Stubbings return makes sense for Derbyshire

It struck me today, when my Twitter feed told me the news, that the two coaches thus far appointed by Derbyshire to their new structure would make up a pretty handy opening partnership.

Certainly John Wright and Steve Stubbings, announced as first team support coach today, would sell their wickets dearly in the club cause and if the current incumbents do as well next year we will have plenty to cheer.

There is a pattern emerging here...ex-opening batsman Kim Barnett as cricket supremo, John Wright, Steve Stubbings...what price the Development Coach being a former opening batsman, when the news is released?

I don't care too much, like most of you, as long as they do the job that we hope for.

Steve Stubbings was a very dependable opening batsman and is still young enough to be playing the first-class game. Instead, he has gained his Level 4 coaching badge and held a range of coaching roles since leaving Derbyshire as a player in 2009.

He was Second XI coach for a while and most recently was batting coach at Northamptonshire, who, let's not forget, were T20 champions this summer. It is a good time for him to return home - which Derbyshire most assuredly is, even for a man whose accent still gives away his years in Australia for education.

Welcome back Steve. It is another piece of the jigsaw complete and a sound appointment by the club. He will be an excellent foil and sounding board for Billy Godleman and will be appreciated by supporters as a man with a ready smile and willingness to chat.

I wish him well, as I am sure you all do.

Postscript: early warning for you that I will be out of action for around a week from December 7. Should anything of major importance occur, my offspring have offered to type for me, while I recover from another operation to my hand. There will otherwise be scheduled 'down' time, as they say in computer circles.

One or two things planned before then, but that is sure to be the time when we announce Dale Steyn on a Kolpak deal...

AJ Harris leaves as county start afresh

So now we know that Derbyshire will start next summer with a completely new coaching set up, with the news that AJ Harris has left the club to 'pursue other opportunities'.

He did a good job, but there was a strong feeling that the new broom of Kim Barnett was going to sweep clean and that the post holders in the new structure would be new men.

So it has transpired and one assumes that the announcement of the new roles may well come this week.

One to keep an eye on, for sure.

The fixtures duly came out yesterday and the season now takes place in largely-defined 'chunks'. If you want to watch 50-over cricket, you'll be doing so in your warmer clothes, as the group stage is done by the end of May. Meanwhile, July and early August is almost wholly given over to T20, with no four-day cricket between July 6 and August 6.

I will be working out when I can make matches over the coming weekend, but the championship season seems odd, with no away trips to Leicestershire and Worcestershire and no home games against Gloucestershire and Sussex. Little in the way of out grounds too, alas, unless the T20 against Lancashire is played at Blackpool, which appears a possibility.

I do hope to make part of the Chesterfield Festival this year, something I have planned for a year or two, while the rest will be when the cricket being played justifies the long trip, unless it is combined with a break to see family.

Time to work that out though, with 131 sleeps to go before the first action.

I'll be back soon.

Fixtures out tomorrow!

My boss will be pleased on Friday.

She has been asking me to get some holidays in for next year for a few weeks, but I've been holding off booking the majority as I want to tie into some cricket. No surprise there eh?

So when I see when and where the games are, I can plan my days away accordingly. There's a few things I hope to do to celebrate fifty years as a Derbyshire fan and an early season game, to have a look at our new recruits is high on the list. I'd love to pull in the Chesterfield Festival too, at least for some of the game - always assuming we get a game on in 2017.

The announcement always makes you feel the season is approaching, albeit not as quickly as we would like. At least the thought of some balmy (as opposed to barmy) days in the sun takes the edge of the penetrating cold right now. I just took the dog out looking like I was setting out to emulate Captain Scott...

There's little else happening on the cricket front. England will undoubtedly struggle to handle India from here on, especially with Kohli finding his best form and our batsmen showing an alarming tendency to collapse like a pack of cards. We need batsmen other than Joe Root to score heavily to go into the next Test anything other than two down.

Meanwhile in Australia, the home side has picked a very young squad to try to halt a losing streak against South Africa, but I fancy the visitors to take a third victory after the most ludicrous ball-tampering case in my memory.

I'm not sure how you can prevent people from eating sweets or gum and I'm unsure how much difference the application of mildly sugared saliva makes to a ball, compared to ordinary saliva or sweat. Or for that matter vaseline, which has been used in the past, along with myriad other things, both innocent and dubious.

Expect the Saffers to come out with guns blazing, in support of their captain, a good man.

Great game cricket, but a lot of silly devils are in charge of it at times.

Spin frailties offer county hope

If, like me, you have watched England's batsmen combating spin on their winter tours of Bangladesh and India, you will share my optimism for the English summer of 2017.

They're not very good, are they? The side's batting reminds me of the little girl with the curl in Henry Longfellow's poem - when they are good, they are very, very good but when they are bad they are horrid.

Sure, three players made centuries in the first Test, but that was on a wicket where batsmen of international class really should have cashed in. Here, where the track is more conducive to spin, most of the batsmen have looked ill at ease against the Indian spinners.

