Watt return offers greater cause for optimism

Back on 22 October, in an article titled 'Scottish Success Offers Derbyshire Interest', I wrote the following words:

Watt was dispensed with too soon, but seems to have worked hard on his weight, which was likely an issue. That he is a canny spinner is beyond doubt and he is a thinker. Balls from 23/24 yards, from two or three paces, from wider on the crease.. I like his combative edge and if Derbyshire were to lose Matt Critchley this winter  (I remain convinced we will) then he would be a decent pick for T20.

Today he was announced as a new signing for the whole of the Vitality Blast and I couldn't be happier.

Well, maybe I could if I could forecast football results with such accuracy, but it was a signing that always seemed right to me. Especially when Mickey Arthur said he felt we were short of a slow left arm bowler and added separately that he hoped to do 'something' for the Vitality Blast.

Spin bowlers aren't traditionally hostile, but when I have seen Mark he bristles aggression in the best sense. He was a standout for Scotland in the T20 World Cup, playing in all the games yet going for only six runs an over throughout, the 'control' bowler that every captain craves. 

His control of line and length is exceptional and let's not forget he is still only 25. I haven't yet seen him slip in a surprise bouncer, but with short run ups, use of the crease and bowling from behind the stumps (and still keeping his length, a rare skill) he keeps the batsmen on their toes. He almost DARES batsmen to hit him, but it is a risky business for those who try. 

He is a useful tail end 'clumper' too and much- improved in the field. That World Cup appearance saw him the fittest I have ever seen him and it had positive impact on all of his game. 

For me, his signing ticks a big box. My concern, as I have written before, was that teams would look at our pace attack and think 'let's have a slow wicket for this one'. Mark's signing gives us a bowler who will keep it tight on a good track, cause problems on a helpful one.

I am not ignoring the claims of Mattie McKiernan and Alex Thomson, who each have opportunities this summer. As it progresses, they will have a chance to prove they can be lead spinner. Both can handle a bat, both field well, but the acid test is if they can take the wickets we will need in the four-day game, especially in later summer. I suspect that we may also need two spinners for some Blast games, Old Trafford being a prime example. 

Mickey Arthur was sufficiently bullish about Thomson to name him as one to watch in the past fortnight, when England spinners were being discussed. It may be clever psychology, but he may equally have seen something in a player with an obvious path into a county career, after years where that wasn't clear. In any walk of life, that can be very helpful to performance. 

If he can be our four-day pick (or McKiernan, who I maintain has been under-utilised when he has played) then Watt can do what he does very well in the shortest format.

Very happy with this one. A shrewd, no arguments, common sense signing by a man who has now made three of them. 

Little by little, things are coming together nicely. 

Hardus watching

There's no real news to report on this weekend, it having been quiet from a Derbyshire cricket perspective.

No doubt there is plenty going on down at the Incora County Ground, but I have contentedyself with watching the CSA T20 from South Africa. It ended in a win today for Hardus Viljoen's side, the Rocks.

His spell at Derbyshire was troubled by injury and some inconsistent displays, but when he got it right he was a handful.

Today he scored an unbeaten 32  off 16 balls to give late impetus to what barely seemed enough (138) of a total.

Yet his side bowled and fielded well and Viljoen bowled with pace and accuracy I'm taking 2-14.

I think the South African wickets have been pretty good for the format, with batsmen able to get runs and bowlers offered assistance.

Can you ask for more? 

Bizarre T20

I don't know if any of you watched the CSA T20 game this afternoon, but it left me astonished.

The Rocks were chasing the Knights total of 164-6, led by brothers Janneman and Pieter Malan. Some may recall the latter in his stint for Warwickshire last year, when he recorded a pair against Derbyshire.

Janneman, the more explosive player, led off in fine style and that was continued by Clyde Fortuin, an impressive wicketkeeper /batsman. When he was dismissed, the Rocks needed 43 from the last five overs with eight wickets in hand.

Enter big hitting but slow running Chris Jonker, who pulled a hamstring muscle taking his first single. Were I coach I would have had him off and got someone else in to do the obvious running required. Nine an over isn't much these days in T20.

While allowing for the death bowling being decent, they fell three runs short, still with eight wickets in hand. Even the hits cut off on the boundary were only ones, as Jonker had to walk them. They banked on him middling one or two and he didn't. Meanwhile Malan scored only slightly more than a run a ball in carrying his bat for 60.

Any fit player would have found twos in those last overs. Were it Derbyshire batting in that situation, I would have been livid. It struck me as dreadful game management, among the worst I have seen at first-class level.

Losing by three runs with eight wickets in hand is simply ridiculous. 

Two retained for the 'other compy'

Finger on the pulse straight away with Mickey Arthur, who claimed in a recent interview that we were likely to lose three players to the one that few care about.

Two have been retained by their sides for this year, Wayne Madsen and Leus du Plooy. 

One assumes that Luis Reece will be the third, though his selection may be conditional on proving himself fit once the season is underway. 

We won't see much of his bowling this year, but hopefully that wonderful batting that proved so successful in last year's Blast will come to the fore. Certainly, the thought of he and Shan Masood pinging from either end holds great appeal for the county faithful. 

Luis will need to get his knee into shape though, because Masood is like lightning between the wickets, a highlight of the PSL. 

Other than that, all is quiet on the cricket front, doubtless allowing work to carry on apace behind the scenes. 

May they all stay fit and find their best form early! 

Arthur press conference hugely impressive

If I had been able to give the answers I wanted to hear from Mickey Arthur today at his press conference, he pretty much went through them all in turn.

He is here for a project, not in a holding capacity. He knows the club - heck, he even name checked Fred Swarbrook - and referenced Derby County and the Baseball Ground.

He is a very likeable man who hates losing and aims to give a good go at every match of all competitions.

He hates rotating bowlers, reasoning that he will know when they need a breather, but if they are taking wickets they will play. He has bowlers bowling 'rockets' in the nets and struggles to reconcile the talent on display with their returns last year.

