Warm congratulations tonight to Northamptonshire, winners of the T20 for this year. They're not, on paper, close to the strongest team in the competition, but the whole was pretty impressive and in Cameron White they have a very good overseas player. Richard Levi also impressed, more effective at this level with his predominantly leg-side heaves than at international level.
I was also pleased because they hammered Surrey in the final. I didn't like the attitude of Gareth Batty in the quarter-final that saw him banned for today and he has, after all, got 'previous' in this line. It is one thing to play aggressive cricket, another to be unnecessarily aggressive and Batty crossed the line and set a poor example against Somerset.
So the underdog rules and more power to their elbow. Congratulations also to Freddie the Falcon for second place in the Mascot challenge.
Mind you I'd sooner have seen him 18th and Derbyshire there today.
Maybe next year...
PS While I am in a congratulatory mode, belated ones to Matt Lineker for his century earlier in the week for the Unicorns. They still lost, but it will be something to remember for a long time to come.
Well done, Matt!
Saturday, 17 August 2013
Something for the weekend: Krikk's dilemma
There will be more than a few thoughts running through Karl Krikken's mind this weekend and the decisions that come out of them will be crucial to our prospects against Middlesex.
While Derbyshire will start Tuesday's game as underdogs, the players and coach will be well aware that they gave them a good game at Lords for a couple of days, before one horrendous session cost them dearly. The visitors are in contention for the title, but then again, so are Sussex and we beat them in our last game with relative ease.
Having thought long and hard about it, I still feel we really need this to be a spinner's track and I've not changed my mind since last night's game against Durham. By the same token, we can't have it turning right angles from the first session, or the pitch inspectors will be down at the ground faster than you can say 'Muttiah Muralitharan'. Neil Godrich has a fine line to tread in getting the wicket just right, like Goldilocks' third bowl of porridge.
Why? Middlesex are challenging for the title because Finn, Murtagh, Roland-Jones, Collymore and Harris have nearly 120 wickets between them. Ollie Rayner, their sole spinner of note, has seventeen wickets in eight matches. I'm not going to pretend that Wainwright, Durston, Burgoyne and Knight are channeling the skills of Indian legends circa 1970's after Thursday night, but they do represent, for me, our best chance of success in this one.
Of course, it is not as clear cut as that. It would help considerably if we won the toss and could bat first, but there's only 50/50 on that one, as is always the case.We also need to bat well, there being nowhere to go if we are rolled over for 175 on the first day, even if the toss goes our way.
Yet the key man in the intervening period is James Pipe. Is Chanderpaul fit? Is Wes Durston? Will Tony Palladino get through four days of cricket after a stomach strain? For that matter, will Jon Clare emerge from another injury-ruined season?
Clare is an enigma. He's a lovely lad, a dangerous batsman and a bowler who hits the wicket hard and on his day would be a shoo-in for a first choice side. Yet his body is the biggest obstacle to him developing as the cricketer we all thought he would be when he burst onto the scene in 2008. He only played nine championship matches over the following two seasons, but had an excellent 2011. Last summer he again did well and despite missing a third of the matches was a key player in the championship win.
This year he has missed around half of the matches and not looked close to his best form with bat or ball for much of the time. Maybe he needs to replicate the winter work of Mark Footitt, another whose career has been blighted by injury but who has maintained a level of fitness this summer that is highly commendable. Maybe he has just been unlucky.
I hope that Clare gets himself fit for another summer, as our side is undoubtedly the stronger for him being in it and at the peak of his fitness and game. At 27 he is coming to a crucial part of his career and where it goes from this point will be largely down to him.
I think that we will play three seamers - we have to, in case one goes lame - but the final place will be dictated by Wes Durston's fitness to bowl perhaps fifteen or twenty overs. We know that Chesney can't bowl this summer, so Durston opposite Wainwright will be key on what I expect to be a slow, turning wicket. If there's any doubt, then I suspect Peter Burgoyne's superior batting might get him the nod at six in this side:
Hughes
Slater
Madsen
Chanderpaul
Durston
Burgoyne/Hughes
Poynton
Wainwright
Palladino
Groenewald
Footitt
It would be tough on Burgoyne or Alex Hughes to miss out, as both had good games at Sussex, but I would see that as my most likely eleven. As I said the other night, I feel Tom Knight the better spinner at the moment, but if we need another one his inclusion would leave us with a long-looking tail. Some might say that Durston's championship form this summer doesn't warrant selection, but he's due an innings and has shown form with bat and ball since the Sussex game.
We're all experts after the event. It is easy to call a bad selection or a poor bowling change, a bad shot or a missed catch with the benefit of hindsight. When you have to make a judgement call in advance of a game, or on the spur of the moment, it is massively different. Karl Krikken makes decisions based on fitness reports, seeing players in the nets, being aware of their mental state and a gut feeling. All of us can only go on the latter.
It will be tough, but that's top tier cricket. We have the ability to win it, as the team have shown on various occasions this summer, but the all-important question has to be answered.
Which Derbyshire will turn up?
While Derbyshire will start Tuesday's game as underdogs, the players and coach will be well aware that they gave them a good game at Lords for a couple of days, before one horrendous session cost them dearly. The visitors are in contention for the title, but then again, so are Sussex and we beat them in our last game with relative ease.
Having thought long and hard about it, I still feel we really need this to be a spinner's track and I've not changed my mind since last night's game against Durham. By the same token, we can't have it turning right angles from the first session, or the pitch inspectors will be down at the ground faster than you can say 'Muttiah Muralitharan'. Neil Godrich has a fine line to tread in getting the wicket just right, like Goldilocks' third bowl of porridge.
Why? Middlesex are challenging for the title because Finn, Murtagh, Roland-Jones, Collymore and Harris have nearly 120 wickets between them. Ollie Rayner, their sole spinner of note, has seventeen wickets in eight matches. I'm not going to pretend that Wainwright, Durston, Burgoyne and Knight are channeling the skills of Indian legends circa 1970's after Thursday night, but they do represent, for me, our best chance of success in this one.
Of course, it is not as clear cut as that. It would help considerably if we won the toss and could bat first, but there's only 50/50 on that one, as is always the case.We also need to bat well, there being nowhere to go if we are rolled over for 175 on the first day, even if the toss goes our way.
Yet the key man in the intervening period is James Pipe. Is Chanderpaul fit? Is Wes Durston? Will Tony Palladino get through four days of cricket after a stomach strain? For that matter, will Jon Clare emerge from another injury-ruined season?
Clare is an enigma. He's a lovely lad, a dangerous batsman and a bowler who hits the wicket hard and on his day would be a shoo-in for a first choice side. Yet his body is the biggest obstacle to him developing as the cricketer we all thought he would be when he burst onto the scene in 2008. He only played nine championship matches over the following two seasons, but had an excellent 2011. Last summer he again did well and despite missing a third of the matches was a key player in the championship win.
This year he has missed around half of the matches and not looked close to his best form with bat or ball for much of the time. Maybe he needs to replicate the winter work of Mark Footitt, another whose career has been blighted by injury but who has maintained a level of fitness this summer that is highly commendable. Maybe he has just been unlucky.
I hope that Clare gets himself fit for another summer, as our side is undoubtedly the stronger for him being in it and at the peak of his fitness and game. At 27 he is coming to a crucial part of his career and where it goes from this point will be largely down to him.
I think that we will play three seamers - we have to, in case one goes lame - but the final place will be dictated by Wes Durston's fitness to bowl perhaps fifteen or twenty overs. We know that Chesney can't bowl this summer, so Durston opposite Wainwright will be key on what I expect to be a slow, turning wicket. If there's any doubt, then I suspect Peter Burgoyne's superior batting might get him the nod at six in this side:
Hughes
Slater
Madsen
Chanderpaul
Durston
Burgoyne/Hughes
Poynton
Wainwright
Palladino
Groenewald
Footitt
It would be tough on Burgoyne or Alex Hughes to miss out, as both had good games at Sussex, but I would see that as my most likely eleven. As I said the other night, I feel Tom Knight the better spinner at the moment, but if we need another one his inclusion would leave us with a long-looking tail. Some might say that Durston's championship form this summer doesn't warrant selection, but he's due an innings and has shown form with bat and ball since the Sussex game.
We're all experts after the event. It is easy to call a bad selection or a poor bowling change, a bad shot or a missed catch with the benefit of hindsight. When you have to make a judgement call in advance of a game, or on the spur of the moment, it is massively different. Karl Krikken makes decisions based on fitness reports, seeing players in the nets, being aware of their mental state and a gut feeling. All of us can only go on the latter.
It will be tough, but that's top tier cricket. We have the ability to win it, as the team have shown on various occasions this summer, but the all-important question has to be answered.
Which Derbyshire will turn up?
Thursday, 15 August 2013
Derbyshire v Durham YB40: We are the Sultans of Spin...
There was another display of potential from Derbyshire tonight, albeit in a somewhat redundant YB40 fixture, which they won with some ease.
A solid team effort got us to a competitive 218-8 in our forty overs, with Richard Johnson top-scoring with an excellent fifty and the skipper weighing in with 37. There were good cameos down the order too, with Tony Palladino carving merrily at the death as we all know he can do.
He then had a good spell of seven straight overs that will do his confidence good ahead of next week's championship match against Middlesex, although he was outdone by his opening partner, Wayne Madsen.
Is there anything this bloke can't do? Besides batting as if his blade is three feet wide this season, he is emerging as a more than useful bowler who tonight returned the superb figures of 3-27 in eight overs. To be fair his record in the Lancashire Leagues suggested he could bowl, but it is good to see him having the confidence as captain to lead from the front and turn his arm over.
I do think he needs to do a bit of work in the winter though. If he can also develop his seam bowling, he could come on as first change, bowl some handy Kallis-like seam, then switch to spin as the ball got soft. Oh, and still bat three and skipper...no problem then, eh?
I was delighted to see Tom Knight in the wickets tonight and it is no more than the lad deserves. He is and has always been a good bowler and we should have used him more this summer, especially when David Wainwright was having a few issues with his bowling. As was pointed out by a contributor the other day, he gives you a degree of control, is much improved in the field and can handle a bat.
I think Knight a more developed bowler than Peter Burgoyne at present, although the latter's superior batting and fine catching at slip will earn him brownie points and he will continue to develop, as Knight will do, with opportunity. Seeing the latter bowl in the last two YB40 games merely serves to illustrate my recent point that we missed an opportunity to field him in more one-day games this summer. Both have a massive role in our future.
Then again, David Wainwright took a look at a helpful track tonight and presumably thought "I'll have some of that". Figures of 4-11 in less than five overs indicates a bowler with increased confidence and a sense of purpose. He senses a challenge from Knight and that can only be a good thing for the team.
It was a good win but more than anything it gives Karl Krikken food for thought ahead of Middlesex's visit to the County Ground. I think that we will aim for a similar wicket to tonight for that game, aim to bat first then turn the spinners loose.
Be honest, worthy bowlers as Groenewald, Footitt and Palladino are, would we pit them against Finn, Murtagh and Harris on a green top? I'm not sure I would, but I would be inclined to go with something close to this team:
Slater
Hughes (C)
Madsen
Chanderpaul
Durston
Hughes (A)
Poynton
Burgoyne/Knight
Wainwright
Palladino/Footitt
Groenewald
Yes, you could play a third seamer and go with Durston and Wainwright for spin, but both Burgoyne and Knight are in good form and full of confidence. Durston may not be able to bowl long spells either, which could be a deciding factor.
