Derbyshire v Worcestershire Metro Bank Cup

Derbyshire 315 (Jewell 113, Montgomery 92, Khurram 3-49, Allison 3-51, Singh 3-58)

Worcestershire 317-6 (D'Oliveira 138, Libby 69, Lategan 42* Haydon 3-59)

Worcestershire won by 4 wickets 

A day that began so well for Derbyshire petered out in the scenic splendour of Repton School today.

Excellent knocks by centurion Caleb Jewell and a classy 92 from Matt Montgomery gave them a platform to post a minimum of 350, but poor shot selection after they were dismissed saw Derbyshire unable to even bat out their 50 overs. 

You can score quickly on small grounds, but with that comes a tendency to try and overhit, which is largely what happened in the second half of our innings. Leaving seventeen balls unused is pretty average at this level, even though Singh, Allison and Shahzad bowled well for the visitors.

Jewell was at his flamboyant best, cover driving with majesty and moving across his stumps to utilise a short legside boundary. He and Montgomery added 150 from 24 overs of classy batting after Harry Came went to an injudicious pull.

The power and timing in Jewell's shots at his best is remarkable, yet Montgomery matched him in a display that promised much. He keeps the score ticking over by opening the face of the bat and running it down to third man on a regular basis, but later he unveiled a full range of shots and would have been disappointed to miss out on a century, one that was there for the taking with eleven overs to go.

Guest was unlucky, playing on after appearing to be in fine fettle, but when Montgomery went, a healthy 267-3 became 315 all out in ten manic overs.

I am a huge fan of Amrit Basra, but with ten overs to go there was no need to play the stroke that he did to the third ball that he faced. Whiteley and Chappell went tamely and the tail surrendered to a total that on a small ground looked barely adequate. Andersson played well for a time, but supporters were left wondering what might have been. No doubt Jewell and Montgomery had similar thoughts, after the strong position that their knocks created.

I think Worcestershire put Derbyshire in, after winning the toss, because they didn't know what a good score would be on this ground. But six an over for a long batting line up seemed eminently doable, even after Aitch and H removed Mohammad and Kashif early, in good opening bursts. It brought together the vast experience of D'Oliveira and Libby, who started to milk the attack nicely. 

Their stand of 183 runs went on to define the match. The former played with his usual freedom and dished out heavy punishment, while Libby, realising his partner only needed a sound accompanist, simply played professional cricket. By the halfway stage, only common sense cricket was required, because the loose balls were frequent enough to offer regular boundaries on a small ground.

D'Oliveira went on to an excellent century, but as I messaged friends earlier, we were fifty runs short of leaving him and his team needing to take risks. 

There was a glimmer of hope when D'Oliveira was caught on the boundary edge by Aitchison off the bowling of Morley. Realising he was going to step over the rope in completing the catch, Ben flicked the ball into the air, seemingly taking it again with both feet inside the rope. It appeared a poor decision by the umpires, who really should trust the honesty of the fielder in that situation. With cameras trained on their every move, who would seriously risk reputational damage in claiming a catch that wasn't? D'Oliveira was bowled shortly afterwards for an excellent 138, but the game was effectively won by that stage. The young South African-born Dan Lategan saw them home without any major alarms, playing some crisp strokes in the process on his debut.

It was a game lost, when the platform for a win had been expertly built in the first two hours. Rory Haydon was again impressive, after also getting a shocking decision when he batted briefly earlier, but he and Ben Aitchison were the only bowlers to exert any control. They offer potential for another year, but it was all we had to cheer in the field. Matt Montgomery was injured in the field and his bowling missed.

It was all very disappointing, but in closing a word for the marvellous pitch and environment at Repton. Groundsman Andy Butler did a fantastic job and I hope it isn't the last time we see the first team at this lovely, well-supported setting. 

Also worthy of note was the stream. It can't be easy to set one up of this standard on an outground, but apart from a couple of times when the connection went down, it was excellent today. 

Postscript: did anyone see the Head of Cricket there today? When the players and coaches lined up for the minute's silence there was no sign of him, nor was he later evident on the stream.

Surely, after saying it wouldn't conflict  with his Derbyshire role, he wasn't with the Northern Superchargers today, ahead of their game tonight? 

Call me old-fashioned, but where I come from they call that a conflict...

Fair enough, if he WAS there, but it's a question worth posing, I think.

Derbyshire v Worcestershire Metro Bank One Day Cup preview

Worcestershire look set to be without several regular players for the game against Derbyshire at Repton tomorrow.

Gareth Roderick, Rob Jones and Tom Taylor are all set to be missing for the game, where a win could keep Derbyshire firmly in the mix for knock out qualification.

The top three from each group qualify. The sides that finish top automatically qualify for a home semi final, with second from each group playing third in the other for a chance to play them. Worcestershire are unbeaten so far, so a Derbyshire victory tomorrow would boost their chances considerably 

As I write there is no news of either squad, but I don't expect too many changes  from the following visiting side that comfortably beat Essex:

Mohammad, D'Oliveira, Kashif, Libby, Brookes, Cullen, Waite, Allison, Singh, Jones, ? (Khurram played)

Likewise, Derbyshire produced an excellent team display to dispose of Nottinghamshire, so the only change I would expect is Matt Montgomery returning in place of Yousaf Bin Naeem

Likely side:

Jewell, Came, Montgomery, Guest, Basra, Andersson, Whiteley, Chappell, Aitchison, Morley, Haydon.

Dal, Potts, Hawkins, Bin Naeem also in squad of 15

The forecast is excellent, the game a sell out and the setting quite splendid. I look forward to seeing this one and only wish I could have been there in person. 

For all the improvements at Derby - and they are laudable and impressive - the joy of seeing cricket at outgrounds has been one of the joys of this competition for me. York has looked delightful  this week, while there seemed to be much to enjoy at Guildford.

Long may the use of such grounds continue

And here's hoping for a strong Derbyshire performance - and a win - tomorrow.

Postscript: Worcestershire squad: Singh, Libby, Waite, Mohammad, Cullen, D'Oliveira, Gibbon, Home, Lategan, Kashif, Hinley, Shahzad, Allison, Brookes

Book Review: Something Changed by Ben Dobson

This is an interesting book, with it's central theme the rise of Ian Botham and Margaret Thatcher in 1981.

Politics aside - and as a child of mining communities, it is fair to assume that I have never been confused with a Thatcherite - the main issue with the book is that there are sizeable sections that have no real relevance to cricket. 

As a social history it is a decent read and took me back to the year which was my first summer north of the border, also a momentous one for Derbyshire, of course.

I think it could have done with a little more primary research, as the book deals with how other writers perceived the two very different  'giants' of the time. There was the opportunity, given the recency of events, to get the thoughts of contemporaries of both, which wasn't taken.

There were parallels, as the author points out, in the careers and fortunes of the two main protagonists, but I wouldn't recommend this one as a cricket book alone. The Ashes series has been covered by others many times and cricket fans would be better off with one of the many other volumes.

Yet as a social history of more recent times, it is a worthwhile read.

Something Changed: Beefy, Boadicea, Brixton, Bunting and How Cricket Helped Change The Nation is written by Ben Dobson and published by Pitch Publishing 

Under 18s lose at Southport

The under 18s lost by 173 runs against Lancashire at Southport.

Set 248 to win on a turning pitch, they were bowled out for just 75, Zak Kelly top scorer with 24.

All part of the learning process. And sometimes you learn more in losing than in winning

Scorecard and clips here

Under 18s fight back at Southport

The under-18s fought back well against Lancashire at Southport.

From an overnight 29-3, Derbyshire eventually made 232. This was largely thanks to an outstanding unbeaten 87 from Sam Cliffe, who carried his bat after an innings of nearly five hours. He shared in a stand of 88 for the ninth wicket with Awais Khan, which helped them avoid the follow on and took Derbyshire to within 47 of the home total. Khan made 42.

Batting again,  Lancashire reached 82-2, Rubaiyat Abrar taking both wickets to fall. 

They lead by 129 runs with a day to go.

Scorecard and clips here

Signing rumours

It was interesting to read today, thanks to Dean and Simon, that Derbyshire 'have led the pursuit of Josh de Caires' of Middlesex in recent weeks.

This comes from the cricket correspondent of The Mail, Richard Gibson, who also said that the club 'recently moved' for Somerset batter, Sean Dickson.

I understand and fully support the first. De Caires, the son of former Lancashire and England player Mike Atherton, has struggled for opportunity at Middlesex, although recently has been restored to opening the batting to good effect. He may be loathe to leave London, but could perhaps be persuaded by the success of his former team mate, Martin Andersson. He has been a great success since moving to what he has called a 'real family club'.

