Early this morning, around 1am to be precise, family Peakfan arrived safely back in Scotland from our break in Barcelona, which was simply stunning. I don't know how many of you have been, but the endless array of leafy streets, delightful squares and fascinating shops blew me away, even if the climate left me wondering why cricket has never taken off in Spain.
A trip to Camp Nou showed how Barcelona is much more than 'just' a football team and I reckon I will present a business plan to them for a cricket club..twinned with Derbyshire CCC, of course!
Bringing me nicely back to the main focus of this blog and it was no bad week to be away, if the posts and emails I got after the Essex game were anything to go by. I saw Surrey in the county championship as the nadir of our season, but it appears we plumbed similar, if not greater depths last week.
Being two players down didn't help, but to expect Tony Palladino and Shiv Thakor to have addressed the obvious imbalance is unrealistic. Heads went down and that's not good to see, especially against a side that has hardly pulled up trees this season.
The needs for next season are obvious. Hamish Rutherford in the batting line up will help, as will Neil Broom, but for me we need another batsman, or batting all-rounder, of quality. Whether that is from this country or a Kolpak only time will tell, but there is a fine line between encouraging youth and being competitive.
The success of the under-17s, the Academy and the second team this summer illustrates that progress is being made, but the focus for many supporters will be on the first team alone. Results have not gone as we would have hoped and although injuries have hit us hard, there has been a step or two back for each one forward. In the fickle world of professional sport, Graeme Welch will be aware that next season, the last of his current deal, will need to show greater concrete proof of progress at senior level. I am not advocating change, as I have a lot of respect for him as a man and as a coach, but the pressures in professional sport are evident and never go away.
The pressure on the current players is to be 10-15 per cent better next year than this. A top five of Godleman, Rutherford, Madsen, Broom and, perhaps, a Kolpak should score runs. Alex Hughes and Shiv Thakor will give balance with bat and ball, but all of our young players need to show more frequently that they have what it takes to succeed at top level. Conversely, the senior players need to step up to the plate more often too for us to succeed.
Take the wicket-keeping role. Both Tom Poynton and Harvey Hosein have kept wicket steadily this year, but neither has grabbed the role. Both have had their challenges, but the reality is that we need more runs from one of them to see them as long-term options. It is unrealistic to expect a lad of Hosein's age to score these, perhaps as much as to expect the same of Tom Poynton after a year out, but the bottom line is that we need more runs from that position, whoever fills it, next year. One has only to look at what someone like Niall O'Brien gives to Leicestershire to see what we need from that role.
There is work ahead, but the onus is on all of them to produce the goods. For some, next season will either be the start of a special career, or the end of their dalliance with one in the professional game. Much will depend on their winter work and their individual progress.
It isn't as simple, however, as going out to spend big money, because we don't have that. To retain the best performing players, young and older, we need to look after them financially, but each will be aware that they need to justify the salaries or become expendable, just as happens every season when the retained lists are published.
In closing tonight, I have been asked in several emails if I saw us moving for either Monty Panesar or Greg Smith from Essex, the latter a former County Ground player, of course. My answer is no.
Sadly, neither has the recent statistics to suggest that they would enhance the squad, with Greg, a good cricketer who enjoyed some special days, being the latest to confirm that the grass isn't always greener elsewhere.
Sometimes it is much better to be a bigger fish in a smaller pool, rather than trying to swim with all the other big ones...
Wednesday, 16 September 2015
Friday, 11 September 2015
Dismal, dismal, dismal...
Sincere apologies for the lack of blogging this week but it has been family time and the wifi at the hotel has come and gone quicker than the Derbyshire batting.
I won't labour the point unduly but that was awful and unacceptable against Essex. We appear to have been a shambles and the supporters have been let down. I accept that we lost two players but the whole thing made the daily return to the hotel here an arduous task. Goodness knows how bad it must have been to watch it...
One more game and then winter. Thank goodness for that. We have to improve on this, beyond a shadow of a doubt.
More from me on our return home but a greater injection of experienced talent this winter - not just Rutherford and Broom - is needed.
Quite frankly, supporters are due much better than this.
Back to the holidays, sunshine and fun now.
I will be back in touch when I can..
I won't labour the point unduly but that was awful and unacceptable against Essex. We appear to have been a shambles and the supporters have been let down. I accept that we lost two players but the whole thing made the daily return to the hotel here an arduous task. Goodness knows how bad it must have been to watch it...
One more game and then winter. Thank goodness for that. We have to improve on this, beyond a shadow of a doubt.
More from me on our return home but a greater injection of experienced talent this winter - not just Rutherford and Broom - is needed.
Quite frankly, supporters are due much better than this.
Back to the holidays, sunshine and fun now.
I will be back in touch when I can..
Saturday, 5 September 2015
More dates to see Edwin Smith (and me...)
We have several speaking engagements coming up over the next few weeks, where I will be interviewing Edwin, before the audience has a chance to ask questions and we then sign copies of the book.
These are as follows:
Wednesday 16 Sept - Central Library, Stirling (Scotland) at 7pm
Wednesday 23 Sept - Grassmoor Working Men's Club, Chesterfield at 7.30pm
Thursday 29 October - Derby Cricket Lovers Lunch at the 3aaa County Ground, Derby, 12.30pm
There may be other dates added in the coming weeks, which will naturally be advertised on here and through Twitter. We both hope you will come along for some cricket chat and to say hello.
Please let me know if you would be interested in hosting an event and we will see what we can do.
For anyone interested in buying a copy of the book, please email me at the address in the left-hand sidebar of the blog, Please note that I will be away until 16 September so may not be in a position to respond immediately - but thanks in advance for your interest!
New Broom a solution for Derbyshire?
I will admit, like most of you, to not knowing much about the batsman, apart from the name. Yet his record is solid and, as you will know if you are a regular reader of the blog, I am a big fan of cricketers from New Zealand. They rarely give anything but excellent service and, like most sports men and women from there have a fine, competitive ethic.