My friend, Ranjith and I discussed the game yesterday in a break from lunch. He is from southern India, 'Venkat territory', as he puts it and is himself a talented leg-spin bowler.

'I've been on that ground a few times', he told me, 'and sometimes the cracks in the wicket are visible from the boundary'. It doesn't augur well for a fourth innings, when you are already two hundred behind after the second.

The conversation switched to Derbyshire and I told him of our signings of Imran Tahir and Jeevan Mendis. His eyes lit up, as talk of such players will do, to one of the 'brethren'.

'They will win you matches', he said. It turns out that Ranjith is a big fan of Jeevan Mendis from his IPL days and rates him highly as a bowler and batsman.

I've seen less of him than Tahir, but his record suggests he has something different to offer and, with no one on the circuit having played him, the novelty value in itself may be considerable. As I have said before, if we get the wickets right, the impact of two high-quality spinners will be considerable.

So will that strike bowler, whenever announced. Do you stick or twist, bat on a seaming first day or on a turning last? If we are getting a man of a similar calibre to the previous winter signings, it will be well worth the wait and might see sides wondering how to combat a revitalised Derbyshire.

There's been a lot of talk on the Harvey Hosein/Gary Wilson battle behind the timbers in the last few weeks. We are lucky to have two such players on the staff and both are capable of playing as a batsman only, but as the newly-appointed vice-captain, I expect Wilson to start in the role. Yet when you think about it, there are only (for me) three players who are automatic picks, assuming fitness - Billy Godleman, Wayne Madsen and Shiv Thakor.

The rest, winter overseas imports aside, will have to prove their right to a place in the starting eleven. Such competition can only be healthy from a team perspective and is a sign that we are starting to climb from a season that will be seen as 'ground zero'.

Two final things before I close. It is good to see John Sadler get straight back into the game with the second team coaching role at Leicestershire. I think their young batsmen will thrive with his genial approach and I wish one of the nicest men in the game the very best of luck.

Finally, over in the Caribbean, Shivnarine Chanderpaul is still doing what comes naturally for Guyana.

Now 42, Shiv has started the season with scores of 91 and 81 not out, the first winning a game for his side, while the second took them to a competitive total. Like old man river, Shiv just keeps rolling along  and his work ethic and willingness to occupy the crease is an object lesson to many a young batsman.

More from me soon!

Postscript: 'ball tampering' after sucking a sweetie? What is going on with such daft accusations in Australia? If a player is found to be roughing up the ball with something in his pocket, or lifting the seam, I get it.

Yet obtaining reverse swing by sucking a sweet? Are we going to have end of over tests on the man bowling the next, to ensure there's nothing on their saliva to help them? If we are now telling players they can't suck a sweet or chew gum, we may as well pack the game up as a bad job.

Batsmen have got way too much in their favour in the modern game, not least bats that are more like flat pack wardrobes than their earlier equivalents and much shorter boundaries. When did you last see an all-run five?

If the Australian media think that their erstwhile greats never got a ball to swing after a few vigorous chomps on a stick of Juicy Fruit, they are deluding themselves and insulting the intelligence of those who watch the game.

Wilson appointment makes eminent sense

There was no real surprise in the appointment of Gary Wilson to the role of Derbyshire vice-captain, which was announced today.

From the time that his signing was announced, there was a strong likelihood that a man who had captained Surrey with common sense and skill in 2014 was likely to be offered such a role. At thirty, he is a time-served professional who will undoubtedly do a good job whether playing as wicket-keeper batsman or as a batting specialist.

Whoever gets the gloves next season, it would appear that we will have someone who offers their fair share of runs from the role. With the form he showed at season-end, Harvey Hosein will push Wilson all the way and that can only be of benefit to the side.

A contributing player at number seven will be perfect for us, someone who can nurse the tail to a decent total on occasion, while perhaps launching a final assault if the earlier batting goes well.

I wish Gary well, as I am sure that you do.

Speaking of well, there's nothing healthy about the Australian cricket side at present. They were once again hammered by South Africa last night, their last eight wickets going down in the blink of an eye.

There appears little desire to fight and a fairly poor technique among some of the Australian players and their batting appears to stop at number four. Indeed, take away Dave Warner and Steven Smith and their batting has astonishing frailties, the likes of which I have never seen, to be honest.

Are the South Africans THAT good? They are without the increasingly injury-prone Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel is returning from injury, but Vernon Philander is a wily seamer and Kagiso Rabada will likely be the best fast bowler in world cricket in the next two or three years. Their match-winner in Hobart was Kyle Abbott, a man who has spent several summers in this country at different counties, yet it is only a few short months since he was hit for 57 in less than four overs by us in the T20.

It's a funny game cricket, but I think that an exciting crop of emerging players will make South Africa, with England and India one of the the top sides in the next few years.

More from me later in the week.

Family History query

It is always nice to have a first on the blog, and the email that I received from Sandra certainly broke new ground. She is looking for a little help with family history and has sent me the following query.

