yet his departure, from a skied outside edge, saw the start of the decline. Lamb needs time in the middle, Dal doesn't look in the best of touch and the departure of the captain saw the tail rooting around for whatever scraps they could find in the closing overs. Kellaway bowled a controlled spell for the visitors, one that we later struggled to emulate.

Glamorgan started their reply well and although two wickets fell in quick succession, Ingram once again highlighted his class and, well-supported by Root and Carlson, saw his side to a comfortable win.

I am not sure where Derbyshire go from here. They can't really change personnel, because there are effectively only 14 players to choose from. All they can do is aim to manage match situations much better than they have so far done in this competition.

I don't think that I am alone in pretty much writing off this summer and hoping that the winter recruitment policy ends up with the county in a better place by the start of the 2024 season.

Pathway question answered

Adam asked a very good question yesterday, which seemed worthy of an answer more easily seen than one that is buried in the comments.

'Is there any protection for the club with pathway players, or can the “bigger” counties come poaching whenever they want?'

The answer is that there would be no reason for a young player to move, as it would be a sideways one. In addition, were it even to be considered, the county doing the signing would have to remunerate the 'source' county for the work put into their development. Realistically, a county with plenty of big name players is less likely to offer the opportunities that a smaller one may do anyway.

Derbyshire have a very good Pathway and we are starting to see players emerge, like Harry Moore and Yousaf Bin Naeem. They and their parents will be aware of what the club are doing and what is planned for their future development.

While on that subject, I am happy to correct a comment I made regarding the Academy/Pathway receiving half a million pounds from the ECB annually.

The figure is actually £190k and a  minimum further £70k has to be raised each year between parents and sponsors.

Money well spent if the talent emerges from the other end of the 'conveyor belt'!

Derbyshire v Glamorgan preview

There is no news yet regarding the Derbyshire squad for tomorrow's game against Glamorgan, assuming the weather relents to allow the ground staff time to get a game in place.

I haven't seen anything as yet, but I would be surprised if the conditions of David Lloyd coming to Derbyshire on loan did not preclude his involvement in this game. So my guess - indeed hope - is that his role at number three goes to Tom Wood.

I would also like to hope that Suranga Lakmal may be fit enough to be involved, probably replacing Nick Potts. Consideration may also be given to Mattie McKiernan coming into the side to replace either Mark Watt or Alex Thomson, but Mitch Wagstaff may instead get an opportunity.

Likely side:

Came

Reece

Wood

Ali

Guest

Wagstaff

Dal

Thomson

Watt

Conners 

Lakmal

Glamorgan fielded this side in the defeat at Worcester yesterday and it shouldn't be too different tomorrow:

Eddie Byrom

Tom Bevan

Colin Ingram

Kiran Carlson(c)

Billy Root

Ben Kellaway

Alex Horton(wk)

Andy Gorvin

Harry Podmore

Jamie McIlroy

Ben Morris

While the forecast for tomorrow is better than today ( it could hardly be worse) it looks like rain may take time out of the afternoon and a reduced over game looks likely.

The toss will be crucial, so we must hope that Derbyshire come out on the right side of it. That hasn't happened often this year...

As always, I'm happy to hear your thoughts! 

Postscript: Matt Lamb is in the 13-man squad, as is Nick Potts. Mitch Wagstaff misses out.

So logically either Wood or Lamb bats three, the other at six, with the final places being two of the three spinners.

England call for Derbyshire youngster

Warm congratulations today go to Derbyshire youngster Yousaf Bin Naeem, who has been selected for the England Young Lions Invitational squad to play Australia and Ireland this month.

He has only just turned seventeen (nine days ago) so has time on his side, but I have heard glowing reports about the young batter, as well as tall seamer Harry Moore, who is still only sixteen.

Their progress, success and hopeful eventual integration into the senior Derbyshire side is crucial to the credibility of the Derbyshire Pathway and the club. Excellent work is being done by Daryn Smit and his coaching team, but we need to see players progressing through to the senior ranks.