A more than useful off spinner as well, there is a lot of logic to the pursuit - and would be to the signing if it happened. At 23 he is a player with room to improve, wherever his future lies. The same article says that his father, who has never appeared to be a fan of ours, plays no part in his son's career, so we will see what happens on that one.

As for Dickson, I am a little puzzled. He has been a decent player and scored good runs for both Kent and Somerset, but at 34 next month he doesn't fit with the idea of a more youthful Derbyshire side. I had pretty much pencilled in a top six of Donald, Jewell, Montgomery, Madsen, Basra and Andersson for the Blast next year, quite possibly with Whiteley to follow. 

Having averaged 35 and scored at 150 for Somerset this year in The Blast, the main merit in Dickson would be if we were bringing in two overseas bowlers for T20 and keeping Caleb Jewell for the red ball and One-Day Cup. Which may be the grand plan, of course... 

The same article also said that Rocky Flintoff, whose manager is his mother, may need to leave Lancashire for first team opportunities. At 17 he is a real talent, but I would have thought his chances of early and regular senior cricket would come elsewhere. Lancashire like to bring in established players and there are a lot in front of him at the club. 

With Mickey Arthur and Freddie Flintoff working together at the Northern Superchargers, perhaps that sort of discussion might have taken place, who knows? The club's image has changed for the better with the arrival of a name international coach and Lancashire has been a fine source for us in recent years. 

Of course there is a balancing act. 

What we don't want is a second team full of surplus senior players who then block opportunity for the talent coming through the Pathway. I am sure that the coaching staff feel the same. It is why I am broadly against single-format contracts, because players need time in the middle, even if it is not in the red ball first eleven. 

Which has put the thought in my head that maybe the winter will see the departure of a player (or players) who perhaps have opportunities outside of the game. 

Such chances to move into other roles present themselves at different times and for some, a career that offers long-term stability might be a better option than a remaining year on a contract. With county cricket a stressful and challenging career, it would be understandable, at least to me.

No one expected Harold Rhodes to take up a career outside of the county game when he left for a career in the brewing industry at the age of just 33. Harold probably had a few hundred wickets left in him, but long-term planning made sense. Just as it did for Chris Armishaw, who looked a terrific bowling prospect but realised the lure of a long term better income in banking was strong. 

Gloucestershire recently lost Chris Dent to a career outside of the game, because of his struggles with anxiety. Life is short and no job is worth the stress of anything that makes it more challenging. While the opportunity to play cricket and be paid for it sounds wonderful, the pressure of having to perform and having your failures scrutinised cannot be easy. Especially when you are struggling to process the challenges yourself.

Nor can you ignore the possibility of someone else wanting to buy out the final year of a player's contract, as Essex did with Matt Critchley. Like it or not, such machinations are part of the game now. Personal circumstances also come into it, as we saw when Fynn Hudson-Prentice left to move back down south and be nearer his family.

It would explain our interest in various players, because the available playing budget would then be bigger. That we need additional support for the attack is clear. A hill that I will stand (but hopefully not die) on is my previous assertion that we need a seamer for early and spinner for late season from overseas, together with two overseas bowlers in the T20.

Such team improvements, including offering opportunity to the best of the Pathway, can only come about if the available budget is stretched in one of the above ways. 

The coming weeks will no doubt shed light on things.

Under 18s in trouble at Southport

Lancashire 279 (Kennedy 82, Maisuria 64, Stewart 3-46, Abrar 3-66, Karim 2-40, Khan 2-110)

Derbyshire 29-3

Derbyshire's under-18s fought back well on the first day of a 3-day game against Lancashire at Southport, but had a difficult time when they batted.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, the home side reached 165-2 before spinners Rubaiyat Abrar and Awais Khan started a slide. Then, after tea Matt Stewart and Ayman Karim came back to remove the tail and Lancashire were all out for 279. 

Derbyshire closed in trouble at 29-3, with recent century makers Vallabhaneni and Akhtar both out.

Looks like it was a good toss to win...

Scorecard and video clips here

In closing, it is worthy of noting the excellent efforts of Theo Brown, Lucas Green, Oscar Edwards and Tommy Bush at the Bunbury Festival, as their Midlands team won the tournament.

A nice set of videos, highlighting the talents of these youngsters can be seen here

They all acquitted themselves very well and for the county to have, respectively, a wicket-keeper/bat, seam bowler, opening bat and leg spinner is highly encouraging.

Derbyshire v Nottinghamshire Metro Bank One Day Cup game 3

Derbyshire 341-8 (Whiteley 80, Basra 72, Jewell 60, Chappell 47, Lord 2-76)

Nottinghamshire 214 (Slater 68, Aitchison 4-34, Chappell 3-57, Morley 2-61)

Derbyshire won by 127 runs

When Derbyshire supporters think back on white ball cricket 2025, two performances against Nottinghamshire will be thought of most fondly.

The win in the Vitality Blast at Trent Bridge was professional and convincing. Today we dismantled them, with a team effort which showed what this team is capable of - and what an infusion of new blood has brought to it. 

When 96-1 became 116-4 in the space of five overs, supporters can have been forgiven for setting their expectation at a score around 230. Came and Jewell batted well, the latter especially so, before Came played an unnecessary shot and was caught. Bin Naeem played some pleasing strokes but went in a similar manner, while Guest, who had looked in good touch, was brilliantly caught down the leg side by Moores. When Jewell played on, frustratingly not turning an excellent start into a definitive innings, the portents were not good. We have we seen such declines become terminal, far too often in the past.

The advent of Amrit Basra changed the momentum of the game. First with Martin Andersson, then Ross Whiteley, he took on the Nottinghamshire attack with stroke play of dazzling brilliance. His hand/eye coordination is exceptional, as is his timing. He was the senior partner in both stands, with players more experienced than he and it was magnificent to watch. He judges line and length so quickly and from being in the ascendancy, the visitors were forced onto the back foot and never again regained a foothold. 

If he hadn't done so already, Basra should today have confirmed a full-time contract for next year. He is a game-changer; he was today,  he will be in the future and players of such ability are rare commodities. The only mistake he made was putting his foot to the floor too early, in the 42nd over, when he could have just carried on as he was for another two or three before really cutting loose.

Yet today it didn't matter. Whiteley took over and partnered by the returning Zak Chappell (how good to see him back!) shared an exhilarating stand of exactly one hundred in 46 balls. Basra's 72 from 55 balls, Whiteley's 80 from 52 and Chappell's 47 from 26 turned the run chase from a sedate walk in the park to something frenetic and it was very much game on, as Derbyshire reached 341-8.

Fours and sixes flowed as the visiting bowlers and fielders buckled under pressure. It was understandable, as the strokeplay and power from all three was magnificent to watch, at least for supporters from the right side of Brian Clough Way...

I was very impressed by Whiteley today. He needs such performances to stake a claim for being around next year, but today he played the perfect hand. He knocked it around sensibly while Basra cut loose, then took over and delivered for his team. A white ball contract for 2026 could yet be his, on this showing.

Nottinghamshire needed a good start from the established pair of Hameed and Slater, but the opening bowlers, 'Aitch and H' were accurate and probing. Hameed went to a sharp catch by Jewell from Aitchison, while Haydon was wicketless but again made a good impression. He bowls accurately and looks like a young man who has worked out his game. Like Basra, he should become a fixture in Mickey's Team, Version Three.

Nottinghamshire were largely up with the required rate but regularly lost wickets, with the home ground fielding far better than that the visitors had displayed earlier. This was expertly martialed by Brooke Guest, who not only changed the bowling cleverly, with no formulaic bowling spells, but held two outstanding catches after departing to the one himself, earlier. 

The first, removing the dangerous Haynes, was a tribute to his footwork, while the second, doing unto Moores as he had himself been done to, was down to his extraordinary agility. It's a pity that Bob Taylor wasn't at the former players day today, as he would undoubtedly have approved of the skipper's glove work throughout. It isn't easy doing both of those things well and Bob himself couldn't manage it, but Brooke was highly impressive today

Slater batted nicely, but was never allowed to cut loose and eventually departed caught and bowled to Morley, who did very well here. So too did Andersson, varying his pace and proving very difficult to get away. Aitchison, who has got better with the white ball as he has got fitter (unsurprisingly) took four well-deserved wickets, with the attack looking far better in this match. Good catches were held and the ground fielding stood strong.

This was a memorable performance and a fully deserved win.

Onwards and upwards, eh? 

Derbyshire v Nottinghamshire Metro Bank preview

Zak and Jack return to the Derbyshire squad for tomorrow's game against Nottinghamshire at the Central Co-op County Ground.

Messrs Chappell and Morley are welcome additions to a thirteen-man squad, which is missing Matt Montgomery, unable to play under the terms of his loan deal. 