'The story in my family is that my great grandfather, William Yates, was
a fine amateur cricketer in the Bolsover/ Chesterfield area. As a child,
I recall having seen a few medals that had his name on them for playing
cricket. I have looked through some Derbyshire Times editions to see if
there is any reference to him with no success. William died in 1921 from
cancer, leaving a young family behind.

The family story is that he was hit in the chest by a cricket ball whilst
playing on Queens Park in Chesterfield & never recovered from it.
William was a miner, so I guess he played for the local collieries.
Any help you could offer would be appreciated.'

If this rings a bell with someone researching their family tree, or if you can help Sandra in any small way, please get in touch with me at the usual email address and I can put you in touch.

Thanks in advance!

County ahead of the game on governance

So it is farewell and thanks to Sir John Gains and Kevin Dean, as both step down from their roles on the Derbyshire CCC Supervisory Board.

Both have filled their roles well, but with the requisites for governance of clubs changing, the club will ensure that the new look Board is fit for purpose and covers all the bases, in so far as ECB requirements are concerned.

What that will mean down the line is anyone's guess, but it is good to see that the club are taking time to get it right and are future-proofing things.

In playing terms, there is little more to report on just now, apart from, at international level, the nose-diving of Australian cricket. For all that the ECB seem to be using the Big Bash as the template for how things should be done, the reality is that their national game is in a very poor state at the moment. Aside from David Warner, Steven Smith and Mitchell Starc, they have no players who opponents would fear and desperately need one or two who have been 'young and promising' for too long to kick on.

South Africa, even without Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, seem to have way too much for them and for a Test side of their standard to be bowled out in just over thirty overs is shocking. With no AB de Villiers either, you couldn't claim this close to a first choice visiting side, but they have some highly talented players coming through who are doing what the Australians aren't  - contributing.

Injuries to some seam bowlers haven't helped, but there is no comparison between the current rude health of English cricket, with a lot of young talent emerging, and its Australian counterparts.

There is, it has to be said, a degree of irony in this...

More from me in the week.

Midweek update

Winter is fairly starting to bite now, up here in the northern wastelands.

I had to de-ice my car for the first time today and, in the middle of a quiet spell for cricket news, the season seemed a long way off.

Still, the Derbyshire players have reported back for pre-season training and they all look pretty fit after their end of season breaks from the game. Billy Godleman seemes enthused about the new structure and we all await news of the other coaching roles and of a strike bowler.

It was good to see England make a positive start in India, Joe Root maintaining his position (in my eyes) as the world's best all-round batsman. AB de Villiers is the best T20 player and Kane Williamson is an outstanding all-rounder, Virat Kohli a run machine on his own tracks, but I'd take Root as my pick for an all format batsman at present.

On the county front, another South African international, Stiaan van Zyl, has signed a three-year deal with Sussex, who appear to be accepting that Ed Joyce may be moving back to Ireland. The South African is a very good player, but perhaps just short of international standard. I have no doubts that he will get his share of runs for them though and will prove a very canny addition to their resources. He will have to go some to match the prolific Joyce, though, who has been an excellent servant to the club.

Finally, Fidel Edwards has signed another contract with Hampshire, this after his season was ended prematurely with a broken leg sustained in pre-match warm-ups.

I'll be back at the weekend with more news and, hopefully, a book review.

Hughes in the wickets

Great news overnight from Australia, where Alex Hughes took five wickets for his club side, including his first-ever hat-trick.

As those of you who have played cricket at any level will know, half the battle in settling into a new club is making contributions immediately and both Alex and his team mate Ben Slater have done that for their club, Kingston Hawthorn.

It augurs well for Derbyshire, as, on a different tack, does the success of the fireworks night at the club last night, which seems to have been a huge success and brought in ten thousand people to the 3aaa County Ground. A lot of these people won't have been before and you never know if seeing the facilities may be a catalyst for some to make return visits in the future. Ideally that would be on a cricket-watching front, but if it generates business for the marquee or other function space, it will all have a positive impact.

As the chairman tweeted last night, we have come a long way since the dark days of 2010, when the level of loss suggested we might struggle to be a sustainable entity in cricketing terms. Constant profits each year since then have shown the county game just how things can be done and have to be done.

All we need now is for that to translate into improved fortunes on the pitch and the signings so far have suggested that might happen. I remain convinced that the likeliest source of our strike bowler will be South Africa, where they appear to be on the verge of a golden period and have a lot of talented players emerging, especially from the ethnic groups.

They are hammering Australia in the first Test in Australia, with a side that is as fifty/fifty as you can get in a black/white eleven. Rabada, Philander and Maharaj are all fine bowlers, while Bavuma is fast-emerging as a batsman of talent.

Their success is encouraging but with Simon Harmer heading to Essex for next season and Colin Ackermann to Leicestershire, it is inevitable that more and more players with the requisite qualifications will look at opportunities elsewhere.

There's always the chance of a disenchanted West Indian, or a player from elsewhere on an English passport, of course, but the level of cricket in South Africa is high and no one could blame any player for seeking to pursue their dream elsewhere, when opportunities are limited.