Far too often in recent years we have seen players progress so far, only to be discarded, some of them far too prematurely. Tom Taylor was written off by some yet has had a fine county career elsewhere, so too Callum Parkinson. Alfie Gleadall looked a talent but didn't come through, likewise Tom Knight, Ben Cotton and plenty of others. I thought Dan Redfern a really special player and loved watching that 2012 side with him and Ross Whiteley in it, but both departed the county far too soon.

Another local 'lad', Tom Wood, is nearly thirty, has had a hard battle to a county contract and now faces a challenge to retain it. For me, he should be given the next seven one-day cup matches and the four-day games to follow. Bat him at three in the shorter form, maybe five of six in the longer and see how he goes. He has two of the fastest one-day tons for the club, but needs to show he has more than that to offer on a regular basis. Certainly, if he is released we need to be able to say that he at least was given the opportunity.

Archie Harrison and Mitch Wagstaff are young players of talent, but with the second eleven fixtures stopped for the month of August, neither are playing more than club cricket. Can we judge them on that, however well they are doing? Harrison was starring at Repton, but doesn't appear to have had anywhere near the same amount of cricket this year, which is a concern for a lad who seems to be talented. Both are just 19 years old.

I expect the Derbyshire side of 2024 to be substantially different to this year's model, but it is important that a club getting over two million a year from the ECB, around £190k of which is for academy development, is seen to be developing and playing its own.

There is sure to be an element of short termism, bringing in experienced players to improve playing fortunes, as this year has been poor. We did that back in the 1980's, when the likes of John Hampshire, David Steele, Barry Wood and Steve Oldham were brought in from other counties and aided the development of Barnett, Morris, Adams, Tunnicliffe and Newman.

If the recruitment of streetwise pros can bring through the next generation of Derbyshire-reared talent, it works for me. Essex got hammered by Nottinghamshire today, but their side of largely kids were playing a Nottinghamshire side with Dane Paterson and Brett Hutton opening the bowling, Slater and Hameed in the batting ranks. If nothing else, it showed them what they had to do to progress. As well as showing what a huge staff Nottinghamshire have with a lot of players in the other competition...

Derbyshire have shown that they can still produce young gems (Slater, Blackwell, Whiteley, Critchley, Parkinson, Taylor) even if they go on to fame and fortune elsewhere. Maybe in the past they have not always been properly managed, which I would like to think has changed.

We can also give opportunity to those lacking it elsewhere. I watched Ben Martindale at Nottinghamshire today, a delightful player who gets little opportunity at a county where they buy the best talent elsewhere. He may well be the latest to shine at another club, as Joey Evison has done since moving to Kent. Certainly the talent is there in spades.

Derbyshire can recruit wisely from such ranks, as they have done with Reece, Guest, Dal and Aitchison. Good players all, needing only opportunity to shine

Continuing to identify such players, mixing them with the cream of locally-reared - and hopefully retained - talent and adding a soupçon of quality experience is the way that we can continue to mix it with the so-called big boys.

Who knows? Maybe punch above our weight in doing so...

Scrimshaw move a surprise.. but no surprise

Probably the two worst kept secrets in cricket this summer involved Derbyshire players.

The story regarding Leus du Plooy moving to Middlesex was doing the rounds for weeks, as has been the move of George Scrimshaw to Northamptonshire, which was finally announced as completed today.

I didn't really understand the move of Leus and certainly don't follow the rationale of George moving to Northamptonshire. I can only assume that they have thrown a substantial amount of cash in his direction, which is fair enough, but from a cricket development perspective I don't think he will have done his career any favours.

The signing of Pat Brown from Worcestershire seemed very much a 'like for like' one, although Brown's interest in playing all formats made him a better option from a Derbyshire viewpoint. I don't really think that we can carry many single format players, given the limitations in our budget. One maybe, at most two, but such players have to be indispensable, for me.

I liked George, his pace and bounce was a handy weapon and he could have days when he looked really special - Taunton last year an excellent example of this. I could see with continued work that he could be a potential England player, but there have been signs that better players have worked him out a little.