It is hard to call the final eleven, but the squad is as follows:

Came, Jewell, Guest, Andersson, Basra, Whiteley, Bin Naeem, Chappell, Hawkins, Aitchison, Haydon, Morley, Potts.

Nottinghamshire had a thrilling tie against Worcestershire in their last game, a stolen bye from the last ball earning them a share of the points. I wouldn't expect much of a change in their side, in which the batting is more experienced than the bowling. 

Likely eleven:

Slater, Hameed, Haynes, Seecharan, Moores, James, Sams, Pocklington, Lord, Hutton, Hayes

For me, the two sides are fairly well matched, both more experienced with the bat and it depends who performs on the day. The forecast is fine and hopefully Derbyshire can get a win under their belts. 

What do you think?

In closing, my latest interview with Matt Rhodes of North Derbyshire Radio is now available. 

You can listen to it here

I am on at the 45 minute mark. Mixing my seasons, call me the half time entertainment...

Under 18s draw at Denby

Nottinghamshire were all out for 435 against Derbyshire under 18s, replying to the home side's 504-9 today. Rain took a good chunk out of the day, which meant an inevitable draw.

In the Derbyshire second innings, Rubaiyat Abrar followed his first innings 50 with 67*, as Derbyshire reached 123-5 at the end of the game. As he also took four wickets in the Nottinghamshire innings, it is fair to say he had a fine game. 

Another young man to keep an eye on..

Glamorgan v Derbyshire Metro Bank One Day Cup

When the first post of the day from Neath confirmed that it was raining, the forecast always suggested that today would be a washout. 

It's a shame, because I felt this was a game that Derbyshire could win, but it happens in cricket and especially when the first class game is moved to outgrounds, where drainage and facilities or not of the same standard.

We move on. Next stop is Nottinghamshire, who tied today against Worcestershire. That should fill the Central Co-op County Ground! 

A suggestion for the One-Day competition

Regardless of it having been downgraded as a competition, running as a supposed alternative product to the hundred-ball 'main event', the One-Day Cup is still a hugely enjoyable competition. 

Why? Because it closely resembles a format that I grew up with, be it 60 or 55 overs. The old Gillette Cups and Nat West Trophies were terrific and there was much to commend both knock out and group formats.

Many of my favourite cricket memories came in such formats and regardless of the idiocy of the ECB in promoting another that no one else plays (nor is likely to) I suspect that will remain the case.

You can see a game ebb and flow and have a full day out at the cricket. There are elements of both red ball and T20 cricket and it is an enjoyable part of the cricket season. It is, in short, a good day out.

For me, it could still be better.

The biggest problem with it as it stands is the unfairness. Some counties have their squad decimated by the other competition, while others have few absentees. At the same time, some decide it offers a fair chance of silverware and play their strongest team - which can make for mismatches - while others decide that it is a development competition. 

So why not make it so, with a few tweaks? 

It is seen already as a means of unearthing and giving opportunity to young players, so why not make it a largely under-25 competition?

Each county can field three players of their choice over that age (who they can rotate to suit the balance of the side) plus one overseas player. But the nucleus of every side will be in young players, which ensures that counties continue to develop and offer opportunity to them.

Senior players who are not playing can do so for their allocated club side, as well as coaching and working with the county age group sides. This would enable some of them to work towards their coaching badges and a potential future career, as well as helping the next generation to progress and further help to streamline movement through age groups to senior cricket.

With players complaining about workload, counties would have an opportunity to manage this in the selection of senior players and they will still have an opportunity to work on their skills in the nets, when not required for playing duties. 

I don't think that this would be to the detriment of the competition. Far from it, I think supporters would be keen to see young talent coming through their own system and perhaps be in at the start of 'the next big thing'.

As always, I look forward to your comments!

Meanwhile at the Bunbury Festival

Oscar Edwards made 47 as the Midlands easily beat South and West in the Bunbury Festival. 

He scored at a run a ball, before Tommy Bush took 4-32 to seal a 67-run win

Doing well, these Derbyshire lads!

Scorecard here

Good day for Abrar at Denby

Rubaiyat Abrar enjoyed a good day at Denby today.

He took his overnight score to 50 as Derbyshire under 18s declared on 504-9, then took 4-107 with his slow left armers, as Nottinghamshire replied with 366-7.

Matt Stewart took 2-70 in a long day in the field.

The game looks a nailed on draw, unless there is some creativity with a declaration tomorrow.

Scorecard here

Glamorgan v Derbyshire One Day Cup preview

Anuj Dal drops out of the thirteen that was at Cheltenham the other day, as Derbyshire go with twelve for the game against Glamorgan at Neath.

It does pose the question as to why he was included for that game when he clearly wasn't fit, but I dare say we will find out in due course. 

I think it would be an idea to leave out Ross Whiteley tomorrow and allow Yusaf Bin Naeem an opportunity to impress. Of course, the contracts of both are up at the end of the season and each will want the opportunity. Yet Yusaf has a longer potential career ahead of him and I would like to think that bigger picture is looked at. 

So the Derbyshire twelve

Jewell

Came

Montgomery

Guest

Andersson 

Basra

Bin Naeem/Whiteley

Hawkins

Aitchison

Potts

Haydon

Glamorgan are laudably encouraging youth and there is no place for Messrs Northeast, Ingram, Van Der Gugten and Cooke in their squad. 

They have named the following:

Carlson, Hurle, Root, Harris, Gorvin, Morris, Leonard, ul Hassan, Smale, Horton, Tribe, Franco, Byrom

There is a chance of a shower tomorrow at Neath, but hopefully not enough to intrude too much on what should be a good game. 

There is enough in the Derbyshire side to win it, but the bowling unit has to do better than it did at Cheltenham. With the batting that we have, keeping them to under 300 gives us a chance. 

Let's see what tomorrow brings!

Vallabhaneni and Akhtar go wild at Denby!

Meanwhile, at Denby, Rohan Vallabhaneni and Hasnain Akhtar shared in a stand of 299 for the under 18s against Nottinghamshire, those runs coming in just 56 overs.

Now finished Denstone College and heading to Australia to play cricket over the winter, Vallabhaneni made 173 from 156 balls, with 3 sixes and 26 fours. It further reinforced his hugely positive impression this summer and he must surely be signed by the county, before he heads down under. From what I have seen this summer, if we don't, someone else surely will as he is a rare and exciting talent.

Akhtar went on to 191, following on from his unbeaten century against Durham last week and looks to be another outstanding young talent. He hit 2 sixes and 25 fours in his outstanding knock.

At the end of the day, Derbyshire were 486-6, Rubaiyat Abrar making a brisk unbeaten 41, Joe Hall with him on an unbeaten 23.

Not a bad effort, considering the visitors won the toss and opted to bowl!

Scorecard here

Gloucestershire v. Derbyshire One Day Cup

Gloucestershire 341-8 (Price 103, Bracey 83, Taylor 67, Charlesworth 60, Potts 3-72, Aitchison 2-88)

Derbyshire  282 (Guest 86, Montgomery 42, Basra 40, Jewell 35, Akhter 4-47)

Gloucestershire won by 59 runs

Derbyshire went down by 59 runs at Cheltenham today.

Their bowling was a bit of a curate's egg. There were plenty of reasons to be cheerful with the debut of Rory Haydon, especially after he removed the prolific Cameron Bancroft. He bowled with great control and looked a player with a future, taking 1-34 in nine overs. Joe Hawkins wasn't overawed by the big stage, nor was Amrit Basra, who probably didn't expect to bowl today.

Ben Aitchison had an off day and his figures reflect that, while the others had their moments but also took stick, from a strong batting side on a small ground. 

Fair play to Nick Potts. I didn't think that we would see him again today when he had bowled three overs for 42 runs. His third over was awful, almost demanding to be hit and it was a bold move by Brooke Guest to bring him back later. 

Yet he took 3-30 in his next five over spell and produced some excellent yorkers. There is a bowler in there, but this is an important competition for him. It is clear that we need bowlers for next season and that money largely has to come from savings on the playing budget this year. It is up to Nick to make a strong case for his retention. I really wish him well, but he cannot afford many spells like his first one today.

It was always going to be tough against a strong batting side and with an inexperienced attack. Only Miles Hammond is missing from their batting lineup and Price, Bracey, Charlesworth and Taylor all played fine knocks.

342 was always going to be a demanding target and it needed someone to go big. Came never got going, while Jewell neither suggested top form nor permanence. Montgomery, who looks a fine player, batted well with Guest, but his dismissal left much to be done.

The main problem was that we were were rarely close to the required rate, which climbed to seven, then eight. 