I'd be inclined to let one of them loose. Both, if Burgoyne batted six and Alex Hughes was omitted, but that would leave you without a third seamer.
Thoughts? Let's get your comments coming in folks...next week is a big match
A solid team effort got us to a competitive 218-8 in our forty overs, with Richard Johnson top-scoring with an excellent fifty and the skipper weighing in with 37. There were good cameos down the order too, with Tony Palladino carving merrily at the death as we all know he can do.
He then had a good spell of seven straight overs that will do his confidence good ahead of next week's championship match against Middlesex, although he was outdone by his opening partner, Wayne Madsen.
Is there anything this bloke can't do? Besides batting as if his blade is three feet wide this season, he is emerging as a more than useful bowler who tonight returned the superb figures of 3-27 in eight overs. To be fair his record in the Lancashire Leagues suggested he could bowl, but it is good to see him having the confidence as captain to lead from the front and turn his arm over.
I do think he needs to do a bit of work in the winter though. If he can also develop his seam bowling, he could come on as first change, bowl some handy Kallis-like seam, then switch to spin as the ball got soft. Oh, and still bat three and skipper...no problem then, eh?
I was delighted to see Tom Knight in the wickets tonight and it is no more than the lad deserves. He is and has always been a good bowler and we should have used him more this summer, especially when David Wainwright was having a few issues with his bowling. As was pointed out by a contributor the other day, he gives you a degree of control, is much improved in the field and can handle a bat.
I think Knight a more developed bowler than Peter Burgoyne at present, although the latter's superior batting and fine catching at slip will earn him brownie points and he will continue to develop, as Knight will do, with opportunity. Seeing the latter bowl in the last two YB40 games merely serves to illustrate my recent point that we missed an opportunity to field him in more one-day games this summer. Both have a massive role in our future.
Then again, David Wainwright took a look at a helpful track tonight and presumably thought "I'll have some of that". Figures of 4-11 in less than five overs indicates a bowler with increased confidence and a sense of purpose. He senses a challenge from Knight and that can only be a good thing for the team.
It was a good win but more than anything it gives Karl Krikken food for thought ahead of Middlesex's visit to the County Ground. I think that we will aim for a similar wicket to tonight for that game, aim to bat first then turn the spinners loose.
Be honest, worthy bowlers as Groenewald, Footitt and Palladino are, would we pit them against Finn, Murtagh and Harris on a green top? I'm not sure I would, but I would be inclined to go with something close to this team:
Slater
Hughes (C)
Madsen
Chanderpaul
Durston
Hughes (A)
Poynton
Burgoyne/Knight
Wainwright
Palladino/Footitt
Groenewald
Yes, you could play a third seamer and go with Durston and Wainwright for spin, but both Burgoyne and Knight are in good form and full of confidence. Durston may not be able to bowl long spells either, which could be a deciding factor.
I'd be inclined to let one of them loose. Both, if Burgoyne batted six and Alex Hughes was omitted, but that would leave you without a third seamer.
Thoughts? Let's get your comments coming in folks...next week is a big match
Wednesday, 14 August 2013
Derbyshire v Durham YB40
Meaningless game to a great extent tomorrow, though professional pride and a need to build reputations should dictate a strong Derbyshire performance against Durham at the County Ground.
I don't expect many changes to the team from last night, though it is good to see Tony Palladino in the squad, who may get a run out ahead of next week's game. The news that both he and Jon Clare are returning to full fitness is welcome, as the successful triumvirate of Palladino, Groenewald and Clare from last season have rarely featured together this year.
It would, I think, be a gamble to play both Palladino and Clare against Middlesex unless we were very confident in their fitness. In a game of such importance we can scarce afford to lose a seamer early in the game.
There's been a few mails flying around with 'conspiracy theories' about Clare and his fitness/unfitness. It seems to me that we can't have a genuine injury round these parts without it being construed as having hidden meanings. The reality is that as a club with a small nucleus of experienced players we have endured too many injuries this summer. Chanderpaul and Durston miss out tomorrow to ensure they are fit for Middlesex and the squad has the look of a team selected from a Scout troop.
Still, it is an opportunity that some will take and others won't and, in the long term, that separates the cricketing wheat from the chaff.
Weather permitting, I'll be skippering my work side tomorrow in our debut match against a local club, so my blog will perforce be later. It promises to be interesting, with our side including five players with varying experience and six blokes who are very keen but have never played cricket before.
Still, from such acorns substantial trees grow. We'll be on tour next year...
See you tomorrow.
I don't expect many changes to the team from last night, though it is good to see Tony Palladino in the squad, who may get a run out ahead of next week's game. The news that both he and Jon Clare are returning to full fitness is welcome, as the successful triumvirate of Palladino, Groenewald and Clare from last season have rarely featured together this year.
It would, I think, be a gamble to play both Palladino and Clare against Middlesex unless we were very confident in their fitness. In a game of such importance we can scarce afford to lose a seamer early in the game.
There's been a few mails flying around with 'conspiracy theories' about Clare and his fitness/unfitness. It seems to me that we can't have a genuine injury round these parts without it being construed as having hidden meanings. The reality is that as a club with a small nucleus of experienced players we have endured too many injuries this summer. Chanderpaul and Durston miss out tomorrow to ensure they are fit for Middlesex and the squad has the look of a team selected from a Scout troop.
Still, it is an opportunity that some will take and others won't and, in the long term, that separates the cricketing wheat from the chaff.
Weather permitting, I'll be skippering my work side tomorrow in our debut match against a local club, so my blog will perforce be later. It promises to be interesting, with our side including five players with varying experience and six blokes who are very keen but have never played cricket before.
Still, from such acorns substantial trees grow. We'll be on tour next year...
See you tomorrow.
Tuesday, 13 August 2013
Lancashire v Derbyshire YB40
There was no real surprise in losing to Lancashire at Old Trafford tonight, nor any disgrace.
They are to all intents and purposes a division one side and should be again next season. With Ashwell Prince and Simon Katich in their batting lineup they have international quality and we had no one of that experience in our ranks in the absence of Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Wayne Madsen once again was to the fore, leading from the front as he has done all summer, then chipping in with a decent bowling spell and the prize wicket of Simon Katich. There was little support though, until David Wainwright helped him add 80 for the seventh wicket and Derbyshire's total, though reasonable, never looked likely to challenge Lancashire unduly unless they lost early wickets.
For Wainwright it was a welcome return to batting form. When he joined from Yorkshire I had high hopes that he would make a genuine all-rounder, having a couple of centuries to his name for the white rose county. It hasn't happened and despite a couple of doughty knocks last summer he remains a bowler who knows how to handle the willow in most eyes.
His bowling has been the major concern this summer and again tonight there were a couple of expensive overs as he was outbowled by Tom Knight, in a welcome return to the side. I just wonder how much his winter back problems have affected his bowling this summer, when he certainly seems to have had more issues with keeping a length than in the past.
Knight will be pleased with seven overs for thirty runs against a good batting side and the control offered by him, in conjunction with Wes Durston, took the game a lot closer than might have otherwise been the case.
As I said the other night though, this was about competing and experience. On both counts it was fair enough.
Just nothing to write home about.
They are to all intents and purposes a division one side and should be again next season. With Ashwell Prince and Simon Katich in their batting lineup they have international quality and we had no one of that experience in our ranks in the absence of Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Wayne Madsen once again was to the fore, leading from the front as he has done all summer, then chipping in with a decent bowling spell and the prize wicket of Simon Katich. There was little support though, until David Wainwright helped him add 80 for the seventh wicket and Derbyshire's total, though reasonable, never looked likely to challenge Lancashire unduly unless they lost early wickets.
For Wainwright it was a welcome return to batting form. When he joined from Yorkshire I had high hopes that he would make a genuine all-rounder, having a couple of centuries to his name for the white rose county. It hasn't happened and despite a couple of doughty knocks last summer he remains a bowler who knows how to handle the willow in most eyes.
His bowling has been the major concern this summer and again tonight there were a couple of expensive overs as he was outbowled by Tom Knight, in a welcome return to the side. I just wonder how much his winter back problems have affected his bowling this summer, when he certainly seems to have had more issues with keeping a length than in the past.
Knight will be pleased with seven overs for thirty runs against a good batting side and the control offered by him, in conjunction with Wes Durston, took the game a lot closer than might have otherwise been the case.
As I said the other night though, this was about competing and experience. On both counts it was fair enough.
Just nothing to write home about.
Monday, 12 August 2013
Fickle fans and the future
Forgive the alliterative nature of the header, which came to me this afternoon while following online the action in the sensational final day's play in the fourth Test at The Riverside.
I've been critical at times of some of the Derbyshire support and the comments made in the aftermath of defeats, yet some of the stuff being spouted by people as Australia's score inched towards the target set by England today was extraordinary.
I always said Cook wasn't a captain. Broad doesn't look a Test bowler. Swann isn't the player he was. They're not as good a side as they've been made out to be. These and more hit the internet from people who, one assumes, have a modicum of knowledge about the game. How silly to make such statements about outstanding cricketers in the best England team in many years. How silly did these people look later in the day when the expected happened - Australia collapsed like a pack of cards.
Don't get me wrong. I think Cook a decent, rather than fine captain and as I've said before, the captaincy 'gig' is a lot easier when you have the bowlers that he has at his disposal. A top captain makes things happen and will try something different - he's proactive rather than reactive. Someone like Eddie Barlow would have tried Joe Root or Kevin Pietersen today to change it around. Mind you, Eddie would have bowled himself and the job would have been sorted in jig time...
The Aussies were never going to make those runs and there were enough lucky moments, even when Rogers and Warner were going well, to reassure me that all would turn out well. I said so to work mates and so it transpired. The major problem they have is that they have little collective experience of English tracks that move around and it was no surprise that Chris Rogers has looked as good as they have, as his long experience of our conditions has served him well.
Usman Khawaja is a good player but looks short of this level, while Steve Smith is an improving player who really needs to complete his cricket education with a season here, foregoing the IPL where he earns good money but picks up bad habits. When the Aussies ruled cricket, people like Langer, Hayden, the Waugh brothers, Martyn, Hussey et al had solid county experience behind them. They don't have that now and, realistically, won't get it again in a hurry. Why would Smith forsake £100K for six weeks in the IPL for much less in the county game and over a longer period?
Anyway, back to the county circuit and we're at Old Trafford tomorrow. Yesterday was kind of strange, as we batted really well, but realistically you should be able to defend 290 in 40 overs. There's been criticism of Mark Footitt in different places, but we all know what you get with Mark. On his day he can be dynamite and rip through teams, but when its not he's hittable, as line and length go out the window. At 28 I don't know if that will change, so you have to take the rough with the smooth, as you do with Mark Turner.
'We shouldn't play them' is the cry from some, but they are at least fit. Palladino and Clare aren't, while Higginbottom would be a one-day gamble as his propensity to the bad ball an over is known. Ali Evans could have been worth a try, but there's nowt else there. It makes you value all the more the efforts of Tim Groenewald, who has stepped up to the plate once again and been the Mr Consistent of the side, both in performance and appearance. He is, quite simply, an excellent professional.