Neil brings a lot of experience at top level and a track record that suggests he will be a fine asset in all forms of the game. A personal recommendation from Hamish Rutherford does no harm, of course and I am sure that there will be a friendly rivalry from the two to deliver next summer.
While his record at top level suggests that he didn't quite cut it on the international stage, a first-class average of forty, with fifteen centuries and 28 fifties in his first-class career suggests that he knows how to handle a willow. So too a List A average of 35, while his T20 strike rate should make him a big asset in the short form.
Indeed, he finished the last Kiwi domestic season in sparkling first-class form, with a sequence of scores reading 46, 78, 76, 0, 44, 123, 117, 4 and 50. Few of us will complain should that sequence occur in Derbyshire colours and I look forward to watching him over the next two summers.
Playing on a UK passport, Broom will add a little middle-order class to a batting line-up that has looked exposed this year after the senior men at the top of the order have gone. I am sure we all wish him well.
The club has moved with commendable speed, first in securing the services of Hamish Rutherford and now those of Neil Broom for next summer. The rebuilding has begun and it is good to see.
You may enjoy the clip below from Youtube, which highlights his talents. If he can replicate this, or the 117 from 56 balls he scored in the Champions League T20 against the Perth Scorchers, he may just be a missing part of the jigsaw and help some talented young cricketers along the way.
Good news to start the weekend!
Friday, 4 September 2015
Surrey v Derbyshire day 4
Derbyshire 313 and 149 (Madsen 76 not, Durston 57)
Surrey 560
Surrey won by an innings and 98 runs
It was an end of season performance in an end of season game for Derbyshire today, with a limp batting effort in which two men scored all but 16 of the team runs. Or put another way, nine batsmen got sixteen runs between them...
Credit to a good Surrey side who have risen through the division and fully deserve the promotion that is now theirs, but the game, like the one at Derby, emphasised a gulf between the two sides and showed how much work we have to do this winter to be among the promotion pack next year.
It was no surprise that the experienced men did best, the two skippers combining in the only stand of note, with Wayne Madsen standing alone as the good ship Derbyshire sunk below him. While allowing for the absence of an overseas player for the team, the weaknesses in our batting are obvious and have to be addressed in the close season.
Not much more to say really.
Based on the swift decline of our second innings, the end of the season cannot come soon enough now.
Surrey 560
Surrey won by an innings and 98 runs
It was an end of season performance in an end of season game for Derbyshire today, with a limp batting effort in which two men scored all but 16 of the team runs. Or put another way, nine batsmen got sixteen runs between them...
Credit to a good Surrey side who have risen through the division and fully deserve the promotion that is now theirs, but the game, like the one at Derby, emphasised a gulf between the two sides and showed how much work we have to do this winter to be among the promotion pack next year.
It was no surprise that the experienced men did best, the two skippers combining in the only stand of note, with Wayne Madsen standing alone as the good ship Derbyshire sunk below him. While allowing for the absence of an overseas player for the team, the weaknesses in our batting are obvious and have to be addressed in the close season.
Not much more to say really.
Based on the swift decline of our second innings, the end of the season cannot come soon enough now.
Thursday, 3 September 2015
Surrey v Derbyshire day 3
Derbyshire 313
Surrey 560 (Durston 6-113)
After a closely-fought first two days, Surrey stormed away with the third and left Derbyshire with a lot to do on the fourth to avoid a defeat that would seal their opponents a promotion spot and put them in poll position for the title.
To be fair, after a spirited batting effort they deserve it. In batting as long as they did, their intention will have been to ensure against batting again, though they must hope for a full day today and a limp second innings effort from us.
Work commitments stopped me following too much of today's play, but as Creweblade points out below yesterday's post, we would have been in big trouble without Wes Durston's marathon effort that produced career-best figures. Both Ben Cotton and Tony Palladino bowled with commendable accuracy, but Mark Footitt had a rare ineffective day and both Matt Critchley and Tom Milnes proved expensive.
Such is the game. It will be a battle tomorrow and the batsmen must be ready for a day of fielders all around the bat. A draw would be a good achievement and in its own way a marker of the fighting spirit in the side. There is nothing to play for but pride, but I hope that the spirit is strong.
I bet there's a few red rose fans rooting for us tomorrow...
In closing tonight, I omitted to mention earlier in the week that it was nice to see Mohammad Azharuddin back at Derby for the filming of the biopic of his life.
After considered thought, I can recall no Derbyshire batsman who made batting look so effortless, so easy, so joyful. Especially in his first season, Azha watching was a joy and he was a quite stunning player to watch.
There were times that he played the ball so late you thought it was through, but a late turn of the wrists speared the ball to the mid-wicket boundary. He moved little at the crease until he needed to, but when he did it was with purpose and footwork that a Strictly Come Dancing professional would have been proud of.
It was a privilege to watch him.
Surrey 560 (Durston 6-113)
After a closely-fought first two days, Surrey stormed away with the third and left Derbyshire with a lot to do on the fourth to avoid a defeat that would seal their opponents a promotion spot and put them in poll position for the title.
To be fair, after a spirited batting effort they deserve it. In batting as long as they did, their intention will have been to ensure against batting again, though they must hope for a full day today and a limp second innings effort from us.
Work commitments stopped me following too much of today's play, but as Creweblade points out below yesterday's post, we would have been in big trouble without Wes Durston's marathon effort that produced career-best figures. Both Ben Cotton and Tony Palladino bowled with commendable accuracy, but Mark Footitt had a rare ineffective day and both Matt Critchley and Tom Milnes proved expensive.
Such is the game. It will be a battle tomorrow and the batsmen must be ready for a day of fielders all around the bat. A draw would be a good achievement and in its own way a marker of the fighting spirit in the side. There is nothing to play for but pride, but I hope that the spirit is strong.
I bet there's a few red rose fans rooting for us tomorrow...
In closing tonight, I omitted to mention earlier in the week that it was nice to see Mohammad Azharuddin back at Derby for the filming of the biopic of his life.
