Michael Di Venuto - an appreciation

The news that Michael Di Venuto has decided to call time on his first-class career at the age of 38 will have been greeted with sadness. Not just in Durham, where he gave sterling service over six seasons, nor in Derbyshire, where he earlier graced grounds for another seven. Di Venuto will undoubtedly be missed by all those who watch county cricket.

There are plenty of younger Derbyshire fans who regard Diva as the best batsman they have seen at the club. As an older fan, one who saw the likes of Kirsten, Wright, Jones and Azharuddin, I'm less sure he tops that elite list, but Michael Di Venuto was a very, very good cricketer. A first-class average of just under 46 confirms that, if suggesting he was just short of the very highest class, but for the past dozen summers there have been few better overseas batsmen on the county circuit than the genial Tasmanian.

His trademark shot, like so many Australians, was a rapier-like cut and anyone who gave him width was liable for heavy treatment. In most other eras he would have won more than nine one-day caps and sixty first-class centuries confirm a player who could make the big scores.

From 200-2006 he was the cornerstone of the Derbyshire batting and it was increasingly common to find that our batting success was dependent on Diva scoring runs. Like many others I used to hear the score was 25-1 and keep my fingers crossed that he was not the man out. Such an occurrence reduced our likely total by 50-100 runs, though there were accusations that he scored more heavily in the second innings of games, rather than dictating the match by racking them up in the first.

That may or may not have been the case, but over those seven summers Di Venuto averaged 33, 45, 62, 49, 50 and 55. Forgiving the fact-finding mission of his first summer, those are outstanding statistics, especially for someone well aware that the weight of run-scoring lay heavily on his shoulders.

He missed the 2004 season following major surgery on his back and there were occasional fitness issues thereafter. These presumably accounted for the otherwise bizarre decision by then coach David Houghton to dispense with his services at the end of 2006 and opt for the "Mini-me" of Travis Birt, another pugnacious left-hander from Tasmania. Birt's first season suggested a player of potential, though the reality is that he never kicked on and was a fraction of Di Venuto's worth as a player. Throw in the fact that Di Venuto made it clear he would retire from Australian domestic cricket, which he did after 2007-8, and use his Italian passport to play under European labour regulations and the decision seems ever more short-sighted

Derbyshire's loss was very much Durham's gain and having such an impressive opening batsman was a major factor in their success over recent summers. Di Venuto cruised past a thousand runs each year, with almost 1700 flowing from his bat in 2009. He was also a reliable, often brilliant fielder at slip and was perhaps the template on which overseas players should be based.

What Derbyshire, or other counties would give for such a player in coming summers! Ironically I must have seen him bat on maybe 20 occasions and never saw him pass thirty, but there was no denying his talent. The younger Di Venuto in the current Derbyshire setup would have been a revelation.

In a poor side he shone like a beacon, a very fine player and a very fine man. Like all Derbyshire fans, I wish him well in his retirement. I am sure he will make a very good fist of whatever he sets out to do.

Thanks for the memories Michael.

T(ottering) 20?

I'm well aware that the comments that follow are made from having followed this year's T20 competition largely from a distance of some 3,500 miles, but here goes anyway...

Aside from Derbyshire's lack-lustre campaign, it's not been very exciting, has it?

There has so far been only one century in the tournament and not that many performances worthy of note. Nottinghamshire look the best side by a distance, yet one should not be too surprised when a cursory look at their top six batsmen reveals Lumb, Taylor, Wessels, Voges, Patel and Read - a lot of experience of the type that, as I mentioned yesterday, Derbyshire lack. It is hardly surprising that our top-averaging batsmen in the competition were Messrs Park, Naved and Durston, players old enough to have worked out their game It is a statistic largely replicated elsewhere.

Derbyshire's problem was that only one of those three batted in the top five and the averages of Park and Naved were inflated by a few unbeaten innings when the match had generally gone. Maybe they should have batted higher and had a greater opportunity to influence things - it would be hard to argue a case to the contrary.

As regular readers will know, T20 is a long way from my favourite format, but I'll confess to having watched a lot of the recent IPL which is a million miles removed from the game played in this country. For one thing, the weather is much better and it is hard to get excited about cricket played in the conditions we found ourselves recently at Grace Road, when miners helmets would have been more use than batting ones in gloomy light. Similarly there is something wrong when 31-4 in 8 overs is beaten by 23-2 in 2.4, as happened yesterday at Northampton. Carnival cricket? Hmmm...not so sure about that.

Slow wickets have made batting awkward and the absence of big names has been a factor. Phil Hughes, Cameron White, Herschelle Gibbs and Shaun Marsh have all done OK for their respective sides, as did Razzaq at Leicester in a poor side that still managed to beat us twice. Yet a number of overseas recruits come into a sizeable "not worth the money" category. I have said before and will do so again - if an overseas player is not substantially better than what you already have, there is little point in bringing them over.

For what its worth, Derbyshire and a few other counties could have got as much from the short term signing of, for example, James Dalrymple, as they did from their overseas players this summer in the T20. Next year, with the ICC Trophy in England at the same time as the competition, overseas signings of quality will be very hard to find. Counties will either need to select players who have retired from the international scene, or wait to see who doesn't make the cut for their national squads.