So do I. Our top five SHOULD be a run machine on a decent track, likely with Dal and Guest to follow. 

Nor will we be bringing in loans, unless injuries hit. I am pleased about that too, because we carry an albeit bijou staff for a reason. 

He seems very happy with Brooke Guest as his wicket-keeper (as am I) and sees the Academy wicketkeeper as his back up if required.

It all makes sense, so much sense. That's why I really struggled last year, because Dave Houghton's decisions and utterances simply didn't.

He has brought in two good professionals to set standards and expects them to do so. There is so much to like in an experienced batsman and bowler FOR THE WHOLE SUMMER. 

He also feels there are a couple of players who have the talent to be part of the England set up in the next couple of years. He wouldn't put them under pressure by naming them, but my guess would be Sam Conners and Ben Aitchison. How much can they learn from Lakmal?

Derbyshire need to do the same as England, get runs on the board and put teams under pressure. Even without an old head to guide them, a young seam attack took wickets last year. 

With that expertise on hand and experience under their belt, how far could we go? 

'We'll aim to win every game' said the coach who will likely not accept less. Challenge in the four-day game, aim for Finals Day in T20 and make a very strong challenge in the RLODC, when he expects to lose only three players (presumably Madsen, Du Plooy and Reece) 

Exciting times. This will be a summer worth watching! 

Mickey Arthur interview

I am delighted to announce that Derbyshire's new Head of Cricket, Mickey Arthur has kindly agreed to an interview with me.

I hope to do it in the next two or three weeks and publish it before the season starts. 

I already have a lot of questions prepared, but if you have anything you would like me to ask, please either pop it into the comments or email me at the usual address - peakfan36@yahoo.co.uk

I am SO looking forward to this! 

Follow up to 'Old Supporter'

It is very sad to see how cricket in state schools has declined.

When I was at school, we had upper and lower school elevens, which I always got into because we had played cricket when I was at primary school. I was lucky in that respect, as others hadn't, but our state secondary school had two cricket squares and there was an annual Staff v School game which was watched by the rest of the school. The weather was always good and the occasion was special. There was even an inter-house tournament for both lower and upper school, usually won by my house because we had around half of the school first eleven! 

They were golden days and we would play one midweek evening after school and on Saturday mornings. That often presented logistical challenges in finishing before an afternoon club game and being able to get there, but I managed it. 

When I started my first professional job, in a state school outside Glasgow,  I was determined to start a cricket team.  We had only blaes hockey and football pitches and both coaching and practice took place on there, using rubber wind/air balls to replicate the bounce, if not the feel when catching, when we used cricket balls. In the winter we would play games and work on strokes and defence in the gym hall on a Monday evening. 

There were some natural talents and something to work with. Two who bowled quickly, one who bowled remarkably good off spin and a medium pacer whose Dad was a cricket professional. Yet he wasn't the best player. 

That first year we played in a state school six -a-side tournament at a local cricket club. The wicket was best described as 'dodgy' and having progressed serenely to the final, we were all out for 18 in it. The master of the other team was jubilant, cocky. Less so when we bowled his team out for five.. 

After that year I could only find public school opposition for them, as there was no interest in the state sector. In the five years I took the side, taking the boys through school, they beat them all, frequently. Seven of them featured in a Glasgow Schools Select against their Edinburgh equivalent. 

After that? One went on to play for Scotland B as wicket-keeper batsman, while a quick bowler took a lot of wickets in club cricket but packed it in after one season when they told him to bowl 'line and length'. Why? Few could bowl at his pace and it should have been encouraged. I suspect he was too quick for ageing hands in the slips. 

One moved to South Africa with his family, three went away to university but never played again. One of them had the best arm I have ever seen on a schoolboy, flat bullet throws from the boundary that got as many victims as the bowlers. 

The other two? They got jobs in teaching and themselves started school sides. Which was gratifying, as after I left the school it never had another cricket team, the cricket equipment disposed of. 

The nicest thing? Last month I bumped into one of the side's lesser lights who I hadn't seen in years, a mustard-keen fielder but only moderate bat, who couldn't bowl for all his attempts to do so. 

He told me that those school days had given him a lifelong love of cricket. He had been on overseas supporter tours, was a regular at Test matches and loved going to Lord's. 

At the end of the day, perhaps that is the greatest success of all, a lad from a fairly ordinary, non-cricket background getting into the game. 

But how many more don't? My passion for the game saw me start teams wherever I worked over the years, but there are no state schools playing the game around Glasgow and they haven't for thirty years now. One ground we played at regularly has knee-deep weeds, returned to a farmer's field. 

There are plenty of cricket clubs doing sterling work with young people, but the drop out figures are high, because girlfriends, further education and lack of opportunity take their toll. I stopped playing for a while when I met my now wife, reasoning that trips to Aberdeen or Stranraer didn't fit well with dating. I went back to it when we married, but many don't. For less talented but enthusiastic youngsters, batting ten and eleven and running around the boundary is no more fun than it is for an adult. 

Which leads to a cautionary tale. One local club we played had three excellent players who scored all the runs and did most of the bowling. For a couple of years they were all happy, winning a trophy or two, then they started to struggle to field a side. The less talented opted to spend Saturdays and Sundays with their families, rather than watch the same three guys do it all, while they sat awaiting opportunity. 

The club folded. 

Conversely, in nine years as club captain at my village club, the top six batted, the bottom five bowled. The places changed each week and the skill was having numbers 6-8 as players who could do both, plus being aware of opposition strength. Playing a good team it made sense to give them the best game. But most weeks everyone went home having had the opportunity to do something, even if they were out first ball. In nine years I never fielded less than eleven and the fun environment attracted visiting Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans, who improved the standard . One burly South African from the Free State bowled howitzers from a two-pace run, endangering toes, wickets, gloves and wicket-keeper. 

