Season review

At the start of the summer I wrote that for Derbyshire to challenge, most of the players needed to be at, or close to their best on a regular basis.

If one looks at the end of season averages, you could count those who will look back on 2026 as being their best form on the fingers of one hand. 

For any improvement in 2027, either the playing or coaching personnel needs to change - and that probably requires money we don't have and players better than appear to be available - or Mickey Arthur needs to find a way to get much more from those at his disposal.

For all of his protestations that 'they are all massively improved', the evidence points to the contrary. I present that in a couple of days time.

Cynics of 'old cricket', often played on uncovered pitches, will point to the batting averages and suggest that player X can't have been that good, with his average in the 20s. They ignore the fact that pitch preparation was less advanced and the rain often created surfaces that were not called 'sticky dogs' for nothing. Not to mention that there were some serious bowlers around...

Sadly, most of Derbyshire's batters in 2026 averaged the same, so therein lies the crux of the problem. A combination of injury, age, confidence and the wrong position in the order accounted for most of the batting and was a factor in their under achievement. It is hard to get away from the fact that for Harry Came, Luis Reece and Wayne Madsen, 2027 may be their last in Derbyshire colours. Certainly all need better figures and luck than this year, but perhaps it is time for a somewhat essential reset. 

Matthew Montgomery looked a good player on occasion, but I expected more after his move from Nottinghamshire. There were no three figure scores and like Came, he plays across the line too often for such an elevated position in the order. Yet the Head of Cricket, as we have seen on a number of occasions, doesn't like to admit error and persevered with a player who might have done better at five. 

Caleb Jewell also endured a wretched summer and the county will doubtless seek a more reliable top order overseas replacement for 2027. That position is SO important for a club like Derbyshire, yet the market is shrinking for batters of the requisite quality AND desire to play all summer in England.

Wayne Madsen had two centuries and remains one of the side's best two batters, but there were signs that time was catching up on a man who owes nothing to the county. Like others, he was more uncertain at the start of an innings and we must hope that he has another good year in him and doesn't tarnish a deservedly fine reputation by going on too long.

Martin Andersson was the one shining light in the batting and often looked on a different level to his teammates. Results would have been quite different without his skills and finding him support is very much needed for the side to progress.

Yousaf bin Naeem showed promise, even though tasked with batting higher than he would have preferred. Meanwhile opportunity largely failed to knock for Amrit Basra, who is another with a big year ahead in 2027. So too Brooke Guest, one of my favourite players but whose batting appears currently in freefall. 

There was no balance to the batting order, with too many people seemingly unsuited to their role in the side. Somewhat similar to the episode of that old classic TV cricket comedy, Outside Edge, when everyone wanted to bat number five.. 

This can only be laid at the door of Mickey Arthur, who has had five years to get 'his team' yet still hasn't recruited a top order that works. Luis Reece remains the best bet for the top of the order, but only if his body still allows it. Technically, he is the best oprning bat on the staff, but injuries have taken their toll and I doubt he can still bat AND bowl as he once did.

Why has the batting as a unit failed? Form is temporary, class permanent, as the old adage goes, but almost everyone? My theory, for what it is worth, is that the environment is not conducive to freedom of expression, on or off the pitch. I get the impression that most of the lads in that batting line up need boosted, perhaps their egos massaged, an arm around the shoulder. Those over the top assertions about the players in public count for nothing, if you are roasting them within the confines of the dressing room and shredding their confidence. 

As for the bowling, it was Ben Aitchison's year. Week after week he bowled beautifully, kept going until almost the end of the summer and also contributed two centuries to the cause. We are very lucky to have him and I hope that he sees his ambitions can be fulfilled at Derbyshire when his contract is up for renewal.

Nick Potts improved and showed he could handle a bat too, but perhaps like Pat Brown, who didn't play this summer, he needs a stock delivery that he can depend upon. The variations in all formats were impressive, but less so were the runs conceded as he strove for something different every ball. Sometimes, making the batters work is more effective than keeping them guessing, especially when those variations were often varied in their line and length.

Rory Haydon burst onto the scene and did well, though it did not escape notice that his opportunity only arose through the selection of Muhammad Abbas for Pakistan tours. We must all hope that the stress fracture which ended his summer can be fixed in time for 2027. To which. I can copy and paste the name of Harry Moore.

Even Zak Chappell, a war horse of previous years broke down and missed the second half of the summer. The side missed the balance that he affords and again, supporters must keep fingers crossed that he is restored to full fitness next year. 

Meanwhile Anuj Dal announced his retirement from the game. There is a role for someone there and hopefully it can be grasped as well as Nuj at his best did. Perhaps there lies a niche for Amrit Basra? 

