Weekend warmer

It probably came as no surprise to anyone that Derbyshire's preseason tour to Zimbabwe has been cancelled.

Other counties have had to do the same, but the county players will instead head out to Desert Springs in Spain from 14 to 20 March, before returning to play friendlies against Leicestershire and Leeds/Bradford UCCE.

With the Qatar Airways flight due to pass through Doha, the cancellation was a common sense and easy decision, but pre-season plans will otherwise continue as before.

I can't wait, to be honest. Long time readers will know that I usually err on the side of optimism - sometimes for no good reason, other than my mentality - but this year seems to have captured the imagination of cricket followers elsewhere. 

As a friend said to me the other day, when have you ever seen the bookies odds as favourable as they are this year? Then again, when did we last have two current international bowlers in our red ball attack? While I am unsure as to how many overs Shoaib Bashir will bowl in the early season, Mohammad Abbas will be quickly into his groove and the thought of his opening pairing with (one assumes) Luis Reece is mouth-watering.

I'm no betting man. Indeed, in my 67th year I have yet to see the inside of a betting shop, not that I consider myself to have missed anything. Yet the odds suggest a decent shout in the red ball game.

Of course Durham will be favourites, while Lancashire surely can't be as bad as in recent seasons? Worcestershire will also aim for a quick return to Division One. All of them have something to prove after disappointing years in 2025, but need to improve either fractious dressing rooms or worrying injury records.

Derbyshire will fly under the radar, perhaps as Glamorgan did last year. But with Durham likely to lose a bowler or two to England, I wouldn't swap our attack for any other in the division, assuming best form.

Zak Chappell and Ben Aitchison will be admirable first change bowlers (assuming Abbas ever comes out of the attack!) A sign of strength is that there is no guaranteed place for Anuj Dal, a key component of the side in recent years. After three centuries last summer, Martin Andersson is in poll position for number seven, hopefully continuing in similar vein and chipping in with wickets, now he is recovered from the injury that held him back with the ball last year. 

We will come back to first choice sides as the season approaches, but for me Derbyshire are in rude health. 

So am I, as the sun shines, the garden bursts into life with Spring bulbs and the county cricket season is less than a month away. 

We have a holiday before then, too. Be still, my beating heart...

Enjoy your weekend!