I expect another defeat at Old Trafford, unless it's a raging bunsen of a track, but I'll settle for encouraging performance. The recent efforts of Paul Borrington and Ben Slater have made me think carefully about our winter recruitment needs and I'm of the opinion that at least one of these lads could become established next summer. It's nice to read others acknowledging what I have said for some time about Borrington's technique and now he is developing the strength to hit the ropes, he is an improved player. Slater is another slight player who will get better in the next few years, if Krikk offers him a permanent deal.
Some might like to see another seamer come in, but we need to be careful and not block the progress of young talent. I don't know how close the likes of Cotton, Taylor, Cork and Marsden are to senior cricket, but at 18, 19, 20 they must be close. I'd hate for their development to be stymied by the signing of a bowler from elsewhere though, such as happened with Tom Knight.
I totally understand why we signed David Wainwright and fully acknowledge the role he played in our success last summer. I understand why we signed him too, with Knight away at the time with England Under 19s. Yet Tom has barely featured for two summers and I feel for the lad. He's seen Peter Burgoyne leapfrog him and despite thirteen wickets at 15 and a batting average of 37 this summer (something he has really worked at) he's had barely a sniff of senior action.
For next season I'd like to see us offer opportunity and encouragement to young talent and sign an experienced batsman and an all-rounder. I know no more than you the available players, nor our budget at this stage, but I will tell you a player I would like to see at Derbyshire.
Wayne White.
If I was White, I'd be looking at this as a lost season. He's a very good cricketer who can take wickets and score good runs but has barely featured for Lancashire this summer. He has, to my knowledge, two years left on a contract and at 28 needs second team cricket like I need flower arranging classes. I'd love to see him seek a similar release to that pursued by Ross Whiteley, because I think he would be perfect for Derbyshire, batting six or seven. He averages 70 with the bat and 14 with the ball in Lancashire's second team this summer and is way too good to be wasting his talent at that level. The highlight of his summer has been his efforts for Swarkestone in the Derbyshire Premier League, where he has done as well as a player of his ability would be expected to do.
It would be great to welcome Wayne home to Derbyshire in the near future.
Next season would do me very nicely.
I've been critical at times of some of the Derbyshire support and the comments made in the aftermath of defeats, yet some of the stuff being spouted by people as Australia's score inched towards the target set by England today was extraordinary.
I always said Cook wasn't a captain. Broad doesn't look a Test bowler. Swann isn't the player he was. They're not as good a side as they've been made out to be. These and more hit the internet from people who, one assumes, have a modicum of knowledge about the game. How silly to make such statements about outstanding cricketers in the best England team in many years. How silly did these people look later in the day when the expected happened - Australia collapsed like a pack of cards.
Don't get me wrong. I think Cook a decent, rather than fine captain and as I've said before, the captaincy 'gig' is a lot easier when you have the bowlers that he has at his disposal. A top captain makes things happen and will try something different - he's proactive rather than reactive. Someone like Eddie Barlow would have tried Joe Root or Kevin Pietersen today to change it around. Mind you, Eddie would have bowled himself and the job would have been sorted in jig time...
The Aussies were never going to make those runs and there were enough lucky moments, even when Rogers and Warner were going well, to reassure me that all would turn out well. I said so to work mates and so it transpired. The major problem they have is that they have little collective experience of English tracks that move around and it was no surprise that Chris Rogers has looked as good as they have, as his long experience of our conditions has served him well.
Usman Khawaja is a good player but looks short of this level, while Steve Smith is an improving player who really needs to complete his cricket education with a season here, foregoing the IPL where he earns good money but picks up bad habits. When the Aussies ruled cricket, people like Langer, Hayden, the Waugh brothers, Martyn, Hussey et al had solid county experience behind them. They don't have that now and, realistically, won't get it again in a hurry. Why would Smith forsake £100K for six weeks in the IPL for much less in the county game and over a longer period?
Anyway, back to the county circuit and we're at Old Trafford tomorrow. Yesterday was kind of strange, as we batted really well, but realistically you should be able to defend 290 in 40 overs. There's been criticism of Mark Footitt in different places, but we all know what you get with Mark. On his day he can be dynamite and rip through teams, but when its not he's hittable, as line and length go out the window. At 28 I don't know if that will change, so you have to take the rough with the smooth, as you do with Mark Turner.
'We shouldn't play them' is the cry from some, but they are at least fit. Palladino and Clare aren't, while Higginbottom would be a one-day gamble as his propensity to the bad ball an over is known. Ali Evans could have been worth a try, but there's nowt else there. It makes you value all the more the efforts of Tim Groenewald, who has stepped up to the plate once again and been the Mr Consistent of the side, both in performance and appearance. He is, quite simply, an excellent professional.
I expect another defeat at Old Trafford, unless it's a raging bunsen of a track, but I'll settle for encouraging performance. The recent efforts of Paul Borrington and Ben Slater have made me think carefully about our winter recruitment needs and I'm of the opinion that at least one of these lads could become established next summer. It's nice to read others acknowledging what I have said for some time about Borrington's technique and now he is developing the strength to hit the ropes, he is an improved player. Slater is another slight player who will get better in the next few years, if Krikk offers him a permanent deal.
Some might like to see another seamer come in, but we need to be careful and not block the progress of young talent. I don't know how close the likes of Cotton, Taylor, Cork and Marsden are to senior cricket, but at 18, 19, 20 they must be close. I'd hate for their development to be stymied by the signing of a bowler from elsewhere though, such as happened with Tom Knight.
I totally understand why we signed David Wainwright and fully acknowledge the role he played in our success last summer. I understand why we signed him too, with Knight away at the time with England Under 19s. Yet Tom has barely featured for two summers and I feel for the lad. He's seen Peter Burgoyne leapfrog him and despite thirteen wickets at 15 and a batting average of 37 this summer (something he has really worked at) he's had barely a sniff of senior action.
For next season I'd like to see us offer opportunity and encouragement to young talent and sign an experienced batsman and an all-rounder. I know no more than you the available players, nor our budget at this stage, but I will tell you a player I would like to see at Derbyshire.
Wayne White.
If I was White, I'd be looking at this as a lost season. He's a very good cricketer who can take wickets and score good runs but has barely featured for Lancashire this summer. He has, to my knowledge, two years left on a contract and at 28 needs second team cricket like I need flower arranging classes. I'd love to see him seek a similar release to that pursued by Ross Whiteley, because I think he would be perfect for Derbyshire, batting six or seven. He averages 70 with the bat and 14 with the ball in Lancashire's second team this summer and is way too good to be wasting his talent at that level. The highlight of his summer has been his efforts for Swarkestone in the Derbyshire Premier League, where he has done as well as a player of his ability would be expected to do.
It would be great to welcome Wayne home to Derbyshire in the near future.
Next season would do me very nicely.
Sunday, 11 August 2013
Surrey v Derbyshire YB40
It was a cracking game of cricket at The Oval today, with nearly 600 runs scored in 80 overs. Yet Derbyshire ended up on the wrong side of the result, something that seemed unlikely for the duration of our innings and for the first half of Surrey's.
The game seemed to turn on two expensive overs from Mark Footitt, which gave impetus to a Surrey innings that was in danger of being stifled by a good spell from David Wainwright. The problem today was that no one was able to bowl with similar control apart from Tim Groenewald, whose closing spell took the game to a closer finish than appeared likely, five overs from the end. Neither Alex Hughes nor Peter Burgoyne enjoyed the best of games, but it is silly to be harsh on two lads who are learning the game. They will, in adversity, have learned a lot about bowling at the death in the first-class game and will enjoy better fortunes on many occasions in the years ahead.
It was obviously a superb pitch, as one-day pitches there often are there at this time of year and I think a major reason for our eventual defeat today was the way that our innings hit the buffers after the dismissal of Paul Borrington. Wes Durston led off well, then Chesney took the lead after his dismissal and played some trademark shots en route to a run-a-ball 80.
Yet today's star was undoubtedly Paul Borrington, whose 72 came from 69 balls and probably made a few people sit up in the process. Over the past couple of years I have suggested on more than one occasion that a run of one-day games could be the making of him and he has enjoyed an excellent run in the Yorkshire Bank 40. The freedom to go out and play a few shots has helped and he has no doubt enjoyed the lack of close fielders for a change. It was an excellent effort from Boz.
After his dismissal we added 'only' 78 runs in the last nine overs, five wickets going down in the following six overs and our final total owed much to a late flurry from Tim Groenewald. Again, the inexperience of the middle order was a factor and experience will show them that there are different ways to keep a total ticking over than expansive shots, especially when they first come in.
One can take nothing away from Surrey though, who tackled a daunting run chase with common sense and skill. In the not too distant future I would love to see a Derbyshire side tackle a similar challenge in such style and with considerable panache.
A defeat then, and one that I suspect spells the end of our YB40 ambitions for the summer.
There were reasons to be cheerful though.
The game seemed to turn on two expensive overs from Mark Footitt, which gave impetus to a Surrey innings that was in danger of being stifled by a good spell from David Wainwright. The problem today was that no one was able to bowl with similar control apart from Tim Groenewald, whose closing spell took the game to a closer finish than appeared likely, five overs from the end. Neither Alex Hughes nor Peter Burgoyne enjoyed the best of games, but it is silly to be harsh on two lads who are learning the game. They will, in adversity, have learned a lot about bowling at the death in the first-class game and will enjoy better fortunes on many occasions in the years ahead.
It was obviously a superb pitch, as one-day pitches there often are there at this time of year and I think a major reason for our eventual defeat today was the way that our innings hit the buffers after the dismissal of Paul Borrington. Wes Durston led off well, then Chesney took the lead after his dismissal and played some trademark shots en route to a run-a-ball 80.
Yet today's star was undoubtedly Paul Borrington, whose 72 came from 69 balls and probably made a few people sit up in the process. Over the past couple of years I have suggested on more than one occasion that a run of one-day games could be the making of him and he has enjoyed an excellent run in the Yorkshire Bank 40. The freedom to go out and play a few shots has helped and he has no doubt enjoyed the lack of close fielders for a change. It was an excellent effort from Boz.
After his dismissal we added 'only' 78 runs in the last nine overs, five wickets going down in the following six overs and our final total owed much to a late flurry from Tim Groenewald. Again, the inexperience of the middle order was a factor and experience will show them that there are different ways to keep a total ticking over than expansive shots, especially when they first come in.
One can take nothing away from Surrey though, who tackled a daunting run chase with common sense and skill. In the not too distant future I would love to see a Derbyshire side tackle a similar challenge in such style and with considerable panache.
A defeat then, and one that I suspect spells the end of our YB40 ambitions for the summer.
There were reasons to be cheerful though.
Book Review - The Ashes: Match of My Life by Sam Pilger and Rob Wightman
"One of the greatest ever books on the Ashes" is loud and clear at the bottom of the front cover of this one, from no less a pen than that of the late Frank Keating of The Guardian.
He was right, though. This engaging tome does, very simply, what it says 'on the tin'. Fourteen Ashes 'legends' discuss their greatest match in the oldest international cricket contest and their memories of the tour in which it took place. While I am not sure that Ashley Giles is worthy of the accolade 'legend' (ten wickets at 57 in the series in question, with some staunch batting) the subjects have played their part in ensuring that this remains the greatest, most keenly contested and eagerly awaited battle in the cricket calendar.