We'll see.

For now, enjoy the remainder of your weekend.

Quiet week

Apologies for the lack of blogging this week, but there's been little news and I have been working till 8.30pm every night, leaving little time for anything but having a meal and walking the dog before bed time.

Truth be told, apart from a fireworks night at the 3aaa County Ground on Saturday, there's been little to report. I hope it goes well though, as fireworks off the pitch enable greater resources for fireworks on it.

We can't complain either - we have had a heady couple of weeks!

I will be back towards the weekend, as time permits.

John Sadler leaves as county start afresh

It is always sad when someone leaves the club that you support. Especially when that person is as nice a guy as one would wish to meet.

That was John Sadler, who was always happy to stop and chat with anyone who wanted five minutes of his time. He also managed to keep a smile on his face longer than most incumbents of the Derbyshire hot seat. Historically, it has not been a role that has guaranteed success and there have been sufficient issues over the years, on and off the field, to write a volume that would dwarf War and Peace.

John did a competent job and stabilised things after the mid-season departure of Graeme Welch. Yet the wind of change is blowing hard across the 3aaa County Ground and the desire for success is strong. Perhaps One Direction might have been more apposite than Elton John, but the feeling pervades that change was necessary, to give the club the lift that is required.

It is hard to argue. After all, we finished bottom of 18 counties, squandered a good position in the RLODC and just missed out in the T20. Perhaps, if we had even been mid-table in four-day cricket, that might have been seen as a season of albeit limited progress. Yet bottom we were, with much to do to make up lost ground. While there were days in the sun, there were just too many where old habits resurfaced and results suffered as a consequence.

Having appointed John Wright to oversee and hopefully transform a T20 record that has largely made us a laughing stock, the search will already have commenced to find someone for the senior coaching role, as well as its crucial accompanying development position. It will be interesting to see who has applied for it, when the onus is thrust squarely on the shoulders of the senior players and captain to make a difference.

Getting the appointment right is another crucial step along the way to success. Under John Sadler, we produced some good one-day cricket, but not enough of it. Whoever comes in has to take us to another level and be prepared for the slings and arrows of misfortune along the way.

Perhaps John was too nice a guy for the role. There will always be those who respond to the arm around the shoulder, while others need a more firm handling. The secret to success in management is knowing what works best with all your staff and choosing the time and place correctly when the latter is needed. In even the best environments, things can go wrong and that is when any coach or manager will earn his, or her money.

Whatever, those who suggested that Derbyshire would take the easy route and simply reappoint from within have been proven wrong. There is clearly a stringent and robust recruitment process ongoing, the results of which will be announced in due course. The desire to improve is tangible and to be applauded, though the inevitable casualties are to be lamented.

So it is time to say farewell, and thank you, to John Sadler, a good and honourable man. He will doubtless make a success of whatever comes next and I wish him well, as I am sure you do.

He always gave of his best and no one can ask for more.

In praise of true spin

'Another poor overseas signing with no excitement pull'.

So went a comment on Twitter yesterday, in reaction to the news of Jeevan Mendis joining the county. Over several Tweets, the 'supporter' reckoned that his (misquoted) averages weren't very impressive and that from a fan's perspective it was 'hardly exciting'.

Really? Some cricket fans must be getting quite blase. This is a player who has been signed in Australia, Bangladesh, the West Indies and India to play in their showpiece T20 competitions, where he has produced some stirring displays. He has kept getting signed too, suggesting he has done plenty right along the way.

Wickets in England aren't generally conducive to spin in the early season, but then again, English county players aren't especially used to facing quality spin. There was a time, back in the 1950s and 60s, when almost every county had a spin bowler of quality, one who gave the ball a real 'rip'. Increasingly, the modern spinner 'rolls' the ball, leaving the occasional purveyor of something special as a somewhat mythical figure who delivers something akin to a hand grenade.

Derbyshire has acquired two such bowlers in the past week or so. Leg spin is a difficult art to master and suggesting that the limited English returns of Mendis are disappointing rather misses the point. He was a young man, working on his skills then. Now, he is an experienced and wily cricketer who has done well across the globe and has much to offer.

I don't think Derbyshire will bat him too high in the order. Six or seven seems right to me, keeping him away from a new ball that zips around in the early season, but leaving him able to play his natural attacking game against an old ball and tiring bowlers. We all saw how Neil Broom, an equally experienced player, struggled last summer, so expectations of Sri Lankan carnage should perhaps be tempered. If he comes off, and counter-attacks with success, the effect of such batting on opponents cannot be overestimated.

His signing made me think back to the two overseas spinners I have seen in my time as a Derbyshire supporter. The Indian off-spinner, Venkat, was a joy to watch and a bowler of high skill. He contributed a few runs and was a fine close fielder, but his bowling was by some distance the stronger suit. Notwithstanding it being a strange signing, for a team that was often badly short of runs, he did pretty well, yet the truth was that a return of 6-98, while impressive, looked less so when we had made 130 all out yet again.

