Tom Lungley

Well, that’s last night’s question answered. Tom Lungley has been released by Derbyshire after a career that could fairly be said to have been ravaged by injury, so Mark Turner looks like a direct replacement.


At his best, Lungley was a very good bowler and in 2007 looked as if he could be on the verge of something
special. There were 59 wickets that summer and at times he looked unplayable. There was a rhythm to his bowling and he could look as good as anyone in the country. I saw him a few times that summer and was confident that, after a few years of problems with injury, this could be the locally produced seam bowler we had been looking for.

He could handle a bat too. Rarely with the aplomb that he showed when smashing a double century in the Derbyshire Leagues, but he could keep an end going and was a regular and competent night watchman.

It never worked out for Tom because his body was ultimately too fragile for the rigours of seam bowling in first-class cricket. Despite 59 wickets that summer, the rest of Lungley’s time at Derbyshire since 2000 has seen only a further 90 first-class victims. There have been occasions since then when he has looked dangerous, but he has rarely managed to hold down a regular place because of recurring problems.

It can sometimes be overlooked by supporters how demanding seam bowling is. Given that the bowling action is not a natural thing for a body to do, replicating it time and again, over after over, puts considerable strain on joints and muscles. Only those with strong physique and a less demanding and well-grooved action can escape serious setbacks and the current game is littered with those who have had their share of problems. There’s not that many Jones’ and Groenewald’s around.

At the end of it all, a club with Derbyshire’s resources cannot carry players who are consistently unfit but it is ironic that Tom’s final setback at Derbyshire was not of his own making. The fierce Steffan Jones drive that broke his arm meant he would not have one last chance to prove himself, though some would say there had been plenty such opportunities.

Whatever else, Tom Lungley gave his best when he had the opportunity at Derbyshire and I am sure that fans will wish him well. At his age and with his fitness record another county chance is unlikely, but the departure of a local lad is always sad and there are a lot of what-might-have-beens with Tom Lungley.

As for the club, I assume that this is the last departure of the season. As has been pointed out on IMWT, the loss of Rogers, Peterson, Wagg, Goddard, Sadler and Lungley frees up some money for John Morris that will help him to reshape the side. We have swapped a relatively inexperienced keeper and time-served seamer with opposites in Luke Sutton and Mark Turner, but no one would dispute that in doing so we haven’t improved things.

What John Morris does with the rest of his ‘pot’ will make for fascinating winter watching and I am as excited at the prospect as the rest of you.

Bit baffled...

One or two comments on the blog yesterday I can't agree with.

One said that Groenewald "had a couple of good spells and scored a fifty but didn't set the world alight". Actually, I think he did very well. In first class matches he averaged 20 with the bat, usually coming in at nine or ten, while he was top of the bowling averages with 34 wickets at 27 from only nine matches. He took 12 wickets in one day games and a further 7 in Twenty/20, where he was our second most economical regular bowler. That's a little more than "a couple of good spells" and he can be proud of his efforts.

Similarly, there are calls for John Sadler to be released after averaging 35 from just four one day innings and 71 from four Championship innings. On top of that he averaged 41 in the Twenty/20. OK, those averages were partly the result of a lot of not outs, but the fact is that Sads let no one down in 2009. In one day games he got in with 2-3 overs to go and in the Championship he was in at 483-4 against Kent, 350-4 against Middlesex and 400-4 and 143-4 against Essex. What's a man to do? It smacks of the comment made by the old Yorkshire wicket keeper Arthur Wood, when he came in during England's 903-7 against Australia with the score reading something like 730-5 and said "I allus was a man for a crisis"...

Sads scored a number of centuries for the Seconds and did well in his League appearances too. He could have done no more from his limited appearances in 2009. Yes, I'll agree that next year is a biggie for him, but I think that talk of releasing him after his summer's efforts are unfair.