After considered thought, I can recall no Derbyshire batsman who made batting look so effortless, so easy, so joyful. Especially in his first season, Azha watching was a joy and he was a quite stunning player to watch.
There were times that he played the ball so late you thought it was through, but a late turn of the wrists speared the ball to the mid-wicket boundary. He moved little at the crease until he needed to, but when he did it was with purpose and footwork that a Strictly Come Dancing professional would have been proud of.
It was a privilege to watch him.
Wednesday, 2 September 2015
Surrey v Derbyshire day 2
Derbyshire 313
Surrey 227-5
There's a good old game going on at The Kia Oval with both teams very much in it.
The Derbyshire tail wagged and took us to respectability, thanks to good efforts primarily by Messrs Palladino and Critchley. Chesney missed out on his ton, but did a fine job for the side and Wayne Madsen will have been quietly content on leading his side out to field.
Surrey's reply was very similar, with Burns making 92, four runs less than Chesney, and the rest making double figures in a solid effort. Much more rests on the game for them than us, of course, but wounded pride is a powerful force and I hope that we acquit ourselves equally well over the last two days of the game as we have in the first two.
It was good to see Matt Critchley getting a longer bowl today and the wicket of Steve Davies. Leg spin is the most difficult of spinning arts but the youngster has a bright future ahead of him with bat and ball. At times he will be expensive, but there will be others when he will learn to take full advantage of helpful conditions and bowl sides out.
More from me tomorrow.
Thanks for your continued support!
Surrey 227-5
There's a good old game going on at The Kia Oval with both teams very much in it.
The Derbyshire tail wagged and took us to respectability, thanks to good efforts primarily by Messrs Palladino and Critchley. Chesney missed out on his ton, but did a fine job for the side and Wayne Madsen will have been quietly content on leading his side out to field.
Surrey's reply was very similar, with Burns making 92, four runs less than Chesney, and the rest making double figures in a solid effort. Much more rests on the game for them than us, of course, but wounded pride is a powerful force and I hope that we acquit ourselves equally well over the last two days of the game as we have in the first two.
It was good to see Matt Critchley getting a longer bowl today and the wicket of Steve Davies. Leg spin is the most difficult of spinning arts but the youngster has a bright future ahead of him with bat and ball. At times he will be expensive, but there will be others when he will learn to take full advantage of helpful conditions and bowl sides out.
More from me tomorrow.
Thanks for your continued support!
Tuesday, 1 September 2015
Surrey v Derbyshire day 1
This was a typical end of season game, in that we started late and finished early.
In between, Derbyshire started quite well and had our near typical stumble in the middle and towards the end. Billy Godleman 'failed' and 'only' made 45, but the start that he and Ben Slater gave suggested that we might make more than we had by the close.
That the spinner, Ansari, took four wickets on the first day suggested that Messrs Durston and Critchley may enjoy a bowl later in the game, but we would have been in a lot more trouble had it not been for a severe case of dropsy affecting our hosts as Chesney Hughes played one of his more restrained innings.
It has again been a funny old season for Chesney, with one or two innings suggesting that he has turned the corner, before a handful doing completely the opposite. That he has talent a-plenty is undeniable, but next year is a big one for him and he will need to show that he can produce the goods more often than has thus far been the case.
He did well today, though and we are very much in the game at this stage. Tail end support is needed to push the score beyond 300, but we could just as easily fold for under 250...such is the lot of a Derbyshire supporter, the knowledge that it could very easily go either way.
Tomorrow will tell, but for now, let's reflect on a decent day and hope that we hold the edges a little better than our opponents.
More from me tomorrow.
Monday, 31 August 2015
Surrey v Derbyshire preview
My apologies for the lack of blogging this past weekend, but a combination of work and a need to get stuff organised for our imminent holidays meant I had very little spare time to comment.
Truth be told, there wasn't much to report. T20 Finals Day - or what I saw of it around work - was a disappointment, with a slow pitch hardly conducive to quick scoring or big hitting. Given that is a major part of it for supporters, the good crowd will have had limited fun, unless they came from Lancashire, of course.
Fair play to them for winning the whole shebang, but it shows that we just need to improve the fractions, the percentages, to compete more. We beat them at the 3aaa County Ground with some ease and with shrewd additions over the winter it is not unrealistic to think we could do better next year. I think the bowlers are already in place, although a second overseas player who can turn his arm over, or a Kolpak, would be useful. The nucleus is there, though and with another ten per cent we might escape the group stages next year for the first time since Gandhi was a lad...
Tomorrow sees us play a return fixture against Surrey, the opponents on what was our worst display of the summer - indeed, many a summer - earlier this year. It was the only time I have left a day's play ahead of the scheduled close and our lads had 'gone' way before they batted that day. This is a chance to make amends and I hope that the players remember the hurt after that game at Derby.
Fresh from his second team heroics, Tom Milnes is named in the squad and deserves to make his debut, ahead of what I expect to be a move to us in the close season. He replaces the injured Alex Hughes, still struggling after the blow on the hand against Kent and deserves a chance to show what he can do at county level. I suspect he will do rather well, judging by his figures for Warwickshire in the top tier.
The Derbyshire squad:
Billy Godleman
Ben Slater
Chesney Hughes
Wayne Madsen
Wes Durston
Shiv Thakor
Harvey Hosein
Matthew Critchley
Tony Palladino
Tom Milnes
Mark Footitt
Ben Cotton
I expect the final place to be between Ben Cotton and Milnes, but have no more idea than the rest of you on the fitness of the others. It is a decent mix of youth and experience and there will be some nice sub-plots in the game. Can Billy Godleman get four successive centuries? Can Harvey Hosein replicate last year's feats? Can several young players reinforce the positive impressions of the summer, while Mark Footitt uses the opportunity of a game in the Big Smoke, aka where the journalists are, to stake a winter tour claim?
