There was good news about the signing of Peter Burgoyne on a two-year deal this morning. The youngster, whose season in 2012 will see him complete his school education before becoming a full-time professional in 2013, is the latest to put pen to paper over the last couple of months as Karl Krikken and Chris Grant have tied up the signatures of all the major members of playing staff who were coming into the final years of contracts or had come to the end ofan existing deal.
That being the case, it amused me that a contributor on the Falcons Forum had posted "Give Us More Signings." To be fair it was a piece on our winter signings over the last fifteen years which was well-researched and illustrated that we had got a lot better over recent years in picking up players of decent quality. That had a lot to do with John Morris' eye for a player and ability to convince them Derbyshire was the land of opportunity, but I don't see us spending winters looking for announcements of new signings in the years ahead. Rather, we will ensure that our own young talent is tied to the club as far as possible and their skills will be augmented by picking up an occasional player of proven quality.
A few days ago I suggested that counties might eventually sacrifice signing an overseas player of minimal experience for an older professional of ability if there were people around with the right talent. Jamie Dalrymple is a worthy example and I could see a lot of merit in picking up such a proven all-rounder on perhaps a three-year deal over a second or even third tier player from overseas. Many of these can only play for three months between tours, before handing over the role to another nomad from warmer climes and most are simply not here long enough to make a worthwhile contribution.
Take a look at these Championship stats from last year:
Derbyshire - Guptill 537 at 38, Khawaja 319 at 39
Durham - None apart from T20
Essex - Tsotsobe 5 wkts at 77
Glamorgan - Petersen 1069 at 42
Gloucestershire - Williamson 831 at 36
Hampshire - Tahir 28 wkts at 24
Kent - Riaz 13 wkts at 34
Lancashire - Maharoof 281 at 31, 14 wkts at 50
Leicestershire - McDonald 312 at 39 and 8 wkts at 38
Middlesex - Rogers 1300 at 54
Northamptonshire - Vaas 403 at 26 and 70 wkts at 21
Nottinghamshire - Voges 845 at 44, Bravo 248 at 35
Somerset - Kartik 285 at 28 and 26 wkts at 35
Surrey - Ojha 24 wkts at 12, Arafat 20 wkts at 48
Sussex - Naved 180 at 15 and 27 wkts at 34, Parnell 15 wkts at 41
Warwickshire - Chanderpaul 539 at 89 Yousuf 353 at 32
Worcestershire - Shakib 7 wkts at 18 Wright 31 wkts at 27 Ajmal 17 wkts at 28 Roach 14 wkts at 40
Yorkshire - Rudolph 318 at 45
Dalrymple averaged 36 with the bat in a truncated year and took ten wickets at 44, not suffering in comparison to some very average figures above. There were successes, of course.Vaas was a standout for Northamptonshire as Rogers was at Middlesex, while Ojha's late season wickets were crucial for Surrey but no more so than the 1300 runs scored by Zander de Bruyn as a Kolpak. Likewise, Neil McKenzie exceeded a thousand for Hampshire but they were still relegated and others like de Wet and Myburgh were singularly unimpressive.
T20? Another mix and match to be honest...
Derbyshire - Guptill 476 at 34
Durham - Miller 212 at 26
Essex - Styris 220 at 37 and 7 wkts at 23, Southee 130 at 15 and 22 wkts at 19
Glamorgan - Petersen 423 at 32, Cosgrove 293 at 20
Gloucestershire - Williamson 248 at 17, 9 wkts at 25, Muralitharan 12 wkts at 31
Hampshire - Afridi 180 at 20, 17 wkts at 11, Tahir 17 wkts at 16
Kent - Riaz 20 wkts at 20, Langeveldt 15 wkts at 31
Lancashire - Maharoof 59 at 11 and 10 wkts at 23, Junaid 12 wkts at 11
Leicestershire - MacDonald 600 at 52 Razzaq 300 at 30 and 19 wkts at 24
Middlesex - Rogers 154 at 22, McLaren 136 at 13 and 14 wkts at 33
Northamptonshire - Botha 245 at 20, 12 wkts at 24, Vaas 2 wkts at 44
Nottinghamshire - Hussey 357 at 39, Voges 434 at 30
Somerset - Van der Merwe 169 at 56 and 4 wkts at 31, Pollard 234 at 39 and 12 wkts at 27, Kartik 17 wkts at 21
Surrey - Arafat 71 at 23 Nannes 19 wkts at 20
Sussex - Naved 118 at 23 and 16 wkts at 15, Gul 12 wkts at 21, Parnell 6 wkts at 33
Warwickshire - Patel 11 wkts at 31
Worcestershire - Shakib 110 at 9 and 19 wkts at 16, Ajmal 16 wkts at 11
Yorkshire - None
Again, some decent performances but a lot that are nothing to write home about as far as I'm concerned.