Again though, there will be the perennial issue of IPL to contend with. The contracts of Indian players preclude them from playing, while the riches on offer to top names elsewhere mean that the county game isn't really a draw. At the same time, the demands of international cricket dictate that even those players who sign up cannot or will not fulfil their contracts. Can you imagine the moans from Derbyshire fans had we managed to sign Chris Gayle this year, only to see him return to the West Indies ranks? Richard Levi has been a qualified success for Somerset, yet has spent most of his time on aeroplanes, juggling his national and county commitments, so it is hardly a surprise.

Our T20 may be the longest-running in the world game but it has lost its lustre by factors beyond its control. Surrey are now suggesting that the tournament switches to be season-long, but I don't see this as viable. For one thing the players didn't want it, as they would be switching mind-set all the time, and for another I fail to see how overseas players could be flown in once a week or fortnight and expected to perform. The costs would be prohibitive and anyone who thinks you can just get off a plane and expect to perform is delusional, as Levi would confirm.

Likewise, calls for franchises are dead in the water as fans and adminstrators are understandably parochial and protective of their own interests. The reality is that our T20 game is going to remain a poor relation of the IPL and, unless the weather is better than it has been for this season, the competition's brightest moments will generally come when the floodlights are switched on.

How can Derbyshire improve? With greater experience, which takes time, and by having two overseas players who lead from the front. In previous summers we have had impressive contributions from the likes of Martin Guptill and Charl Langeveldt. Until the young squad gets the requisite experience, Messrs Krikken and Grant have the somewhat thankless task of recruiting two players of the right ability who aren't needed by their countries for the ICC trophy but have a desire to play the county game, as IPL hasn't wanted their talents either.

That will be a very, very select group and for the life of me I cannot think right now who will be in it.

Nor, for that matter, will anyone else be able to.

The long and winding road

After a long, long journey that included Dallas and Heathrow, we're finally home after a wonderful holiday that will live lon in our memories. Certainly longer than Derbyshire's T20 campaign will do...

On only the first three days of it was the temperature below 100 degrees and it peaked out at 112 on a day that broke local records and could easily have seen you fry eggs on pavements. If you are in any way interested in music I would strongly urge anyone to go to Memphis and Nashville and we managed to see some old favourites as well as some hot new acts. We also enjoyed a liberal dose of southern manners and hospitality, both commodities that are increasingly difficult to find.

I had planned to blog a time or two from Nashville but time overtook us and, to be honest, the computers in the hotel had so much rubbish on them (and an inactive firewall) that I was loathe to jeopardise my security arrangments on the site, so didn't bother. Sincere apologies to those who logged in during this period and found no updates. I can only assure you that normal service will now be resumed.

As for Derbyshire, what can I say that hasn't been said by contributors already? I obviously didn't see any of the games in the past two weeks, but to be fair, if you know your cricket you didn't really need to do so to understand where things were going wrong. In eight matches prior we had only two fifties, both from Wes Durston, and that is simply not good enough.

My concerns about Usman Khawaja's ability in this format were (and I have no pleasure whatsoever in saying so) sadly justified. His record for us was pretty much what he has done back home so far and with a highest score of 36 in eight innings he didn't come off. I think that his coming to Derbyshire depended on him playing T20, something in which he wanted greater experience and can only say that he now needs to get serious runs when we resume "proper" cricket in the near future. I think he will do that, but we need a major re-think on overseas players and on strategy for next summer's T20 if we are to be in any way competitive. That is something for another piece, another day.

It is handy to have a "go to" bowler, someone who can take the pressure when the going is tough, but it is fair to say that Rana Naved has not been the player we expected either. He was out of season and rusty when he got here and it showed in early matches when he was hit more than in his prime. He has improved as the tournament progressed and has finished with an economy rate of just under nine, but that sees him seventh among regular Derbyshire bowlers. A few decent cameos with the bat (especially today) were appreciated, but the feeling persists that he could and should have batted higher to better effect. I don't feel Naved has done enough to warrant a return next summer, but much will depend on the availaibility of players in what will be a very hard season in which to recruit overseas stars.

The bowling hasn't generally been the problem, with most of the players returning decent economy rates but no one proving especially penetrative either. Jonathan Clare is not yet the T20 bowler that he is in the Championship but there were decent efforts by most of the rest of the attack. With a little more to bowl at, a few more results could have been possible.

Young players such as Alex Hughes and Chris Durham got an opportunity and let no one down, but T20 is an unforgiving game and the merit of old heads in tight situations is obvious. We didn't have enough of them in the side, period and I just hope that players like Dan Redfern and Ross Whiteley, both of who made way as the tournament progressed, rediscover their mojos when the serious business starts again.

I suppose it is ironic that a team that has batted so well as a unit this summer in the County Championship did so poorly with the bat in the shortest form of the game. They will come again, I am sure, but no one will claim that the T20 saw any genuine form of progress in 2012.

Certainly not me.

A Peak from abroad

Greetings to all Derbyshire fans from Memphis, where the weather is currently consistently 95 degrees-plus every day and likely to top the hundred in the days ahead.

Self and family have been doing the music trail, with Graceland, the Rock n Soul Museum and Stax currently visited and Sun Studios scheduled for today. It is 8am here and tomorrow we head across to Nashville for ten days in the world's capital of country music.

Modesty (almost) forbids me saying that I am perhaps the first Derbyshire man to hit a six into the Mississippi at the end of an impromptu game of cricket at Mud Island yesterday. It is quite a claim to fame, though the "ball" was actually a pine cone - but boy, did it travel...