One who played occasionally was Glenn Rogers, an Australian from Brisbane who played for  Scotland and had trials with Derbyshire, playing alongside Wayne Madsen and Chesney Hughes in his second team debut. 

His return to our colours after the World Cup saw his first ball of left arm spin go for byes, bringing an immediate apology from Martin, my long-time friend and the wicketkeeper. 

'Sorry skip, I was just thinking that the bloke I was keeping to was bowling at Ricky Ponting last week - and forgot to stop it...' 

Win, lose or draw it was and is a wonderful game. It shouldn't be solely the preserve of the naturally talented.. 

Which is what I said to a talented lad from the local county side who played for us in one game. Berating a player who dropped a second catch, he kicked the ground in despair and called him a 'useless (blank)' 

I put my arm around his shoulders as he walked slowly back to his mark. Then told him that the 'useless (blank)' was the reason he had a game. He cut the outfield, prepared, cut and rolled the wicket then set up the scoreboard.  He would play every week, didn't do much on the field, but was massively important to the club. 

The ones who follow its history, statistics, characters and nuances are important. So too the ones who do the teas, sell raffle tickets, write press reports and bring in sponsors. 

All the better for that too. It is, literally, life-changing. 

Yet the ECB still reckoned that 'involvement' needed a crazy, costly new tournament. 

It just needed more investment in grass roots. With opportunity comes interest. 

Postscript: the photo at the top is of the Staff v School match in 1976. Yours truly seated on the extreme right of the front row. Seven of the staff side played good club cricket and yes, they beat us. 

From 'Old Supporter'

The failure of England to do well in Australia has been followed by a lot of knee jerk reactions. Perhaps the media need to look a bit deeper into the problems in English cricket rather than put forward ill-thought-out solutions.  

 When I attended a senior state school in Leek, Staffordshire. We had regular first and second-team cricket fixtures against other schools in the area and even some Colts matches. Despite being quite a small school with an average of 330 pupils. We held our own at cricket. Both Kim Barnett and Kevin Dean well known to Derbyshire supporters went to school at Leek.

All the other senior state schools in North Staffordshire played cricket as far as I am aware. I doubt if any state schools play cricket now in an area where cricket once thrived. I have not mentioned Derbyshire because I only moved to the county in the mid-70s but suspect the same applies. 

As a result of so many pupils playing cricket in north Staffordshire state schools. Local clubs had a steady stream of new players. Some even went on to play professional cricket at county and international levels. The list is quite long.  Nowadays young people’s interest in cricket is at a record low according to figures released by the ECB.

Many of the cricketers who play for England probably have got where they are by playing school cricket. Mostly at private fee-paying schools. There is nothing whatsoever wrong with that. But just think if state schools were a hotbed of cricket how much more intense would be the competition for places in county and international cricket.

Finding a joined-up solution for the almost complete loss of state school cricket in the area is extraordinarily difficult. We certainly need a national strategy to ensure more cricket at the schoolboy level is played. I acknowledge we will never get back to schools’ cricket as it was in my day but does that mean we have to give up?

It would be a start to appoint trained cricket organisers to use the near redundant park cricket facilities for age representative matches. Given incentives to do so schools that still have the space could restore pitches and play regular matches. All party backing by the government would help enormously. Also, an army of volunteers who are cricket enthusiasts would make a big difference.

At the rear of where I live a hard-surfaced cricket pitch has been laid, one of several in Derby parks. It rarely gets used and the only organised games I have seen have been between groups of young Asian players. After all, it is their national game for which they have a great passion. Perhaps the county club should adopt a very proactive approach to tapping into this source for potential academy players.

A few years ago, the likes of Shane Warne, Alec Stewart and somewhat grudgingly Justin Langer were all saying how much county cricket had improved since implementing the two-division structure. Even comparing it with Australian State Cricket. Since then, pitches have been allowed to deteriorate to suit seam bowling and nobody else. Derbyshire seems to be an exception to this rule. You need good wickets to produce good cricketers.

One piece of better news is the performance of the England Under 19s team in the world cup. Although India has dominated this competition in the past, I thought England might have pulled it off. They batted first in the final and started off thinking they needed to score 300 and played too many rash strokes. If they had aimed for 230 it would probably have been enough. Assuming George Rew continues to bat as he did in the final he should do well in the future. The same goes for Rehan Ahmed a leg-break bowler with good control. Several others showed a lot of promise.

Afghanistan nearly beat Australia in the third-place match in the under 19s world cup and went close when they played England. Makes you think that if we fail to get more young people playing cricket and competing for places in the national team are rankings will fall further in the future. A successful national side keeps the critics of county cricket quiet. Let’s face it we have done pretty well in white-ball cricket a standard that needs to be maintained along with an improvement in red-ball cricket.

Weekend warmer

Mickey's here!

It has been long-awaited but yesterday saw the arrival at the Incora County Ground of the new Head of Cricket.

People will warm to him quickly, his ready smile and bubbly personality likely to enthuse players, staff and supporters alike. He knows his cricket, of course and we are lucky to have him. 

I am confident that his arrival will see an upsurge in fortunes, but will be wary of making wildly optimistic predictions. After all, we are but two solid overseas signings from a squad that struggled last year, but if Arthur can get more from a talented group, we may surprise a few. 

Comparisons with the arrival of Eddie Barlow are understandable, but let's not forget that team had Hendrick, Taylor, Miller and Ward, as well as John Wright. We don't have THAT class at present, though there are reasons for optimism.

I spent some time yesterday watching one of them, Leus Du Plooy. 

In what will be on of his final innings in South Africa, he is currently unbeaten on 183 for South Western District against Northern Cape Heat. It has been a fine innings in hot weather and a thing that struck me was what appeared a modified technique.

Last season, when he struggled in red ball cricket, he had a lot of 'triggers' at the crease, a lot of movements before the bowler released. It likely accounted for early dismissals, because the timing of these could vary.