Thoughts?
Showing posts with label Overseas players. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Overseas players. Show all posts
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Changes afoot
Those who are frustrated by the proliferation of overseas players in the English County game will have their prayers answered for next season, when the new legislation comes into force on visas for overseas players.
Essentially, this will mean that any cricketer wishing to play County cricket in the UK must have played either one Test in the past 2 years, 5 Tests in the past 5 years or 15 one day internationals in the past 5 years.
It will have huge implications for Counties. Northamptonshire, for example, will be unable to sign Nick Boje and Andrew Hall, Lancashire Francois du Plessis. Derbyshire will not be able to sign Nantie Hayward, nor Chris Rogers. The latter may get a Test match over the winter if Phil Hughes doesn't return to form (or before the end of the summer), but as things stand he cannot return for next season.
On the other hand, Wavell Hinds WILL be able to re-sign and, judging by the fact that he has just (deservedly) been awarded his County cap, he probably will do. Hinds has been a great success in all formats of the game this season and has been a huge contributor to a happy dressing room.
This will mean that the search for overseas players next season will be even more competitive and should mean that they are of a higher standard. Given that the new regulations require recent international participation and that many centrally contracted players will not wish to add to their playing commitments (nor be allowed to in some cases), the pot of available players will be much smaller.
Therein lies Derbyshire's problem. We have the smallest playing budget (for salaries) of any of the first class counties. Fact. This is the stumbling block with any of the "name" players who come on the market, as we would struggle to compete with the bigger counties, especially those on the Test Grounds. The likelihood is that if we sought a player on the radar of Lancashire, Surrey or Nottinghamshire, to use a few examples, we would be unsuccessful if money was the sole motivator of the player concerned. This is where sweeteners such as the captaincy, or "a challenge" come into play. Realistically, however, money talks...
One would assume that the appeal of Chaminda Vaas, who has recently quit Test cricket, will be considerable, but the crazily congested international calendar today suggests that few of the stars from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka would have time for a full English season, even if they had the inclination. Lucrative tournaments in such places as Dubai proliferate and with IPL commitments too, there will be fewer players prepared to commit to a 6-month county slog.
This, of course, makes the role of the Academy so crucial at Derbyshire. Whether we like it or not, at some point the wealthier counties will come sniffing after our prize assets and we have plenty. In coming years, the likes of Wagg, Redfern, Borrington, Smith and Madsen (the latter unaffected by the new regulations with his Italian passport) will not lack for suitors and John Morris acted sensibly in tying up the cream of our talent on long term deals. We will need to continue to source under performing players elsewhere and bring them on, as well as identifying talented youngsters from various sources around the country. One would hope that loyalty will still have a place in the game, but could anyone reading this tell me honestly that if the chance to earn 50% more for their job came up elsewhere that they wouldn't be tempted?
For next season, various names were bandied around at Derby last week among people I spoke to. Cameron White, the Aussie who did so well for Somerset in 2006 was one, Vaas was another. Shahid Afridi is another whose name has been mentioned in despatches, but all of these players are likely to cost serious money and to have a number of suitors for their services should they opt for a county stint.
Andrew Symonds, unlikely to play more international cricket after his various transgressions, is another but a number will be scared off by his reputation.
Perhaps the best option for Derbyshire (and one which would get my vote) would be engaging Charl Langeveldt as overseas professional for 2010 IF he plays for South Africa again in coming months and therefore becomes eligible again. He played a key role with our bowlers last year, in the same vein that Michael Holding did for Kim Barnett some years ago. Someone who would take the ball when it was going wrong and either keep it tight or get a breakthrough. In this year's Twenty/20, the thing we lacked was the bowler who could give 4 tight overs. This in turn puts pressure on scoring at the other end where the bowler often benefits. Derek Morgan attributed a lot of his wickets to the batsmen relaxing after Gladwin and Jackson came off, while Colin Tunnicliffe got wickets with the pressure exerted by Mike Hendrick.
Langers was a jewel last season and if fully fit would give us a terrific seam attack for 2010 that Morris could rotate to keep fresh. Langeveldt, Wagg, Hunter, Clare, Smith, Groenewald and Jones (who I would sign) could be supplemented by Sheikh and Whiteley in a talented line up.