I note that we lost to Leicestershire in the T20, but given that we apparently needed miner's helmets, rather than batting ones, when we batted I wouldn't get too upset. At the risk of being repetitive, we've a long way to go before we're a good limited overs side and sadly neither of our overseas stars have fired in this competition.

A quick look this morning at the T20 averages told its own tale - only Naved, by dint of some not outs, averages above 20 among the batsmen and no one has yet made a forty. We'll win nothing with those sort of stats, no matter how steady the bowling.

I'll be back later in the holiday, but it appears that T20 quarter finals are still a somewhat distant pipedream, at least until we have two proven performers in the format on top of their game.

Now its time to go. The recording studios that gave a start to Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins, among many more, awaits...

Thoughts before heading off...

My annual holiday with the family always comes in the middle of the T20. That's not because I regard the chances of Derbyshire success as being marginally better than that of my winning the Miss World contest, but based on the price of flights.

We need more experience in this side before we can look forward to being a competitive outfit. Savvy bowlers of greater experience will work out all but the very best of young tyros and we need some of ours to get more matchplay experience in the pressure situations. Thinking back through my years of playing cricket, I found it fairly easy to stay in against even county standard and top club bowlers, but forcing runs was more difficult. It is much the same for our current crop of talent, the County Championship being a slightly easier source of accumulated runs than the limited overs stuff, where fields are set to stop them doing just that.

On what I have seen so far, our bowlers have got the T20 bowling worked out pretty well and we need only to give them a few more runs to play with. We have yet to see Tom Knight, who in another summer will surely play a greater part, while Turner and Groenewald have done well with the new ball. Jon Clare hasn't been seen, nor Tony Palladino, but I don't think our bowling is really an issue.

What we lack is a consistent fast scorer at the top of the innings. Perhaps "consistent" and "T20" aren't synonymous, as the format is not especially conducive to consistency, but for another summer we really need an established player at the top of the order. A Guptill, Hussey, Kallis, de Villiers, Sharma or Taylor would make a massive difference if any could be persuaded to play. They score their runs at good pace and in so doing take the pressure off younger players. Given that we came close to persuading Gayle to play this summer, perhaps it isn't unrealistic to lure someone of similar calibre to the County Ground for 2013, even though the calendar becomes ever more congested.

That isn't meant as criticism of Usman Khawaja, who is a very fine player, but he has little T20 experience and in my opinion should not have been expected, as overseas star, to carry the brunt of team batting expectation in the competition. He has, after all, only one half century in the format and an average of just 18, hardly the stats to suggest bringing someone from the other side of the world.

Khawaja comes with a point to prove to Australian selectors this summer, one I fully expect him to make in the County Championship, but I have said all along that he is not a T20 player. In that he is in good company, as the likes of Marcus North, Chris Rogers, Simon Katich and Phil Jaques aren't either. Experience has made some of these better than they once were, but none would be thought of as more than adequate players over the short form.

Conversely, I shared everyone's enthusiasm on the signing of Rana Naved, a proven performer in this type of cricket, but on what I have seen he has lost that crucial yard of pace that makes a difference. It happens to all bowlers, of course and most of you will recall the difference between the two years that Charl Langeveldt played at the county. In the first year he was probably the best bowler in the competition, with well-disguised variations and the ability to bowl that quicker ball when required. Next time around he couldn't do that and batsmen were able to milk him around more easily for runs.

Maybe Naved will prove me wrong in the remaining matches (though I won't flatter myself that he reads this blog...) but he doesn't appear to me to have the edge that he once had, even in this past winter's Big Bash. Mind you, time waits for none of us  - where I once came in off fifteen paces, I now make do quite happily with three...

I don't expect us to qualify from this group as it is one of the toughest, but I do expect to watch us from afar making teams work for wins. We did that last night and with another twenty runs could well have won. Maybe this winter's recruitment for the T20 will secure the services of the player, or players, who could do that.

For now, my friends, farewell. I'll be popping in from time to time, but please continue to post your comments.

I'll be resuming normal service around July 9, in all likelihood several pounds heavier...

Thanks for your continued support and I will see you soon!

Derbyshire v Durham T20

As I said last night, I missed this evening's game as we had arranged a family meal to celebrate our son's 21st birthday. Thanks go to the excellent purveyors of the club's Twitter feed for keeping me and other users abreast of developments in the match.

I look forward to your comments tonight with regard to what went right and wrong, but again there has to be questions regarding the batting. It appeared more solid tonight, but there never seemed to be a point at which we were breaking free of the shackles. Once more we lacked a big score, with Usman Khawaja's 36 top score but being neither substantial nor quick enough to make a difference. Again we lost the two established batsmen within six balls and more often than not 140 will not be enough to win. More than anything else this side has missed Martin Guptill at the top of the order, as we're only managing around six an over from the powerplay.

I've few complaints about the bowling, with David Wainwright again seeming to bowl well and Mark Turner continuing a largely positive impression he has made in the competition. I will be honest and say that I am not yet convinced that Rana Naved is the bowler he once was, though being thrown the ball at key times needs someone firing on all cylinders and he's perhaps not had enough cricket behind him to do that.

Two successive defeats hasn't ruled us out of qualification, but we need to find runs from somewhere - fast. Durham took a chance on the aggressive Myburgh from the Netherlands and his knock seems to have been the difference tonight.I don't see any point in us doing that now, but while our Championship form in 2012 has been a revelation our one-day cricket needs a bit of a re-think

We simply don't have anyone doing what Myburgh did. Naved has had unbeaten bit parts with the bat so far and maybe he needs given an earlier opportunity as a player who can score quickly  if given longer to do so. Wes hasn't really got going in this competition and nor has Ross Whiteley, so our two bankers for quick runs are back in the hutch and we're accumulating, rather than accelerating in the middle overs of the innings.