I hope the answer is yes to all of them, but our hosts welcome back Kumar Sangakkara in a strong side that is pushing Lancashire all the way for the title. With them promoted, next year should be a pretty even division two, whoever comes down. Their squad:
Gareth Batty (capt)
Zafar Ansari
James Burke
Rory Burns
Sam Curran
Tom Curran
Steven Davies
Jade Dernbach
Ben Foakes
Arun Harinath
Kumar Sangakkara
Gary Wilson
It will be a fascinating game and I hope that we acquit ourselves well against a determined side with talented players.
More from me tomorrow. In closing, just a heads up that the Peakfan family will be on their annual holidays from the coming Sunday, for ten days in the delights of Spain. While I will blog briefly in that time, when time and wi-fi availability fall into alignment, it will be as and when.
I will be back in time for our last game of the summer and should be down to see most of the Leicestershire game. It would be great to see old friends at that one, before autumn and winter fall upon us once more.
Truth be told, there wasn't much to report. T20 Finals Day - or what I saw of it around work - was a disappointment, with a slow pitch hardly conducive to quick scoring or big hitting. Given that is a major part of it for supporters, the good crowd will have had limited fun, unless they came from Lancashire, of course.
Fair play to them for winning the whole shebang, but it shows that we just need to improve the fractions, the percentages, to compete more. We beat them at the 3aaa County Ground with some ease and with shrewd additions over the winter it is not unrealistic to think we could do better next year. I think the bowlers are already in place, although a second overseas player who can turn his arm over, or a Kolpak, would be useful. The nucleus is there, though and with another ten per cent we might escape the group stages next year for the first time since Gandhi was a lad...
Tomorrow sees us play a return fixture against Surrey, the opponents on what was our worst display of the summer - indeed, many a summer - earlier this year. It was the only time I have left a day's play ahead of the scheduled close and our lads had 'gone' way before they batted that day. This is a chance to make amends and I hope that the players remember the hurt after that game at Derby.
Fresh from his second team heroics, Tom Milnes is named in the squad and deserves to make his debut, ahead of what I expect to be a move to us in the close season. He replaces the injured Alex Hughes, still struggling after the blow on the hand against Kent and deserves a chance to show what he can do at county level. I suspect he will do rather well, judging by his figures for Warwickshire in the top tier.
The Derbyshire squad:
Billy Godleman
Ben Slater
Chesney Hughes
Wayne Madsen
Wes Durston
Shiv Thakor
Harvey Hosein
Matthew Critchley
Tony Palladino
Tom Milnes
Mark Footitt
Ben Cotton
I expect the final place to be between Ben Cotton and Milnes, but have no more idea than the rest of you on the fitness of the others. It is a decent mix of youth and experience and there will be some nice sub-plots in the game. Can Billy Godleman get four successive centuries? Can Harvey Hosein replicate last year's feats? Can several young players reinforce the positive impressions of the summer, while Mark Footitt uses the opportunity of a game in the Big Smoke, aka where the journalists are, to stake a winter tour claim?
I hope the answer is yes to all of them, but our hosts welcome back Kumar Sangakkara in a strong side that is pushing Lancashire all the way for the title. With them promoted, next year should be a pretty even division two, whoever comes down. Their squad:
Gareth Batty (capt)
Zafar Ansari
James Burke
Rory Burns
Sam Curran
Tom Curran
Steven Davies
Jade Dernbach
Ben Foakes
Arun Harinath
Kumar Sangakkara
Gary Wilson
It will be a fascinating game and I hope that we acquit ourselves well against a determined side with talented players.
More from me tomorrow. In closing, just a heads up that the Peakfan family will be on their annual holidays from the coming Sunday, for ten days in the delights of Spain. While I will blog briefly in that time, when time and wi-fi availability fall into alignment, it will be as and when.
I will be back in time for our last game of the summer and should be down to see most of the Leicestershire game. It would be great to see old friends at that one, before autumn and winter fall upon us once more.
Thursday, 27 August 2015
Second XI are cup winners!
Terrific win by the Second Eleven at Durham tonight, as they took the One-Day Trophy by ten runs over their hosts.
It was a well-deserved win for them, who had gone through the tournament unbeaten and contained a good mixture of youth and experience in the side. 69 from Chesney Hughes, 45 from Ben Slater and 41 from Wes Durston were the top scores, but Tom Knight's 32 and Matt Critchley's sensible 18 at the end saw us to a challenging score of 247-8 in 50 overs.
Durham's side also included players of considerable first-class experience but Phil Mustard struggled to get the ball away before being leg before to Critchley and when Tom Taylor removed the dangerous Calum Macleod for 41, the writing was on the wall.
There were late wickets and common sense bowling from Tom Milnes, who finished with 3-43 and the trophy will be heading back to the 3aaa County Ground.
Some will doubtless say 'it's only a second team' but the talent in that side leaves grounds for optimism, especially with a very young attack.
I would not be at all surprised to see Milnes engaged for next summer, as the lad has done little wrong since joining from Warwickshire on loan. Indeed, 22 wickets in seven innings confirms that he has done an awful lot right and the lad's record suggests that he might be worth a punt.
His limited opportunity at Edgbaston has left him with a batting average of 28 and, with a best bowling performance of 7-39, there's no concerns that the lad can bowl. Yes, we need experience in our side for next year, but at 22 Milnes may well be worth a contract.
That's for others to decide, but for now, enjoy the taste of success...I hope it is just an aperitif for the youngsters in that side.
It was a well-deserved win for them, who had gone through the tournament unbeaten and contained a good mixture of youth and experience in the side. 69 from Chesney Hughes, 45 from Ben Slater and 41 from Wes Durston were the top scores, but Tom Knight's 32 and Matt Critchley's sensible 18 at the end saw us to a challenging score of 247-8 in 50 overs.
Durham's side also included players of considerable first-class experience but Phil Mustard struggled to get the ball away before being leg before to Critchley and when Tom Taylor removed the dangerous Calum Macleod for 41, the writing was on the wall.
There were late wickets and common sense bowling from Tom Milnes, who finished with 3-43 and the trophy will be heading back to the 3aaa County Ground.
Some will doubtless say 'it's only a second team' but the talent in that side leaves grounds for optimism, especially with a very young attack.