Some may argue that our greater need is for a batsman, but I'm not so sure. Much will depend on other moves in the coming months, but with Borrington and Madsen as potential openers and Park, Redfern, Hinds and Smith to follow, John Sadler and perhaps one other batsman would help make up a good line up. For me, Sadler deserves another year. He's scored heavily and consistently in league and Second XI this year but has been kept out by the good form of those in the side. I'm less sure about the claims of Steve Stubbings, Dominic Telo and Dan Birch. Like Tom Lungley, I see them all as vulnerable this season. I'd be sad to see Stubbings go as he's been a fine servant, but we need to move forward. Telo has not scored the runs we would have hoped for, while Birch's immobility in the field and inconsistency with the bat suggest he will be released, especially after the recent suspension.
Tom Lungley presents a dilemma. On his day he is a fine bowler, but he's had one good season in five and a lot of injuries. I'd prefer to see Steffan Jones engaged as a 100% tryer in all conditions who has a better than most fitness record. Maybe Lungley will get and benefit from an opportunity elsewhere. Time will tell.
On the subject of Steffan, over 90% of those voting in the last poll would like to see him at Derby next year. I'm one of them. Now for this week's - at this stage, do you think our greater need for next season is a batsman or a bowler as overseas player?
Essentially, this will mean that any cricketer wishing to play County cricket in the UK must have played either one Test in the past 2 years, 5 Tests in the past 5 years or 15 one day internationals in the past 5 years.
It will have huge implications for Counties. Northamptonshire, for example, will be unable to sign Nick Boje and Andrew Hall, Lancashire Francois du Plessis. Derbyshire will not be able to sign Nantie Hayward, nor Chris Rogers. The latter may get a Test match over the winter if Phil Hughes doesn't return to form (or before the end of the summer), but as things stand he cannot return for next season.
On the other hand, Wavell Hinds WILL be able to re-sign and, judging by the fact that he has just (deservedly) been awarded his County cap, he probably will do. Hinds has been a great success in all formats of the game this season and has been a huge contributor to a happy dressing room.
This will mean that the search for overseas players next season will be even more competitive and should mean that they are of a higher standard. Given that the new regulations require recent international participation and that many centrally contracted players will not wish to add to their playing commitments (nor be allowed to in some cases), the pot of available players will be much smaller.
Therein lies Derbyshire's problem. We have the smallest playing budget (for salaries) of any of the first class counties. Fact. This is the stumbling block with any of the "name" players who come on the market, as we would struggle to compete with the bigger counties, especially those on the Test Grounds. The likelihood is that if we sought a player on the radar of Lancashire, Surrey or Nottinghamshire, to use a few examples, we would be unsuccessful if money was the sole motivator of the player concerned. This is where sweeteners such as the captaincy, or "a challenge" come into play. Realistically, however, money talks...
One would assume that the appeal of Chaminda Vaas, who has recently quit Test cricket, will be considerable, but the crazily congested international calendar today suggests that few of the stars from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka would have time for a full English season, even if they had the inclination. Lucrative tournaments in such places as Dubai proliferate and with IPL commitments too, there will be fewer players prepared to commit to a 6-month county slog.
This, of course, makes the role of the Academy so crucial at Derbyshire. Whether we like it or not, at some point the wealthier counties will come sniffing after our prize assets and we have plenty. In coming years, the likes of Wagg, Redfern, Borrington, Smith and Madsen (the latter unaffected by the new regulations with his Italian passport) will not lack for suitors and John Morris acted sensibly in tying up the cream of our talent on long term deals. We will need to continue to source under performing players elsewhere and bring them on, as well as identifying talented youngsters from various sources around the country. One would hope that loyalty will still have a place in the game, but could anyone reading this tell me honestly that if the chance to earn 50% more for their job came up elsewhere that they wouldn't be tempted?
For next season, various names were bandied around at Derby last week among people I spoke to. Cameron White, the Aussie who did so well for Somerset in 2006 was one, Vaas was another. Shahid Afridi is another whose name has been mentioned in despatches, but all of these players are likely to cost serious money and to have a number of suitors for their services should they opt for a county stint.
Andrew Symonds, unlikely to play more international cricket after his various transgressions, is another but a number will be scared off by his reputation.