Steffan Jones? Yes, I'd like to see us sign him too, but he's playing in India with Somerset just now so nothing can be done until he returns as he's still contracted to them. I think we will sign him after his efforts, but patience is the key guys.

Tom Lungley? With eight first class wickets at 49 and none in the one day matches he had a poor year. He took eight wickets in the Twenty/20 but was also our most expensive bowler based on runs conceded per over. I think he has an option for another year which he is yet to sign, but cannot think he'll have many other offers on those figures. He is another with a massive 2010 ahead if he stays, but whether he is here is up in the air at present.

Charl goes so come on down...

After the early part of the week being spent in a state of excitement following the signing of Stuart Law, it is back to earth with a bang as news comes through that we will lose the services of Charl Langeveldt to the Indian Premier League between 18th April and 24th May.

By my calculations (albeit quick) that rules him out of three Championship matches and all but one/two of the FP trophy matches, depending on the time of his flights subsequently. It is, beyond a doubt, a blow to Derbyshire's prospects, especially in the one day competition that I saw as our best bet this season.

To be fair, however, there was little they could do about it. While the odd fan here and there may be outraged by his lack of loyalty, could anyone in their heart of hearts say that they wouldn't do the same? The chance to earn more in a month than in the rest of the season would tempt anyone. I enjoy my job, but if someone offered me another where I could just work for a month and earn the same money I would snatch their hand off...

So the onus now lies on others to fill the gap. Logic suggests Tom Lungley will be first choice to take his place, so long as his body is fully recovered from last year's various strains and pains. If not, there would appear an early opportunity for Tim Groenewald. Neither could be claimed to be as complete a bowler as Langeveldt, but both bring something extra to the side.

Lungley can dismiss the best on his day and when he has rhythm is himself a potent force. It is an important year for him after last season's problems as the club cannot carry an injury-prone bowler. Tom is also a worker in the field and offers something with the bat, although not as much as his double century in the local leagues a year or two back suggested. He and Graham Wagg are great mates and I suspect that one could feed off the success of the other. We'll see...

Tim Groenewald could otherwise get an early opportunity to impress. Known as a lively fast medium bowler who hits the deck, he has yet to fulfil the early promise he showed in his native South Africa, but could just be a later developer and another who benefits from a change of county. In recent years we've had Tim Munton, "Pop" Welch and Graham Wagg from Warwickshire. The latter two were unqualified successes while Munton was still a fine bowler. If Groenewald shows that level of ability we'll be more than happy.

He also brings a reputation as a fine fielder and a huge hitter of a ball in the lower order. It may be that the compromise is that Lungley plays the Championship matches and Groenewald the one dayers, which would certainly have its merits as an idea.

Only John Morris knows the answer to this little dilemma. We'll know in due course the effect this may have on our season, but for now I'll happily think that this threat to our side's success may just turn out to be an opportunity to a couple of players who need one.

Derby v Warwick day 2

Well, when they were 240-4 with Trott going well and a long batting order I feared the worst and thought we'd be 150 or so behind on first innings.

For the deficit to be only 40 is a good recovery, although our top order will need to do much better in the second innings to get ahead in this game. The first priority, as I type is for Stubbo and Rogers to get us through to stumps and we could do with one of these two batting a long time tomorrow. Ideally, we'd like them all to, but we need to post 300 in the second dig to make a match of this.

I don't know if it was starting to turn a little, but it was good to see Nayan Doshi break through with two quick wickets. He would have enjoyed the dismissal of his predecessor in the spinner role, Ant Botha, especially getting him for a duck. Langeveldt again showed his class, and figures like that (3-42 in 22 overs) don't lie, while Tom Lungley rattled through the tail and finished with 4-70.

Elsewhere, Jon Clare followed his batting heroics with a steady spell and a wicket, while Rikki Clarke was a little expensive.

Anyway, close of play has just come with Derbyshire 3-0. All to play for tomorrow, here's hoping for a hot day, no cloud or humidity and a chance to post a good score.

All followed by muggy cloud on Saturday of course!