Pulling and hooking got you into bother, cutting and upper cutting were the way to go. They carried risk, but the better players minimise risk and could render him expensive. He is fast and gets a lot of bounce, but his game was good for short forms, less viable for the four day game that I don't think is necessarily part of his career plan anyway.

Time will tell, but like any player who leaves Derbyshire, I wish him well. I don't subscribe to the outpouring, wailing and gnashing of teeth on social media this morning, because I am happy to give Mickey Arthur the opportunity to make it HIS Derbyshire. What he does this close season and next year will likely define his era at the club, so I will gladly defer judgement for the time being.

More importantly, let's see what the rest of the season brings, in so far as departures and recruitment are concerned. Change is needed and appears to be underway.

Like everyone else, I expect to read of more in the weeks ahead.

Gloucestershire v. Derbyshire one day cup

Derbyshire 298 (Ali 82, Reece 50, Guest 43, Came 40 van Meekeren 4-66)

Gloucestershire 299-4 (Price 116*, Tector 86, Taylor 51* Conners 2-43) in 43.2 overs

Gloucestershire won by 6 wickets

Long before this game ended - in fact, before the Derbyshire innings ended - I had a good idea about the conclusion here.

Derbyshire mounted a score that was OK, but nothing more than that, on a relatively small ground with a quick outfield. At one stage, when Guest and Ali were batting together in a century stand, a score around 350 looked possible and was really needed with a weakened Derbyshire attack.

Came and Reece led off well, the former looking in especially good touch as befits a man with a century in each of his last two innings. When Harry departed, David Lloyd came in for his debut but never really got going. Reece made a good fifty but then holed out at deep square, when we could have done with him going on.

It didn't appear to matter, as Guest and Ali added 104 and at 205-4 in the 34th over Derbyshire were set for a really good score. Guest then got out, giving a catch to mid wicket and Dal soon followed, upper cutting casually to third man.

It brought in Wood and he never really got going. He only made five from his first 22 balls faced and the innings lost momentum. He upped the tempo later, but looks a far better player when he goes for it and there appears too great a discrepancy between his best and worst game. Although Mark Watt played some lusty blows, Derbyshire fell short of 300 and it was disappointing.

Ali played the best innings today. At the risk of going all Cardus on you, an innings by him is like a summer's day. Gorgeous, hugely enjoyable and disappointing when it comes to an end, which it did today when he had made 82 from 65 balls. He batted so well, but a more experienced player, with twelve overs to go and the last recognised bat with him, might have reined it in a little. His timing and power are quite special and I suspect he will be a really top player for his country in time.

Zafar Gohar bowled beautifully for the hosts, the best controlled spell of spin I have seen this summer. It was something Derbyshire cried out for, as our own bowling was really poor today.

Sam Conners aside, there was too much width, too great a variation in length and the home batters capitalised. Tector, signed at such short notice they couldn't even get his name on a shirt, batted really well, but was helped on his way by some very poor stuff.  By the time he was out in the 23rd over, for a classy 86 from 69 balls, Gloucestershire already had 158 on the board and were cruising.

Price, who had lent good support until that stage, then took control, put his foot down and the home side, with good support from Bracey and Taylor, eased to victory with more than six overs in hand. Price played sensibly, eschewed flamboyance but did what he had to do. Truth be told, the way we bowled and they batted, a score closer to 400 would have been needed to challenge them.

Watt doesn't seem to have his usual rhythm at present - I thought the same when he was bowling for Scotland last week - and took hefty punishment today. So did Potts and it seemed that Reece, the seventh bowler used, was something of an afterthought. It was good to see Lloyd bowl some overs and claim his first Derbyshire wicket, but the attack was treated with little respect and, to be fair, didn't bowl a great deal that deserved it.

Played one, lost one. 

They have to get much better than this or it will be a long competition.  Truth is we don't have many alternatives to this side.

But well done Gloucestershire. They slaughtered us today.