Maybe we will see a return to winning ways against Leicestershire at the weekend, but I see they scored 120 from their last ten overs tonight against Lancashire. OK, they still lost, but I don't see us scoring at that rate, do you?

Anyway, tomorrow will mark my last lengthy blog for a fortnight or so. I will pop in from time to time when I can, but for these two weeks my focus shifts to Memphis and Nashville, blues and country, the best barbecue ribs you will ever eat and the world epicentre of southern comfort food.

Now, where's those trousers with the elasticated waistband...?

Derbyshire v Durham T20

If you had asked me before last night if Derbyshire can beat Durham in this game I would have said yes.

They have some fine players and the likes of Blackwell, Mustard, Benkenstein and Myburgh can quickly take a game away. Having said that, I'm less worried about their batting, as I feel our attack is good enough to cope against all but a batsman in prime form.

My concerns revolve around our batting, which has so far failed - there's no other way of putting it. Against Lancashire we lacked a top order player going onto a big score, even if enough made cameo contributions to keep us ahead of the required rate. Against Yorkshire we would have loved a cameo, to be perfectly honest.

For me, one of the top three, whoever is in those roles, needs to bat through most of the innings. Now I'm not sure that Ross Whiteley, good a player as he is, can hold down the number three slot right now, especially as this season has been more challenging than the last. He hasn't got the runs and confidence behind him and there would be greater merit in having him in there alongside Naved and Hughes at 5-6-7.

Perhaps more sensible would be Dan Redfern, a naturally free-scoring player, despite not being an especially big hitter. Wayne Madsen would be another option and I feel that such a move would give us a better chance of a top order player making a score.

Wes Durston again looked good last night, but got out before making a match-defining score, while Usman Khawaja really gave it away. At 43-0 in the sixth we were coasting and had seen off half the overs from their main men, Sidebottom and Starc. Then Khawaja, who had batted nicely to be fair, suddenly thought he was Chris Gayle and went for a shot he didn't need to play.

Usman should watch footage of Tendulkar, Hussey and Kallis in the IPL. Neither attempts the ambitious, they just work it around and accumulate runs, the game plan being for them to be there in the 16th over. They're canny too - watch how they keep off the pressure in run chases by getting an early boundary in each over. If you're chasing eight an over and take four from the first or second ball, it's a heck of a lot easier.

Likewise, the good T20 sides ensure that there's rarely two new men at the crease. Losing Khawaja last night was unncessary, but we then needed Wes to stick in there and he'd gone soon afterwards. There were two new men at the crease at that point and we never got close to recovering the momentum.

So can we beat Durham? If someone can make a score, yes. If not - if we're relying on twinkling twenties and terrible teens - then we haven't got a prayer. I'm out tomorrow night. so won't see the game I didn't expect to be on, but after last night, I'm not especially concerned either. I'll follow it on the club's Twitter feed - which, it has to be said, has been the best thing about our one-day cricket this summer.

Pre-season, as you will recall, I said that Derbyshire were a good four-day and very average one-day side. At this stage of the season, nothing I have seen has made me doubt either statement. While very much a work in progress, we need some of our talented young cricketers to grow up fast before we're anything more than also-rans in the laugh and giggle game.

Tom Maynard

While this is a blog about Derbyshire cricket and we're all down about tonight's display, it is only appropriate to note the untimely passing of one of the brightest talents in  the English game, Tom Maynard.

I grew up watching his Dad play many sterling innings for Glamorgan and the signs were that Maynard junior was very much a chip off the old block and was set to captivate crowds in the county  - and perhaps international - game for years to come.

He had a full range of shots, a good head on his shoulders and extraordinary talent. To see such an immensely promising career snuffed out in its prime is unbearably sad and my heart, like those of all Derbyshire supporters, goes out to the immediate and extended family, as well as to his friends and team mates at Surrey.

Cricket, at the end of it all, is just a game. Relatively speaking, at the end of it all, tonight's result really didn't matter all that much in comparison to this morning's tragic news.

Rest in peace Tom Maynard.

Derbyshire v Yorkshire T20

After a very impressive bowling performance  - at least until the last couple of overs of the innings - Derbyshire produced a batting display that sadly bordered on the dismal tonight.

It was same old, same old in front of the TV cameras as a decent start by Wes Durston and Usman Khawaja was squandered with an ineptitude that sadly smacked of the bad old days.

While you have to give some credit to the Yorkshire bowlers, Derbyshire didn't make them work unduly hard for their wickets and to lose five wickets for just 20 runs, as we managed to do, was frankly unprofessional.

As regular readers will know, I am very positive about the current state of Derbyshire cricket, but to go from 43-0 in the sixth over to 84-7 in the 15th was very disappointing and there's nothing that I can say to defend such an abject effort.

Full marks to David Wainwright, who bowled as good a spell of spin as you could wish to see, but after so many encouraging displays this summer, Derbyshire were very, very poor with the bat tonight.

Wainwright and Rana Naved, much better with the ball tonight, added a modicum of respectability to the total, but it was too little, too late.

They'll need to do much better on Wednesday, or the Sky commentators will have run out of disparaging comment by the midway point of our innings against Durham.