The same went for Shahid Afridi. He was young when we signed him, had the 'boom or bust' mentality that limited his batting career and was capable of bowling his fair share of awful stuff. I still recall the frustration of Dominic Cork, skipper at the time, in a limited over game in Edinburgh, when Afridi seemed incapable of bowling to a field. If Cork packed the off side, he bowled short on leg stump; if he moved men across, the next ball was a wide long hop outside off.

It is a tough skill to master, but in engaging two men in their thirties with proven records, Derbyshire have the best chance of success. Yet we can no more rely on Mendis than Tahir to win us matches on their own. It can only be a team effort and the onus is on the batsmen to score big and give the spinners something to work with. Then, as was pointed out yesterday, we need to back that up in the field and behind the stumps. I'm sure that Gary Wilson and Harvey Hosein will have a few sessions with both bowlers to help them pick their many variant deliveries.

In Billy Godleman, Ben Slater, Wayne Madsen, Shiv Thakor and Gary Wilson, we have five players who I think will score good runs. There is a question mark at number three, albeit with several competing candidates, while Neil Broom showing his Otago form is essential if we are to progress and he is to retain a place in a competitive squad. If he plays as he finished the season, Harvey Hosein will be hard to omit too.

I'm excited and the 'feel' of this week's comments is that this is shared by most of you. Imran Tahir and Jeevan Mendis may join the Derbyshire cricketing pantheon of overseas success, or may join a sadly lengthening list of failures, but I applaud the club's rationale and forward thinking, which is hard to fault.

People around the county circuit will now be thinking that they wouldn't fancy batting on the last day at Derby, or anywhere else for that matter, so batting first might be a preferred option.

At least, of course, until we have a confirmed strike bowler who may just change their mind.

Kim Barnett was quite clever in saying that the club have a 'non-overseas' bowler lined up. Some have taken this as therefore being an English player, but for me it is a means of differentiating between the overseas role and, I think, either one with a dual nationality passport or who qualifies as a Kolpak player.

The former could be from anywhere, really, but the latter has to be from either the Caribbean, Zimbabwe or South Africa. Given the dearth of fast bowling talent in the Caribbean and the absence of it in Zimbabwe, I'd suggest that we either have a Kiwi or Aussie flying in on a UK passport, or there will be another South African accent in the Derbyshire dressing room.

I'm not going to start hares across the park with names, because I have no connections in the UK Passport Agency, but if we could find a bowler who does for us what Rory Kleinveldt, for instance, has done at Northampton, we'll have few complaints.

Jeevan Mendis completes intriguing overseas pairing

There will be those for who the name of Jeevan Mendis comes as a surprise. Probably even more who could neither spell nor pronounce Balapuwaduge Manukulasuriya Amith Jeevan Mendis, to give him his full name. I think I will stick with Jeevan; after all, I reneged on typing Royal London One Day Cup on a regular basis...

Be assured, however, that he is a somewhat left-field pick who could just be a very special signing by Derbyshire.

For one thing he is unknown in this country, having only played a couple of matches for an emerging Sri Lankan XI here in 2004. Novelty value is no bad thing, especially in a leg spin bowler who has made his reputation in T20 competitions around the world, but has a first rate first-class record.

A batting average of 37, with sixteen centuries and 31 fifties is not bad by any standards, especially when accompanied by over 200 wickets at a mid-twenties average. His List A accomplishments are also impressive, with plenty of runs and wickets to suggest that we will have a handy cricketer for the fifty-over competition. A left-hand bat, he scores quickly and, apparently, bowls the leggie and googly with such a similar action that few play him with confidence when conditions are in his favour.

Watch the video below, which shows him first dismissing Kevin Pietersen in the Caribbean Premier League, then bamboozling Henry Davids with a googly he clearly didn't pick.

At 33 he is a time-served cricketer who will be keen to build a reputation in this country to match that he has elsewhere. There is much to like in a player who can score good runs anywhere between five and eight in the order, bowl match-winning leg spin and field brilliantly wherever required.

There is equally much to be impressed by in the work of Kim Barnett this winter. He has moved quickly and decisively to identify and then sign up two very good cricketers for the overseas roles. While Imran Tahir is the best known, Mendis will be a player well worth watching and could easily be a season-starting catalyst for a special summer.

The key man now is Neil Godrich, as the playing die are well and truly cast. While early season wickets are not, usually, ripe for turning, the Derbyshire groundsman, one of the best in the country, is tasked with producing wickets which, while not falling foul of the pitch inspectors in resembling a beach, will offer increasing turn as the game goes on and offer our overseas stars the very thing they need to succeed. His success will almost certainly see theirs.

To conclude - well done Derbyshire. We have landed two very good players for the overseas role. If we can get that strike bowler and another top player for T20, it will represent the best winter's work in recent memory.

Experienced wicket-keeper batsman, talented young all-rounder, two highly-skilled spinners and one of the highest-regarded T20 coaches in the world game.