Yesterday he was much more still, albeit in better batting conditions and a lesser attack and reaped the rewards.

A top five of Godleman, Masood, Reece, Madsen and Du Plooy has the potential to be a run-fest.

If Mickey Arthur can see them all back to their best form, his chances of an improved season will increase considerably.

Finally today, I have watched both the South African and Pakistani T20 domestic competitions in recent weeks. 

The one in Pakistan is of a much higher standard, with overseas players enhancing a very broad base of domestic talent.

The South African one has been of more variable quality, though the games have been good and played on wickets where batsman and bowler alike has a chance. 

What has surprised me is the poor fielding in the latter. South Africa always prided itself on a fine fielding side, but I have lost count of chances going down. Not just half chances either, but some that your average club player would fancy.

Hopefully Derbyshire are more akin to the glory days in the field this year. 

I suspect we will be. 

Silly season here once more

Perennial offenders Don Topley and Kevin Petersen are back to their usual antics on social media, desperately attempting to maintain edgy relevance in the modern game.

Topley, who it appears will push any cause that offers his son Reece the chance of a gig, asked on Twitter how many Derbyshire-born or Pathway-produced players represented us last year. It was an attempt to back Kevin Petersen, who quite clearly sees the removal of the likes of Derbyshire as key to the resurgence of English cricket, post-Ashes.

Topley's blissful ignorance was embarrassing. He guessed none, with the retirement of Harvey Hosein. Surely if you are going to criticise you get your facts straight? Alex Hughes, Sam Conners, Matt Critchley and Tom Wood featured, as did Mitch Wagstaff and Nafis Shaikh.

A pedant may argue that Critchley came south from Lancashire, and Wood was never part of the academy, but without Derbyshire neither would have got opportunity. The latter developed through local cricket and hard work, of course. That Critchley was poached from us by his old county seems to have completely  passed him by.

So too that the likes of Ross Whiteley, Tom Taylor, Will Davis and Callum Parkinson are giving sterling service to other counties, or that Ben Slater must be closing in on an England call at Nottinghamshire.

Then there is good old KP,  whose assertion 'for those asking' that he would only become England cricket supremo if the county system was disbanded and replaced by eight 'elite' Franchises was laughable. I suspect I am closer to that role than he will ever be.. 

Pietersen was a very good cricketer who has always courted controversy and attempted to be 'edgy' . It hasn't always worked in his favour and now seems to be more attention-seeking than anything especially thought - provoking. 

His rationale is that there are too many 'average players' plying their trade in county cricket. With eight elite squads, he argues, the standard would be better and of course, we will then dominate the world game. 

Really? So reducing numbers and as a result opportunity guarantees quality? What about late developers? How about the progression from talented yet raw under 19 to the senior game? Or the ones who start off in the wrong place at the wrong time? 

I offer you Luis Reece, Brooke Guest and Ben Aitchison. All started in Lancashire but lacked opportunity there. Reece has been a standout player at Derbyshire (and a Hundred franchise pick) but would have disappeared bar for Kim Barnett spotting his talent. 

Guest and Aitchison will yet improve and who knows how far their talents take them. At 24 and 22 respectively they have big futures. 

Let's not forget Fynn Hudson-Prentice, who was cast aside by Sussex and could easily have disappeared from the game, bar for that prized opportunity when Steve Kirby brought him up from Lord's for a trial. 

What about spectators? They 'don't matter' says Petersen, who appears to have given his argument less thought than I normally put into which bin to use for rubbish each day. 

Really? So the recreational and social aspect of the game is of little consequence, let alone 150 years of history and local rivalry? The county clubs as huge community hubs are an irrelevance? 

For many people, whether KP and others like it or not, their county is their thing. Give me a choice between watching Derbyshire on a windswept ground or via a stream and England from an executive box, I will go with the former every time. 

Last season, when fixtures coincided, I watched Derbyshire on the stream every time over an England side for which I struggle to have empathy. It has become too elitist, like a gentleman's club. Derbyshire represent me, I just happen to be from England. 

The national side will return to winning ways if they schedule tours better and allow players time in the middle to get used to local conditions. Time was when between six and twelve matches were played BEFORE the overseas Test series. Now, they are lucky to get one. Seriously, how can you match the world's best with no practice? Who of you playing club cricket feels in the form of your life before the season's first game? And look how many times we lose the opening match of any international series through this nonsense. 

It is the same with the domestic schedule. If we overly focus on matches where a quickfire thirty is celebrated, then how is that preparation for a five-day Test? Why introduce a format that no other country plays and few care about, bar for marketing types who line their pockets? 

Play and schedule county cricket over four days across weekends so people can watch it, allow two overseas players and get England players involved in at least half of the matches and you will see a difference. When Pietersen refers to county cricket being tougher in his day he is likely right about one thing. 

Why was it better? Because pre-IPL, the world's best players were here, two per side and the England players were in it too. Cast your mind back to the Derbyshire side in the Barlow era and imagine it without Mike Hendrick, Bob Taylor and Geoff Miller on central contracts. Barlow would have been in the IPL until June, as would Peter Kirsten, then maybe a CPL stint or a limited overs tour for their country. 

On the subject of central contracts, who gets better at anything in life by not doing it? Whether writing reports, driving a car, doing handicrafts, interviews or whatever, familiarity and repetition bring greater comfort and quality. 

Who among us enjoys singing in the shower, or around the house, but would buckle if asked to go and do so in front of an audience? Going from even competitive nets to Test cricket has to be a huge jump. 

The twin ironies that have passed Pietersen by are that his own South Africa went down the franchise route and have scrapped it. To quote the cricket writer Firdose Moonda last year:

While the franchises were intended to provide an Australian-style strength-versus-strength structure, the South African men's national team finds itself in a difficult stage of rebuilding and CSA has opted for a system that closer resembles the English or Indian domestic set-up, and provides more consistent opportunities at the top level for a greater number of players.