So here, side by side, we have Neil Harvey, David Gower, Justin Langer, Bob Willis, Geoff Boycott, Jeff Thomson, Glenn McGrath and more recounting their memories through the able pens of Sam Pilger and Rob Wightman.
Their great skill is to present the pieces in a way in which you feel you are sitting with the subject in your favourite local and listening to their story with a pint in your hand and a hot fire in the grate. While the book has obvious topicality in the middle of an Ashes summer, it will be equally relevant and enjoyable if you are looking at it during the coming winter, perhaps curled up in bed, or at any other time for that matter.
Some of the tales have been told before and there's no great surprise in the matches chosen. Yet, having read on many occasions of the comeback of Geoff Boycott at Trent Bridge in 1977 and how he ran out local favourite Derek Randall before playing two match-winning innings, here it comes across with the freshness of the first time, no mean feat.
Some pieces are better than others, but that is largely down to the personalities of the subject. Thus, Merv Hughes and Jeff Thomson come across perhaps better than Mark Taylor, but giving a favourite in such a book is like choosing your favourite child - impossible.
Once again, Pitch Publishing has come up with the goods and produced a book that will stand the test (pardon the pun) of time and still be worth buying in a second hand shop in fifteen years.While first published in 2006, this revised and expanded version is well worth the money, especially if you missed out the first time.
The Ashes: Match of My Life is written by Sam Pilger and Rob Wightman and published by Pitch Publishing. It is available on Amazon priced £16.99 and from all good book shops.
Saturday, 10 August 2013
Cricket at Buxton
We traveled up in my Dad's Ford Anglia most of the time, the one that he'd got when he passed his driving test after a few years on a motor bike. The latter wasn't much use to get the four of us around, so his first car was special and lasted us for around nine or ten years from 1967.
We lived at Ripley until 1970, when Dad's work at the pit meant a move to a council house only a mile away from it, one they still live in to this day. It didn't matter too much which house we left from, as a trip to Buxton was a fairly long haul either way.
I enjoyed the drive up there, the anticipation of the game ahead keeping my mind off car sickness, something that affected me throughout childhood (for that matter to some extent until I started to drive myself). I enjoyed the scenery en route and we'd listen to the radio as we chatted, the classic sounds of the era with me to this day. Let's Go To San Francisco, I Can't Let Maggie Go, Build Me Up Buttercup - in my mind's eye these tunes played on repeat, though they will have been a small percentage of the ones we listened to and only for a year or so. I loved them all, though my old man's preference would have been music from an earlier vintage; big bands, Crosby, Sinatra, Mills Brothers, Ink Spots.
The Bowl at Buxton was special as we'd made that special effort to get there, though Dad always studied the weather before we set off. It seemed to have its own climate, as evidenced by that freakish day of snow there on June 2, 1975. We didn't go up there that day (Dad was pretty good at this weather lark by that stage...) but we'd been on the Saturday, when Lancashire racked up 477-5 in the day, with Clive Lloyd hitting 167. The great West Indian slaughtered us and I remember sixes going to all corners. Having checked up on it, at one point he hit seven sixes in the course of 50 runs scored and he was especially severe on a young Geoff Miller, whose 14 overs went for 94 runs.
Our first trip had been exciting and perhaps fueled my love of the game, with what was a fairly ordinary Derbyshire batting side hitting 400-4 on the first day against Somerset (a strange venue for such a game) in 1968. Both Mike Page and Derek Morgan scored centuries in what was as close to cavalier batting as we saw in those days, then, after good bowling by Brian Jackson and Harold Rhodes we finally won by just two wickets after being only set 70-odd to win. It was a game that emphasised the uncertainty of Derbyshire batting, though I would have to say the latter was more typical of my early experiences...
In 1969 we went up for another game against Somerset, but this time in the fledgling John Player League. Forty overs on a Sunday afternoon, starting at 2pm. Lovely. We only made 151 but quick bowling by Alan Ward and Harold Rhodes reduced them to 38-6, the wickets including a young Greg Chappell, who had a season of contrasts ahead of a glittering international career. We won by 52 runs, with Rhodes returning figures of 8-3-11-3 and Fred Rumsey, who had left Somerset at the end of the previous season and had joined Derbyshire for a one-day deal, had 8-3-14-2. Any resemblance to modern one-day cricket was accidental.
1970 saw another Sunday game but Lancashire thrashed us in the game I referred to earlier in the week, making 229-5 in 39 overs, way ahead of par at that time. Among the carnage, Phil Russell bowled a very good 8 overs for just 20 from the pavilion end, but Peter Eyre's seven overs went for 75, in stark contrast to his Queens Park heroics of the previous year's Gillette Cup semi-final. We only made 115 in reply, with Wilkins hitting some brave blows, including the massive straight six I referred to the other night, before hitting a huge skyer that Jack Bond took with ease.
We were beaten there again in 1971, which was when Brian 'Tonker' Taylor of Essex hit the first Sunday century I saw. They were not far short of 200 and despite a vigorous 71 from Ian Buxton we lost out by around 20 runs in a rain-reduced game of thirty overs a side.
We didn't go up in 1972 as the weather was poor and both the Sunday and championship matches there that season were washed out, but in 1973 we saw Glamorgan beaten by one run in a thrilling finish as their batting fell apart when it seemed impossible to lose. Venkat and Mike Hendrick bowled well in that one but the running of the Glamorgan batsmen at the death lives with me to this day as shambolic.
The last game we saw at Buxton was in 1976, the first day against Lancashire of an extraordinary match. We did well to bowl them out for 290 on the first day, but were 72-5 at the end of the day and in big trouble. I remember us coming home in the car and Dad muttering 'bloody rubbish' on a regular basis as we talked about the play, ignoring earlier good bowling by Keith Stevenson, who took five wickets.
On the second day we followed on and got to the close at 224-6, around seventy ahead with Eddie Barlow injured and unlikely to bat. Yet bat he did and on the last day he made a typical 73, batting at number nine, which left Lancashire 202 to win. A very well balanced attack put them out for 186 and a win by fifteen runs. Barlow was unable to bowl, but Hendrick and Stevenson did well before Geoff Miller and Fred Swarbrook tied up the win with their spin.
That was it at Buxton until 1980, but by then I was on the verge of moving to Scotland after my degree. Matches were sporadic thereafter, but the last county game there was in August 1986, when we were again in action against Lancashire in - surprise, surprise - a rain affected draw.
They were great days, fun days, with memories of portable toilets, spartan facilities, ice creams, tarpaulin sightscreens but good, competitive cricket.
Not to mention a lot of laughs and music with my old man in that Anglia...
We lived at Ripley until 1970, when Dad's work at the pit meant a move to a council house only a mile away from it, one they still live in to this day. It didn't matter too much which house we left from, as a trip to Buxton was a fairly long haul either way.
I enjoyed the drive up there, the anticipation of the game ahead keeping my mind off car sickness, something that affected me throughout childhood (for that matter to some extent until I started to drive myself). I enjoyed the scenery en route and we'd listen to the radio as we chatted, the classic sounds of the era with me to this day. Let's Go To San Francisco, I Can't Let Maggie Go, Build Me Up Buttercup - in my mind's eye these tunes played on repeat, though they will have been a small percentage of the ones we listened to and only for a year or so. I loved them all, though my old man's preference would have been music from an earlier vintage; big bands, Crosby, Sinatra, Mills Brothers, Ink Spots.
The Bowl at Buxton was special as we'd made that special effort to get there, though Dad always studied the weather before we set off. It seemed to have its own climate, as evidenced by that freakish day of snow there on June 2, 1975. We didn't go up there that day (Dad was pretty good at this weather lark by that stage...) but we'd been on the Saturday, when Lancashire racked up 477-5 in the day, with Clive Lloyd hitting 167. The great West Indian slaughtered us and I remember sixes going to all corners. Having checked up on it, at one point he hit seven sixes in the course of 50 runs scored and he was especially severe on a young Geoff Miller, whose 14 overs went for 94 runs.
Our first trip had been exciting and perhaps fueled my love of the game, with what was a fairly ordinary Derbyshire batting side hitting 400-4 on the first day against Somerset (a strange venue for such a game) in 1968. Both Mike Page and Derek Morgan scored centuries in what was as close to cavalier batting as we saw in those days, then, after good bowling by Brian Jackson and Harold Rhodes we finally won by just two wickets after being only set 70-odd to win. It was a game that emphasised the uncertainty of Derbyshire batting, though I would have to say the latter was more typical of my early experiences...
In 1969 we went up for another game against Somerset, but this time in the fledgling John Player League. Forty overs on a Sunday afternoon, starting at 2pm. Lovely. We only made 151 but quick bowling by Alan Ward and Harold Rhodes reduced them to 38-6, the wickets including a young Greg Chappell, who had a season of contrasts ahead of a glittering international career. We won by 52 runs, with Rhodes returning figures of 8-3-11-3 and Fred Rumsey, who had left Somerset at the end of the previous season and had joined Derbyshire for a one-day deal, had 8-3-14-2. Any resemblance to modern one-day cricket was accidental.
1970 saw another Sunday game but Lancashire thrashed us in the game I referred to earlier in the week, making 229-5 in 39 overs, way ahead of par at that time. Among the carnage, Phil Russell bowled a very good 8 overs for just 20 from the pavilion end, but Peter Eyre's seven overs went for 75, in stark contrast to his Queens Park heroics of the previous year's Gillette Cup semi-final. We only made 115 in reply, with Wilkins hitting some brave blows, including the massive straight six I referred to the other night, before hitting a huge skyer that Jack Bond took with ease.
We were beaten there again in 1971, which was when Brian 'Tonker' Taylor of Essex hit the first Sunday century I saw. They were not far short of 200 and despite a vigorous 71 from Ian Buxton we lost out by around 20 runs in a rain-reduced game of thirty overs a side.
We didn't go up in 1972 as the weather was poor and both the Sunday and championship matches there that season were washed out, but in 1973 we saw Glamorgan beaten by one run in a thrilling finish as their batting fell apart when it seemed impossible to lose. Venkat and Mike Hendrick bowled well in that one but the running of the Glamorgan batsmen at the death lives with me to this day as shambolic.
The last game we saw at Buxton was in 1976, the first day against Lancashire of an extraordinary match. We did well to bowl them out for 290 on the first day, but were 72-5 at the end of the day and in big trouble. I remember us coming home in the car and Dad muttering 'bloody rubbish' on a regular basis as we talked about the play, ignoring earlier good bowling by Keith Stevenson, who took five wickets.
On the second day we followed on and got to the close at 224-6, around seventy ahead with Eddie Barlow injured and unlikely to bat. Yet bat he did and on the last day he made a typical 73, batting at number nine, which left Lancashire 202 to win. A very well balanced attack put them out for 186 and a win by fifteen runs. Barlow was unable to bowl, but Hendrick and Stevenson did well before Geoff Miller and Fred Swarbrook tied up the win with their spin.
That was it at Buxton until 1980, but by then I was on the verge of moving to Scotland after my degree. Matches were sporadic thereafter, but the last county game there was in August 1986, when we were again in action against Lancashire in - surprise, surprise - a rain affected draw.