Crikey, a lot has happened since the season ended.

Jeevan Mendis announced as second overseas player

Fascinating news breaking this morning, with Jeevan Mendis announced as the other half of our overseas pairing for next summer.

An aggressive left-hand batsman and right arm leg-spin bowler, Mendis is a signing that few will have seen coming but should be both intrigued and impressed by. A genuine all rounder, with a batting average in the top thirties and a bowling one in the mid-twenties, he could be quite special.

He will play at the start of the season and will form an exciting spin pairing with Imran Tahir. Matt Critchley must feel that Christmas has come early, to work with two quality purveyors of his art.

More from me later, but a player who has made his reputation in the world T20 competitions now has a chance to build one in this country.

Thirty-three years old, he has a lot of experience, once again fitting the bill for the type of man Kim Barnett set out to sign.

He's delivered too, and deserves congratulations for conducting his business smoothly and with the minimum of fuss.

More from me - and an in depth look at the signing - later.

Chris Armishaw

When I visited Edwin Smith at the end of last week, he showed me a copy of Professional Cricketers' Association magazine, which contained an obituary for Chris Armishaw, who passed away earlier this year, on 12 March at the age of 63.

I was saddened as I'd not heard of it, nor do I recall the club picking it up at the time. It came as a shock to Edwin too, the county coach at the time of the player's brief county career.

His name may mean little to many of you, but in 1973, Chris played five one-day games for Derbyshire, making his debut against Middlesex, at Chesterfield in the John Player League on June 24.

My Dad and I were in our usual place at the Lake End and Derbyshire posted a competitive (for that time) total of 189-5, largely thanks to fine innings from Harry Cartwright and Ian Buxton. When he was in full swing, Cartwright looked a million dollars and played superbly that day, rescuing us from a dodgy start with an imperious unbeaten 76.

Yet a strong visiting side made a good start, before Armishaw entered the attack and had Clive Radley caught behind with his very first ball for the county. He then took the wicket of Mike Smith, caught by Tony Borrington, before returning later to remove Fred Titmus and Mike Selvey.

Four very good wickets for 31 and it appeared that a star had been born, in a thrilling game that we ended up winning by one run. Yet, as Edwin recalled as we talked, Armishaw had a good and blossoming career in the National Westminster Bank and at the end of the season declined a contract offer and disappeared from the county game forever.

He played for Tutbury Cricket Club near Burton-on-Trent, where he was feared on the pitch and popular off it.

It is appropriate to register his passing and I'm sorry to have missed it at the time.

Rest in peace, Chris.

Tahir generates huge interest

If yesterday's interest in the signing of Imran Tahir is anything to go by, this year's record usage of the blog will be dwarfed by what happens next year.

It was the second biggest day in the blog's history and the biggest out of season, which rather tells its own story.

Tahir is big. He is also a character, a personality, something that the game always needs. That wicket celebration might be deemed over the top by some, but it shows a man whose passion for the game is undiminished. The excellent videos posted by the club, showing the full range of his talents, are a delightful appetiser for what may be a highly impressive main course next summer.

Of course there are no guarantees, but if we get the wickets right and hold our catches, I have every confidence that he will win us matches, in any format. The T20 skipper, when appointed, will have a bowler who can bowl his allocation in four different spells if required. He will be especially dangerous in the Powerplay and in the closing overs, as he has always been. In the four-day game, a last day wicket offering help will see few teams wanting to chase over 200 and those bowling at the other end will benefit from his control and danger.

Now, of course, focus will switch to his 'other half'. Kim Barnett has teased supporters with suggestions as to the sort of player it might be and for what it is worth, I think we will see a spin bowling all rounder.

If we land the promised strike bowler, he, together with Ben Cotton, Ton Palladino and Shiv Thakor would make up a pretty decent seam quartet. Others could come to the fore, with Alex Hughes and Luis Reece also available for all round options and Tom Taylor, Tom Milnes and Will Davis pushing for selection.

How nice it would be if spin could be in the hands of Matt Critchley and a more experienced man. Any skipper loves bowling options and next year ours seem to be blessed with a good few.

The winter has shaped up well so far. A wicket-keeper/batsman who will strengthen the batting in Gary Wilson, a left-handed all rounder in Luis Reece (who is doing very well in Australia at present) and a world-class spinner in Imran Tahir.

More where they came from will do very nicely, thank you, Mr Barnett.

In closing tonight, I'd like to acknowledge the award of county cricket broadcaster of the year to Dave Fletcher of BBC Radio Derby.

I know a lot of people who hadn't enjoyed the work of previous correspondents, but he did a very good job in bringing the club's fortunes to a dispersed fan base. Not all fans of the county are lucky enough to live close enough to see them regularly (as I can vouch for) and his efforts were very much appreciated.

Nice work, Dave.

Derbyshire sign Imran Tahir!

In a strong indicator of things to come this summer, as well as message to other teams in division two of the County Championship, Derbyshire today announced the signing of one of the best spin bowlers in the world game for 2017.