That's all I can say really. As it did to all Derbyshire fans, that one hurt tonight.

Interesting snippet

The Bromsgrove Advertiser yesterday reported that Derbyshire have made a 28-day approach to Worcestershire to speak to their talented seam bowler Richard Jones

You can see the article here

That is a long way from suggesting that the player is headed to Derby, as you will hopefully realise, but is indicative of a sea-change at the club. There was a time when we would be looking at the rejects from other clubs - now it is their better players.

Good to see - but let's get back to the matters in hand for now!

Derbyshire v Yorkshire T20

There's not much between the two teams who will contest tomorrow's live on Sky match at the County Ground.

Derbyshire have started well, while Yorkshire have won one and lost one so far. While the Yorkshire batting looks very strong, I'm still not convinced that after Starc and Sidebottom they have an especially demanding attack.

For me, our best chance of success will be to bat second and chase a target after the white rose county have perhaps over-reached themselves. Derbyshire's approach to a chase the other night was extremely professional and, had the rain stayed out of it, I think we would have won at a canter. Put it this way, my club side would have fancied 51 at a run a ball. Mind you, I don't think we'd have got it down to that stage...

I expect Derbyshire to be unchanged from their last fixture, while Yorkshire will in all likelihood keep the same side that beat a very poor Leicestershire side with some comfort, which is:

Gale, Jaques. Bairstow, Miller, Ballance, Root, Pyrah, Rafiq, Starc, Sidebottom, Ashraf

It should be a good game, weather permitting and I don't expect there to be much between the sides at the end of the game.

Will we win? If we play to potential, field a little better than the other night and get good input from our overseas stars we can do. Then again so can our visitors, so this one is tough to call.

If we do so, we will be in a very good position. That is beyond doubt.

Nottinghamshire v Derbyshire T20

Not much to write about on this one, which was why I didn't rush into print last night.

It is a shame that a tournament that accounts for a sizeable chunk of county income is thus far badly blighted by the weather. Despite the England football match last night, Nottinghamshire will have expected a healthy crowd last night for the local derby and will be disappointed that it didn't happen. Hopefully we will have better luck with the weather when they travel to play at Derby. I wouldn't be surprised if the county haven't got the game insured, just in case, as it makes a massive contribution to our coffers on an annual basis.

Given our recent track record against Nottinghamshire, it is hard to be unhappy with a point from last night, but confidence in the Derbyshire camp is high and they would have fancied their chances of both. For me, however, our East Midlands rivals are the best team in the group, so we cannot be disappointed at this stage.

The attention now switches to the County Ground on Monday and the visit of Yorkshire. I'll preview this in detail over the weekend but for now there are two things that I hope for from this fixture.

One is that the weather is kind, as a large crowd should again be in attendance. Second is that the real Derbyshire, the one that has played exciting, vibrant cricket so far this summer, turns up.Too often in front of the cameras we have been disappointing and this is a real opportunity to reinforce the message - the brand, if you will - that is coming from the County Ground in 2012.

Let's keep our fingers crossed for both.

Derbyshire v Lancashire T20

Played one, won one. You can't do better than that. And on a night when only one other game was completed, that is especially good news.

There were elements of tonight's cricket that could be improved on, for sure. There were a few chances went down,Usman Khawaja didn't get going and Rana Naved was very costly, but the bottom line is that Derbyshire won without a significant input from their overseas stars.

We were in danger of slipping behind on Duckworth Lewis until Naved and Chesney Hughes (pictured) came together to score 28 from the next nine balls. They were aided, to be fair, by some very wild bowling by Sajid Mahmood, who conceded 15 from only three legitimate deliveries in the 12th over. Mahmood was yesterday bemoaning the fact that he may have to leave the county, following the signing of Ajmal Shahzad, as he can't get a regular game. Based on 2.3-0-42-1 I am hardly surprised...

Naved  had a difficult debut and won't have bowled many more expensive spells in T20, but sometimes just getting used to the gradient of a new square takes a little time, even for an experienced bowler. He's not played much cricket of late either, but what I liked about him was how he came in to bat determined to make amends. An unbeaten 19 from 9 balls may not appear substantial in some people's eyes, but in the context of this game it was massive. It was the sort of experienced input we have lacked in recent seasons.

Crucial too was the effort of Chesney Hughes, who has not enjoyed the best of starts this summer. Having Hughes and Naved at six and seven is important, batsmen who are capable of finding or clearing the boundary when it is most needed. Wes Durston gave us the brisk start I anticipated and Ross Whiteley hit a couple of sixes, or maximums as they're called by people who like using big words... It was a solid batting effort and victory was made possible by keeping the score around target - crucial at most times, but especially with rain about.

The bowlers, Naved apart, did a very solid job. Mark Turner has done well in one day games this season and his extra pace did a fine job tonight. So too did Tim Groenewald, while David Wainwright gave his usual exemplary display.

My man of the match tonight though is Chesney Hughes. A brisk unbeaten 16 followed on from a terrific four over spell that cost just 21 runs, putting the brakes on Lancashire when they looked as if they were going to get away.

What we need now is a similar effort against Nottinghamshire tomorrow. Win that one and a few more eyes will be opened about what is going on at the County Ground. I didn't expect us to win tonight, so a hearty congratulations to all concerned.

A repeat against our dear rivals will do quite nicely, thanks lads...