Perhaps the best option for Derbyshire (and one which would get my vote) would be engaging Charl Langeveldt as overseas professional for 2010 IF he plays for South Africa again in coming months and therefore becomes eligible again. He played a key role with our bowlers last year, in the same vein that Michael Holding did for Kim Barnett some years ago. Someone who would take the ball when it was going wrong and either keep it tight or get a breakthrough. In this year's Twenty/20, the thing we lacked was the bowler who could give 4 tight overs. This in turn puts pressure on scoring at the other end where the bowler often benefits. Derek Morgan attributed a lot of his wickets to the batsmen relaxing after Gladwin and Jackson came off, while Colin Tunnicliffe got wickets with the pressure exerted by Mike Hendrick.
Langers was a jewel last season and if fully fit would give us a terrific seam attack for 2010 that Morris could rotate to keep fresh. Langeveldt, Wagg, Hunter, Clare, Smith, Groenewald and Jones (who I would sign) could be supplemented by Sheikh and Whiteley in a talented line up.
Some may argue that our greater need is for a batsman, but I'm not so sure. Much will depend on other moves in the coming months, but with Borrington and Madsen as potential openers and Park, Redfern, Hinds and Smith to follow, John Sadler and perhaps one other batsman would help make up a good line up. For me, Sadler deserves another year. He's scored heavily and consistently in league and Second XI this year but has been kept out by the good form of those in the side. I'm less sure about the claims of Steve Stubbings, Dominic Telo and Dan Birch. Like Tom Lungley, I see them all as vulnerable this season. I'd be sad to see Stubbings go as he's been a fine servant, but we need to move forward. Telo has not scored the runs we would have hoped for, while Birch's immobility in the field and inconsistency with the bat suggest he will be released, especially after the recent suspension.
Tom Lungley presents a dilemma. On his day he is a fine bowler, but he's had one good season in five and a lot of injuries. I'd prefer to see Steffan Jones engaged as a 100% tryer in all conditions who has a better than most fitness record. Maybe Lungley will get and benefit from an opportunity elsewhere. Time will tell.
On the subject of Steffan, over 90% of those voting in the last poll would like to see him at Derby next year. I'm one of them. Now for this week's - at this stage, do you think our greater need for next season is a batsman or a bowler as overseas player?
Sunday, 6 July 2008
Overseas - overpaid, over here?
Many will remember with misty eyes the halcyon days of the overseas stars. The 1960's and 70's, when everyone wanted to play County cricket (well, almost everyone, Graeme Pollock didn't fancy it at all but was on a very good salary in South Africa).
Most fans of the time could go through the counties in alphabetical order and rhyme off the stars - real stars - that each county had from abroad. Chris Wilkins at Derby, Keith Boyce at Essex, Majid Khan or Roy Fredericks at Glamorgan, Mike Procter at Gloucester, Barry Richards at Hampshire - it was a golden period that we thought would last for ever.
Sadly, it didn't. We all went to 2 overseas stars, which was great, but then the back door players - the ones with Irish Grannies, a father who'd once sung the national anthem - started to come in and now we're awash with them. The growth of international cricket and lucrative, if otherwise pointless, tournaments means that the very best overseas players will never be seen in County colours, unless it is in the short form of the game, the monster we call 20/20. It's a little like asking Al Pacino to do a walk on in Coronation Street, or get the Beatles to do an advertising jingle...
That then leaves teams with two options - a lesser light for a full season, or a big name for a part of it. With respect to Chris Rogers, a top bloke and a good cricketer, he is in the first category, whereas Ricky Ponting or Matt Hayden would have been in the first.
So who is doing well out of their player this year. Apologies if I've got an overseas player wrong here, as there are so many Kolpaks out there it is hard work to figure out who is who, but here's things as I see it
Championship
Derby - Chris Rogers 42 batting
Durham - Neil McKenzie - 19 batting
Essex - Danish Kaneria 19 wkts at 25
Glamorgan - Jason Gillespie 25 batting, 14 wkts at 29
Gloucester - Marcus North 35 batting, 9 wkts at 39
Hants - Shane Bond 19 wkts at 19
Kent- Martin Van Jaarsveld - 76 batting, 5 wkts at 6 each
Lancs - Brad Hodge 44, Yousuf 124
Leics - Botha Dipenaar 28 batting
Middlesex - Vernon Philander 15 batting, 10 wkts at 28
Northants - Nick Boje 62 batting, 20 wkts at 30
Notts - Adam Voges 38 battting
Somerset - Justin Langer - 48 batting
Surrey - Matt Nicholson - 80 batting, 86 bowling
Sussex - Mushtaq Ahmed 16 wkts at 38
Warwick - Zondeki 9 wkts at 42
Worcs - Magoffin 23 wkts at 33
Yorks - Naved 1 wkt at 98
Even allowing for the odd error (is Boje overseas at Northants? Is Dippenaar at Leics?) there are some spectacularly average figures there.