Derbyshire started the season with what the Head of Cricket described as 'two of the best young spinners in the country'. Yet one took his wickets at 47 each and the other didn't take any.  Shoaib Bashir bowled some controlled spells, but the question remains whether the county has a need for two specialist spinners. Jack Morley did well in the Blast, but opportunities to field more than one spinner in the modern game are few and far between. Could the limited budget be better used? Again, next year is a big one for both players.

The second overseas role was split between Muhammad Abbas and Brett Randell. The former, justifiably a legend of the county circuit, was a disappointment and took nine of his 23 wickets on a sporting wicket at Worcester in the final game. They cost him over 30 runs each across the summer, which was not expected, nor as good as needed.

Randell did well, a bright spark in the closing weeks of the summer. He ran in hard, fielded tigerishly, contributed valuable runs and fitted in admirably.

You could point to four Championship wins as a reason for encouragement, but to do so ignores the obvious flaws that Mickey Arthur seems incapable of addressing. Long-time readers will recall my concerns that he would not have been my pick for the job when he was appointed. I take no pleasure in having been proved correct and the sad reality is that supporters look like having another two years of the same under-achievement to 'look forward to'.  

He will point to the absence of key bowlers as a reason for failure, but their hopeful return next year will not shore up the batting. I have no beef with Ben Smith as batting coach, but just as Chris Wright brought improvement in the seam attack, is it time for a new voice in the ear? Or a new man at the top, with greater skills in man management? 

The performance at Worcester merely reinforced the opinion of most supporters that it is not working. I can only speak for myself, but regardless of who comes in the door to play, I have no real expectation of any improvement at Derbyshire until the coaching staff is overhauled and a new Head of Cricket is in place. That looks like being two years, like it or not. And I still find it hard, after FIVE years of underwhelming cricket, to write that.

For all that we have heard ad nauseam that people 'want to play for Mickey Arthur', I have the impression that the players we NEED probably don't. We need fighters, those who roll up their sleeves when the chips are down and would be unafraid to say their piece in the dressing room. One looks at Worcestershire, where Matthew Waite and Tom Taylor are uncompromising cricketers who serve them well. Or players like Ben Raine, Ryan Higgins - gutsy battlers to a man. 

I'm not sure that Mickey's reported dressing room autocracy would work well with that breed of player. But by crikey, what we would give for one or two of them.

In any organisation that I can think of, a roots and branches review of the staff would take place after the summer we have witnessed. Derbyshire finished sixteenth out of eighteen counties, after all and they did little in white ball cricket. I can also think of a good few people who would hold up their hands, tell the board they can't do it anymore and walk away. Neither of those things appears likely, so the silence appears to be a strong and disappointing acceptance of our lot. 

Other 'smaller' counties have over-achieved this year, won trophies, competed strongly, got the best out of what they have. Not all of them with markedly better squads than Derbyshire, but with someone in charge who got the best out of them, creating an eleven that was stronger than the sum of its constituent parts. I always recall the words of Walter Goodyear, when I asked him about the strength of the sides when he was at the club, between the 1930s and 1980s.

'It were Derbysheer agin the world' he said. Never underestimate the value of a siege mentality. But you need the right man to cultivate it.

I do try to look beyond results, at the 'bigger picture'. I know we have had two England players this summer, that Mickey has a seat at the top table, that because of him our name is known around the world, that he has so many contacts...but five years on, where are the results? Surely all of these 'benefits' have a positive consequence?

I heard from an old school friend last night and in a long conversation he said 'You are still lumbered with good old Mickey, then?'. He is a long-standing Nottinghamshire member and the sad thing is that our Head of Cricket is a perceived figure of fun down the A52, with his over the top proclamations about players and prospects. I don't know about you, but I am uneasy with MY club, OUR club, being such a source of humour, with no suggestion that it is going to change any time soon.

So while I would love to leave you with reasons to be cheerful in 2027, I just can't.

With that, I must thank you for your loyal support, interest and comments throughout the summer. 

I had hoped that my sixtieth year supporting the club might be memorable for the right reasons, but it was not to be. 

But when we get to November and the fixtures come out once more, I will likely be looking at my options for travel and hotels and hoping for better. 

In the words of the old Italian proverb, hope is the last thing ever lost...

Postscript: it was a BIG mistake that Mickey did the interview at the end of yesterday's game. 

He was clearly agitated and to refer to loyal club supporters, who were here way before he arrived and will be when he is gone, an unfortunate footnote in our history, as 'ignorant' is both unacceptable and indefensible. 

He should be pulled up about this and should apologise. Or he should go. 

End of story.