Derbyshire v Lancashire T20

Well, Karl Krikken has named his first T20 squad for the tournament and it is as follows:

Wayne Madsen (Captain), Usman Khawaja, Wes Durston, Ross Whiteley, Dan Redfern, Chesney Hughes, Garry Park, Rana Naved, Jonathan Clare, David Wainwright, Tom Poynton, Tim Groenewald, Mark Turner and Tom Knight.

Having thought long and hard about it, I'd be inclined to move Wes Durston up to open. He made a good fist of that position when he first joined us and, as a clean hitter, can take good advantage of field restrictions whether the opposition open with seam or spin. Chesney would be useful down the order a little and has the ability to clear the ropes, perhaps more so against seam than spin at this stage of his career.

Not having seen the wicket, I can't say whether we're likely to include Tom Knight as an extra spinner - if it is slow, there is a chance he may play. Otherwise I would see the side as follows:

Khawaja
Durston
Madsen
Hughes
Naved
Whiteley
Redfern/Park
Wainwright
Clare/Turner/Knight
Groenewald
Poynton

It's a decent side, a good side. Good enough to beat Lancashire? I'm not sure, but good enough to give them a game, take it down to the wire and then - well, it comes down to who holds their nerve when it matters.

Go get 'em boys!

T20 preview

There is no doubt that Derbyshire will start as underdogs in their game against Lancashire Lightning tomorrow night, their first match of this season's T20.

The Lancashire captain and players are talking up winning the competition, though I'd have to say that I don't see them as being that good. They won the County Championship last summer, but have struggled this time around, batsmen scratching around for runs more than should be the case.

As a T20 side they seem to me to depend on a good start. If Stephen Moore gets them off to a flyer they could trouble any side and with key overseas men in Ashwell Prince and Yasir Arafat in the side they don't lack experience. Key to their cricket last year, especially in the T20, was the bowling of three spinners, Kerrigan, Gary Keedy and Stephen Parry, taking the pace off the ball and controlling the middle part of the opposition innings.

In some ways their side replicates Leicestershire's success last year, not overly blessed with household names but with a strong team ethic. The Foxes look unlikely to replicate last summer's success after an embarrassing performance against Nottinghamshire last night, a game in which they barely got out of the traps. Nottinghamshire will start favourites in the group,a disciplined bowling side and powerful batting line-up making them (sadly) a good pre-tournament bet.

Yorkshire could do better than of late if their bowlers can keep the opposition within range of a powerful batting side. I was surprised, however, to see them recruit South African David Miller as their second overseas player. He's a fair player with something to prove after a disappointing competition with Durham last year, but for me there is little wrong with their batting and a good player will therefore miss out. Mitchell Starc has made a good early impression, but I'm not convinced their support bowling is good enough to get through the group.

Durham? They have also recruited well in Herschelle Gibbs, a player somewhat revitalised after good showings in the Big Bash and the IPL. Having said that, he has seldom shown that form here and will need to do so. The county have good players, but again in recent summers the constituent parts haven't made a cohesive whole. There are plenty of big hitting batsmen in the line-up and, like Yorkshire, will depend on the bowlers keeping the opposition within range. They will miss Paul Collingwood, however, as much for his accurate bowling as his less reliable (these days) batting.

Which leaves us with Derbyshire, of course. I think we will do OK and I fully expect us to compete in every game, but I don't see us progressing through a pretty strong group. Of course I hope that I'm wrong and that the side pulls together as we know it can, but my sadly negative prediction is for a bottom three finish in this section.

How can they prove me wrong? By batting sensibly and not like, as we have often done in this competition, shoppers being told there's five minutes to closing time on Christmas Eve. A good start helps and if we are chasing, for example, 160 to win there is no need for slogs in the Powerplay, just proper cricket shots that take advantage of the fielding restrictions.

If we had Martin Guptill at the top of the order, you could reasonably expect, after 5 overs of him on a good day, to be around 50. Will Chesney Hughes, short on runs and confidence this summer and Usman Khawaja, unproven in this form of the game, give us that kind of impetus? I don't know the answer to that one. If they do, we will compete and win a few, but if we end up 28-3 by the end of the Powerplay we will have our struggles, much as our near neighbours did last night.

We have enough depth in batting to post a decent score most times, but emerging from this group will need more than that, scores that are usually given good foundations by a fast start. I think we have good enough bowlers to contain all but a good batsman in prime form and our fielding should stand up against anyone, but again, we need batsmen to show some nous when chasing targets. That will determine our fate as far as I'm concerned.

If Rana Naved can produce the form he has shown for other sides around the world in this form of cricket we will be in the mix, especially if we allow time for his explosive batting to have an impact. If the top order does its stuff, Naved, Whiteley and Redfern at 5,6,7 should see decent use made of the closing overs.

As for me, I will miss much of it. At the end of next week my family and I head out to Tennessee once more for our son's 21st birthday celebrations, a trip that will see us take in the delights of Memphis and Nashville, as well as several places round about in a 17-day trip. I can't say that my holiday will be ruined by poor performances, but I do hope to check in for scores and see us having battled throughout.

At the end of it all, as I've said before, with a young and embryonic squad you cannot ask for more than that.

Monday musings

If you read as much about cricket as I do, the chances are that you're going to come across pieces from time to time that will be annoying.

Here's exhibit A on the ECB website. A decent enough article, save for the fact that Derbyshire's captain is Wayne "Marsden" and David Wainwright has changed from slow left arm to off spin, at least according to the author. It is sloppy journalism that mars an otherwise positive piece. Rightly or wrongly, it suggests that the author hasn't got a clue about his subject and has just done the research required, albeit not especially well.

