Glamorgan v Derbyshire day 3

I’ve a little more time today, which affords an opportunity to reflect on Derbyshire’s two signings so far. Both, in my opinion, are another step in the right direction.They also fit neatly into our ‘recruitment area,’ as players struggling through lack of opportunity elsewhere. They are both good players, with Luke Sutton a victim of circumstance at Lancashire, in being one of two very good wicket-keeper batsmen. That he was the older perhaps worked to his detriment at Old Trafford, as Lancashire understandably opted for the younger man.


Having said that it worked in our favour, as a relatively inexperienced batting lineup that will lose Robin Peterson from the middle order next year has gained a solid county professional. Luke Sutton will also pouch most things that go his way and will set a high standard in the field, an area where Derbyshire can match any side with several outstanding athletes.

One such athlete signed yesterday in Mark Turner, a player who signed for us despite an offer from his existing county. Turner is a good, aggressive bowler, formerly of England under-19s. He has a Steffan Jones-like reputation as someone who will run in hard all day and crucially now has a winter to work with Jones to ensure that he is fit enough to do so on a regular basis. He also appears to have ambition, which is good to see and John Morris could have signed a real gem in this lad. He works hard in the field and likes to give the ball a slap when he bats, so what’s not to like?

We still don’t know the final retained list so it is not clear whether Turner comes in as a supplement to the existing pace attack or a direct, but younger replacement for one of them. The next week or so should clarify that one.

Interestingly, this signing gives us three quick bowlers (with Footitt and Sheikh), all of who have the capacity to get even quicker with increased work. The Sky commentators a few weeks back also felt that Jon Clare had the ability to hit top-eighties as a bowler, so there is potential for perhaps the quickest Derbyshire attack since the halcyon days of Holding, Malcolm and Mortensen. Speed isn’t everything, but if these lads can work on their accuracy they could be a handful in Division 2, backed up by Tim ‘Mr Reliable’ Groenewald and Steffan ‘Living Legend’ Jones, not to mention Ian Hunter and Tom Lungley. We can now put those remaining "Will Wagg Stay?" headlines to bed and get on with the rebuilding of the club.

It is good to see John Morris making an early start to the winter recruitment and it promises well if the standard can be maintained.

Speaking of recruitment, I made a mistake the other day when I suggested that Luke Sutton was a prime mover in Wayne Madsen coming to Derbyshire. That is a story I’ve seen recounted in several press articles, but it turns out to be incorrect. It was actually former Nottinghamshire and South Africa all-rounder Clive Rice who alerted John Morris to Madsen’s talents when he was playing in the Lancashire Leagues.

The rest, as they say, is history and I’m delighted to put the record straight. And if you’ve spotted any more like him, you will let us know, won’t you Clive?

As for today’s play, wickets continued to fall at the SWALEC (I much preferred Sophia Gardens as a name...) Despite the loss of yesterday’s play, a result is very much on in this game, especially if we can squeeze another 20-30 runs from the last two wickets. It appears to be one of those tracks where you are never ‘in’ and Wes Durston played the innings of the day after taking the aggressive approach. There were good contributions throughout, with Steffan Jones once again batting well at the end with Tom Poynton. Robin Peterson was expensive though...

The result should be academic, as it is hard to see how Worcestershire can win against Sussex without a contrived finish and thus rob Glamorgan of a promotion slot. It would still be good to finish with a win and especially to do the double over a side that ended up promoted.

That one fact pretty much encapsulates the season. On our day we can match anyone. If we can just get a few players to find that form on a consistent basis, we could be up there ourselves