Talking points

It is all well and good people 'demanding' the sacking of Mickey Arthur, which has been a recurring theme in my emails and in blog comments over the past week or so.

Yet it ignores two simple facts. One is that he is contracted to the end of next season. You can argue the logic, the common sense in that extension, but I would be surprised if the club could afford to pay off his contract, stunned if he decided to walk away.

Secondly, even when they lose the current game - as they surely will unless there is a monsoon in Derby - there will remain a chance of promotion. Glamorgan may or may not win a very close game against Kent today, when they need 164 runs with eight wickets remaining. Yet the likelihood is that Derbyshire would remain at least third in the table, regardless. 

It isn't fair for me to comment on the events of the last two days because I haven't seen them. Yet as Jasper wrote last night, my recurring thought has been why we gambled the result of our biggest red ball match in at least a decade on winning the toss on a used pitch. On what I understand is its fourth use of the summer, whoever batted last was always going to struggle. It wasn't the most rational of thought processes to go 50/50 and place trust thereafter in our spin attack, which is not, in my opinion, our strength. Collective match figures of 5-315 would appear to confirm that, when their young leggie currently has 10-92. 

The Derbyshire Head of Cricket has had an outstanding career in the game as an international coach. One of his biggest weaknesses as a domestic one is in his loyalty to those that he himself has signed.

There are several examples, but the greatest of these is David Lloyd.  He has just six half centuries in 39 first-class innings since he moved to the club, which as an opening bat isn't close to good enough. With his bowling seemingly seen as a last resort, it appears that only this misguided loyalty keeps him in the side. While I have every sympathy for a good bloke who has had well-documented challenges with his mental health, perhaps a break would have been beneficial? 

Every time he goes out to bat, I am willing him to succeed, but it isn't happening and the wisdom of a three-year deal has to be questioned. I'm not sure he will get better, at 33, but surely the time has come to give someone else an opportunity for the remainder of the summer?

Despite today's result - call me fatalist, psychic or realistic, if you will - all is not gloom and doom. There appears to be an understanding that the 'experiment' with experience in T20 has failed. For Mickey Arthur to have any chance of surviving past next season  - and that would appear to be unlikely, at this stage - he has to be seen to be looking at the medium to long-term in his recruitment. 

The white ball contracts for Rory Haydon and Amrit Basra will hopefully bear fruit and both will stake a claim for longer deals. There will be changes this winter and for me, we should be looking at younger players with the potential to grow, rather than experienced ones. I and others have previously mentioned Matt Montgomery, but Feroze Khushi, currently with SACA, is another possibility. His talent has always been clear, when he was at Essex, perhaps only needing a good batting coach to bring to maturity. 

We have secured one overseas player for next summer and Caleb Jewell is in a race with Wayne Madsen to be first to a thousand first-class runs. But unless the well of overseas players is dry, I can't help but think that 22 wickets at 35 from Blair Tickner isn't enough for that position. He seems a top man and a supportive team mate, but I have always maintained that an overseas bat has to average over forty, a bowler under thirty and I won't change that assertion.

Yet surely to attract a top bowler we need pitches at Derby that offer more help? If we are getting to the stage of using them for the fourth time, wouldn't that second role make more sense split between a seamer for the first half of the summer, then a spinner for the rest? 

There is a nucleus of a good side for both red and white ball. You could build a good red ball eleven around Jewell, Came, Madsen, Guest, Andersson, Chappell, Aitchison and Luis Reece, who will surely be rewarded for this season's efforts with a new contract. So too should Aitchison, which would then leave the blanks to be filled in for a competitive side. 

The concern is that next year we could be looking at the end of Mickey Arthur as HOC, but also the potential retirement of Wayne Madsen and eight other deals needing reviewed. That is a lot of work for someone coming in, but it is also an opportunity to show support and faith in the Pathway project. 

While the first team have been losing to Leicestershire, both the seconds and the under-18s have also lost matches. Yet individual performances have been the cause for optimism. Rohan Vallabhaneni of Denstone College made a stylish 70 for the seconds, an innings that reinforced his impressive form at age group level. He seems to me to have that little bit extra. I also think Yousuf Bin Naeem can come again, after a challenging summer with injury and concussion.

By the way, we also have a young leg spinner who took six wickets against Hampshire, at the same time that a young leg spinner  was bowling us out at Derby.

When does Mitch Wagstaff get an opportunity? He could become a batter who bowls, a bowler who bats, or a genuine all rounder. 

It is time for proactivity and a show of confidence. 

And it should start at Northampton on Tuesday.