I would not be at all surprised to see Milnes engaged for next summer, as the lad has done little wrong since joining from Warwickshire on loan. Indeed, 22 wickets in seven innings confirms that he has done an awful lot right and the lad's record suggests that he might be worth a punt.
His limited opportunity at Edgbaston has left him with a batting average of 28 and, with a best bowling performance of 7-39, there's no concerns that the lad can bowl. Yes, we need experience in our side for next year, but at 22 Milnes may well be worth a contract.
That's for others to decide, but for now, enjoy the taste of success...I hope it is just an aperitif for the youngsters in that side.
Wednesday, 26 August 2015
Good luck to the seconds
I am sure you will all join me in wishing the Second Eleven the best of luck in their one-day final against Durham tomorrow.
They have played some fine cricket this summer and the icing on the cake would be a win in the final, on the ground of their opponents.
While the under 17s quest for silverware ended up short at the weekend against a strong Surrey side, the seconds could go all the way.
Bring home the trophy lads!
We're all rooting for you.
They have played some fine cricket this summer and the icing on the cake would be a win in the final, on the ground of their opponents.
While the under 17s quest for silverware ended up short at the weekend against a strong Surrey side, the seconds could go all the way.
Bring home the trophy lads!
We're all rooting for you.
Edwin Smith launch a great success
Several of Edwin's former team mates were in attendance, as was Derbyshire captain, Wayne Madsen, who happily chatted and posed for photographs as the books were sold and signed.
Edwin was in fine form and entertained the audience with stories from his career, then took questions from the audience.
Thank you to everyone who came along for making it a special evening and please get in touch if you would like to buy.
The book is now available on Ebay - simply search under 'Edwin Smith'.
Photo shows: back row - David Millner, Peter Eyre, John Eyre, Wayne Madsen
Front - Peakfan, Edwin Smith, Brian Jackson
There's the basis of a good little team there, but I don't fancy my chances of either opening the batting or taking the new ball...
Thanks to all at Derbyshire County Libraries for making the evening one to treasure.
Photograph courtesy of Derbyshire County Libraries
Adieu to David Wainwright
It is always sad when a county favourite is released, although there was an inevitability about that of David Wainwright, which was announced today.
He had been a peripheral figure this season, struggling to recover from a pre-season injury which ultimately caused form to be elusive. His last appearance, which even at the time appeared a farewell, was against the Australians and his batting was, as ever, dogged.
The truth is that David always was a battler, a 'nuggety cricketer', as I have heard him described. There was a touch of the Fred Swarbrooks about the way in which he got his head down and tried to save a losing cause, but the harsh reality was that he perhaps didn't score the runs that his talent deserved.
As for his bowling, he never recaptured the form of that golden summer of 2012, when he won us matches, shut an end up as required and, crucially, gave balance to the side. He lost the control of that summer and seemed less able to bowl the maidens that are so useful to a captain whose seamers are going around the park.
More importantly, he didn't take wickets when he was expected to do so. At Southport, in favourable conditions, he was outbowled by Matt Critchley and then struggled to take wickets in second team cricket.
It was all very sad and inevitable. We seem set to go with Tom Knight and Critchley next summer, both of who crucially have time on their side but a lot of learning to do.
David Wainwright will doubtless score runs and take wickets in club cricket for many years to come, while supporters will remember his contribution to that title of 2012 and the 'magic ball' in last year's RLODC that set him off on something approximating a lap of honour of the County Ground.
He was a good cricketer and always gave of his best.
You can't ask for more.
He had been a peripheral figure this season, struggling to recover from a pre-season injury which ultimately caused form to be elusive. His last appearance, which even at the time appeared a farewell, was against the Australians and his batting was, as ever, dogged.
The truth is that David always was a battler, a 'nuggety cricketer', as I have heard him described. There was a touch of the Fred Swarbrooks about the way in which he got his head down and tried to save a losing cause, but the harsh reality was that he perhaps didn't score the runs that his talent deserved.
As for his bowling, he never recaptured the form of that golden summer of 2012, when he won us matches, shut an end up as required and, crucially, gave balance to the side. He lost the control of that summer and seemed less able to bowl the maidens that are so useful to a captain whose seamers are going around the park.
More importantly, he didn't take wickets when he was expected to do so. At Southport, in favourable conditions, he was outbowled by Matt Critchley and then struggled to take wickets in second team cricket.
It was all very sad and inevitable. We seem set to go with Tom Knight and Critchley next summer, both of who crucially have time on their side but a lot of learning to do.
David Wainwright will doubtless score runs and take wickets in club cricket for many years to come, while supporters will remember his contribution to that title of 2012 and the 'magic ball' in last year's RLODC that set him off on something approximating a lap of honour of the County Ground.
He was a good cricketer and always gave of his best.
You can't ask for more.
Monday, 24 August 2015
Still tickets left for the Edwin Smith book launch
It will be an opportunity to recognise the wonderful contribution made at all levels of cricket in Derbyshire by Edwin. As well as 1214 first-class wickets, he took thousands more in league cricket across the north of England and was also county coach for three seasons.
He is engaging company and good fun, something that I hope is reflected in the book, which contains many stories never previously in print about a range of Derbyshire cricket characters.
Containing the thoughts of many of Edwin's contemporaries in Derbyshire sides, as well as such luminaries as Geoffrey Boycott and David Steele, the book costs £14 and will be available on the night. Afterwards, signed copies can be obtained from me by using the contact details that you will find on the left hand side of this blog.
Unsigned copies can be obtained by calling the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians on 01323 460174.
I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, when I will interview Edwin on his career, before we take questions from the audience and then sign copies of the book.
My thanks go to Derbyshire County Libraries for hosting the event. Call Chesterfield Library on 01629 533400 to reserve your ticket for the evening. They cost £3 (£2 concession)
Derbyshire v Kent day 4
Derbyshire 253 and 234-3
Kent 159 and 231-5
Match drawn
My comment regarding the weather being the deciding factor turned out to be quite propitious today, when an absorbing day's cricket that ebbed and flowed throughout was ended by the rain at tea.