Then there's the comment from West Indies legend Lance Gibbs today. Gibbs, himself a very fine off-spinner (not slow left armer...) says that more players from the Caribbean should play the county game, to better prepare themselves for future England tours and enable them to play a moving ball more confidently. In itself it is fair comment, but it somewhat neglects the fact that counties have to want them.

Take a look at the West Indies side in England and tell me how many you would consider for Derbyshire next summer, assuming that Martin Guptill is with New Zealand (as well as playing IPL) and that Usman Khawaja will be in Australia's tour party if he has a good second half of season here. I think it unlikely that Cricket Australia would want Khawaja playing in England from April to June, while Guptill may well need a break after what promises to be a hectic twelve-month period.

So who would you consider? Maybe Marlon Samuels, a doughty batsman and useful off-spinner, but if one assumes that Shivnarine Chanderpaul is as likely to play a full season of county cricket as I am, there is no one else. Players like Narine, Bravo, Smith, Pollard and Gayle will always be in demand for the T20, but I don't see another player that any right-minded county chairman would approach for an overseas role.

Sammy is a decent cricketer and Darren Bravo the same. Barath always promises more than he delivers and for me an overseas player has to be considerably better than you already have to be worth bringing over here. The days when counties picked up players like Keith Boyce and Viv Richards from seeing their potential in the Caribbean and bringing them over would appear to be long gone.

In some ways it is a shame, as a number of overseas stars have picked up deals in the past on the back of a successful tour. I just don't see it happening with many of this Caribbean crop, even if their international commitments were to allow it.

Next summer will be really difficult for counties seeking overseas stars, as the ICC Champions trophy looks set to overlap with our T20 in June. That will make it extremely difficult for counties to pull in overseas players for that competition, as well as for the season as a whole.

That being the case, I will be the first to suggest that next summer we could well see Rana Naved return for the T20 and also as a part-season overseas player. There are so many international tours and commitments during our summer that, aside from New Zealand, only one country looks to be clear - Zimbabwe.

If I was Karl Krikken or Chris Grant I would be making polite early enquiries into the availability of Brendan Taylor, by some distance the best batsman in that country and very much in a similar mould to Martin Guptill as a batsman. Earlier in his career he had a habit of getting out when playing his shots too early, but at 26 his average is climbing steadily and he makes good runs in all forms of the game.

Perhaps Guptill has already indicated he would come back for one more summer - I sincerely hope so - but for me Taylor might be a very good and affordable alternative, one who would see a county stint exactly the same as Guptill has, a finishing school. I would have thought him a player that Dave Houghton will know pretty well too, warts and all.

Yes, it is premature, but if Derbyshire finish the season strongly, we have every possibility of being in the top division next summer and will need good input from the best overseas players available.

At this stage, based on likely availability and accepting that things can change, that would see me perm any two from the three players named above.

Remember, you read it here first...

Sussex v Derbyshire CB40

It is a shame that the weather closed in today when Derbyshire had played themselves into a strong position against Sussex at Horsham.

Despite the hosts getting off to a brisk start, Tim Groenewald and Mark Turner clawed things back well, Groenewald producing another fine spell that cemented a growing reputation as one of the best seamers in the country. The selection of Turner, ahead of Jonathan Clare, may indicate that he has played himself into the side for the first T20 match, his extra pace perhaps useful against batsmen aiming to hit in the powerplay and the closing overs.

There was another good spell too from Alex Hughes, the latest in a growing line of talented young players emerging from the club's Academy. Hughes is a batsman of some ability, as illustrated by a well-crafted 80 on a difficult wicket for the Seconds in the week. The fact that he also fields well and bowls medium pace around the speed of (for the benefit of older readers) Phil Russell makes him a cricketer of talent who is staking a genuine claim for a place in the side, at least for one day games at this stage.

Having said that, Hughes may well be the only change for the opening T20 match, his place likely to go to Usman Khawaja, who flew in today from Australia. There was a handy runout for Rana Naved today and Derbyshire have a decent looking side in place for the competition.

More from me tomorrow, but I'm thoroughly enjoying a season in which there are far more good days to report on than bad.

Long may it continue...

Thoughts on the halfway mark

Go on then, hands up. Who thought that when we got to the T20 Derbyshire would be top of division two by 32 points? Even old Peakfan, never known for negativity, didn't think that we'd be top - in contention, yes, but not top by such a margin.

Of course, there's some serious cricket to be played after the slap and giggle of T20 has had its wicked mid-season way with us, but Derbyshire have done remarkably well. Four batsmen and four bowlers can all be said to have been convincing thus far, as has wicket-keeper Tom Poynton. Such a level of consistency has been rare in recent Derbyshire summers, when usually we have been reliant on two or three players to be competitive. This has been a genuine team effort so far and there have been contributions of some kind from everyone who has played in the side.

The team spirit has been critical and the fragile camp at the start of last year has been replaced by a side in which eleven players take the field with common purpose and commitment. There have been a number of comments around the circuit about the positive "vibe" around the County Ground, one that encompasses the committee and the playing staff. Much credit has to go to Messrs Grant and Krikken for fostering it and promoting an environment in which players can go out and express themselves.

The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.

Tomorrow we play another CB40 game at Horsham and I'm again less than confident in a result. Partly because I think we will take an opportunity to rest players ahead of the T20, and partly because Sussex are a good side, especially at the one-day format.