Funny that, huh? 

Secondly, Pietersen argued he became an international cricketer on the back of a first-class record where he averaged 57.

Yes Kevin. In the county championship that gave you the opportunity to forge a career, when you arrived here from South Africa. 

His average when he arrived at Nottinghamshire was below 25, perhaps the very definition of 'average' he was looking for. Yet Clive Rice spotted potential and the rest is history. He faced and honed his skills against top quality bowlers, so the leap to Test cricket was not so bad. 

As one old pro said to me, when you had faced Clive Rice and Richard Hadlee on a green Trent Bridge track, or Imran Khan and Garth Le Roux at Hove, you knew there was nothing to worry you at Test level. So too those who faced Malcolm, Mortensen, Holding and Cork at Derby.. 

Those who would rip it up and start again, in a knee jerk reaction to a lost Test series against the world's best team are the biggest danger to the game. 

England have won series against many top sides BECAUSE of the grounding of players in the county game. It is only when they lose that it ever gets mentioned. I would take our Blast in overall standard over their T20 competitions every time. 

Comparisons with Australia are pointless, because the populations are concentrated and miles apart there. The small number of first-class teams is dictated by this alone. I have watched top level cricket from there and South Africa and the standard below the very top players is really not that great. 

At the end of the day, sporting success is cyclical. Look at the West Indies for a prime example, South Africa too. When England again realise that the classic late developer, the man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time early in his career, could have much to offer them as a seasoned professional, they will improve.

Look at Stuart Broad, Bob Willis, Graeme Swann. Crikey, going back further, Warwickshire didn't think much of Hedley Verity. Changes of county brought changed fortunes. 

But picking out talented young lads and plucking them from regular, technique-honing county cricket to a net-focused central contract is a recipe for disaster. Once surrounded by hostile, gobby fielders and facing bowlers who are really slipping it through, they will fail. 

Reducing a talent pool by over fifty per cent and expecting it to solve our problems is silly. 

You don't see English football ripping out clubs and divisions after failing to win yet another trophy. 

At the end of the day, sometimes you have to accept that despite your best efforts, you were beaten by a better side with better players. 

Big summer ahead

I have to say that I don't share concerns of some supporters regarding the age of Suranga Lakmal.

For one thing, he looks as lean and fit as the proverbial butcher's dog, as he would have to be to feature in Mickey Arthur's plans. The Head of Cricket knows him well, respects what he will bring to the side and presumably expects him to stay fit.

He is still Sri Lanka's main strike bowler,  which speaks volumes. He is also the fourth highest wicket - taker in their history and if he is on a list with Muralitharan, Herath and Vaas he will do me. 

Might he get injured? Yes of course, it goes with the territory, but he will know his body. He is the same age as Charl Langeveldt and Ravi Rampaul when they signed and they turned out OK.

Two years is right for him, with the other position dependent on the greater need at the end of this season.

Because the end of this summer sees a lot of contracts end. From memory, Messrs Godleman, Madsen, du Plooy, Dal, McKiernan, Guest, Cohen, Melton and Aitchison are all contracted to the end of the summer. The hope would be that some of these will be extended before we are too far down the line, but it offers an opportunity for Arthur to reshape the squad as he sees fit and on what he sees around the country.

One consideration will be the Performance Related Fee Payments from the ECB.

To get any, counties must average 7.5 English-qualified players per team over the season. Playing two overseas takes it down to nine, for most, playing du Plooy takes it to eight for us, with Cohen dropping it to seven. That's why getting Dusty Melton's qualification through is important, as his playing too would currently take it to six.

Yet Arthur is arriving too late this year to be picking up out of contract English players and he wants to offer opportunity . There is a school of thought that we play who we want, but I am wary of returning to the days when we were known as 'Kolpakshire' and with good reason.

Arthur will be aware that the two biggest earners on the staff, by a distance, are Billy Godleman and Wayne Madsen. Both these fine servants, top cricketers and men both, go into the season with question marks.

If Billy isn't playing T20 - and I would be astonished if he does - then his weight of runs in other formats needs to make the case for his retention compelling. It wasn't last year, so he has a big summer ahead. I don't see him in my T20 side again, so there is a challenge. He has been a run machine, but only passed 500 runs in his last innings, not enough at the top of the order. 

Wayne is a county legend, but missed the T20 last year through injury and his four - day average was mid-thirties. Indeed, until 2016 his four-day average was 42 with 24 hundreds, but since then  he has averaged 35, with only seven tons in six seasons, one of them against Bradford/Leeds UCCE.

Of course, his one-day form still makes him the prized wicket for opponents, but the challenge is there for him, the decision for the Head of Cricket. It is hard to imagine a Derbyshire side without Wayne, but weight of runs will always need to match reputation for any batter. 

You could go down that list of players and make cases for and against the retention of most of them. It depends on who becomes available, as well as form and fitness over this summer. In professional and amateur sport, players are aware that someone may come in who is better than them. Illness, injury and loss of form are constant concerns. 

I would hope that Ben Aitchison sees a new deal forthcoming very quickly, as I see him, with Sam Conners and Suranga Lakmal, as a very handy attack. Besides which, approaches from elsewhere will be forthcoming, as he looks a player of serious potential. 

The rest must prove that their bodies can handle the demands of first-class cricket, which is way more challenging than any of us realise. You have only to look at poor Luis Reece, limited this summer after surgery on knee and shoulder, for confirmation of that. Dusty Melton deserves an injury-free summer, as anyone who read the harrowing story of how he got here will testify. But like the rest, he will know there are no guarantees. 

Even the supremely - talented Leus du Plooy starts with question marks. Had I been on a desert island last summer and been asked the question, in order to get lifted to safety, 'Did Leus average 18 or 48 this year in the county championship?', I would still be munching on coconuts. 18 it was and well short of 500 runs. 