Then came Amrit Basra. An innings of 40 on debut accelerated the scoring in a partnership of 76 with his captain. His bat speed and timing make him a joy to watch and on this evidence a contract for 2026 should surely follow. There were three big sixes and a delightful reverse sweep in a debut that supporters will have enjoyed.

When he unluckily played on, 114 were needed from thirteen overs. The stage was set for a vintage Ross Whiteley display, but his dismissal was tame and his innings short, coming soon after Guest was caught at long on for an excellent 86. It signalled the end of Derbyshire hopes, though the tail struck some lusty blows. The returning Zaman Akhter, who will join Essex for next season, made a big difference for the home side. Bowling fast and straight, he ripped through the late order and although the Derbyshire chase showed promise, the target was simply too many.

It was a chastening start to the competition. Although there were fresh shoots of encouragement, we have to bowl better than this or there will be few ticks in the win column by the end of it.

Gloucestershire v Derbyshire Metro Bank Cup preview

Mickey Arthur has announced a squad of 13 for tomorrow's game against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham, to start the Metro Bank One Day Cup.

New signings Matt Montgomery, Amrit Basra and Rory Haydon are in the squad and will logically play, but for the first time that I can remember, I could make a case for everyone being in the final eleven. Both Anuj Dal and Martin Andersson are in the squad, as is Joe Hawkins, but so too are Nick Potts and Yousaf Bin Naeem, who will want good performances in this competition with their contracts up at the end of the summer.

The Derbyshire squad:

Guest, Jewell, Came, Montgomery, Basra, Bin Naeem, Andersson, Dal, Whiteley, Hawkins, Aitchison, Haydon, Potts

Ross Whiteley probably needs a good tournament to make his case for a contract next year. The ones with nothing to prove are Andersson, Dal (who it is good to see back) and Aitchison, but their experience will be important. You can make your own minds up!

Our hosts will be without three seamers - Marchant de Lange, Ajeet Singh Dale and David Payne, as well as Miles Hammond, all at the Hundred. Chris Dent has retired but Cameron Bancroft is available, asking with new rookie signing, Kamran Dhariwal

Are I write, there is no news on their squad, but I will add it if announced later.

As always, your thoughts are welcome. The forecast is good and if the right Derbyshire side turns up, they can acquit themselves well.

Here's hoping...

Postscript: Gloucestershire squad -

Bancroft, Shaw, Van Buuren, Charlesworth, Taylor, Akhtar, Phillips, Bracey, Miles, Taylor, Middleton, Price, Boorman, Ahmed

Under 18s make the final!

Nottinghamshire 276-8 (Lambert 109, Stewart 3-62)

Derbyshire 278-6 (Clarke 91*, Vallabhaneni 61, Kelly 40)

Derbyshire won by 4 wickets 

There was some good talent on display from both sides in the under 18 plate semi-final between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire today. 

Early on the Derbyshire seamers held sway, with all of them putting in a good shift. Ayman Karim hit the deck hard and troubled the batters, while Jake Green was more skiddy but bowled equally well. Later he varied his pace intelligently and both emerged with decent figures.

I thought the two change bowlers, Stewart and Charles, even better. Matt Stewart gets late swing and reaped the rewards for bowling the right length for it. While he got his line wrong a few times - which kept the impressive Joe Hall busy behind the stumps - and had a tendency to bowl on the pads too much today, he looked a bowler of genuine potential, perhaps not only at this level. In his last spell he got his line and length wrong and was punished, as Gangotra and Ali hit powerfully, but he can learn from this.

At the other end Charles was nippy, with a lithe, whippy action that produced plenty of challenges for the visitors. He looked another player of talent on the evidence of today, though his early spell was more consistent in line.

The spinners had more of a struggle, although Arjun Annamalai might not have played had Joe Hawkins been available. Batting appears to be his stronger suit at this stage and although he started well and held a stunning caught and bowled, his line and length later deserted him.

Rubaiyat Abrar offered more control, but missed a run-out opportunity in his second spell and couldn't produce the wickets that he so often has this summer. He is apparently still under-17, however, so can easily come back stronger.

I thought the spinners were, in their defence, left on too long when Toby Lambert got going for the visitors. He looked on a different level to his teammates and played some delightful shots around the wicket. He proceeded to what looked an inevitable century almost from the point he took guard and was most impressive today.

Joe Hall kept wicket well, though he put down a chance off Stewart that he would normally expect to hold, redeeming himself later in the over by taking a more difficult one. Then he appeared to drop a skyer off the same bowler, but effected a smart run out soon afterwards...a mixed bag, but it isn't easy to skipper a side while maintaining a high standard with the gloves - plenty before him have found that so.

The standard was overall very high and it should be remembered that these young men are the crème de la crème of their age, though naturally with much to learn. It was a pleasure to watch them, some likely not for the last time.

A total of 276 was a good effort by the visitors, more than looked likely at the halfway point. It was going to need a good run chase to match it.

Sam Cliffe didn't last long, leg before to the lively Hatton-Lowe, but a straight drive just before had confirmed his talent. 

It brought together Rohan Vallabhaneni and Rubaiyat Abrar, two players for who the grapevine is buzzing and they didn't disappoint. They shared in a twelve-over stand of 82, with the lion's share made by Vallabhaneni. While slightly sketchy outside off stump, it didn't matter, so quickly does he pick up any aberration in line or length. He hit 11 fours in his half century and thirteen in 61 before a somewhat casual shot saw him caught. He is a special talent and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him on a bigger stage.

Abrar was more circumspect than usual, because he hits the ball hard and far, but he was willing to rotate the strike and let his partner lead until failing to get over a cover drive and being caught. 

It was 100-3 in the eighteenth with those two back in the pavilion, much to the visiting relief. Freddie Clarke and Zak Kelly then shared a well-paced stand that took their side to 143-3 at half way, ahead of the required rate. The advent of spinners Patel and Beer slowed the scoring, runs still coming but boundaries drying up. The rate rose above six for the first time and pressure mounted. Kelly was eventually caught at mid on from a full toss for a well-made 40, with 92 needed from 82 deliveries.

Patel's excellent spell cost only 36 runs and gave the visitors much-needed control. The final ten overs arrived with seventy runs required and finger nails being nibbled.

Chapman, who ran hard and improvised well, perished to the first of them, caught at long on. Annamalai played a couple of good shots but then perished after failing to score from the first three balls of the pacy Gangotra.

This brought in Joe Hall, the captain. Clarke was batting really well at the other end and cool heads were needed.  That's what Derbyshire got as Hall lent crucial support to a superb knock from Clarke. The Alrewas batter finished unbeaten on a delightful 91 from 99 deliveries, as Hall hit a four through mid wicket to win the game with five balls to spare and send his team through to the final.

It was as good a game as you could wish to see, with cricket the real winner today. Both sides showcased some terrific talent and deserve warm congratulations for magnificent entertainment.

Elsewhere at the Bunbury Festival, Derbyshire's Oscar Edwards made 90 to lead the Midlands to a win over the South and East. With Theo Brown making 33 from 18 deliveries and both Lucas Green and Tommy Bush bowling, it was a fine day for the Derbyshire boys.

Warm congratulations to Daryn Smit and his coaching team for all of their hard work. And of course to the under-18s for a genuine team effort today in which every member contributed fully to the success.

Oh - and thanks to Derbyshire CCC for running the stream today!

If you enjoyed today's game, these two sides face off in a three-day game at Denby from Tuesday to Thursday this week. 

After today's entertainment, that sounds well worth attending!

Scorecard and video clips here

Matt Montgomery signs from Nottinghamshire

On July 5, I suggested that my number one target for next summer would be Matt Montgomery of Nottinghamshire.

Today came news that he has signed a deal with Derbyshire for the next 3 seasons, as well as the One-Day Cup and I think it represents excellent business.

I have liked him for a few years and always found it strange that he couldn't get into the Nottinghamshire side. When he did, opportunities were limited and he frequently found himself batting at seven or eight in the order. 

This is a player who averages 32 in red ball cricket and 42 in white ball. He is only 25 and has the potential to realise his undoubted talent with a move to Derbyshire. 

He was captain of South Africa under-19s and played for Kwa Zulu Natal before moving to England to study at Loughborough University. He has been on the staff at Trent Bridge since 2021 and in limited opportunities has made two centuries - 178 against Durham and 177 against Essex. I do like a batter who 'goes big' when he gets in.

Were I in charge of selection for T20 in 2026, my top five would be Jewell, Donald, Madsen, Montgomery and Basra. I think he is a player with the potential to replace Wayne Madsen in time, while turning back the time to when the maestro also used to bowl miserly offspin in the short form of the game. He is hard to get away and it allows the selection of Brooke Guest in the side as there are two bowlers (Basra the other) in that top five. 