I hope we give a good account of ourselves and I look forward to seeing what Rana Naved does on his debut, but the emphasis in the coming weeks will be on the T20 and we will undoubtedly put everything into that competition. It could after all, make a huge difference to our finances and the possibilities of close-season recruitment.

Because next summer, at this rate, we will be playing with the big boys...

T20 preview

One look at the group in which Derbyshire find themselves for the T20 tells a tale. Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Durham and Yorkshire will be difficult matches, while the games against Leicestershire, theoretically easier, see us pitched against the the reigning champions - though granted few would see them as a side likely to retain that crown.

Only a supreme optimist would expect us to win such a group, and qualifying would be a remarkable feat for a young and emerging side. Yet looking at the talent within our squad there is no reason why we should not be, at the very least, competitive.

Key to our fortunes will be the performance of our overseas stars, Usman Khawaja and Rana Naved. Khawaja is widely regarded as one of the most gifted young batsmen of his generation in Australia and will doubtless score a lot of runs in the second half of the Championship season, yet it is the challenge of establishing himself as a T20 player that will be watched as closely back home. He is a wristy, classy player, yet with little evidence so far of a short-game technique. Only one fifty in T20 games is something he will aim to improve on and he has been dismissed too often playing big shots that are far from his natural game.

For me, Khawaja would be best employed in the opening role played so well by Jacques Kallis - a man who knocks it around, scores a boundary here and there and rotates the strike, allowing bigger hitters to reach or clear the boundaries. If he can do that and bat through 20 overs for 60-70 runs we should usually get a decent score - as long as he scores in excess of a run a ball, a pre-requisite for this game.

Then there is Rana Naved, a cricketer I have long admired but never considered Derbyshire could lure to the County Ground. He is a big game, big occasion player, an entertainer - exactly what we needed. He is a go to bowler, someone who can come on at the start or end of an innings and give little away in the style of Charl Langeveldt. Yet he is more, because Naved is a personality and, as a batsman, someone who can easily change the direction of a game in a couple of overs.

For me, Naved has to bat high in the order, probably around five. If he gets out, that's the way it goes, yet if he got going, any target is attainable. In last winter's Big Bash semi-final against the Sydney Sixers, Naved was inexplicably kept back till number eight by his captain, only coming in at 109-6 with 21 balls to go and 45 needed. He scored an unbeaten 30 from 14 deliveries and may well have nicked the game had he not lost the strike in the last over.

My first choice side for the T20s? You may disagree, but here it is, in my preferred order:

Khawaja
Hughes
Durston
Madsen
Naved
Whiteley
Redfern
Clare
Wainwright
Poynton
Groenewald

Three good seamers in Naved, Clare and Groenewald. Three spinners in Wainwright, Durston and Hughes. Good depth to the batting and considerable potential. I considered Gary Park in the middle order, but find it impossible to omit Dan Redfern in his current rich vein of form, while Ross Whiteley's detructive ability could be a real asset. There is a school of thought that he should bat higher, but no one scores faster than Wes Durston and there are possibilities in that Derbyshire engine room.

I could see Tom Knight coming into the side with his slow left arm on slow wickets, but the side above for me is the strongest that we can put out for T20. Mark Footitt could have been a useful weapon and Mark Turner may get games through rotation, having bowled well last week against a strong Warwickshire side.

We just need to use some common sense. You can't hit every ball for four, but rotating the strike, timing and placing the ball and running hard can often be of equal benefit. The team will be good in the field and has enough talent to compete against the best - we just need a liberal dose of intelligence to go with it.

Let the games begin...

Leicestershire v Derbyshire day 4

Had the weather stayed fair, there is no doubt in my mind that Derbyshire would have beaten Leicestershire by some distance and marched well clear at the top of the table. By the same token, ifs, maybes and supposition get you nowhere in life. In cricket, as in life, you have to take the rough with the smooth - there have, after all, been plenty of occasions when we have been saved by some judiciously timed rain showers.

Irrespective of that, tonight we sit over thirty points clear in the table and all fans of Derbyshire will be hoping there are no positive results for Yorkshire against Glamorgan tomorrow, or for Kent against Hampshire. Both games need more than a little cooperation to get even a contrived finish, with Kent's game a little further on.

Surely Hampshire, sitting just ten points behind Kent, won't offer them a gilt-edged opportunity to move further ahead of them? At 229-6 they don't yet have anything close to a target to set and I'd be surprised if they left them much less than 340, perhaps with the help of a couple of declarations, unless the game is again truncated.

As for the county of the white rose, they must have wilted a little under the incessant rain in Wales and, with the home side only 117-3 in their first innings even a contrived finish is some way distant. I would hope that Glamorgan, enduring an annus horribilis, might be wary of Yorkshire's batting strength and loathe to lose their sixth match in nine starts. Marcus North must be thinking he's playing some strange form of cricketing Monopoly, one in which he's swapped the Strand, Park Lane or Bond Street of Lancashire, Durham or Hampshire for the Old Kent Road....maybe he should have held on to the Mayfair of Derbyshire...

Anyway, three cheers for the news that The Mullet has landed! Rana Naved will make his debut for us on Sunday against his old county Sussex. I'm sure I'm not alone in being excited at the thought of seeing him in Derbyshire colours and this weekend I will preview our T20 campaign and tell you my first choice selection as the competition begins.

Halfway through the Championship and whatever happens tomorrow, Derbyshire will be clear at the top.

Enjoy it, people!