Number three was too high for him against the red ball, five works better and Reece is a good option for that first-wicket down. I suspect that Leus will get a bucket-load of runs this summer, as I don't expect Mickey Arthur to subscribe to the 'square peg in round hole' methods of Dave Houghton. 

For all the questions and concerns, however, we're all looking forward to the season, aren't we?

58 days to our first 'proper' match. 

It can't come soon enough. 

Suranga Lakmal signs two-year deal

International opening batsman.. Check. International opening bowler.. Check.

Both available for the entire season.. Wow, check!

One would have to admit that Mickey Arthur has done an astonishing job in securing the services of two quality cricketers for the entirety of an English summer. At the same time he has secured leaders, players for the others to look up to and match in terms of commitment and standards.

I have covered Shan Masood already, but securing the services of Suranga Lakmal for the next two summers is something of a coup.

At 34 he knows his game and he has taken wickets all over the world, 168 of them in Test matches and still the leader of the Sri Lankan attack. I suspect he will thrive in early season conditions over here, while crucially he has the nous and accuracy to keep it tight on more batsman-friendly wickets. At 6'3 he will get bounce and lateral movement and likely prove a handful. 

He captained his country on five occasions, winning three, so will offer sage counsel to whoever leads the side in different formats this year. 

His T20 runs per over is only eight, very good for someone who bowls in the Powerplays. He will be a handful, for sure,

the fourth Sri Lankan to play for Derbyshire and I suspect the best. 

Clive Inman was past his best when he played a few one-day games after leaving Leicestershire, while Tillekaratne Dilshan was a disappointment in the T20. Jeevan Mendis did well though, and would have likely done better if engaged for late, rather than early summer. 

His value to a young and relatively inexperienced attack cannot be overestimated and I look forward immensely to seeing him in our colours.

Welcome to Derbyshire, Suranga!

Click on this link to see him in fine fettle against Australia at The Gabba

From the Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)

'The country’s former Test captain, Suranga Lakmal, denying rumours that he is retiring from the game citing an offer from English County cricket, confirmed to the Sunday Times exclusively that he has made no decision to call it quits and only contemplating as to which direction to progress.

The Sunday Times learns the all-format senior seamer has been reportedly offered by Derbyshire, being coached by Sri Lanka’s last coach, Mickey Arthur, to turn out for two-years but is still in the process of deciding in which direction to move.

“My manager has not confirmed as to which club has approached and offered,” he refused to reveal when asked which club had sought him.

“The negotiations are still on with the board whether to retire or balance both. No decision has been reached yet,” he said.

However, Lakmal, 34, has opted out from the ongoing domestic National Super League after his wife gave birth to their second child, only one-month-old. He is available for selection for the two-match Test tour to India next month.

Earlier, the rumour of retirement had surfaced, claiming that the right-arm speedster was preparing to hang his boots and take wings to the United Kingdom.'

This was on Sunday past in the Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Lakmal has today announced his international retirement. Thanks to those who contacted me to point this out!

Link

So... watch this space. 

Masood watch

It has been a pleasure in recent days to watch Shan Masood, the Pakistan batsman who will be opening the batting for Derbyshire in 2022.

One of the first things that stood out for me was his obvious enjoyment in playing the game. There are regular smiles, even laughs, pats on the back for opponents and hugs for team mates. He looks a good bloke to have on your side and is clearly valued. 

Then there's his fitness. Tall, lean, very quick between the wickets and an asset in the field. A feature of his batting game is his timing and placement of the ball, so ones become twos, the latter become threes. Dean Jones was good at that and he keeps the strike rotating. 

His stance is upright, the technique uncomplicated, classical even. He can hit a long ball, but brute force isn't the raison d'etre. Masood has shots around the wicket, from the deft late cuts that use the pace of the ball so well, through a glorious cover drive, where his speed of foot opens up the angles when the bowlers try to close them down.

He is very strong straight and over mid-wicket, as all left-handers tend to be. That is his arc for long hitting, but the real strength of his batting is that ability to keep the scoreboard moving. By minimising the dot balls, success usually follows and his side are thus far unbeaten. 

Another feature of his game - and that of his team - seems to be to go big early in the over, then knock it around. It was a big feature of the win over Lahore Qalanders, when he and the excellent Mohammad Rizwan led off with 150 in 14 overs in pursuit of 200-plus. A four or six off the first ball meant the rest of the over was largely well-run and the necessary rate achieved. 

Mind you, it also helps that batsman still struggle with our old boy, Imran Tahir, in the middle overs. He can't bat, isn't much use in the field but his potent mix of leggies, googlies, sliders and flight mean he is rarely collared. He is astonishingly playing in the Staffordshire Leagues this summer, but don't be surprised if someone picks him up for the Blast. Nor if he cuts through batting line ups in those leagues like a knife through butter. 

Like many of the pros of old, he will be brought on in April and taken off in September.. 

Finally today, I have been hearing a few names 'suggested' for that quick bowler that Mickey Arthur mentioned will be announced soon 

I will save most for another piece, but if it is, as he said, someone for the entire season, I would be surprised if it is Marco Jansen. 

There is much to like in the 6'8 South African paceman, who bowls at great pace and with steepling bounce. He is also a decent bat, but will likely get an IPL deal and be a key component of his country's pace attack for their tour of England this summer. 

For me, 'all summer' means 'April to September' not 'the bit between the IPL and the late summer tourists'. 

He does fit the bill as someone known to Mickey Arthur and who would benefit from a big summer here. But so do two or three others I have spotted around the world. 

To be continued... 

Arthur interview needs health warning

As a Derbyshire supporter, it was good to see Mickey Arthur in bullish mood on the interview released by the club yesterday.

In that interview, he revealed the reasons for his delayed arrival and that he should be in Derby in the next 7-10 days.