Neither Brad Hodge nor Mohammad Yousuf played long enough at Lancs to merit a true average, but there are some heads hanging in shame around the country. Matt Nicholson is doing well as a bat for Surrey, but his bowling is awful and supposedly his strong suit. Mushtaq appears on the wane and is increasingly injury prone at Sussex but he's at least played more than some.
To me, there's only two players genuinely earning their money on overseas star performances this season. Step forward Martin Van Jaarsveld at Kent and Shane Bond at Hampshire. Chris Rogers and Justin Langer have done OK for their counties, as of course has Nick Boje, but after that...
Maybe the time is coming when some of these players should be on performance-related pay. There might then be less money going out of the country on ordinary players delivering very ordinary performances.
I will accept that some 20/20 players did well, Herschelle Gibbs, Lou Vincent, Albie Morkel among them, and that there are also Kolpaks playing very well - take a bow Charl Langeveldt and HD Ackerman - but the overall standard is very poor and perhaps it is as well that the Kolpak loophole will be closed and young British players, as well as the England team, may benefit.
Most fans of the time could go through the counties in alphabetical order and rhyme off the stars - real stars - that each county had from abroad. Chris Wilkins at Derby, Keith Boyce at Essex, Majid Khan or Roy Fredericks at Glamorgan, Mike Procter at Gloucester, Barry Richards at Hampshire - it was a golden period that we thought would last for ever.
Sadly, it didn't. We all went to 2 overseas stars, which was great, but then the back door players - the ones with Irish Grannies, a father who'd once sung the national anthem - started to come in and now we're awash with them. The growth of international cricket and lucrative, if otherwise pointless, tournaments means that the very best overseas players will never be seen in County colours, unless it is in the short form of the game, the monster we call 20/20. It's a little like asking Al Pacino to do a walk on in Coronation Street, or get the Beatles to do an advertising jingle...
That then leaves teams with two options - a lesser light for a full season, or a big name for a part of it. With respect to Chris Rogers, a top bloke and a good cricketer, he is in the first category, whereas Ricky Ponting or Matt Hayden would have been in the first.
So who is doing well out of their player this year. Apologies if I've got an overseas player wrong here, as there are so many Kolpaks out there it is hard work to figure out who is who, but here's things as I see it
Championship
Derby - Chris Rogers 42 batting
Durham - Neil McKenzie - 19 batting
Essex - Danish Kaneria 19 wkts at 25
Glamorgan - Jason Gillespie 25 batting, 14 wkts at 29
Gloucester - Marcus North 35 batting, 9 wkts at 39
Hants - Shane Bond 19 wkts at 19
Kent- Martin Van Jaarsveld - 76 batting, 5 wkts at 6 each
Lancs - Brad Hodge 44, Yousuf 124
Leics - Botha Dipenaar 28 batting
Middlesex - Vernon Philander 15 batting, 10 wkts at 28
Northants - Nick Boje 62 batting, 20 wkts at 30
Notts - Adam Voges 38 battting
Somerset - Justin Langer - 48 batting
Surrey - Matt Nicholson - 80 batting, 86 bowling
Sussex - Mushtaq Ahmed 16 wkts at 38
Warwick - Zondeki 9 wkts at 42
Worcs - Magoffin 23 wkts at 33
Yorks - Naved 1 wkt at 98
Even allowing for the odd error (is Boje overseas at Northants? Is Dippenaar at Leics?) there are some spectacularly average figures there.
Neither Brad Hodge nor Mohammad Yousuf played long enough at Lancs to merit a true average, but there are some heads hanging in shame around the country. Matt Nicholson is doing well as a bat for Surrey, but his bowling is awful and supposedly his strong suit. Mushtaq appears on the wane and is increasingly injury prone at Sussex but he's at least played more than some.
To me, there's only two players genuinely earning their money on overseas star performances this season. Step forward Martin Van Jaarsveld at Kent and Shane Bond at Hampshire. Chris Rogers and Justin Langer have done OK for their counties, as of course has Nick Boje, but after that...
Maybe the time is coming when some of these players should be on performance-related pay. There might then be less money going out of the country on ordinary players delivering very ordinary performances.
I will accept that some 20/20 players did well, Herschelle Gibbs, Lou Vincent, Albie Morkel among them, and that there are also Kolpaks playing very well - take a bow Charl Langeveldt and HD Ackerman - but the overall standard is very poor and perhaps it is as well that the Kolpak loophole will be closed and young British players, as well as the England team, may benefit.
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