It came bang on cue, as given by the forecasters, yet stopped a game that could have gone either way in its tracks. When Rob Key and Sam Northeast were going well, Kent clawed back the ascendancy that had gone to us with two early wickets, but Tony Palladino's removal of the former slowed their progress.
Ben Harmison looked sketchy to start but had got into his stride before tea with three successive boundaries before he got too confident against Chesney Hughes' spin and edged to Wayne Madsen at slip. It was the last action before tea and, coming soon after Mark Footitt had induced an edge from an assayed hook by Northeast, saw Derbyshire go into the interval the more confident side.
Five down was effectively six, with Billings unable to bat, so with 98 needed to win and two new batsmen at the crease, the Derbyshire attack will have come out after tea for one final assault on the tail. With Alex Hughes off the pitch after a crack on the hand yesterday, along with Shiv Thakor, still hors de combat after his first day blow to the head, we were two bowlers light and the burden on the rest was considerable.
They did extremely well. Ben Cotton and Palladino ran in hard, but star turn was once again Mark Footitt, whose pace never dropped from the first over to his last and who bowled 24 overs in the innings. It was a top effort by the paceman and all three will sleep well tonight.
Given better weather, it is a game we would have won easily and the team can be pleased with a good effort over the four days.
Especially Billy Godleman.
That will live long in his memory.
Kent 159 and 231-5
Match drawn
My comment regarding the weather being the deciding factor turned out to be quite propitious today, when an absorbing day's cricket that ebbed and flowed throughout was ended by the rain at tea.
It came bang on cue, as given by the forecasters, yet stopped a game that could have gone either way in its tracks. When Rob Key and Sam Northeast were going well, Kent clawed back the ascendancy that had gone to us with two early wickets, but Tony Palladino's removal of the former slowed their progress.
Ben Harmison looked sketchy to start but had got into his stride before tea with three successive boundaries before he got too confident against Chesney Hughes' spin and edged to Wayne Madsen at slip. It was the last action before tea and, coming soon after Mark Footitt had induced an edge from an assayed hook by Northeast, saw Derbyshire go into the interval the more confident side.
Five down was effectively six, with Billings unable to bat, so with 98 needed to win and two new batsmen at the crease, the Derbyshire attack will have come out after tea for one final assault on the tail. With Alex Hughes off the pitch after a crack on the hand yesterday, along with Shiv Thakor, still hors de combat after his first day blow to the head, we were two bowlers light and the burden on the rest was considerable.
They did extremely well. Ben Cotton and Palladino ran in hard, but star turn was once again Mark Footitt, whose pace never dropped from the first over to his last and who bowled 24 overs in the innings. It was a top effort by the paceman and all three will sleep well tonight.
Given better weather, it is a game we would have won easily and the team can be pleased with a good effort over the four days.
Especially Billy Godleman.
That will live long in his memory.
Sunday, 23 August 2015
Derbyshire v Kent day 3
Derbyshire 253 and 234-3 (Godleman 105 not)Kent 159 and 30-0
Kent require 299 to win
I suspect that the weather will have the last laugh tomorrow in a game that, in a fair four days, we would have won easily.
Tonight is one to salute Billy Godleman, for his second century of the match, third in succession and fourth in five innings of all cricket. He couldn't be in a more purple patch if he sat eating those funny shaped Quality Street with the caramel and nut centre, while listening to Deep Purple and Prince on his ipod...
Billy follows some illustrious names in the three in a row sequence, with Kim Barnett the last, 25 years ago, preceded by Peter Kirsten, William Storer and Levi Wright. He is up there with them now and looks such a good player right now. If he gets another in his next knock, I might need to rename this Billy's Blog and leave his picture up in perpetuity...
He was given good support by Chesney Hughes, who reached a solid fifty before being bowled, which brought in the skipper to play a selfless innings, full of improvisation. When he was dismissed, Alex Hughes became the latest to retire hurt in the game, before the declaration came with one eye on the gathering clouds and the other on tomorrow's forecast.
Kent got through largely untroubled, but unless we produce a magical morning, rain threatened after 3pm may well render a lot of very good cricket in this game to naught.
In closing tonight, thanks to all who came along to make the signing session at the ground so pleasant today. Your chat and kind words meant a lot and I hope more of you manage along to Chesterfield on Tuesday.
Be assured that Edwin Smith is a very entertaining man and it will be a special evening.
Postscript - it was duly confirmed today that Dilshan has played his last game for the county. It proved to be a largely unsatisfactory experience, although the memory of him opening the batting with Hashim Amla in the televised Lancashire T20 will live long.
It was also announced at the members forum that we will soon announce the signing of a young all-rounder and are seeking the services of a Kolpak or dual-nationality player.
That should start the rumour mill going nicely - any thoughts?
Saturday, 22 August 2015
Good luck to the under-17s
Time to wish the DCB under-17s the very best of luck in their one-day cup final against Surrey at Kibworth tomorrow.
I would have gone along to that, had I not been otherwise engaged at the 3aaa County Ground, as I have heard good reports about these lads. Archie Gleadall, Joss Morgan and Ryan Bramwell make up a trio of talented batsmen and they are backed up by a balanced attack and a high standard of fielding.
They could go all the way and win it, which would be a terrific achievement for them and for their coach, Howard Dytham.
Congratulations also go to Ryan Bramwell, who has been selected for the Midlands under-17 squad to take part in the regional festival.
Bring home the silverware, boys!
I would have gone along to that, had I not been otherwise engaged at the 3aaa County Ground, as I have heard good reports about these lads. Archie Gleadall, Joss Morgan and Ryan Bramwell make up a trio of talented batsmen and they are backed up by a balanced attack and a high standard of fielding.
They could go all the way and win it, which would be a terrific achievement for them and for their coach, Howard Dytham.
Congratulations also go to Ryan Bramwell, who has been selected for the Midlands under-17 squad to take part in the regional festival.
Bring home the silverware, boys!