You probably realise I am very happy with this signing. I look forward to seeing him score a lot of runs for Derbyshire, while chipping in with his share of wickets.

Top marks from me. I have seen suggestions that he is replacing Samit Patel, which I guess to some extent he is. Yet Samit, with respect, was past his very impressive best in his time at Derbyshire.

Montgomery isn't close to what he can do at this stage. 

That potential is something that I look forward to being realised in Derbyshire colours.

Four Pathway players at Bunbury Festival

Good luck and warm congratulations to four young Derbyshire Pathway lads, as they represent the Midlands at the Bunbury Festival at Loughborough this week.

This is unheard of representation from our county and shows the hard work that they and the Pathway coaches are putting in.

The photo shows Tommy Bush, Oscar Edwards, Lucas Green and Theo Brown (photographer unknown)

Battling draw for under-18s

The under-18s got a solid draw against Durham at Repton, after a battling final day performance. 

231 behind on the first innings, Ayman Karim took his night watchman duties seriously and batted 48 overs for 42, while Sam Cliffe made 39. 

Hasnain Akhtar then batted three and a half hours for a fine century, including eleven fours and a six. Although a flurry of quick wickets gave Durham hope, Danny Chapman followed his first innings 84 with an unbeaten 23, as he and Akhtar took Derbyshire to 243-5 at the end of the game.

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire day four

Derbyshire 377 and 185-5 (Reece 61*, Guest 60*)

Northamptonshire 550-9d

Match drawn

I am always amused at the antics of a fielding side as they attempt to bowl out the last few wickets of a team fighting to avoid defeat.

Here Northamptonshire, who had been quite slow on the first day, especially in the afternoon, hurried through their overs as if their jock straps were coated with Fiery Jack. Every time the ball hit a pad there were strident appeals, remarkably from midwicket and third man on some replays. Not the vantage point one would choose from which to take guard, I suspect, so hardly best-placed to give an informed decision.

Yet after the early dismissal of Hawkins, Luis Reece and Brooke Guest stood firm. Reece was hampered by what seemed to be a recurrence of a hamstring strain, while Guest was adjudged caught at short mid-wicket by Northamptonshire, but not by the two umpires. He rightly stood his ground and batted on, sharing in a crucial, unbroken sixth wicket stand of 131 runs in which both batted admirably.

It was a fine effort by Derbyshire to escape with the draw, admittedly aided by the weather today. They played a lot of good cricket in this match and the discipline of yesterday's long bowling effort - only sixteen extras, seven of them leg byes, in 156 overs compared favourably to the home side, who gave away 61 across two innings. 

The attack needs an injection of fresh blood, without doubt. But I don't see the point in bringing in another overseas at this stage to replace Blair Tickner. Glamorgan are 24 points clear in second place after a terrific run of form and I don't see us making that up. Nor do I see the merit in an overseas player for the one day cup. Save the money, or use it on opportunity for another young player if needed, unless someone who is coming next year can leave early to bolster the ranks.

With Tickner going home, Brown at the Hundred, Reece potentially injured again and Chappell possibly ruled out on personal grounds, we are running out of seam bowling options. There's also Dal out until the end of the Hundred and Andersson limited by back spasms... it looks like Aitchison and Haydon will need to be wrapped in cotton wool for the weekend.

Will it bring further opportunity for someone on the Pathway? 

We will need to wait and see.

Thoughts on Arthur and recruitment

'I think our bowling needs some serious looking at and I have to be brutally honest when I watch us. We are an ageing team, slow in the field in most positions and slow between the wickets. That's not the brand of cricket I like. 

We gave it a good go with the players we had, but we'll turn it over now and for me it's about bringing in younger players, perhaps taking a bit of pain for a year or two, in order to build a really good young team'

So speaks Mickey Arthur in the latest issue of The Cricketer magazine. I am probably not the only one a little confused and not for the first time during his tenure.

This IS his team. He told us when he joined the club 'Judge me when I have my team' and we all assumed he had it by now, in year three, with the drastic overhaul of playing staff. His words suggest he is here (or plans to be) for the long haul, but is this cricket management by the unscientific process of 'throw enough mud at the wall and some of it will stick'?

This 'ageing team' was largely signed, or re-signed by Mickey and he has to own that. My wife wouldn't profess to be a cricketing sage, but when I told her we would have two blokes over 40 in our T20 side, her first words were 'but won't they be a bit slow'? Maybe she and I should take over, the Clough and Taylor of Derbyshire cricket...

Supporters will now be watching the said overhaul of Derbyshire cricket with even keener eyes. If we replace over-thirties with more of the same, there will rightly be questions asked. Of course you need experience in a side, but someone has to do the legwork and you can't hide them all in the field. Signing talented young men with reputations to build is a decent start - Amrit Basra and Rory Haydon being prime examples.

I have seen names tossed around as potential signings - Billy Root, Jonny Tattersall, Nick Browne, Chris Rushworth as examples. But would they transform us? Or have long term potential? Good cricketers all, but for me there is greater mileage in looking at players like Ben Martindale or Sam King at Nottinghamshire or Harry Singh at Lancashire. I don't see where Rocky Flintoff gets game time at Lancashire either, while Tom Aspinwall might be pushed further down the line with the possible signing of Ajeet Singh Dale.

Here's another comment from Arthur:

"Our pathway is consistently producing exciting talents, and we want to bring those players into the first team environment, to give them the best possible chance of succeeding in professional cricket with Derbyshire."

Of course we need to promote the best of the Pathway, but by the same token we cannot simply elevate four or five talented under-18s and expect them to become the cricketing equivalent of the Busby Babes. Their step to sustained second eleven performance is big, that up to the first team much bigger.

As a sage old professional said to me, you might score runs or take wickets in the second team against experienced players. Yet they are finding form and rhythm, not going flat out and not providing the pressure of the senior game. Joe Hawkins is a terrific young player, but figures at Northampton of 2-171 in 39 overs will show him how far he has to go. To be fair to him, he will have rarely bowled more than ten overs in an innings, so he probably poured himself into bed last night, after the physical and mental effort.

What has really surprised me this summer is the nigh complete falling off of a side that before the T20 was going very well. That they have largely battled is beyond doubt, but our unbeaten record was built around commendable rearguard efforts and a fair few of those draws would not be classed as 'winning' ones in the league cricket that I played.

We haven't helped ourselves by muddled preparation. After losing to Leicestershire, Arthur said he felt our best chance of beating them was by preparing a spinning pitch. Which doesn't say a lot for Blair Tickner or the chances of him returning, but says even less about the support he has had from pitch preparation. 

It was the same for the Blast...we had an overseas spinner, Mohammad Ghazanfar, from the white ball team of the year, together with an experienced international spinner as captain, yet never played to that obvious strength. I don't recall much deviating off straight at Derby, which would seem a fairly major oversight. If I had two such bowlers in my team, I would ensure the pitches were just on the acceptable side of Blackpool beach..

Having signed Caleb Jewell for next summer, Arthur has to split the second role AND order pitches to suit them. A seamer for the first batch of red ball, a spinner for the second, an all rounder for the Blast. Sure, it is nice to have someone there all summer, but Northamptonshire got it right by signing Chahal for this part of the summer. Surely that famous contacts book can unearth a decent spinner in Asia? You would hope a good seamer shouldn't be a challenge either, but he has to have early season pitches that offer something to work with. As for the T20, a bowler who can hit a long ball has to be the target. If the rumoured signing of Matt Montgomery comes through, a top five of Donald, Jewell, Madsen, Montgomery and Basra (hopefully) would surely get runs on the board? 

Clarity of thought - and feel free to disagree if you will - is all important. That is in-game too. I fully understand why Zak Chappell opened yesterday, but using Joe Hawkins as a night watchman means that it is likely our first innings century-maker, Martin Andersson, won't bat until number nine. Assuming they get on the pitch today.

There have been countless examples of muddled messages and thinking this year and that is the concern. 'My team' mark one hasn't worked. Supporters have a right to be sceptical if mark two is going to be any better.  Maybe it is worth seeing where it goes for next year, not least because recruitment has to start again if we don't. Players will have agreed to come by this stage and plans for the best of our young talent to come onto the staff will be advanced. 

But he has to get it right. Not least because the questions over coaching style will again raise their heads if he doesn't and, to use the Glasgow vernacular, his jaiket will be on a shoogly hook if he doesn't.

It has to be.

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire day 3

My wife and I are out at the theatre in Glasgow tonight, so there will be no blog on the day's play until tomorrow, when I pull in the last two days.

As we leave, Derbyshire are 46-3 and facing an innings defeat, a somewhat bizarre occurrence after the optimism of day one.

