On the one hand, it is a trophy, there to be won and to take its place in the cabinet of the successful club.
On the other, it is supposedly a development competition, to give opportunity to younger players on county staffs. That is more likely from those most hit by call ups to 'The Hindered', of course. Take a look at Derbyshire's opponents in the group stage and who they are missing:
Durham: Raine, Potts, Carse, Parkinson, McKinney, Sowter
Worcestershire: Hose
Essex: Cox, Cook, Walter, Pepper, Allison
Glamorgan: Carlson, Kellaway, Tribe, Dickson, Crane
Sussex: Archer, Coles, Mills, Briggs, Currie, Crocombe, Alsop
Yorkshire: Brook, Revis, Bairstow, Root, Rashid
Middlesex: du Plooy, Holden, Helm, Morgan, Falconer
Hampshire: Dawson, Vince, Currie, Baker, Wood, Jack, Mayes, Lumsden
Matthew Montgomery was called up yesterday by Birmingham Phoenix. He joins Nye Donald in the competition as our only missing players (other than injury).
In comparison to other counties, Derbyshire can field close to a full strength side. Having said that, I hope there is an opportunity for Yusuf bin Naeem and Amrit Basra to play, as I don't think we have much to learn about Wayne Madsen and Ross Whiteley, for example. Yet both are likely feature and I will be interested to hear your thoughts and first choice teams.
I will give mine towards the weekend.
I think both Glamorgan & Leicestershire have won this competition recently & then followed it up with red ball promotion. What part their trophy win played is open to conjecture, but developing a winning mentality & possibly being able to attract better signings are likely benefits. Play our strongest team unless we are eliminated.
ReplyDeleteMarkB
I guess winning breeds a winning mentality, Mark. And breeds confidence that you can and will get over the line.
DeleteAnd yes, players will want to come to a club where they can win. They will want to be happy, of course and as Sussex found to their cost, you can pay top dollar and sign anyone. But at some point there is a piper to pay...
I think the mental side of the game is where we seem to be very much lacking. Turn up expecting to lose and you are more accepting of that happening. Martin
DeleteI'm sure it won't happen but Derbyshire should play their strongest team and do their utmost to win this competition. They certainly won't win either of the other two.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s a very good trophy with usually a lot of exciting games . It’s good to see a mixture of established players and new hopefuls plus it’s a competition practically any team can win because obviously the stronger counties tend to lose more players. It’s a competition we should really aim to win plus play a few younger players in. You should be able to do both
ReplyDeleteMy priority would be team development rather than player development - though often of course they go hand in hand.
ReplyDeleteI’d like to see us be competitive in the final ten overs of each innings. I’d like us to learn to get over the line in tight moments. I’d like us to play intelligent cricket with the resources we deploy.
I’d pick a team around that. Maybe that means having wise heads in the field. Maybe it means giving our young guns opportunity to test themselves - I don’t know.
So I’d pick Whitely because he can support a young player to handle the pressure of chasing down a target with 5 overs to go. Not because his strike rate will be 5 runs/hundred higher than someone else
Its hard to say what the team should be, as it depends on a lot of imponderables including:
ReplyDeleteIs Zac Chappell fit? Or Pat Brown? Or Luis Reece? and if Luis is fit is it only to bat? Is Bashir available?
So working on the assumption that Chappell is available and Brown isn't and Luis probably isn't - then I'd go with something like -
Came
Jewell
Bin Naeem/Basra
Madsen
Guest
Hawkins/Wagstaff
Dal
Chappell
Potts/Aitchison/Stewart
Haydon
Morley/Bashir
Reece / Whiteley to come in if any of the batsmen have a very poor run
Gives a mixture of experience and opportunity;
Gives Andersson the time off for good behaviour, although I'm a little surprised that Montgomery was picked up for the 100 ahead of him;
Will give Aitchison and Potts at least some of the time off;
Gives Dal the full series to prove himself
Wagstaff/Hawkins to be the 6th bowler
I'd like Stewart to be given 1 or 2 games as a try out - though probably not the Durham game if the report that Stokes will be playing is correct!
Batting order to be flexible e.g. Guest to bat at 3 if Derby bat first
Difficult one regarding what to prioritise. I would always tend to go with a decent number of inexperienced players. I remember Cheltenham College was the first time I had seen Rory Hayden who was brilliant, Basra who had an economical few overs and a decent knock of 40 and the young spinner Hawkins. They were the best 3 bowlers on the day with Potts and Aitchison being very expensive. I would ensure The 3 above and Bin Naeem get a game but knowing the MA mentality Madsen, Andersson, Guest, Potts Aitchison Whiteley, Came and Jewell are nailed on as first names on the teamsheet with Morley leaving only 2 places left. I bet nobody complains if we have a Wicket Keeper batsmen captaining this side
ReplyDeleteWe want Derbyshire to remain a first class county and to be treated with respect, and the only way to achieve that is for each first team competition to be treated with respect and for the aim to be to win it. So I agree with Mark B about the importance of trying to cultivate a winning mentality, something we simply don't have, and haven't had for many years. As and when we reach the point that we cannot win the competition, the pressure is off. So although it can make sense to blood more inexperienced players at that point, the truth is that their achievements in those games will not really count for a great deal, because the pressure is off. (For the same reason, for instance, I wouldn't draw too many conclusions from Harry Came's good batting in the last two T20 games).