They were great days, fun days, with memories of portable toilets, spartan facilities, ice creams, tarpaulin sightscreens but good, competitive cricket.
Not to mention a lot of laughs and music with my old man in that Anglia...
Friday, 9 August 2013
Surrey v Derbyshire preview
Grand day out in London for Derbyshire on Sunday, when they play Surrey in the YB40. It is not yet beyond the realms of possibility that we could qualify in this group and a good display will keep the 'feel good' factor going for a while longer.
Karl Krikken has announced the following squad:
Wes Durston
Chesney Hughes
Paul Borrington
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Wayne Madsen
Ben Slater
Alex Hughes
Tom Poynton
Richard Johnson
Dan Redfern
David Wainwright
Peter Burgoyne
Mark Footitt
Tim Groenewald
Mark Turner
While acknowledging the suggestion to keep Ben Slater involved from a contributor the other day, I suspect that he, Johnson and Turner will miss out, together with one from Wainwright, Redfern and Borrington.
Surrey have rested several players for the game, including Steven Davies, Jade Dernbach, Jon Lewis and Zafar Ansari. Their squad is as follows:
Gareth Batty
Rory Burns
Tom Curran
Zander de Bruyn
George Edwards
Arun Harinath
Tom Jewell
Gary Keedy
Tim Linley
Jason Roy
Vikram Solanki
Gary Wilson
Freddie van den Bergh
There's a good mix of youth and experience in that squad, but Derbyshire, as they have shown with wins over Sussex and Nottinghamshire recently, have enough talent to beat anyone if they remain focused and play their best purposeful cricket
I'll forecast a win here, as long as we can take early wickets and remove the dangerous Roy and Solanki.
If we manage that, there's even more to play for than we envisaged a week or so back
Karl Krikken has announced the following squad:
Wes Durston
Chesney Hughes
Paul Borrington
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Wayne Madsen
Ben Slater
Alex Hughes
Tom Poynton
Richard Johnson
Dan Redfern
David Wainwright
Peter Burgoyne
Mark Footitt
Tim Groenewald
Mark Turner
While acknowledging the suggestion to keep Ben Slater involved from a contributor the other day, I suspect that he, Johnson and Turner will miss out, together with one from Wainwright, Redfern and Borrington.
Surrey have rested several players for the game, including Steven Davies, Jade Dernbach, Jon Lewis and Zafar Ansari. Their squad is as follows:
Gareth Batty
Rory Burns
Tom Curran
Zander de Bruyn
George Edwards
Arun Harinath
Tom Jewell
Gary Keedy
Tim Linley
Jason Roy
Vikram Solanki
Gary Wilson
Freddie van den Bergh
There's a good mix of youth and experience in that squad, but Derbyshire, as they have shown with wins over Sussex and Nottinghamshire recently, have enough talent to beat anyone if they remain focused and play their best purposeful cricket
I'll forecast a win here, as long as we can take early wickets and remove the dangerous Roy and Solanki.
If we manage that, there's even more to play for than we envisaged a week or so back
Thursday, 8 August 2013
Off field news a tonic for Derbyshire
Great news for Derbyshire today with confirmation that ECB grant funding will be £700K more than the previously intimated £1 million.
The money is ring-fenced for capital expenditure projects such as improved facilities for players, members, spectators and the media, as well as potential upgrades to wireless internet and floodlights. Yet the club's Chief Executive, Simon Storey, confirmed the commitment to increasing the playing budget, which would bring us closer to parity with other counties - though likely still some distance from the big guns, even allowing for the salary cap of £1.9 million per total squad.
It hardly needs Einstein to work out that more money enables you to hire better players, but the improvements to the ground will increase our ability to lure them to the club, will improve our credibility and standing within the game and our long-term ability to host international or junior international fixtures. It is, in short, great news.
If they can get match funding from Derby City Council to cover some of the ongoing ground maintenance costs, it will free up money for the playing budget and take the club to a whole new level. That will not just be on the field, but also from a community involvement perspective, including a potential role in the healthy living agenda.
The club's Supervisory Board is one hundred per cent correct in holding fire on its plans in order to ensure that they use the money for the maximum benefit, presumably once they are fully aware of the Council's intentions.Such common sense is the reason why we now have such a Board, with professional people who have specialist talents to bring to the table. With no disrespects intended to past committee members, a modern, professional club needs the professional expertise of those at the helm of our club now.
It was also good to see Wayne Madsen today pay tribute to Dave Houghton's role in his batting success this summer. Houghton is an engaging man who knows cricket inside out, but it has been easy for some to lay the failure of our batsmen this summer at his door. He is, after all, our batting coach.
It is not as easy as that. Houghton in his first spell at the club had to work hard and show players the correct technique to play the game at first-class level, something that will have continued to a lesser extent in his current stay. Yet his greater role now is in highlighting the mental approach required to make a success of the game.
"Well, he's not been very good at it" the churlish will say, but Houghton can only do so much. For some the assimilation of his tuition will take much longer; some may not manage it at all, because they have 'topped out' at the previous level of the game. Madsen has gone on to the next level and so have many other good players around the globe, but Houghton cannot bat for them if they are finding the going tough.
I am sure that if I had the benefit of Dave Houghton's coaching for a week he would improve me as a batsman. I know that he wouldn't make me into a county player though, no matter what my commitment and how high my desire.
Much as Houghton helped Dan Redfern improve last year, he has undoubtedly aided Ben Slater and Peter Burgoyne this season. It is no coincidence that both spent time with him in Zimbabwe, while Redfern went to Australia where faults perhaps crept into his game. The margin between success and failure in cricket is very small and what we don't know is whether the natural aptitude of any of these young players, coupled with a top coaching set up, is enough to make them established county cricketers.
Some will fall by the wayside, but my guess is that if a few of them make it, they will owe a considerable debt to the expert tuition of Dave Houghton. The others will still be better players for his input, just not good enough for the county game.
That's the way of professional sport.
The money is ring-fenced for capital expenditure projects such as improved facilities for players, members, spectators and the media, as well as potential upgrades to wireless internet and floodlights. Yet the club's Chief Executive, Simon Storey, confirmed the commitment to increasing the playing budget, which would bring us closer to parity with other counties - though likely still some distance from the big guns, even allowing for the salary cap of £1.9 million per total squad.
It hardly needs Einstein to work out that more money enables you to hire better players, but the improvements to the ground will increase our ability to lure them to the club, will improve our credibility and standing within the game and our long-term ability to host international or junior international fixtures. It is, in short, great news.
If they can get match funding from Derby City Council to cover some of the ongoing ground maintenance costs, it will free up money for the playing budget and take the club to a whole new level. That will not just be on the field, but also from a community involvement perspective, including a potential role in the healthy living agenda.
The club's Supervisory Board is one hundred per cent correct in holding fire on its plans in order to ensure that they use the money for the maximum benefit, presumably once they are fully aware of the Council's intentions.Such common sense is the reason why we now have such a Board, with professional people who have specialist talents to bring to the table. With no disrespects intended to past committee members, a modern, professional club needs the professional expertise of those at the helm of our club now.
It was also good to see Wayne Madsen today pay tribute to Dave Houghton's role in his batting success this summer. Houghton is an engaging man who knows cricket inside out, but it has been easy for some to lay the failure of our batsmen this summer at his door. He is, after all, our batting coach.
It is not as easy as that. Houghton in his first spell at the club had to work hard and show players the correct technique to play the game at first-class level, something that will have continued to a lesser extent in his current stay. Yet his greater role now is in highlighting the mental approach required to make a success of the game.
"Well, he's not been very good at it" the churlish will say, but Houghton can only do so much. For some the assimilation of his tuition will take much longer; some may not manage it at all, because they have 'topped out' at the previous level of the game. Madsen has gone on to the next level and so have many other good players around the globe, but Houghton cannot bat for them if they are finding the going tough.
I am sure that if I had the benefit of Dave Houghton's coaching for a week he would improve me as a batsman. I know that he wouldn't make me into a county player though, no matter what my commitment and how high my desire.
Much as Houghton helped Dan Redfern improve last year, he has undoubtedly aided Ben Slater and Peter Burgoyne this season. It is no coincidence that both spent time with him in Zimbabwe, while Redfern went to Australia where faults perhaps crept into his game. The margin between success and failure in cricket is very small and what we don't know is whether the natural aptitude of any of these young players, coupled with a top coaching set up, is enough to make them established county cricketers.
Some will fall by the wayside, but my guess is that if a few of them make it, they will owe a considerable debt to the expert tuition of Dave Houghton. The others will still be better players for his input, just not good enough for the county game.
That's the way of professional sport.
Wednesday, 7 August 2013
Midweek musings
There were more glad tidings of comfort and joy from the twos today, as Derbyshire bowled out the MCC Young Cricketers for just 112 on the first day at Belper.
There were four wickets for Mark Turner and a couple for Ali Evans as the Lords lads failed to cope with a pitch offering a little help. So much so that we lost early wickets too, before Wes Durston, with an unbeaten 84 and Scott Elstone (again) with an unbeaten 38 saw us to the close at a healthy 167-4.
The return to form of Wes Durston is welcome and timely. I said last week that I hoped we would see him in the runs and back in the side as a consequence. We have missed his runs this summer, while his bowling is always handy and his fielding brilliant. It will not have gone unnoticed that his attitude since being dropped has also been first rate. Five wickets in the recent win, then good runs today - that's what a coach is wanting to see from a player who is looking for form and Durston could have done no more.
It should also be noted that Tom Knight has moved up the batting order at this level, as he has in club cricket. Tom has worked hard on his batting and scored a fifty last week for the Seconds. He is a long way removed from the youngster who to some extent appeared a walking wicket on his arrival in the first-class game and he earns respect for working on his game. He will, of course, be well aware of Peter Burgoyne's emergence in the side, but there could in the medium to long term be room for both in a Derbyshire XI, Peter as a batsman who offers useful overs, Tom as a bowler who can handle a bat. Both could yet emerge as genuine all-rounders and have time on their side in which to do so.
I'm looking forward to seeing our team for the Sunday game in the Pro 40, as we still have a chance of qualifying in the competition if we can string some form together. I think that most of the side picks itself, but there are a few places up for grabs. As I see it just now, it will be:
Hughes
Durston
Chanderpaul
Madsen
X
Hughes
Poynton
Burgoyne
Groenewald
X
Footitt
Johnson/Redfern/Borrington for the batting spot?
Wainwright/Knight/Turner for the bowling option?
What do you think?
Time to go now. Twenty-seven years of marriage for Mrs P and I today, one day after our lovely daughter Rachel got seven As and a B in her standard grades - 'O' levels for those of a certain age and geographic location.
Life is good. A continuation of form would make a nice anniversary present and cap a grand old week...
There were four wickets for Mark Turner and a couple for Ali Evans as the Lords lads failed to cope with a pitch offering a little help. So much so that we lost early wickets too, before Wes Durston, with an unbeaten 84 and Scott Elstone (again) with an unbeaten 38 saw us to the close at a healthy 167-4.
The return to form of Wes Durston is welcome and timely. I said last week that I hoped we would see him in the runs and back in the side as a consequence. We have missed his runs this summer, while his bowling is always handy and his fielding brilliant. It will not have gone unnoticed that his attitude since being dropped has also been first rate. Five wickets in the recent win, then good runs today - that's what a coach is wanting to see from a player who is looking for form and Durston could have done no more.