There are many talking points that I will address at the end of the match, but please add your comments on the day's play below.

Under 18s facing last day battle

Derbyshire's under 18s have a fight on their hands to save the game against Durham at Repton. 

The visitors made 497-6 today, in reply to the home score of 266 all out. Ghumman made 178, while Matt Stewart stuck to his task well and returned the best figures of 3-94.

So tomorrow is all about batting out time. The young players have shown their ability to score quickly in the shorter forms of the game, so it will be good to see another side to them, all being well, on the third and final day

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire day 2

Derbyshire 377

Northamptonshire 265-5 (Procter 71, Broad 64*, Bartlett 60* Reece 2-70)

Derbyshire lead by 112 runs

Derbyshire were unable to press home the advantage of their good batting effort at Northampton, with the home side rallying, as they did themselves, with a good lower order effort. 

At 154-5, with the dismissal of Saif Zaib by Joe Hawkins (not Dawkins or Wilkins as various media outlets have called him), the home side were rocking. Then an unbroken stand of 110 between Bartlett and Broad steered them to calmer waters by the close. The irony that the stand was between two players who Derbyshire actively pursued in recent winters was not lost on me...

The Derbyshire first innings was a good effort, but the expectation was perhaps that the pitch might deteriorate more quickly than it appears to have done. Reece bowled brilliantly between lunch and tea, while Hawkins did as well as one might expect from an 18-year old in his first match. He was a little short in his length early on, but will be proud of his opening wicket, that of the division's leading run scorer.

Tickner bowled with aggression but couldn't make the breakthrough, while both Chappell and Aitchison huffed and puffed tidily but couldn't break down the door.

Bartlett and Broad batted very well, as earlier did Procter, despite a fierce blow on the arm from Tickner. 

Early wickets are needed tomorrow, when rain looks likely to truncate proceedings.

Finally a word on the commentators. I don't often listen, because I prefer my own thoughts, but I thought they were very good today and even-handed in their comments. That isn't always the case on the circuit and I doff my cap to them for a job well done.

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire day1

Derbyshire 348-8 (Andersson 105, Reece 39, Donald 37, Aitchison 33*, Chappell 32, Hawkins 29* Chahal 4-116)

v Northamptonshire

A terrific rearguard action by Derbyshire at Northampton today put them in a good position after day one.

It is hard to judge a pitch until both sides have batted on it and the cause wasn't helped when Jack Morley was injured before the match and missed out. With Alex Thomson out with a broken finger, it meant the spin department on a turning pitch was 18-year old debutant Joe Hawkins, of who more later..

That Derbyshire reached 348-8 was largely due to a magnificent century from Martin Andersson. It was his third of the summer and for me, the best. He was assertive and played strokes all around the wicket. He has developed into a serious player and should only get better.

There was help for seam and spin alike, while a variable bounce on the first morning was presumably a concern for the home side when they lost the toss and were consigned to batting last on it. 

The variable bounce did for Caleb Jewell, leg before to a short ball that trapped him low on the shin, before Came went the same way to a leg spinner.

It was 89-5 before we knew it, after being 82-1 three overs earlier. Something we have seen before and the expectation was that the home side would likely be batting before tea. 

Yet Andersson batted superbly and hit fourteen boundaries in his century. Donald lent good support for a while, without suggesting permanence, as did Chappell, who will likely be annoyed to be dismissed on the reverse sweep when he too was going well.

Yet even their dismissal  did not end the resistance, as Hawkins and Aitchison added an unbroken 48 runs for the 9th wicket. We know that Ben can handle a bat, but here we saw the debut of Hawkins, who was clearly not fazed by the situation, pitch or opposition. He has a good technique and used it to counter pace and spin alike, surviving with a degree of comfort to fight another day. He also played a contender for shot of the innings, a delightful cover driven four.

Some of the home side fielding was decidedly average and Scrimshaw's drop was pretty shocking. Mind you, so was the incessant noise from the slips, who seemed to go full on Frankie Howerd whenever the ball didn't hit the middle of the bat. I put the sound off when they got excited at Luis Reece leaving a ball eighteen inches outside off stump. There's really no need for that.

Chahal was a danger all day, but bowled some loose stuff too and his figures reflect it. 

Derbyshire will be the happier at the close. And I didn't expect to write that at one o'clock this afternoon.

Postscript... this afternoon I enjoyed a long chat with Edwin Smith and we reminisced about when he took eight for 21 in his second appearance at the age of 17. He could relate to Joe Hawkins today and if Joe becomes half as good a cricketer, we will be happy.

Edwin reminded me of a trip to Northampton in the 1950s. They got to the ground to find a green wicket and his expectation was of little bowling. 

When they went out to the middle, they found a 'beach', with grass cuttings on it to give the impression of a green top. His spirits rose as he anticipated a long bowl and some wickets.

Alas, Cliff Gladwin and Les Jackson bowled them out, with support from Donald Carr's slow left arm. Edwin barely bowled, a harsh lesson for a youngster, as had been being dropped from the side after his 8-21.

I suspect Joe will bowl a lot of overs here..

Under 18's in Derby semi final against Nottinghamshire!

From the club website:

Derbyshire Boys Under 18s will face Nottinghamshire at The Central Co-op County Ground this Sunday, in the semi-final of the ECB County Plate. 

Having already overcome Durham and Lancashire in the earlier rounds, Derbyshire will now host their local rivals at Derby this Sunday, with a place in the final of the 50-over competition up for grabs.

Batter, Rohan Vallabhaneni, is averaging 50 in the tournament, while Matthew Stewart and Rubaiyat Abrar have claimed five wickets apiece, a number bettered by only three bowlers.

Entry will be free for the fixture, which will begin at 11am on Sunday 3 August. Please note, the Members Lounge in Monarch Security Pavilion will not be open for this fixture.

**Hopefully a good few people can get down to see some of our stars of tomorrow, playing for silverware.

It should be a terrific game. Hopefully the club will also run a stream of the match. 

Book Review: Around the World in 40 Years by Andy Moles with Geoffrey Dean

I am very much of an age where I remember Andy Moles, the player.

While he never looked the fittest, he was among the most consistent and for a decade was an outstanding opening bat for Warwickshire. He averaged over 40 in that time and only Peter Bowler of Derbyshire and James Hildreth of Somerset managed to do that without any international recognition. 

His autobiography is a joy to read. Co-written with Geoffrey Dean of The Times, it is chock full of stories and anecdotes, most of them new to me. His career is an object lesson in never giving up hope. He didn't get into the first class game until he was 25, yet thereafter the runs flowed from his bat, until a snapped Achilles tendon ended his career prematurely at the age of 36. 

Subsequently, he travelled the world and became a leading coach in South Africa, Kenya, Scotland, England and New Zealand. His last coaching role was as director of cricket for Afghanistan where he coached for nearly six years. Then an MRSA infection in his toe led to the amputation of his lower left leg. The section on his experiences in Afghanistan is worth the purchase price alone.

I would have loved to see him as a coach in county  cricket, where I think he would have been a great success. There was a time time when I thought he would have been a very good option for Derbyshire, but it never came about. 

His insights on playing alongside Brian Lara and Alan Donald are fascinating, but so too are his accounts of that outstanding Warwickshire side, under Dermot Reeve. His thoughts on batting and on coaching players reinforce his reputation as a thinking man, someone who would undoubtedly improve you if you listened. He played under Bob Woolmer, of course, one of the great innovators in cricket coaching.

Like a few books of late, it isn't the easiest of reads, especially when one gets to the point at which he lost a leg. But it is one that will be enjoyed by all cricket fans, especially those from the West Midlands. 

I enjoyed his honesty in this book and it is further proof that some of the best cricket books are not necessarily about the biggest names.

Highly recommended

Around The World in 40 Years is written by Andy Moles with Geoffrey Dean

Under 18s game in balance at end of first day

Derbyshire under 18s were all out for 266 against Durham today at Repton.

Sam Cliffe made 51 and Zak Kelly 41 at the top of the order, before Danny Chapman made 84, sharing a stand of 69 with Rubaiyat Abrar (36)

At the close, Durham were 44-1

Northamptonshire v Derbyshire preview

Both Amrit Basra and Joe Hawkins are included in a thirteen-man Derbyshire squad for the four-day game against Northamptonshire that starts tomorrow. 

I would hope that both play and have an opportunity to showcase their obvious talents. With the pitch expected to turn, one of the seamers is likely to miss out. Blair Tickner plays his final match for the club, heading home to New Zealand afterwards.

My preferred team:

Jewell, Came, Guest, Madsen, Basra, Donald, Reece, Chappell, Hawkins, Tickner, Morley

Andersson, Aitchison also in the squad but the former's back spasms are a concern and we will need Ben for the One Day Cup.