All well and good, though doubtless a couple of months later than he and we all hoped for. His philosophy seems well-aligned to that of the late, great Eddie Barlow, in that Derbyshire have to be fitter and field better as non-negotiables. We can all get on board with that one, even when I am reminded of the words of Mike Hendrick - 'he wants us to be best team in the country at fetching the ball back, if it gets hit for six'..

Hendo was joking of course, but the worry of the interview was that further recruitment is likely to be a season-long seamer from overseas, with 'someone else' for the Vitality Blast.

I am concerned. While it is laudable that he offers opportunity to contracted players, I suspect that Dave Houghton's last acts as HOC may be ones that stymie Arthur this year.

Let's face it, we have lost our leading batsman and spinner, one of our best-averaging batsmen and keeper and a seam-bowling all-rounder of talent in Messrs Critchley, Hosein and Hudson-Prentice respectively. None look like they are being replaced, though two months from the season that was going to be tough anyway.

Factor in that Luis Reece will do little bowling this year and Mikey Cohen is returning from his latest stress fracture, the challenges are clear.

If Arthur's man management is better than that of his predecessor (which it surely will be) will getting an extra ten per cent from his charges be enough to make Derbyshire competitive?

It is a tall order. The batting was woeful last year, but with Godleman, Madsen and du Plooy out of contract at the end of this season, all have incentives for big summers. My guess is that they were alluded to in his reference to 'a couple of contract extensions'.

Either Alex Thomson or Mattie McKiernan needs to step up to prove a worthy first choice spinner, since we appear to be going with what we have. With 29 career first-class wickets between them, they have less wickets than Critchley took last summer alone, so the challenge is clear.

Much seems to rest on the quality of overseas players and my viewing of Shan Masood yesterday suggested a player who will be enjoyed. Nonetheless, a slow Karachi track is somewhat removed from a traditional English April green top and we shouldn't get too carried away at this stage. We have all seen exciting signings kiboshed by injury before arrival too, so I will keep my powder dry for now. 

As for the season-long seamer we are signing, your guess is as good as mine. I think we can rule out South Africans, since they tour here this summer, as do New Zealand. I did wonder about Scott Boland, who ripped through England this winter and a recent article revealed several county approaches for his services. He seemed wary of committing to it, however and suspect if he came the bidding war would put him out of our reach, with the player likely more keen on a shorter stint anyway and seemingly wary of burn out. 

My guess would be someone from Pakistan, where there are numerous good options, or Sri Lanka, where good players rarely get county exposure. None of these would be unduly expensive, as for most it would cement growing reputations and widen their experience.

Finally, he mentioned 'in addition' to the overseas players, someone else for the Vitality Blast. Logically that may mean a Scotland player, or someone at least with a UK passport.

My guess would mean a return for Mark Watt, who only went for six an over in the T20 World Cup and looked a much fitter, equally canny bowler to his previous spell with us. 

He is a very skilled operator in that format and hard to get after, certainly an asset to most sides. Arthur has referenced a need for a slow left arm bowler before and Mark would fit the bill quite nicely. 

So there you have it. I have said before that Arthur has a 'free hit' this year, but members and supporters need to see a more aggressive, purposeful style of cricket than last year.

We will see if the change in ethos and fitness levels alone can bring dividends, or if more sweeping changes are required in due course. 

Arthur arrival 'imminent'

I am using that in the now-approved Quantuma manner, as noted by Derby County fans in recent weeks.

However, I understand that he is now due in the UK to start work shortly, held up only by the now regulation issues of Covid, international travel and work visas post-Brexit.

He will be wanting to get straight into it and meet the staff, though has some additions to make before too many supporters will have serious expectations. 

The acquisition of Shan Masood for the whole summer is a positive, as his record is good in all formats. However, the Dukes ball in April will be a different challenge and how quickly he comes to terms with it may determine how we do. 

There was positive news last week with Luis Reece likely to be available to bat from near the start of the season. That MIGHT sort our issue at number three, as he could slot in there, allowing Wayne Madsen to drop to four and Leus du Plooy to go in at five. He is unlikely to bowl until later season, so has a chance to consolidate a place in what, on paper, looks a decent top order.

There is, as yet, no replacement for Matt Critchley as lead spinner, nor one for Fynn Hudson-Prentice as a seam bowling all rounder. That top five has to find someone to replace the thousand scored by Critchley last year, though all are capable of doing it.

Which makes me think we may split the other overseas role between a seam bowler for early season and a spinner for the second half of the summer. 

South Africa may offer a source of the former, with bowlers keen for experience on English wickets ahead of their tour here from July.

Marco Jansen exploded onto the international scene this year and currently has 19 Test wickets at just 16 each, those in only three Tests against a strong Indian side. At 6'9 he looks a handful and at 21 years old has the world at his feet. I would expect Cricket South Africa to be keen to further his experience, which would likely be more use in England than in the IPL.

I think our seam bowling pretty solid, for all its relative inexperience. With Aitchison, Conners, Scrimshaw, Cohen, Potts and Melton in competition, there is the talent to bowl sides out. Something different would be handy, someone who can bat and bowl especially so. 

A half season might appeal to a few people, however, leaving the T20 and remaining matches to a spinner, or spin-bowling all-rounder.

I haven't yet seen anything in Mattie McKiernan or Alex Thomson to suggest they could win us matches on the last afternoon of a four-day match, though both were underbowled last year, so it probably isn't fair to pass judgement.

Mickey Arthur did say that he thought we were short of a slow left-arm bowler, of which there are a number in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, who he will know well.

One such may be Mohammad Nawaz, a good enough batsman to be just south of 40 with his career batting average and a T20 strike rate of 123. Throw in over 400 all-format wickets and you have a solid player on the edge of the Pakistan national side but with 49 international appearances.

I suspect he will be under consideration, but the new Head of Cricket will be awash with contacts. 

He will also need another wicket-keeping option, unless we go with Brooke Guest alone and utilise the loan market should a replacement be required at any point. There are plenty of good wicket keepers around and that may be an option if we want to make the budget go that bit further..