It should also be noted that Tom Knight has moved up the batting order at this level, as he has in club cricket. Tom has worked hard on his batting and scored a fifty last week for the Seconds. He is a long way removed from the youngster who to some extent appeared a walking wicket on his arrival in the first-class game and he earns respect for working on his game. He will, of course, be well aware of Peter Burgoyne's emergence in the side, but there could in the medium to long term be room for both in a Derbyshire XI, Peter as a batsman who offers useful overs, Tom as a bowler who can handle a bat. Both could yet emerge as genuine all-rounders and have time on their side in which to do so.
I'm looking forward to seeing our team for the Sunday game in the Pro 40, as we still have a chance of qualifying in the competition if we can string some form together. I think that most of the side picks itself, but there are a few places up for grabs. As I see it just now, it will be:
Hughes
Durston
Chanderpaul
Madsen
X
Hughes
Poynton
Burgoyne
Groenewald
X
Footitt
Johnson/Redfern/Borrington for the batting spot?
Wainwright/Knight/Turner for the bowling option?
What do you think?
Time to go now. Twenty-seven years of marriage for Mrs P and I today, one day after our lovely daughter Rachel got seven As and a B in her standard grades - 'O' levels for those of a certain age and geographic location.
Life is good. A continuation of form would make a nice anniversary present and cap a grand old week...
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
In passing...
Warm congratulations to Steve Stubbings, whose second team sit proudly atop the Championship table tonight.
It is tribute to aggressive cricket played by a young side that has young seamers of talent in Marsden, Taylor, Cork and Cotton, good spinners in Burgoyne and Knight, plus enough batting to score runs quickly and allow time to force a win.
Read into it as you will, but while fully accepting that it is a further step to the county game, the efforts of this side over the summer augurs well for our future. With equally encouraging results and performances in the Academy, there's plenty of reasons to be cheerful.
Keep in mind the five-year plan and that this is only year two.
I see a very bright future, whether we stay up this year or not.
It is tribute to aggressive cricket played by a young side that has young seamers of talent in Marsden, Taylor, Cork and Cotton, good spinners in Burgoyne and Knight, plus enough batting to score runs quickly and allow time to force a win.
Read into it as you will, but while fully accepting that it is a further step to the county game, the efforts of this side over the summer augurs well for our future. With equally encouraging results and performances in the Academy, there's plenty of reasons to be cheerful.
Keep in mind the five-year plan and that this is only year two.
I see a very bright future, whether we stay up this year or not.
Crowded House...
It's always nice to hear from Bob Marsden of Buxton Cricket Club. He's been a fixture of the place for some time and it is as good a club as you could wish to find, with a stunning location.
I hoped he would be in touch after last night's piece and it was good to see him confirming my thoughts on a potential use of Buxton at some point in the future. As I said last night, the romantic in me would love to see it, but there's a big difference between a good club ground and one worthy of first-class status. Bob kindly confirmed my thoughts on work needing done to make it viable there below last night's piece.
The same would go for other grounds. Ilkeston is a long way from being fit for the county game, even though the games there between ourselves and Nottinghamshire pulled large crowds. I always felt Heanor too small for first-class and with modern bats you could see 400 plays 350 in a 40-over game today. Even outfields are crucial - a club cricketer turns an ankle on a pothole and its a shame, but something that you treat as an occupational hazard. A first-class player does the same and a career could be gone, especially if it happened to someone in the last year of a contract.
I always smile when I see first-class players running in to meet the ball and swooping to throw in one-handed. Crikey, on my club ground anything off the square is like fielding on the Somme...safety helmets are no bad idea if you're getting into the long barrier position for someone who's really hitting it...
What really got me thinking was Bob's comment about the 8,000 crowd that Wisden recorded at Buxton when we played Lancashire there in 1970's Sunday League. I was there with my Dad that day and still recall Lancashire putting us to the sword, Faroukh Engineer leading off with uncommon haste before Frank Hayes and Clive Lloyd biffed it around. Chris Wilkins then hit a huge straight six off Lloyd that was still rising as it cleared the crowd, while the late Ian Buxton hit another that landed a yard from where Dad and I sat at mid-wicket. Dad tried his best to catch it, I feel no shame in saying that I was doing my best to get out of the way...
It was a big crowd that day, plenty from Lanky-Lanky-Lanky-Lanky Lancashire, as the song went, but EIGHT THOUSAND? Were there three thousand more than at Derby for the Nottinghamshire game recently? Did they give out oxygen at the first aid tents? I'm not so sure and I'd be inclined to doubt the validity of some of these older crowd statistics. I know safety regulations were much different then and there were fewer cars (so how did they all get there?) but you'd have got to know people well if that was the genuine figure, bringing in £1100 - or about 14p per person.
It made me check another couple of statistics that I had in my head for accuracy and they're equally mind-blowing. In 1969, for the Gillette Cup semi-final against Sussex at Chesterfield, the crowd was reckoned to be TEN THOUSAND. Again, I was there with Dad that day and it was seriously busy (and wet, early on) but if you compare it to the Yorkshire sell-out recently - could you really get twice as many people into the ground? Given the limited space by the scoreboard and at either end (we sat at the lake end that day), I can only surmise that a lot were sitting in and behind the bandstand. I could accept maybe six thousand, at a push seven, but ten thousand? Hmmm...
Then the daddy of them all. 1948, the first day of the game against Donald Bradman's 'invincibles' at Derby. There was a massive post-war interest in the game and the chance to see a great side was a big draw. My old man couldn't get time off the pit to go and was pretty miffed about it. So how many does Wisden record attending the first day of the game?
17,000. SEVENTEEN THOUSAND...
Call me cynical, but were they counting legs, both those with two and with four? However the ground has been re-designed in the intervening period, I cannot conceive that three-and-a half times the recent sell-out against Nottinghamshire were allowed in it, unless they were working on a sardines commercial at the same time. Legislation may have changed, but if that figure is accurate they must have stood all day and had little in the way of a view. Sadly, as it happens, because the Aussies racked up 431-7 before the close, a young bowler named Les Jackson took two wickets and skipper Eddie Gothard, who was never a great bowler, took three and bowled Bradman.
Heady stuff. Suffice to say that if we ever get that number in the ground again I suspect the health and safety people would close us down.
Interesting thing, statistics. What do they say? There's lies, damn lies and then...
I hoped he would be in touch after last night's piece and it was good to see him confirming my thoughts on a potential use of Buxton at some point in the future. As I said last night, the romantic in me would love to see it, but there's a big difference between a good club ground and one worthy of first-class status. Bob kindly confirmed my thoughts on work needing done to make it viable there below last night's piece.
The same would go for other grounds. Ilkeston is a long way from being fit for the county game, even though the games there between ourselves and Nottinghamshire pulled large crowds. I always felt Heanor too small for first-class and with modern bats you could see 400 plays 350 in a 40-over game today. Even outfields are crucial - a club cricketer turns an ankle on a pothole and its a shame, but something that you treat as an occupational hazard. A first-class player does the same and a career could be gone, especially if it happened to someone in the last year of a contract.
I always smile when I see first-class players running in to meet the ball and swooping to throw in one-handed. Crikey, on my club ground anything off the square is like fielding on the Somme...safety helmets are no bad idea if you're getting into the long barrier position for someone who's really hitting it...
What really got me thinking was Bob's comment about the 8,000 crowd that Wisden recorded at Buxton when we played Lancashire there in 1970's Sunday League. I was there with my Dad that day and still recall Lancashire putting us to the sword, Faroukh Engineer leading off with uncommon haste before Frank Hayes and Clive Lloyd biffed it around. Chris Wilkins then hit a huge straight six off Lloyd that was still rising as it cleared the crowd, while the late Ian Buxton hit another that landed a yard from where Dad and I sat at mid-wicket. Dad tried his best to catch it, I feel no shame in saying that I was doing my best to get out of the way...
It was a big crowd that day, plenty from Lanky-Lanky-Lanky-Lanky Lancashire, as the song went, but EIGHT THOUSAND? Were there three thousand more than at Derby for the Nottinghamshire game recently? Did they give out oxygen at the first aid tents? I'm not so sure and I'd be inclined to doubt the validity of some of these older crowd statistics. I know safety regulations were much different then and there were fewer cars (so how did they all get there?) but you'd have got to know people well if that was the genuine figure, bringing in £1100 - or about 14p per person.
It made me check another couple of statistics that I had in my head for accuracy and they're equally mind-blowing. In 1969, for the Gillette Cup semi-final against Sussex at Chesterfield, the crowd was reckoned to be TEN THOUSAND. Again, I was there with Dad that day and it was seriously busy (and wet, early on) but if you compare it to the Yorkshire sell-out recently - could you really get twice as many people into the ground? Given the limited space by the scoreboard and at either end (we sat at the lake end that day), I can only surmise that a lot were sitting in and behind the bandstand. I could accept maybe six thousand, at a push seven, but ten thousand? Hmmm...
Then the daddy of them all. 1948, the first day of the game against Donald Bradman's 'invincibles' at Derby. There was a massive post-war interest in the game and the chance to see a great side was a big draw. My old man couldn't get time off the pit to go and was pretty miffed about it. So how many does Wisden record attending the first day of the game?
17,000. SEVENTEEN THOUSAND...
Call me cynical, but were they counting legs, both those with two and with four? However the ground has been re-designed in the intervening period, I cannot conceive that three-and-a half times the recent sell-out against Nottinghamshire were allowed in it, unless they were working on a sardines commercial at the same time. Legislation may have changed, but if that figure is accurate they must have stood all day and had little in the way of a view. Sadly, as it happens, because the Aussies racked up 431-7 before the close, a young bowler named Les Jackson took two wickets and skipper Eddie Gothard, who was never a great bowler, took three and bowled Bradman.
Heady stuff. Suffice to say that if we ever get that number in the ground again I suspect the health and safety people would close us down.
Interesting thing, statistics. What do they say? There's lies, damn lies and then...
Monday, 5 August 2013
Monday musings
I've had some terrific e mails and comments in recent days and thanks very much to all of you for continuing to get in touch. My apologies to those to who I have not yet had a chance to respond, but I assure you I will do so over the next couple of days.
First up tonight, Mark asked if I thought that Wayne Madsen could be lured from Derbyshire by a county with money to spend and the ambition to sign one of the top batsmen in the country. Is the latter a bold statement? Not on this year's form...
You can never say never, Mark, but I'd be surprised, certainly at this stage. He signed a new three-year contract on October 17 of last year and, as an honourable man, I would certainly expect him to see that through. I spoke to him at some length in September of last year and I know how much he enjoys the area, the club and the playing environment. Derbyshire gave him an opportunity in the first-class game and he has repaid that with consistent performances.
Last year he was player of the year and he's a racing certainty to take it again. It shows how much he is valued and appreciated and I'm sure that his contract at the club recognises that. His delightful wife, Kyla, has a thriving business locally and they enjoy their lifestyle. Wayne could probably go elsewhere for a more lucrative deal, but would be unlikely to have the captaincy offered as part of that.