Luke Procter returns after missing the last game, while Justin Broad is back after a wrist injury. The home squad:

Procter, Bartlett, Broad, Chahal, Guthrie, Keogh, McManus, Ramesh, Sales, Scrimshaw, Vasconcelos, Zaib

 Yuzi Chahal will expect to be bowling at one end for much of the match, while Saif Zaib will want to build on his tally as the first man in division two to reach a thousand runs this summer. Caleb Jewell (916 runs) and Wayne Madsen (914) will hope to join him on that landmark during this game, while Harry Came needs 285 from his last eight innings to do so for Derbyshire.

Rain interruptions appear likely, with Thursday looking especially wet in the current forecast. The toss will be important, as neither side will want to bat last on a surface that normally turns at this stage of the summer.

Accordingly, I can't call a result, but the weather may take too much time out of the game and a draw could be the most likely scenario.

What do you think? 

Hawkins signs short-term deal

More excellent signing news from Derbyshire this afternoon, with Joe Hawkins signing a contract with the club until the end of August. 

This will see him eligible for the entirety of the One-Day Cup, as well as tomorrow's game at Northampton. With the pitch there liable to take spin and Alex Thomson out with a broken finger, my guess is that he will make his county debut.

I think he has a very bright future and he has looked like a young man with huge potential from when I first saw him. He is composed and organised as a batter, disciplined and unfazed as a bowler.

I am sure he will not be the last from a very encouraging assembly line in the Pathway. 

Reece signs new two year deal

Good news to start the week for Derbyshire fans, as Luis Reece has signed a new two-year deal at the club.

It will take him to a decade with the county and he has been one of our best signings in recent years. Whatever the future holds with regard to the promotion of youth, they need to be surrounded by good, reliable senior professionals in order to progress. He is definitely one of those.

With a batting average of just under 50, to go with 34 wickets at 18 runs each, it can be safely said that Luis has returned to his finest form this summer. The hamstring injury was unfortunate, but he showed on his return that the break has not impaired his effectiveness.

It will be good to see his talents in the county colours for another two seasons, hopefully with more to come.

Big win for under 18s

Finally tonight, there was a terrific 106 run win for the county under 18s today, against Lancashire at Spondon Cricket Club.

Winning the toss and opting to bat, Joe Hall (wicket keeper/captain like Brooke Guest) saw Cliffe (64) Abrar (24) and Vallabhaneni (43) give Derbyshire a brisk start in this 50 over game.

A middle order slump saw the score drop to 158-6, but Chapman (50) steadied things before Jake Green hit a 22-ball half century with four sixes and four fours.

The final total of 287 proved far too much for Lancashire, although Barrow followed his 4-37 with the highest score of 49. 

Matt Stewart, a young seam bowler who looks one to watch, returned astonishing figures of 5-27, while Rubaiyat Abrar, who opens the batting and hits very powerfully, took 3-25 with his clever left arm spin as Lancashire were all out for 181.

I am extremely excited at the ability in our age group cricketers and there is good reason for that 

Scorecard and limited videos can be seen here

Bedfordshire v Derbyshire friendly

Derbyshire 338-8 (Guest 100, Basra 87, Came 79, Andersson 30)

Bedfordshire 243-8 (Tarling 94, Houghton 41, Johnson 38, Potts 3-56, Aitchison 2-51, Basra 1-32, Haydon 1-38)

Derbyshire won by 95 runs

There was a good and encouraging run out for Derbyshire against Bedfordshire today, in a match where they ran out winners by 95 runs.

Having been put in to bat, Derbyshire batted steadily, after losing Mitch Wagstaff for 20. Harry Came made 79 from 88 balls, before the stand of the innings was shared by skipper Brooke Guest (100 from 90 deliveries with nine fours) and Amrit Basra, who made 87 from just 46 deliveries, with six fours and six sixes. They added 152 in sixteen overs for the fifth wicket.

The final total of 338-8 was solid, if not spectacular and was going to take some chasing. 

Bedfordshire had a decent batting line up. Jake Tarling, formerly of Leicestershire, made 141 off Kent last season and here scored 94, but oddly slowly at a rate of only 75. Kashif Ali, formerly of Worcestershire was in the side, as was Jamie Dunk of Scotland and Leicestershire. 

A young Derbyshire attack bowled tidily, Rory Haydon's opening spell being 8-1-25-1, while Joe Hawkins was sensibly brought into the attack early and bowled three tidy overs for just nine runs. Mitch Wagstaff sustained an injury and had his third over finished by Harry Came, while Nick Potts took two quick wickets to set the run chase back.

That is the frustrating thing about Nick. He does take wickets, but his first four overs went for 23 and those loose one or two balls an over often ruin his figures. But hie finished with three wickets here, a good effort.

Joe Hawkins took a wicket too and Haydon finished with the most economical analysis on the day. Basra bowled seven tidy overs to finish off Wagstaff's spell to complete a memorable debut, even if the figures won't count in career records.

It will be interesting to see how performances here affect Mickey Arthur's first choice side. I would love to see youngsters given a go in this competition, when they will admittedly face a higher level of opposition. Yet Arthur will see it as a trophy to win, understandably so.

As it stands, I expect a first choice side to look something like this:

Jewell, Came, Guest, Basra, Reece, Whiteley, Andersson, Chappell, Aitchison, Morley, Haydon. 

I would like to see Wagstaff (injury permitting) Potts and Hawkins in the mix, but it would need a massive shift in selection policy and would surprise me. 

And the above side doesn't include David Lloyd..

Squad v Bedfordshire

Brooke Guest has been announced as skipper for the one-day cup and a pleasingly young squad has been announced for the game against Bedfordshire today:

Brooke Guest (c/wk)
David Lloyd
Harry Came
Mitch Wagstaff
Yousaf bin Naeem
Amrit Basra
Joe Hawkins
Ben Aitchison
Pat Brown
Jack Morley
Rory Haydon
Nick Potts

I am unsure if there is a stream for this friendly, but will keep my eyes open for one later!

Weekend thoughts

I had an interesting exchange of messages with a friend last night, regarding the Mickey Arthur position. That's not a weird Kama Sutra thing, for the record...

He pointed out - and rightly- that Derbyshire COULD afford to dispose of his services, just as Lancashire did with Darren Benkenstein. By simply getting someone to 'act up' in his place for a more modest salary increase than an external appointment, with a guarantee of a return to their substantive role if they didn't get the job on a permanent basis. 

The time to do it, of course, would be as soon as the season has finished and the dust has settled on the different competitions. We will then know if the admitted concentration on red ball skills at the expense of the white ball was worthwhile, or if it promised much, yet ultimately came to naught. We know that the somewhat unbelievable 'white ball will take care of itself' didn't happen, at least in T20.

My concern remains, as I wrote yesterday, that we leave it until the end of next season and the new incumbent has contracts to renew and a possible replacement for Wayne Madsen to find. It would be a huge job. 

In addition, it would only encourage short termism and perhaps the recruitment of players who are deemed ready, rather than with a strong development potential. Then leave the next coach to deal with them..

Appointing from within makes sense.

What would make even more sense would be giving the job to Daryn Smit.

No one knows the talent coming through the Pathway better than he does and his articulate manner and people skills would make him a very strong candidate. 

Listen to the recent Falcons Nest Podcast, where he seems really enthused about the quality of the talent coming through. Not just Joe Hawkins, but also wicket keeper bat Joe Hall, who came to the Pathway from Yorkshire and has scored a lot of runs, as well as keeping wicket to a very high standard (he caught or stumped all the victims in Hawkins' hat trick earlier this season). There's also Rohan Vallabhaneni, a stylish free-scoring bat from Denstone College and Staffordshire and Jake Green, a talented opening bowler, while Zak Kelly appears an all rounder of talent.

In the younger age groups, Theo Brown, Tommy Bush, Oscar Edwards and Lucas Green will feature for the Midlands-based Bunbury side in August, having already won a two-day red ball fixture against the South and West.

In that game, Edwards scored an unbeaten half-century, Brown showed his attacking ability with 60 runs and leg-spinner Bush and seamer Green were amongst the wickets. Edwards, who plays for Clifton, Smit's own club, scored a century on debut for their first eleven, having moved from Leek Cricket Club and while playing for the Pathway under-15s, is still under 14.

For me, having a man in place who has identified some of the best young talent in the area is the way to go. My opinion, for what it is worth, aligns neatly with Smit, that we clear a path through to second team cricket and have a natural progression to the full county side. We cannot simply release lads at 18, when some might just need a little extra time to develop.

Let's see how the remainder of the season goes. The influx of new blood may galvanise the side for the Metro Bank Trophy, but a decision will need to be made at the end of the season, in the best interests of the club.