Derbyshire v Kent day 2
Derbyshire 253 and 73-1 (Godleman 42 not)
Kent 159 (Footitt 4-61)
Derbyshire lead by 167 runs
As truncated days go, this was a very good one for Derbyshire.
I missed the morning session but taking five wickets for under 70 runs was impressive work. In the afternoon, some of the out cricket got a little sloppy, but the catches were held with sufficient regularity for the Kent innings to fold well short of our total.
While Mark Footitt again bowled well and led the wickets tally, I was taken with Ben Cotton's bowling today. I think he has the ability to be a really nasty quick bowler, but is too nice a lad to rough up the opposition batsmen as someone of his size could do. By the time he is the finished article, I think he will add a couple of yards to his already handy pace and I enjoyed the way that he was happy to use and threaten with the 'throat ball' today, perhaps a sign of things to come.
He's a big lad and could be a formidable bowler for us in the coming years. So too will Tony Palladino, who bowled within himself, yet with metronomic accuracy. The attack had a good look to it and it was a good effort, all topped off with a brilliant stop and throw from Scott Elstone in the deep to get the final wicket.
When we batted, I didn't think Ben Slater looked as sound in technique as when I have seen him previously, perhaps a little more hesitant in his footwork that goes with a player not quite in the best of form. He stuck around though and gave us the solid start that we needed, in conjunction with Billy Godleman.
The latter looks the real deal now, an opening batsman with an air of permanence about him. Sure in defence and crisp on the attack, Billy has an on drive that is all his own and that I would say was his trademark shot. The coaches have done a good job with him, but his own work ethic is important, as is the fact that, at 26, he now knows his game. After bursting onto the scene, Billy had several years of under-achievement, exactly as others in their early twenties have found.
Another 166 runs would take him to his first thousand, while nine more will make it his most prolific season, overtaking his first in 2007.
He has been a standout this summer and his efforts have set us up for a win that could be ours, if the weather doesn't intervene.
Kent 159 (Footitt 4-61)
Derbyshire lead by 167 runs
As truncated days go, this was a very good one for Derbyshire.
I missed the morning session but taking five wickets for under 70 runs was impressive work. In the afternoon, some of the out cricket got a little sloppy, but the catches were held with sufficient regularity for the Kent innings to fold well short of our total.
While Mark Footitt again bowled well and led the wickets tally, I was taken with Ben Cotton's bowling today. I think he has the ability to be a really nasty quick bowler, but is too nice a lad to rough up the opposition batsmen as someone of his size could do. By the time he is the finished article, I think he will add a couple of yards to his already handy pace and I enjoyed the way that he was happy to use and threaten with the 'throat ball' today, perhaps a sign of things to come.
He's a big lad and could be a formidable bowler for us in the coming years. So too will Tony Palladino, who bowled within himself, yet with metronomic accuracy. The attack had a good look to it and it was a good effort, all topped off with a brilliant stop and throw from Scott Elstone in the deep to get the final wicket.
When we batted, I didn't think Ben Slater looked as sound in technique as when I have seen him previously, perhaps a little more hesitant in his footwork that goes with a player not quite in the best of form. He stuck around though and gave us the solid start that we needed, in conjunction with Billy Godleman.
The latter looks the real deal now, an opening batsman with an air of permanence about him. Sure in defence and crisp on the attack, Billy has an on drive that is all his own and that I would say was his trademark shot. The coaches have done a good job with him, but his own work ethic is important, as is the fact that, at 26, he now knows his game. After bursting onto the scene, Billy had several years of under-achievement, exactly as others in their early twenties have found.
Another 166 runs would take him to his first thousand, while nine more will make it his most prolific season, overtaking his first in 2007.
He has been a standout this summer and his efforts have set us up for a win that could be ours, if the weather doesn't intervene.
Friday, 21 August 2015
Busy weekend with the book
Edwin and I will be at the County Ground on Sunday from 1.30pm, giving you the first opportunity to buy a copy of 'Edwin Smith: a Life in Derbyshire Cricket'. We will both be available for signing copies too, should you wish.
Then, on Tuesday evening at 7.30pm, we will be at the theatre in Chesterfield Library, where I will interview Edwin before we both take questions from the audience and then sign copies for those who wish to buy.
Ticket for this event are priced £3 (£2 concession) and can be reserved on the door by calling 01629 533400.
The book costs £14 and is full of stories from a life in the county colours, as well as many photographs.
I look forward to catching up with friends old and new over the days ahead.
Time for a little more thought
As I like to do, I've been thinking about some of your comments in recent days.
I don't think some of them have been especially fair.
For one thing, what we all overlooked at the time was that Derbyshire had the nous to start contract negotiations with Mark Footitt at this early stage, before he got into the last year of his contract. It was always unlikely that Mark would sign the first contract offer, especially, as I wrote the other night, when he is coming to the peak of his career.
Think on this...who put it 'out there' that Mark had rejected the club's contract offer? Of course, using one of the 'tools' open to him to get the best deal for his client, it was in all likelihood Mark'a agent. In one fell swoop he alerted clubs around the country that he may be available IN TWELVE MONTHS TIME and to start forming an orderly queue for his services.
I would be surprised if there were any early signature on a contract and I think it would be worth Mark's waiting to see how the winter goes for one thing. He can't deny that Derbyshire have looked after him physically and financially, when he was hardly awash with offers on leaving Nottinghamshire. Such considerations will come into his head, as will the fact that his bowling has come on apace under the tutelage of Graeme Welch, as has that of other players. he would not be the first to find things went pear-shaped on a move to pastures new.
I fully respect his right to consider options, but I have total confidence that the club will do the right thing in trying to keep him, as well as in realising when they can go no further.
I have to say that I disagree regarding the supposed lack of communication with the club too. As supporters, we have no right to know exactly what is wrong with am injured player, because confidentiality between a practitioner and patient is important. We don't want opposition sides knowing that bowler A has a knee problem, because they can then prepare for him neither bowling at full pace nor for long spells and bat accordingly. The people in charge of our club are not daft and sometimes the appreciation of why they are tardy in releasing information needs greater contemplation than is being given in some quarters.