Will he spend the rest of his career with Derbyshire? You can't say that of any player, as they're as entitled to get the best deal for themselves as any of us. I hope he stays for a good while though, as he is one of the best we have ever had. Enjoy watching a class act, however long it lasts and hope, like me, it is for a long time.
Then there's Paul's comments about the merits and pulling power of Derby v Chesterfield, which you can see below the previous post. They are spot on and while the merits of Queens Park are evident, especially in the weather that blessed this summer, its drawbacks are fairly pointed out. It would be interesting to get the demographic of the Chesterfield crowds and their Derbyshire/Yorkshire split, but the reality is that Derbyshire have spent and will be spending a lot of money in developing the County Ground. There is no point in doing that if they're intending to put more matches to outgrounds, as it makes no economic sense.
I've seen many a match at Buxton and enjoyed the large crowds for tussles with Lancashire, but aside from the condition of the wicket, the outfield, the seating and the changing accommodation, there's so much more to think of these days. There's the traffic infrastructure, the parking facilities, the availability of places for food preparation and serving, amenities and facilities for fans....I could go on, but to sort these things costs money.
A lot was ploughed into the upgrade of Queens Park, but moving boundary boards and assorted equipment up to Buxton would cost money over and above the upgrade and it just wouldn't be worth it. Would Derbyshire v Lancashire there attract a bigger crowd than at Derby? Possibly, but Buxton would be unlikely to hold that much more, again with modern safety regulations needing observed, which makes the argument somewhat redundant.
Whether we like it or not, cricket is more professional today. Look at the link on the left of this blog at the Buxton CC site and their excellent collection of old photographs. I loved the charm of the old ground, the tarpaulin sightscreens, the sporting wicket, even the vagaries of the climate in the High Peak.
But I don't see it coming back sometime soon. That's a shame in many ways, but perfectly understandable.
As for other questions - I genuinely don't know if we will stay up, but I'm glad that our destiny is back in our own hands and we can stand or fall on our efforts in coming weeks. I also think we should stick with the young players and afford them the opportunities given to others, earlier in the season, but would also welcome back Tony Palladino if he is fit for the next home championship match.
As for what I think we need for next season - as asked by Dan - I'll hold fire on that until I see how these young guns fire between now and the end of the season!
Finally, it was so typical that, in the aftermath of yesterday's success, someone on the Forum chose to have a dig about the photos from Madame Tussauds that my daughter asked me to post last night. I told her I'd show them for 24 hours - which I did - but was then deemed to have shown 'irrelevant' pictures, the poster completely ignoring the fact that it was a different piece.
Why not just enjoy the win? The team did well, so you look for something else to moan about. Time to grow up matey...or just ignore it, if it bothers you that much.
Postscript - I'll be on Radio Derby tomorrow morning around 7.20am. I have been asked to comment on England's Ashes win from a Derbyshire perspective.
I'm as delighted as most other Englishmen tonight, but I'd swap it for Derbyshire staying up this summer in a heartbeat...
First up tonight, Mark asked if I thought that Wayne Madsen could be lured from Derbyshire by a county with money to spend and the ambition to sign one of the top batsmen in the country. Is the latter a bold statement? Not on this year's form...
You can never say never, Mark, but I'd be surprised, certainly at this stage. He signed a new three-year contract on October 17 of last year and, as an honourable man, I would certainly expect him to see that through. I spoke to him at some length in September of last year and I know how much he enjoys the area, the club and the playing environment. Derbyshire gave him an opportunity in the first-class game and he has repaid that with consistent performances.
Last year he was player of the year and he's a racing certainty to take it again. It shows how much he is valued and appreciated and I'm sure that his contract at the club recognises that. His delightful wife, Kyla, has a thriving business locally and they enjoy their lifestyle. Wayne could probably go elsewhere for a more lucrative deal, but would be unlikely to have the captaincy offered as part of that.
Will he spend the rest of his career with Derbyshire? You can't say that of any player, as they're as entitled to get the best deal for themselves as any of us. I hope he stays for a good while though, as he is one of the best we have ever had. Enjoy watching a class act, however long it lasts and hope, like me, it is for a long time.
Then there's Paul's comments about the merits and pulling power of Derby v Chesterfield, which you can see below the previous post. They are spot on and while the merits of Queens Park are evident, especially in the weather that blessed this summer, its drawbacks are fairly pointed out. It would be interesting to get the demographic of the Chesterfield crowds and their Derbyshire/Yorkshire split, but the reality is that Derbyshire have spent and will be spending a lot of money in developing the County Ground. There is no point in doing that if they're intending to put more matches to outgrounds, as it makes no economic sense.
I've seen many a match at Buxton and enjoyed the large crowds for tussles with Lancashire, but aside from the condition of the wicket, the outfield, the seating and the changing accommodation, there's so much more to think of these days. There's the traffic infrastructure, the parking facilities, the availability of places for food preparation and serving, amenities and facilities for fans....I could go on, but to sort these things costs money.
A lot was ploughed into the upgrade of Queens Park, but moving boundary boards and assorted equipment up to Buxton would cost money over and above the upgrade and it just wouldn't be worth it. Would Derbyshire v Lancashire there attract a bigger crowd than at Derby? Possibly, but Buxton would be unlikely to hold that much more, again with modern safety regulations needing observed, which makes the argument somewhat redundant.
Whether we like it or not, cricket is more professional today. Look at the link on the left of this blog at the Buxton CC site and their excellent collection of old photographs. I loved the charm of the old ground, the tarpaulin sightscreens, the sporting wicket, even the vagaries of the climate in the High Peak.
But I don't see it coming back sometime soon. That's a shame in many ways, but perfectly understandable.
As for other questions - I genuinely don't know if we will stay up, but I'm glad that our destiny is back in our own hands and we can stand or fall on our efforts in coming weeks. I also think we should stick with the young players and afford them the opportunities given to others, earlier in the season, but would also welcome back Tony Palladino if he is fit for the next home championship match.
As for what I think we need for next season - as asked by Dan - I'll hold fire on that until I see how these young guns fire between now and the end of the season!
Finally, it was so typical that, in the aftermath of yesterday's success, someone on the Forum chose to have a dig about the photos from Madame Tussauds that my daughter asked me to post last night. I told her I'd show them for 24 hours - which I did - but was then deemed to have shown 'irrelevant' pictures, the poster completely ignoring the fact that it was a different piece.
Why not just enjoy the win? The team did well, so you look for something else to moan about. Time to grow up matey...or just ignore it, if it bothers you that much.
Postscript - I'll be on Radio Derby tomorrow morning around 7.20am. I have been asked to comment on England's Ashes win from a Derbyshire perspective.
I'm as delighted as most other Englishmen tonight, but I'd swap it for Derbyshire staying up this summer in a heartbeat...
Sunday, 4 August 2013
Postscript on Sussex
Apologies...when I checked the table earlier, Cricinfo had our win added to it but had not added the points from it to our tally, leading me to suggest we were still some way adrift of Somerset and Surrey.
That's not the case. We have Middlesex to play at home, then massive games against Surrey and Somerset away, before finishing at the County Ground with games against Durham and Warwickshire.
With three home games you have three result pitches and we have to prepare wickets that offer us a chance of the points, while not falling foul of pitch inspectors.
I'll not suggest that we're going to escape relegation at this stage, as seven defeats this summer tells a tale of a fragile underbelly to this side on too many occasions for comfort.
Yet this win - and more, the manner in which it was achieved against a good side - suggests that our demotion need not be the foregone conclusion that it has appeared for the past few weeks. The manner in which the young players went out, playing without fear and with considerable pride, suggests that we could yet escape the end of season shake up.
The key? Keeping players fit, going out and playing purposeful cricket as we did last year and seeing what happens. We need continued good form from the skipper and for Shiv to reach his very best, at the same time as the youngsters go out and play their game.
I'd like to see Wes Durston get some form between times and swapping him in for Richard Johnson would be my only change for the next championship match. Unless Palladino, Clare and Turner regain form and/or fitness, Matt Higginbottom should also keep his place in a young side that bodes well for the future.
If the senior players produce the goods as they did here (take a bow, Timmy G) who knows?
Postscript - good to see Albie Morkel tweeting congratulations to Groenewald on his bowling today. With Martin Guptill also maintaining a close interest, the Derbyshire 'family' is alive and well.
Should stand them in good stead in the coming weeks.
That's not the case. We have Middlesex to play at home, then massive games against Surrey and Somerset away, before finishing at the County Ground with games against Durham and Warwickshire.
With three home games you have three result pitches and we have to prepare wickets that offer us a chance of the points, while not falling foul of pitch inspectors.
I'll not suggest that we're going to escape relegation at this stage, as seven defeats this summer tells a tale of a fragile underbelly to this side on too many occasions for comfort.
Yet this win - and more, the manner in which it was achieved against a good side - suggests that our demotion need not be the foregone conclusion that it has appeared for the past few weeks. The manner in which the young players went out, playing without fear and with considerable pride, suggests that we could yet escape the end of season shake up.
The key? Keeping players fit, going out and playing purposeful cricket as we did last year and seeing what happens. We need continued good form from the skipper and for Shiv to reach his very best, at the same time as the youngsters go out and play their game.
I'd like to see Wes Durston get some form between times and swapping him in for Richard Johnson would be my only change for the next championship match. Unless Palladino, Clare and Turner regain form and/or fitness, Matt Higginbottom should also keep his place in a young side that bodes well for the future.
If the senior players produce the goods as they did here (take a bow, Timmy G) who knows?
Postscript - good to see Albie Morkel tweeting congratulations to Groenewald on his bowling today. With Martin Guptill also maintaining a close interest, the Derbyshire 'family' is alive and well.
Should stand them in good stead in the coming weeks.
Sussex v Derbyshire day 3
A side containing six players under 25, five of them from the club Academy, ran out easy winners by nine wickets with a day to spare against one that has been in the top two of the division for much of the summer.
The match ended with a sterling partnership between Captain Marvel, Wayne Madsen, whose not out innings of 62 concluded a memorable personal match, together with Ben Slater, whose unbeaten 66 was the sort of knock that those who have followed him through the County Premier League, Academy and Second XI knew he could play.
He needed an opportunity to bat where he is used to batting and repaid that faith with an innings of patience and common sense, allowing Madsen to play his shots at the other end and content to keep the score moving along. I can't say that I'm surprised, because I've been saying for months that the lad can play and just needed a crack at his regular role.
The match was total vindication of the decision to play young players. Besides Slater's match-winning knock, Peter Burgoyne's first innings effort kept us within range of Sussex, while Alex Hughes took four wickets on his debut, one that will now be doubly memorable. Matt Higginbottom's was the least obvious success, but in the first innings he got the first wicket after a decent opening stand, then removed Sussex skipper Ed Joyce today when he was just getting into his stride. 1-24 in eleven overs was a good effort that he can be proud of. Krikk's Creche has a nice ring to it...
That second innings was a return to the miserly Derbyshire of last season. Only seven extras - three leg byes and four no balls - in 48 overs, giving the opposition little in the way of free runs. Full credit goes to Tim Groenewald, with 5-40 that led the attack admirably, while Mark Footitt's 3-39 gave us pace and a different angle for the batsmen to contend with.