Watch this space ..

Derbyshire v Leicestershire day four

Leicestershire 398 and 236-9

Derbyshire 189 and 256 (Thomson 55, Chappell 50, Guest 32, Ahmed 7-93)

Leicestershire won by 189  runs

There was laudable resistance from the Derbyshire lower order today, but the first innings failings came back to bite them and they went down by 189 runs.

Perhaps there is an argument for Zak Chappell moving up the order next season, especially in the T20. He isn't always a secure starter, but when he does get his feet moving he scores quickly and hits powerfully. He did so today and is is a much improved batter. 

Brooke Guest and Alex Thomson also fought hard in the resistance (not THAT resistance..) but there was too much to do for too few people. Special mention also for Jack Morley, who will be disappointed with his bowling in this game, but resisted for 85 balls at number eleven.

Next up for Derbyshire is a fifty-over warm up against Bedfordshire on Sunday, before the red ball action moves to Northampton on Tuesday.

Postscript: after the game Mickey Arthur revealed that Alex Thomson sustained a broken finger and will obviously be out for a while. Martin Andersson still has a back spasm but will play on Sunday, along with Amrit Basra and Rory Haydon. 

Meanwhile Anuj Dal will not be back until towards the end of the Metro Bank Cup. 

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.

Derbyshire v Leicestershire day 3

Please add your comments on the day's play here

Derbyshire v Leicestershire day two

Please add your comments here and I will add as soon as I can...

Basra and Haydon sign for Metro Bank Trophy

Not that I am claiming any responsibility, but I am delighted to see that two players that I have been advocating for some time have been signed up for the Metro Bank One Day Cup 

Amrit Basra and Rory Haydon fully deserve to be given an opportunity to play themselves into a contract for next summer. In the ongoing game against Hampshire, the second team are under the cosh, but top order bat Basra made 70 out of 191, while seam bowler Haydon has the excellent figures of 18-6-30-2 in a total of 221-2. 

There is no risk in such players, only a chance to reduce the age of the staff and discover two gems for the future. Both have been in fine form for the second team, while Haydon has also been in the wickets for Staffordshire. Basra looks a highly talented stroke player, who only needs to convert some of these fine fifties into centuries to become a genuine prospect.

With three players away at the Hundred and Blair Tickner returning to New Zealand after next week's game, there is obvious game time for both of them in the coming weeks.

I hope that they make the most of it.

Derbyshire v Leicestershire day one

Leicestershire 354-3 ( Hill 131*, Ahmed 115, Handscomb 99*)

v Derbyshire

Derbyshire took two wickets in the first eight deliveries today, then took only one more during the rest of the day. 

It was a hard day's graft on a good batting pitch, a good toss to win and not the best of balls to have to use to get any response at all.

Leicestershire are firmly in the box seat at the end of the first day and already it looks like a battle to stay in the game, when our turn comes, presumably at some point later tomorrow. 

Martin Andersson missed out with a back spasm and Nye Donald took his place in a lengthy batting order. With the pitch being used for the fourth time this summer, the visitors will have banked on it offering greater response for their spinners on the last two days than it did today.

That may turn out to be the case, but after the early dismissals of Budinger and Patel, the visiting batting lineup was largely untroubled all day. 

Ahmed made a delightful century and he has been in prime form this season. He is very much an eye player and it will be interesting, as his career progresses, to see if his technique still allows him to score prolifically as he gets older. At the moment, once he gets in he looks a million dollars and he scored pretty much at will through the morning and early afternoon. 

His dismissal was a surprise, but that was as good as it got for Derbyshire, with Hill making a more patient but classy century, before Handscomb helped him in an unbroken stand of 188 for the fourth wicket. Leicestershire are certainly getting good value from their overseas player, as batter, wicket keeper and captain in this match. Maybe he even drove the team bus on the way over...

There was a wicket each for Reece, Tickner and Chappell but I suspect Ben Aitchison, Pat Brown, Martin Andersson and Anuj Dal will regard this as a good day to miss.

The next three days will be pivotal to Derbyshire's hopes of promotion. Glamorgan's game against Kent looks certain to produce a positive result and it could be that we drop out of the promotion places without a good response here. 

I will leave it to you to comment on the next two days, as my wife and I are having a couple of days away with our dogs.

As usual, I will provide a page on which you can comment at the end of the day.

Derbyshire v Leicestershire preview

There were a couple of puzzles today in the 14 man squad announced by Mickey Arthur, ahead of tomorrow's massive red ball fixture against Leicestershire at the Central Co-op County Ground.

Pat Brown was announced in it, despite also being skipper of the second team game at Repton. I could have understood that if he had wanted a few overs to loosen up, but having won the toss he opted to bat, meaning he is either not in the plans for the first team or it was a little pointless to be skipper of the seconds,  merely to toss a coin.

The other talking point was the absence - without explanation - of Anuj Dal. I don't know the reason for that, but it seemed a little odd 

Whatever, there are decisions to be made on the final eleven and I would guess we won't go with two spinners. The likeliest eleven is this one, which would ignore Nye Donald's Blast form

Jewell, Lloyd, Came, Madsen, Guest, Reece, Andersson, Chappell, Aitchison, Tickner, Morley

Donald, Brown, Thomson also in the squad

You can make a case to omit Andersson, but he has been a standout in this format this year. The same for Chappell, but he is the accepted leader of the attack and for Aitchison, who has been taking regular wickets in the Blast. Besides, were the injury to Luis Reece to recur, we wouldn't want to be a seam bowler down. Much will depend on how fit Luis is after a lengthy lay off. A brave decision would see Donald open instead of David Lloyd, but then you lose the second spinner option and red ball/white ball opening gigs are very different games.

Decisions, decisions...

As for Leicestershire, they haven't yet announced their squad. Logan van Beek has had a fantastic summer for them and will again lead the attack, while the aggressive opening pair of Patel and Budinger, followed by the dangerous Rehan Ahmed will aim to get on the front foot quickly. With Ian Holland back from the United States, they will be strong opponents and Derbyshire will need to be at their best. 

With rain, looking likely to take time out of the game, I think this will be a draw, but it should make for compelling viewing. 

What do you think? 

Book Review: The Cricket Captains of England by Vic Marks

Writing a companion volume, or follow-up to a wordsmith so outstanding as Alan Gibson would have been a daunting prospect for any writer. 

As I wrote in the review of that book, Gibson's way with words and floral prose set him in the highest echelons of cricket writing. 

Yet if any modern writer were to take on that mantle, Vic Marks was best suited for the job. He had played under four of the captains discussed here, which gave him a stronger insight into the way that they worked than even Gibson had. He has also been in the press box for the rest and so is admirably qualified for the job. 

His own assertion that, after following Richards and Botham in the batting order at Somerset he was now doing the same for their literary equivalent is indicative to the style, wisdom and generosity that he brings to this book. 

As in the original, not all of those who reached the highest cricket playing position in the country were worthy of the role, but the likes of Mike Brearley, Andrew Strauss and Ben Stokes have been worthy successors to Jardine and Hutton of previous eras. 

This is a wonderfully engaging read, perceptive and full of stories that in many cases I hadn't heard before. That in itself is a feat, as cricket literature has a habit of regurgitating and in some cases reattributing stories across the years. 

Besides looking very good on your book shelves, with similar covers, The Cricket Captains of England will be books that you will pick up and read a section again and again, the truest indicator of a fine book.

Once again, top marks to Fairfield Books for bringing the original book up to date. Especially with an author whose talents are worthy of the job.

Sequels can often be a letdown. 

This one most certainly isn't. Top marks to all concerned.

The Cricket Captains of England 1979-2025 is written by Vic Marks and published by Fairfield Books

Jewell signs on for 2026!

Good news this morning as Derbyshire announced a return for Caleb Jewell in 2026.

With 1180 runs across two competitions so far and with 'power to add', as they say these days, it makes a lot of sense to secure his services early. 

Even some of the bigger names of Derbyshire overseas history struggled in their first season and while Caleb will have wanted to convert more of his red ball fifties into three figures, he has done well. A good Metro Bank Trophy and end to the red ball game will see him pushing towards two thousand runs across all formats, an excellent effort.

He has also fielded well wherever required, but especially at slip, where his secure presence has undoubtedly been appreciated by the Derbyshire bowlers. 

It doesn't change my assertion that we need another bowler for white ball cricket next year, but he must come from this country, unless we again go for another 'two from three' scenario, as we did this summer. But with clubs finding it hard to get overseas players for more than a month, the continuity will undoubtedly serve them well.

It represents good business by Mickey Arthur and hopefully the runs keep coming, for a player undoubtedly enjoying the county game.