Nor are they, as being suggested by one or two of you, poor coaches. These are highly qualified men, as advanced as one can be in the profession, more than most of us in ours. That their young charges don't always carry out instructions to the letter is no real surprise - do the young employees in your organisation always get it right? Are you, for that matter, entrusting the future of your company to them because there are no viable alternatives at this point in time?
Which brings me neatly to Tony Palladino. Do you really think that if Tony was fully fit he would be omitted from one-day sides? The team has cried out for experience, but there was every chance that Mark Footitt could have been on England duty, so Tony's availability for the four-day game was even more important. I fully expect, at the end of the season, to hear that he is to undergo surgery, but the club has every right to release information on players and their fitness when they see fit, like every other across the land. Those suggesting that the coach is 'to be questioned' on his omission will, I am sure, be back on here to tender their apologies in due course should it happen...
There's the rub, as I have written previously ad infinitum. No one outside the club knows the reasons for decisions and if the club feels that it is best things stay that way, then so be it. I follow the news feeds from the various county clubs and Derbyshire are far from being the least communicative with their members and followers. If there are issues with specific players, just as happens in your organisation, the parties involved are fully entitled to discretion. Be it fitness or discipline, these things happen and the parties concerned are the only ones with a right to know about it.
I do hope that greater consideration is given by everyone before committing comments to the blog, or I will need to start being more ruthless. Before you say anything, ask yourself one simple question - if the person you are writing about was stood opposite you, would you say to him what you are happy to write? I would and when I am critical, I try to remember that the person concerned is somebody's brother, father, son or grandson. I don't feel a need to hide when meeting people at the club, because I like to think my comments are generally fair, even if I am critical. Can you always say the same?
It is important that this is the case for everyone, because I won't allow a witch hunt aimed at any individual or section of the club. It simply isn't right. There are places on the web where that kind of thing is fair game, but this isn't and will never be one of them.
As I have said before, I don't want this site to be a cross between The Waltons and The Little House on the Prairie, but it is aimed considerably higher than cheap shots at people with dignity and a commitment to improve things, which they will. Expect changes this winter, expect improvement in the summers ahead.
Keep your comments coming, but give them considered thought please.
I don't think some of them have been especially fair.
For one thing, what we all overlooked at the time was that Derbyshire had the nous to start contract negotiations with Mark Footitt at this early stage, before he got into the last year of his contract. It was always unlikely that Mark would sign the first contract offer, especially, as I wrote the other night, when he is coming to the peak of his career.
Think on this...who put it 'out there' that Mark had rejected the club's contract offer? Of course, using one of the 'tools' open to him to get the best deal for his client, it was in all likelihood Mark'a agent. In one fell swoop he alerted clubs around the country that he may be available IN TWELVE MONTHS TIME and to start forming an orderly queue for his services.
I would be surprised if there were any early signature on a contract and I think it would be worth Mark's waiting to see how the winter goes for one thing. He can't deny that Derbyshire have looked after him physically and financially, when he was hardly awash with offers on leaving Nottinghamshire. Such considerations will come into his head, as will the fact that his bowling has come on apace under the tutelage of Graeme Welch, as has that of other players. he would not be the first to find things went pear-shaped on a move to pastures new.
I fully respect his right to consider options, but I have total confidence that the club will do the right thing in trying to keep him, as well as in realising when they can go no further.
I have to say that I disagree regarding the supposed lack of communication with the club too. As supporters, we have no right to know exactly what is wrong with am injured player, because confidentiality between a practitioner and patient is important. We don't want opposition sides knowing that bowler A has a knee problem, because they can then prepare for him neither bowling at full pace nor for long spells and bat accordingly. The people in charge of our club are not daft and sometimes the appreciation of why they are tardy in releasing information needs greater contemplation than is being given in some quarters.
Nor are they, as being suggested by one or two of you, poor coaches. These are highly qualified men, as advanced as one can be in the profession, more than most of us in ours. That their young charges don't always carry out instructions to the letter is no real surprise - do the young employees in your organisation always get it right? Are you, for that matter, entrusting the future of your company to them because there are no viable alternatives at this point in time?
Which brings me neatly to Tony Palladino. Do you really think that if Tony was fully fit he would be omitted from one-day sides? The team has cried out for experience, but there was every chance that Mark Footitt could have been on England duty, so Tony's availability for the four-day game was even more important. I fully expect, at the end of the season, to hear that he is to undergo surgery, but the club has every right to release information on players and their fitness when they see fit, like every other across the land. Those suggesting that the coach is 'to be questioned' on his omission will, I am sure, be back on here to tender their apologies in due course should it happen...
There's the rub, as I have written previously ad infinitum. No one outside the club knows the reasons for decisions and if the club feels that it is best things stay that way, then so be it. I follow the news feeds from the various county clubs and Derbyshire are far from being the least communicative with their members and followers. If there are issues with specific players, just as happens in your organisation, the parties involved are fully entitled to discretion. Be it fitness or discipline, these things happen and the parties concerned are the only ones with a right to know about it.
I do hope that greater consideration is given by everyone before committing comments to the blog, or I will need to start being more ruthless. Before you say anything, ask yourself one simple question - if the person you are writing about was stood opposite you, would you say to him what you are happy to write? I would and when I am critical, I try to remember that the person concerned is somebody's brother, father, son or grandson. I don't feel a need to hide when meeting people at the club, because I like to think my comments are generally fair, even if I am critical. Can you always say the same?
It is important that this is the case for everyone, because I won't allow a witch hunt aimed at any individual or section of the club. It simply isn't right. There are places on the web where that kind of thing is fair game, but this isn't and will never be one of them.
As I have said before, I don't want this site to be a cross between The Waltons and The Little House on the Prairie, but it is aimed considerably higher than cheap shots at people with dignity and a commitment to improve things, which they will. Expect changes this winter, expect improvement in the summers ahead.
Keep your comments coming, but give them considered thought please.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)