ReplyDeleteI would definitely prefer to see Basra, Bin Naeem and Hawkins get a fair chance in this competition. The former 2 have not had the kind of run in the team which has been afforded to more senior players , many of whom have suffered inconsistent form at best.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see Dal as Captain , his attitude to all aspects of the game should hopefully be an inspiration to his team , especially in the field.
Derbyshire supporters will want to see Derbyshire win, and to do that, it is important to put out the best team with little experimentation at least until elimination, if that happens. Nick Potts, Rory Haydon and Amrit Basra all come under the category of development players. They may start the tournament with Bin Naeem coming in later.
ReplyDeleteI see little point in paying Caleb Jewell not to play, even though he may not return to Derbyshire for the 2027 season. If Zak Chappell is fit, he should play, and the same applies to Pat Brown. Both are good players. Chappel's loss of form last year probably had a lot to do with workload. Brown's poor form is more complex and is likely due to carrying an injury when he was bowling, trying to adapt to red-ball cricket and a loss of confidence.
My squad would be as follows, with Nick Potts possibly missing out for the first few matches.
Jewell
Came
Basra/ Bin Naeem/ Wagstaff
Madsen
Andersson
Guest
Reece
Whiteley
Dal
Aitchison
Potts
Haydon
Bashir/Morley
I have not included Chappel or Brown because of uncertainty over their fitness.
Let us at least try to progress to the quarter-final. A good performance in the One-Day Cup would give the supporters a lift, but seeing the club lose because of poor selection has the opposite effect.- Denis
I would be very surprised if MA did anything other than pick what he thinks is the side most likely to win that particular match. So I would expect him to go for experience rather than youth.
ReplyDeleteThe justification is that he has promised silverware so he is unlikely to throw the towel in ,on what is arguably the counties best chance of a trophy , given we are only a couple of players down from full strength (bar injuries).
So I expect to see Jewell back in the team opening rather than Wagstaff being given a run.
I will be interested to see if Pat Brown is selected as earlier on in the season he said in an interview he was hoping to be fit in the later part of the T20 , but that did not happen.
Basra looked very good in the One day cup last year, hopefully he can regain the confidence and swagger he had then. Martin
We have to put out our best team in each game, which will, hopefully, provide opportunities for Basra, Bin Naeem, Haydon, and Wagstaff.
ReplyDeleteDownthewicket
I’d love to see MA pick our young derbyshire players rather than just the best team for each game. If the pathway keeps progressing, one day we could have an entire One day cup team of Derbyshire lads and that would be a dream for a lot of the fans.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I agree with the other comments that MA will undoubtedly select the team he feels will win the most games as he is judged on his record.
My personal squad for the first match (although unlikely I understand).
Came
Wagstaff
Bin Naeem
Basra
Guest
Dal
Hawkins
Potts
Haydon
Bashir/Morley
Stewart
Hawkins showed great promise last year and has unfortunately not performed as well this year but this could be his opportunity to prove himself along with Wagstaff and Basra.
Matt Stewart looks to be improving at a rapid rate and I would hope he is at least included in the squads so he can be in the 1st XI environment for his development.
Haydon was superb last year in the OD cup and can lead the seam attack this comp.
My question to Mickey would be if he is not going to give opportunities to these players in the one day cup, then when will he?
I heard MA say that Caleb Jewell would not be playing in the 50 over competition as he was being "saved" for the remaining 4 day matches.
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of these comments and particularly with Oliver’s approach. For me, the Metro Bank Cup should be a balance of giving players on the fringes some first team opportunities while ensuring as strong and balanced side as possible within this. What I'd want to see is a team capable of staying in the contest during the key moments, particularly the last ten overs with both bat and ball. Developing the ability to make good decisions under pressure and come out on the right side of close finishes is important. So is giving young players experience.
ReplyDeleteWith that in mind, I'd be looking for a squad that balances youth and experience. Giving emerging players opportunities is essential, but having a few seasoned heads around them can make a huge difference. Whiteley, Dal and Guest would be my first names on the team sheet.
Gareth
It will be interesting to see if Chappell and Brown are involved - they were both supposed to be back for the second half ofvthe Blast but no news as to whether their recovery is taking longer than expected or it was deemed the the Blast was"gone" and they are being saved to the One-day/Championship run-in. Also I thought Masden had retired from white ball now - is it only t20?
ReplyDeleteI see that Anonymous has said that he hopes to see Pat Brown bowling for us in the Metro Bank competition. Unfortunately I can't get from my mind his dire bowling performance in this competition last year. Against what was mostly Surrey's 3rd XI his ten overs went for a record 114 runs. It was suggested afterwards that he was injured . If he is to play in this competition again I hope those in the know are absolutely certain he is match fit.
ReplyDeleteSorry forgot to add Chapel Guy
DeleteI presume Madsen is not available, so Guest, or Came Captain. We must try to win the competition, as some counties will be weakened, it gives us an opportunity. I see no point in playing Ross Whiteley.
ReplyDeleteReece
Jewell
Came
Guest Cap
Andersson
Bin Naeem
Basra
Dal
Aitchison
Hayden
Bashir
Reserves
Wagstaff
Morley
Potts
Stewart