So while acknowledging that statistics perhaps don't give the full picture, they are the currency by which a cricketer is judged and I thought I would look at the figures for 2025 and 2026
They make interesting reading ...
Player 2025 average 2026 average
Came 38.3. 25.1
Reece 64.3. 36.2
Montgomery 75 27.1
Jewell. 48.0. 22.3
Guest. 36.1. 22.1
Dal. 28.1. 18.7
Andersson. 49.6. 41.3
Madsen. 57.91 38.05
Aitchison. 21.5. 25.7
Chappell. 22.9. 29.8
So of the regular players, only two BOWLERS, Ben Aitchison and Zak Chappell, improved their batting average, year on year.
Montgomery had one innings for Notts last year
Bowling?
Player. 2025. 2026
Aitchison 19 at 33. 58 at 20
Andersson. 9 at 54. 23 at 30
Chappell. 34 at 37. 14 at 40
Dal 19 at 30. 11 at 27
Reece. 50 at 19. 8 at 23
Potts 13 at 37
Haydon. 22 at 22
So two bowlers improved dramatically, while the last three had seasons badly disrupted by injury. Haydon emerged as a bright talent, while Potts, who didn't play red ball last year, had an encouraging summer and earned a new 2-year deal.
I think Chris Wright can be pleased with his input in a first season as bowling coach. Meanwhile Ben Smith appears to have a lot of work on his plate to repair broken confidence and techniques.
In short, regardless of what they do in the gym or the nets, how many they hit and where they hit them, the statistics don't lie.
They aren't getting better.
But we knew that, didn't we?
Very good peakfan. Although I think we all knew apart from two or three players the others hadn’t done very well the figures are probably even worse then we thought. The main reason most people are totally fed up is for the very reason the coach always insists the players are doing great and getting better. The very opposite of what your own eyes and the statistics tell you. I’ve seen a couple of interviews with Mark Alleyne the Gloucestershire coach this season and the contrast with our coach is very striking. He’s not rude about the players but does say it’s not good enough and they need to do far better. And he does make changes . You could say they still finished bottom but they were miles behind at the half way point and improved considerably later in the season. No one expects Derbyshire on our budget to be world beaters but everyone should expect better then a club who seem happy drifting along at the bottom in all competitions most seasons. If Arthur does carry on for 2 more seasons whoever takes over will by then have a gigantic job on their hands
ReplyDeleteAt face value, the averages of Anderson, Reece, and Madsen's performances are not bad. However, they were Derbyshire’s best players, yet they all scored less than 50 in at least 75 percent of their innings.
ReplyDeleteDre.
And its not just a 1 season decline.
ReplyDeleteUnder the Arthur regime Madsen, Guest and Dal had their best batting averages in 2022, and Reece and Came in 2023.
Just one more thought apart from the joke 10 or 20 over stuff surely no one will employ Arthur after his time at Derbyshire
ReplyDeleteI've seen enough strange stuff over the years to rule nothing out, Ian. He talks a good game and that might sway some people, but I would have thought there was more chance of me being confused with Usain Bolt on the weekly shop, than him getting another county deal...
DeleteInteresting analysis. I looked at the batting averages a few days ago. AI intervened... telling me an average of over 40 = top tier not necessarily elite, 35- 40=-County ‘anchor’. In 2026, only 1 top tier performance, only 2 at County Anchor level. In 2025, all the recognised outright batsmen met that standard. So not better at all.
ReplyDelete