Observations on the Derbyshire start

There have been times, over the first three years that he has been in post, that I have been critical of Mickey Arthur. There is no need to go over old ground, but I like to think I have at least been fair, realistic and constructive in that criticism. 

Equally, it is appropriate to praise when things have been done correctly. While it is still early in proceedings to give overly effusive comment, this has been the most positive start by Derbyshire in many seasons. 

Arthur brought in Ben Smith as batting coach last year and a winter working with him seems to have been very beneficial for the players, as a look at the statistics shows. 

No other county in the division has four players averaging in excess of fifty (Madsen, Jewell, Reece, Andersson) and a fifth just under it (Guest). Yet with the exception of Pat Brown, who only had one innings, all except Anuj Dal are averaging in excess of twenty. Nuj hasn't yet got going with the bat, but contributes in other ways and if your 'worst' batter averages 17, that is a remarkable collective effort. 

It is also indicative of a squad that understands and buys into the game plan. It may not be an eleven of Galacticos, to cross-pollinate sports, but it is a team that works for and with each other.

The team spirit is clear and the contributions of the overseas players chosen have been important in these early weeks. Caleb Jewell would have liked to turn one of his five fifties into a hundred, but an average of 54 is a good start. He has been involved in strategy discussions on the pitch and proved a very safe pair of hands at slip, where we were fallible last year. 

Plenty, myself included, were wary of the re-signing of Blair Tickner, but I was at least prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. He is second leading wicket taker behind Luis Reece and in the game just finished showed himself a warrior. He ran in hard, was aggressive and gave us something we have lacked in a number of years. He seems to enjoy a 'chirp' on the pitch and probably got plenty back when he came in at the end to try and save the game yesterday. But he handled it and again, regularly chatting with the bowlers, shows what a good overseas can do. 

Good overseas? I accept that the market has shrunk and comparisons with the greats of yesteryear are not always positive. Like many of you I have seen all of our overseas players and you could put together an eleven to take on Mars from their ranks. But compare performances of our recruits so far with others in the division and you might agree. 

Asit Fernando at Glamorgan seven wickets at 66, Cameron Green at Gloucestershire averaging 23 with the bat and not bowling. Dudgeon at Kent gone home injured, Phillip at Lancashire 2 wickets at 85, even Dane Paterson at Middlesex only eight wickets at 43.

So many counties have overseas players coming in through revolving doors, due to visa criteria limiting their stay. Arthur has done very well - and used that oft-quoted little black book of contacts - to pick up long-term signings who buy into the team and club ethic.

Leicestershire have chosen well and are getting good value from Peter Handscomb and Logan van Beek, while their success is, like ours, down to a long batting order and plenty of options with the ball. It is another team effort and should there be any real surprise in such sides sitting one and two in the division? 

It is also worthy of note that domestic recruitment and retention by Mickey Arthur has been very good. Jack Morley has come in and bowled some canny spells for a young man, while clearly working on his batting over the winter. He can and will get better. Meanwhile Martin Andersson has been a revelation, with big runs, useful wickets and a safe pair of hands. It just shows what the right environment, where they are respected and appreciated, can do for someone 

Wayne Madsen and Brooke Guest, two of those whose deals were due to expire at the end of the summer, have signed new ones and it has been a joy to see the new life in the Wayne-meister. Nearly 500 runs in just eight innings, a spring in his step and so, so nice to see a skipper who doesn't make bowling changes by rote and sets innovative field settings. 

Mickey Arthur has changed the staff considerably in his time at the club and there are plenty with deals to play for over the remainder of the summer.

To the best of my knowledge, the deals for

Harry Came, Luis Reece, Ross Whiteley, Samit Patel, Alex Thomson, Nick Potts, Ben Aitchison and Yousaf Bin Naeem expire this year. 

Luis is making a strong case for retention, averaging 58 with the bat and 22 with the ball, though he will not want to miss too much cricket with the injury aggravated at Cardiff. Bin Naeem needs to work but should be afforded time, but the others will understand that top level cricket is unforgiving and the currency of performance is key. They all have incentives to produce their best games and I especially hope that Harry Came rediscovers his best form, as there is no doubt that he can play. Alex Thomson got the nod at Cardiff and did a good job, but he will likewise know that standard has to be maintained. 

We know Ben Aitchison can do it, but must only hope his repaired back can stand up to the rigours of the first class game. He is a very fine bowler with big potential, but needs to be able to play on a regular basis and not everyone can do that. Fingers and toes firmly crossed for Ben to be back at his best.

As for Nick Potts, he has to work hard to show he can get there, or join the ranks of many others who had obvious talent, but perhaps neither the sustained performance nor physical and mental resilience to play enough throughout a long summer.

It will be fascinating to see how the rest of the summer plays out. Perhaps this will prove to be the latest false dawn in a club that has had more of those than a Tony Orlando tribute  show.

Or maybe, just maybe, Mickey Arthur has got a handle on the requirements of the county game now, more than I think was initially the case. I understand that even now he has targets in mind for next summer, players who will further strengthen the team.

He deserves credit for the start, as does the club board, who could easily have gone the other way when the groundswell of support was clearly turning against him. 

I am really enjoying this summer and I didn't think I would. Thanks to everyone concerned for making it so. 

Let's see if we can keep it going...