Imran Tahir's potent combination of leg and top spin, combined with a hard to pick googly, have made him a success in all forms of the game and in all countries of the world. That is emphasised by a career record of over 1400 wickets in the game's various forms. Not bad, huh?

He is no stranger to these shores, having had previous stints with five counties, as well as Staffordshire. The latter probably gave Derbyshire an 'in' to the player, as Kim Barnett has apparently known him for thirteen years. Now in his late thirties, Tahir's powers are far from diminished and he actually looks a better bowler than in his younger days, often the case with purveyors of the spin bowling art.

In the recent one-day series that South Africa played against Australia, Tahir was the one bowler on either side who was hard to hit. A lot of batsmen seem to find him hard to pick, even after all these years and there appeared to be an element of risk whenever they took him on.

As with all international players these days, Tahir's availability is restricted by the schedule but he is available from late-June onwards, subject to his commitments with his country. These tend to be in one-day cricket only now, so we should see plenty of him at Derby, as the season gets towards its business end.

I have no doubt that Neil Godrich will now have a major part to play in preparing wickets to suit our new overseas star. Dry and dusty, certainly as the game goes on, will be the order of the day. Tahir took wickets for Nottinghamshire last year on wickets that largely didn't suit him, but it would be a surprise if such a method was adopted by Derbyshire.

We now have one of the two best spin bowlers in the world game for a major part of the summer. Interestingly, Kim Barnett suggested that we will go with spin for the four-day game, perhaps indicating that another player might be recruited for the fifty-over competition. We'll have to wait and see who Tahir's four-day job-share partner is, but if this is the benchmark we should prepare to be impressed.

Importantly, we  have a 'go to' bowler if things are getting away from us. Billy Godleman will enjoy having one available who he can toss the ball to and broadly forget about for a session, if he chose to do so, as it is rare for Tahir to be hit, or fail to get wickets.

It will be a huge help for Matt Critchley. He had a session with Shane Warne a few weeks ago and now gets to work with one of the greats at close quarters. I am sure he will be thrilled at such an opportunity.

Visiting skippers will now have a decision to make at the time of the toss - do they risk the vagaries of opening morning wickets, or opt to bat last on one that will doubtless turn? IF our batsmen can bat as a unit and get a total on the board, there won't be many who fancy chasing 200-plus on the last day, against a bowler who can and will roll them over. If we can now get a top strike bowler, our opponents will have a bit of a dilemma.

It is a very important piece of the jigsaw and the club is to be applauded for persuading a big international name to throw in his lot in this part of the East Midlands.

Welcome to Derbyshire, Imran.

An exciting chapter of our cricketing lives will begin in 2017.

Enjoyable break and a catch up with friends

That was a lovely couple of days in Lancashire, closely followed by two that have been well-enjoyed back home in God's own county.

Southport and Liverpool have two thriving cricket societies and it was a delight to meet and chat to some very nice people. They seemed interested in what I had to say, laughed in the right places and had plenty of questions at the end.

It is fair to say that when the subject got around to the city-based T20 competition there were few supporters. Probably fairer still to say that you could have counted them on the fingers of one hand over two nights combined...

They were traditional cricket fans and both knew and loved their cricket. Questions came thick and fast and there was great interest in the appointment of John Wright, our signing of Luis Reece and the fortunes of Matt Critchley, who hails from those parts.

Then down into Derbyshire and a chance to catch up yesterday with the legend that is Edwin Smith and his lovely wife, Jean. They both looked very well after a recent holiday and it was a delight to be able to tell them that my book on his life and career is now officially sold out, the final copies being sold en route.

Today I also had the chance of a couple of hours with Walter Goodyear. He's 99 and nine months now and still as fascinating to listen to as he has been through his days. Listening to him talk pitch preparation and tell tales of his time at the club is a constant joy.

We got to talking about John Wright, 'a lovely fella' and Walter was delighted to see his return to the club. It struck me that there were three anniversaries next summer - John's return to the club will be 40 years since he first walked into it as overseas player; I will enjoy my fiftieth summer as a supporter of the club and Walter - well, he could reach one of the best centuries in the club's history.

Keep your fingers crossed.

It would be really special.

Club to be applauded for yesterday's news

I have to say that I was a little taken aback by High Peak's comment on yesterday's post, suggesting that Derbyshire going for the 'cheap option' in bringing in John Wright, a man 'in his dotage'.

I published it to show that no matter what you try to do in this life, there will always be those who find something wrong.

Does anyone seriously think that a man who is credited with introducing professionalism to the Indian national side, winning a series against Australia at home, drawing in Australia, getting to a World Cup Final and then getting his IPL side to a double trophy success would come cheap? I don't, but it will be money well spent on John Wright.

He knows cricket and knows cricketers. He will bring a new eye and fresh tactical input to the squad, as well as having contacts within the game that should ensure we get two overseas players in the format who are top-drawer, 'gun' cricketers.