Decisions, decisions... 

The fixtures are.. out?

Excuse my feeling of being dramatically underwhelmed, but after waiting ages for the fixtures to come out this year, that is what I am left with.

More 'Meh' than 'Yeah' for sure.

Let's face it, if you were doing the preparatory work on proving the new format competition was better attended than the county game, you would schedule it exactly as the ECB have done. 

If you asked a bunch of primary school kids when best to schedule cricket so they could watch it, they would come up with the answer 'at weekends and during school holidays'.

So why do we have TWO full days of home Derbyshire cricket after the middle of May at weekends? Why do we have just FOUR days scheduled in the balmy (barmy?) month of August?

OK, if you include T20 it rises to the giddy heights of four days, all season after May, but T20 isn't a day out, it is an afternoon or evening. 

It is crazy. People with or without families thus have to take their valued annual leave to see much county cricket, or be retired/unemployed. 

Even my annual 'home' game, against Durham at Chester le Street, is scheduled Monday to Thursday. Given I work Monday to Wednesday, my chances of seeing much of that depend on there being a worthwhile fourth day to warrant a 400-mile round trip. 

My holidays had to be in for this year in October, so only an April date works at all for me. While acknowledging the limitations of geography for me are unusual, I would be surprised if many are enthused. Again, after the middle of May there is ONE Saturday of county cricket - and that a T20 at Chesterfield. 

It is all pretty disheartening for yours truly. Were I a conspiracy theorist I would reckon they are starving us of cricket so we watch the Hundred. Truth be told, I would give up cricket rather than watch that. 

But of course, I would love to hear your thoughts, as always. 

My immediate thoughts are that in between times Derby County are saved. 

Fingers crossed on that one. And a better ending than the saga of the fixtures.. 

Weekend catch up

Sorry about the lack of blogging in the past week, but my old Dad needed major surgery at the age of 93 and it was touch and go for a while.

Thankfully he is getting stronger and a shade of normality can resume in my life, at least for now. 

Truth be told, I haven't missed much. If Ryan Duckett was correct in the recent press release, then Mickey Arthur will be starting sometime next week, and will need to hit the ground running, with plenty to do. 

He won't be signing Ben Brown from Sussex, who as widely expected has moved to Hampshire. They now have three good keepers (McManus and Alsop the others) and might be worth a call for our second one, though there are plenty of others out there.

It was good to see that Daryn Smit referred to opportunities for Academy Pathway players under Mickey Arthur. We certainly need to see them in the second team when studies allow. I saw no point in having lots of trialists last year, with one even captaining the side for a while. By all means bring them in to make up numbers, but not taking opportunity from our own development squad. 

There should always be a staff player who is captain and available. In the grand scheme of things, results don't matter at that level, but opportunities certainly do. I have no doubt that Smit will identify and develop young talent, but there needs to be a pathway, to use that word, into senior cricket.

Fingers crossed this is a step in the right direction. 

Finally tonight, I saw a tweet today that whetted my appetite for the summer that is coming up. It read:

Shan Masood, Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, Peter Handscomb, Shaheen Afridi, James Pattinson, Travis Head, Mohammad Rizwan and Matthew Wade will all be playing in County Championship Division 2 next season

Should be worth a watch, eh? 

Postbag catch up

I have had a few mails in recent days regarding who I think we might target as our 'other' T20 overseas player. The name on most people's wish list seems to Wanindu Hasaranga.

Hasaranga bowled brilliantly in the T20 World Cup and also hits powerfully in the lower middle order. I also watched him in the Dubai T10, where he seemed the only bowler not to get collared. 

He isn't a huge spinner, but he does enough to miss the middle of the bat and take the edge. As Wilfred Rhodes once said, anything more than that is just showing off and few seem to read the googly well from his hand. 

He would be a HUGE signing for Derbyshire, but I suspect a lot of counties fancy his services and those with most money usually, like the Mounties, get their man. If we have an ace in the pack it is Mickey Arthur and he may want to work again with his old national coach. Few Sri Lankans come to these shores and he would certainly enhance the Vitality Blast were he to be persuaded.

We may look again to Pakistan, following on from the signing of Shan Masood, and my wildcard pick would be Mohammad Wasim. There are bigger names out there, but there are good reasons to go for him. 

At 19 he is raw and largely unknown, but he can play. He bowls between 80 and 90mph, hits a long ball and wouldn't cost the earth, as exposure would be key for him at this stage.

Last month he looked very impressive against the West Indies, bowling some searing yorkers, while his ability with the bat can also be seen in the other video. 

With Derbyshire needing to strengthen in several areas, Wasim could be a value for money pick who would capture the imagination, especially of the local Pakistani population. 

I will leave these videos for your comments! Either way, a player to keep an eye on.. 

Bowling

Batting

Happy New Year!

I hope you all enjoyed your new year celebrations and that 2022 is a good one for all of you.

Apologies for the delayed new piece, but things have been a little hectic on the domestic front. 

I have, however been looking back and it is now 50 days since Mickey Arthur was appointed Head of Cricket at the club, to a huge fanfare. Yet there is still no sign of his arrival. 

So what is going on? The silence from the club is deafening. Surely he should have been here by now? Even allowing for him finishing in Sri Lanka, time is passing. He noted on 19 December, on his Twitter account, that it was his last day in Sri Lanka, so 18 days have passed since then.

Is there a problem in his getting a work permit? Or has he changed his mind? I think either way that the club's supporters deserve some kind of update. I would like to think that application for a work permit started well before 19 December. The lead time for such things is usually three weeks. 

The fixtures aren't yet out, but if matches start in late March  the season is fast approaching. The time for he and players to get to know one another is getting shorter, as is the time for additional recruits.

I am sure supporters would like to know where he is, if he is still expected and the reason for the hold up. 

I don't think that too much to ask, is it?

Postscript : the club finally made an announcement this afternoon.

Club statement