It was wonderful stuff. We shouldn't get carried away and expect this to be the catalyst of a surge up the table, as we're a little too far off the pace for that at this stage. Yet the players can now look at this game, as well as the recent one against Nottinghamshire and realise that on their day they can match anyone. They just need to harness that commitment and fighting spirit on a regular basis.
To close - who else but Cap'n Madsen. 97 in the first innings, 62 not out in the second, 2-9 with the ball and leading his team to a memorable victory on the day that he became the second most prolific batsman in the top division, with 951 championship runs.
Carlsberg don't do cricket matches.
But if they did....
Well done lads. Top stuff and credit to all of you. Enjoy the journey home.
Sussex v Derbyshire day 2
Sorry about the lateness of the blog tonight but we made a day of our last one in Blackpool and only set off home after one more day there.
We were kept in the game today by two innings. One, from captain Wayne Madsen, was the type of knock that we have come to expect from him over recent seasons, while the other, from Peter Burgoyne, was a sign of things to come from a youngster with the brightest of futures.
One can only have the utmost respect for the skipper and the way that he has risen to the challenge of this level more than any of his team mates and maintained form despite numerous trials and tribulations for his team along the way. Today's innings leaves him only 111 runs short of his thousand for the summer, compiled currently at the very respectable average of 48. He looks and is a class act and continues to play a crucial role in the side.
The rest of the batsmen largely got starts but were dismissed before making something special of their innings, until Peter Burgoyne came in and hit a fine unbeaten 62 in only his third first class innings for the county. I think that Burgoyne and Alex Hughes will be the heartbeat of our middle order, either at 5/6 or 6/7 for some time to come and their all round talents will afford balance to the side.
It was a day when Shiv Chanderpaul at his best would have been an asset but he went in single figures and will probably be disappointed with his current average of 42, good by many standards but not by the lofty ones that he has set. Both he and we will hope for a big finish to the season, especially as he is some 300 runs in the skipper's slipstream in the scoring stakes.
There was time for a quick wicket in the Sussex second innings for the admirable Mr Groenewald, but much work remains to be done if we are to get anything from this game, whether a win or a draw. The sterling efforts of the above named players should not distract us from the fact that the next highest score, besides 37 extras, was the 16 of Ben Slater.
A decent day then, but much still to be done in this one.
Postscript - only Middlesex's Sam Robson and Ed Joyce of current opponents Sussex have more runs in division one than Madsen, the latter with only one run more to his name.
Quite a remarkable effort.
We were kept in the game today by two innings. One, from captain Wayne Madsen, was the type of knock that we have come to expect from him over recent seasons, while the other, from Peter Burgoyne, was a sign of things to come from a youngster with the brightest of futures.
One can only have the utmost respect for the skipper and the way that he has risen to the challenge of this level more than any of his team mates and maintained form despite numerous trials and tribulations for his team along the way. Today's innings leaves him only 111 runs short of his thousand for the summer, compiled currently at the very respectable average of 48. He looks and is a class act and continues to play a crucial role in the side.
The rest of the batsmen largely got starts but were dismissed before making something special of their innings, until Peter Burgoyne came in and hit a fine unbeaten 62 in only his third first class innings for the county. I think that Burgoyne and Alex Hughes will be the heartbeat of our middle order, either at 5/6 or 6/7 for some time to come and their all round talents will afford balance to the side.
It was a day when Shiv Chanderpaul at his best would have been an asset but he went in single figures and will probably be disappointed with his current average of 42, good by many standards but not by the lofty ones that he has set. Both he and we will hope for a big finish to the season, especially as he is some 300 runs in the skipper's slipstream in the scoring stakes.
There was time for a quick wicket in the Sussex second innings for the admirable Mr Groenewald, but much work remains to be done if we are to get anything from this game, whether a win or a draw. The sterling efforts of the above named players should not distract us from the fact that the next highest score, besides 37 extras, was the 16 of Ben Slater.
A decent day then, but much still to be done in this one.
Postscript - only Middlesex's Sam Robson and Ed Joyce of current opponents Sussex have more runs in division one than Madsen, the latter with only one run more to his name.
Quite a remarkable effort.
Friday, 2 August 2013
Sussex v Derbyshire day 1
Be honest, we'd have taken that in advance, wouldn't we?
All things considered, a pretty good effort by our boys today and to bowl out Sussex just before the close (and thus not have to bat tonight) was a master stroke you would think they had planned...
Top marks tonight go to new boys Matt Higginbottom and Alex Hughes, both of who marked their championship debuts with wickets, the latter going on to three of them in an excellent display. There was also three wickets for Tim 'Mr Reliable' Groenewald and two for our mystery spinner, Wayne Madsen, the mystery perhaps being why he's not bowled himself more.
I like to see a skipper try something different and Madsen's Lancashire League record suggested a bloke who could bowl at least adequately. It was surprising that his first wicket today was only his second for us, so to get two at such minimal cost was an impressive piece of work by the skipper.
314 all out should, unless we bat horribly, ensure that we stay in this game, but it could have been an even better day had a few chances been held and some balls not fallen short of fielders, especially in the morning session.
Sussex were anchored by the increasingly impressive Luke Wells and we need someone to do that for us tomorrow against a steady but far from lethal attack. Jordan and Magoffin have made a good opening attack this summer and Panesar will always need watched, but we shouldn't be ripped apart, even on a wicket that offers the bowlers encouragement and allowing for an inexperienced lineup.
You can never tell with Derbyshire though and we'll need to hope that the battling performances remain in the boys, especially with so many of them having much to play for in building reputations, establishing themselves and earning contracts for next season.
Should be another good day tomorrow and I look forward to following it as it progresses. One last day in Blackpool tomorrow, then head for home later in the evening and we'll be in our own beds tomorrow after a terrific break.
Off for a last evening meal now, so see you soon!
All things considered, a pretty good effort by our boys today and to bowl out Sussex just before the close (and thus not have to bat tonight) was a master stroke you would think they had planned...
Top marks tonight go to new boys Matt Higginbottom and Alex Hughes, both of who marked their championship debuts with wickets, the latter going on to three of them in an excellent display. There was also three wickets for Tim 'Mr Reliable' Groenewald and two for our mystery spinner, Wayne Madsen, the mystery perhaps being why he's not bowled himself more.
I like to see a skipper try something different and Madsen's Lancashire League record suggested a bloke who could bowl at least adequately. It was surprising that his first wicket today was only his second for us, so to get two at such minimal cost was an impressive piece of work by the skipper.
314 all out should, unless we bat horribly, ensure that we stay in this game, but it could have been an even better day had a few chances been held and some balls not fallen short of fielders, especially in the morning session.
Sussex were anchored by the increasingly impressive Luke Wells and we need someone to do that for us tomorrow against a steady but far from lethal attack. Jordan and Magoffin have made a good opening attack this summer and Panesar will always need watched, but we shouldn't be ripped apart, even on a wicket that offers the bowlers encouragement and allowing for an inexperienced lineup.
You can never tell with Derbyshire though and we'll need to hope that the battling performances remain in the boys, especially with so many of them having much to play for in building reputations, establishing themselves and earning contracts for next season.
Should be another good day tomorrow and I look forward to following it as it progresses. One last day in Blackpool tomorrow, then head for home later in the evening and we'll be in our own beds tomorrow after a terrific break.
Off for a last evening meal now, so see you soon!
Time to move on
The piece that I had suggested would appear did so on the club site yesterday,with Karl Krikken accepting that some performances recently had slipped from an expected standard.
"As long as everyone does their best, that’s all you can ask. If your best is not good enough, that’s another thing” said the Derbyshire coach and indeed no one can give more than their best. At least at the end of this season the people at the club know what is required to play at this standard and I feel we will be better prepared next time around from every perspective.
I've covered this in enough detail of late, so there's no need to labour the point. What we can do, however, is to take plenty of encouragement from the performances of the second team, who won again yesterday against Glamorgan, albeit with the assistance of five wickets from Wes Durston in a thrilling climax.
There have been plenty of good displays from young seamers such as Ben Cotton, Johnny Marsden and Tommy Taylor, as well as Greg Cork. After a relatively fallow period it would appear that the Derbyshire supply of such talent is back in full production and I look forward to the day, perhaps in the not too distant future, when we field an attack of locally produced lads, rather than those brought in from elsewhere.
Another player who seems to do little wrong is Scott Elstone, a Burton-born lad who spent his formative years on the Nottinghamshire staff. Still, we all makes mistakes in life...
Elstone was released at the end of last summer, but at 23 would still appear to have much to offer the first-class game. He has played a lot of cricket at Derbyshire this year and has played a number of good innings, the runs usually made at a good pace, while also appearing with some success for the Unicorns. His batting for Dunstall has been both powerful and impressive, while he also brings useful off-spin to the table, good enough for him to be regularly in the wickets. He is also a brilliant fielder who took two catches for England against India in 2011 while fielding as twelfth man.
He would, in short, appear to fit the criteria for Derbyshire in team strengthening, in being available and affordable, besides being perhaps better than we already have. Much will depend on who else becomes available in the coming months and how much money we have, but he is a name worth keeping an eye on.
The Sussex game starts today and, unlike Charles Dickens, I have no great expectations of this one. A win would be terrific, but would also need one or two players to produce something special over the next four days.
Here's hoping that someone steps up to the mark. More immediately for family Peakfan, we're off to explore and enjoy a day that I hope is as sunny and warm as yesterday.
More later.
"As long as everyone does their best, that’s all you can ask. If your best is not good enough, that’s another thing” said the Derbyshire coach and indeed no one can give more than their best. At least at the end of this season the people at the club know what is required to play at this standard and I feel we will be better prepared next time around from every perspective.
I've covered this in enough detail of late, so there's no need to labour the point. What we can do, however, is to take plenty of encouragement from the performances of the second team, who won again yesterday against Glamorgan, albeit with the assistance of five wickets from Wes Durston in a thrilling climax.
There have been plenty of good displays from young seamers such as Ben Cotton, Johnny Marsden and Tommy Taylor, as well as Greg Cork. After a relatively fallow period it would appear that the Derbyshire supply of such talent is back in full production and I look forward to the day, perhaps in the not too distant future, when we field an attack of locally produced lads, rather than those brought in from elsewhere.
Another player who seems to do little wrong is Scott Elstone, a Burton-born lad who spent his formative years on the Nottinghamshire staff. Still, we all makes mistakes in life...
Elstone was released at the end of last summer, but at 23 would still appear to have much to offer the first-class game. He has played a lot of cricket at Derbyshire this year and has played a number of good innings, the runs usually made at a good pace, while also appearing with some success for the Unicorns. His batting for Dunstall has been both powerful and impressive, while he also brings useful off-spin to the table, good enough for him to be regularly in the wickets. He is also a brilliant fielder who took two catches for England against India in 2011 while fielding as twelfth man.
He would, in short, appear to fit the criteria for Derbyshire in team strengthening, in being available and affordable, besides being perhaps better than we already have. Much will depend on who else becomes available in the coming months and how much money we have, but he is a name worth keeping an eye on.
The Sussex game starts today and, unlike Charles Dickens, I have no great expectations of this one. A win would be terrific, but would also need one or two players to produce something special over the next four days.
Here's hoping that someone steps up to the mark. More immediately for family Peakfan, we're off to explore and enjoy a day that I hope is as sunny and warm as yesterday.
More later.
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