Of course we still need to do something about the four-day game, but everything comes together in its own time. The chairman tweeted yesterday that the club hopes to announce a couple of major international signings in the next week, which will doubtless be for the longer form of the game.

It is all very exciting, but it still frustrates me, after years of writing this blog, that there are those who don't understand how much work is going on to improve things. John Wright, like Kim Barnett, works very hard for success and we have our best chance of improvement with people like that in charge of the cricket in the club.

There are no guarantees, as life doesn't work like that. Wright could sign two top stars and one of them might break a finger in the first game. We don't know and we all remember the Amla/Dilshan experiment that didn't work. Yet it shouldn't prevent us from trying and already people are noting the club's innovative stance on coaching. Derbyshire - OUR Derbyshire - have come up with something completely new that just might work.

He will be here for a few weeks before it starts to watch the players and see what he has to work with, as well as getting over his ideas to what will be a squad bursting to impress.

If John Wright can make the difference for us, full marks go to all involved and we can rename a street after him. If it fails, then hey, them's the breaks - but at least we tried. I will never fault effort and innovation. Ten per cent more over last year might make all the difference for Derbyshire's T20 fortunes.

In  engaging John Wright, I reckon we have started the ball rolling.

Yesterday's other news is also very positive. £139 to watch a season of cricket? That has to be a steal and I'd urge all members to tell their football season ticket-buying friends about it. I know a lot of people who buy six packs, but if you can watch any more than six days of cricket a season and live within reasonable reach of the county, the year membership, with all of its benefits, has to be the way to go.

It deserves to do well and I think it will - especially if the two names announced in the near future are as impressive as I think that they will be.

Finally today, thank you to everyone at the West Lancashire Cricket Society, who made last night's event in Southport a real pleasure. It was nice to meet you all, sell a few books and enjoy some fun cricket chat - as well as finding out that you're not at all happy in losing Luis Reece to us...

Tonight I am in Liverpool's Sefton Park Cricket Club for the Merseyside Cricket Society. I've already realised one ambition today, in having a drink in the city's legendary Cavern Club and having a pleasant few hours around a vibrant city.

Fingers crossed tonight goes well and my trusty sat-nav doesn't let me down...

John Wright 'comes home' as new T20 coach

I had a feeling that something would be announced today, when the membership packages for 2017 are announced. Perhaps a player but, as it turns out, the news that one of the biggest coaches in cricket is returning to a club that was his cricketing home for many years.

John Wright is a giant of the game. First as a player, one who rightly stakes a claim as one of the best in the club's history. He did it on the international stage too, averaging just under forty in an era when opening batsmen faced genuine fast bowling, whoever the opposition. All of it - well, nearly all of it - with a smile on his face and a genial manner that made him hugely popular with supporters.

It was the same when Wright became New Zealand coach and then the first non-Indian coach of their national side. He had previously enjoyed a county stint in charge at Kent and quickly became established as an outstanding coach at international level.

Of course, having the likes of Tendulkar, Sehwag, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman in the batting line up never does any harm, but Wright stressed to them all the role that they were expected to play in winning matches. He explained this well - shameless plug time - in an interview for my recent book In Their Own Words: Derbyshire Cricketers in Conversation, which gave an insight into the man and the way that he worked as a player and subsequently as a coach.

That same interview also clearly showed how important Derbyshire was and remains for John. He has made regular trips over here and has remained on very good terms with the club. He is also an unashamed fan of the area, which he loves.

He was in charge of India for five years, in which time they beat Australia at home for the first time, drew a series in that country, won a fiercely competed series against their arch rivals, Pakistan and reached the final of the 2003 World Cup.

At the end of his tenure -  and five years is a long time in a role that rarely carries a suggestion of longevity, even with success - Wright became a successful coach in the IPL, leading Mumbai Indians to that title and the Champions League T20 double in 2013.

Since then he has been a talent scout for that side, a role well-explained in this Cricinfo article. It was Wright who spotted the raw, unorthodox but precocious talent of Jasprit Bumrah, as well as that of Hardik Pandya, both of who have gone on to greater things.

That Wright has the coaching credentials is undeniable, but he also brings a huge network of contacts. As was explained recently by Kim Barnett, the T20 coach will recruit his overseas players and work solely on that format.

Might that see another return, this time for Martin Guptill? I won't attempt to second-guess, but John could go in any number of directions and will doubtless know a lot about what he has in the squad already and how that might best be complemented.

For my money, a powerhouse batsman and either a quick bowler or spinner of class would do nicely. If either offer a second string to their bow, so much the better, but we are in very good hands with John Wright.

If you are considering coaches who have made a reputation and a contribution to a dynasty, his work in making India more 'professional' is acknowledged across the world.

That he is now bringing those talents back to the county that gave him his first major opportunity in the game constitutes a pretty major coup by Kim Barnett. If this is the standard we are aiming at this winter, only the most churlish will find something to moan about.

Of course, we all want to know who is coming to play here next summer.

With a man of this stature in charge, it could be absolutely anyone.

Welcome back to Derbyshire, John. It will be a pleasure to see you again.