Wednesday 10 April 2013

And so it begins...

It is hard to be anything but impressed by the noises coming from Derbyshire County Cricket Club as we prepare for the first day proper of the county season.

There's a fully fit squad of players to choose from for starters, impressive work by James Pipe after the scene from Casualty that was the Barbados tour. Niggles and injuries to the likes of Jonathan Clare, Dan Redfern and David Wainwright have gone, the skipper's hamstring is fine and our two key seamers, Dino and Timmy G are fit and firing. Indeed the only injury is to the chairman himself, recovering from a broken toe but still as busy as ever.

We read of a committed overseas player, a legend of the game, who is keen to impart his experience to our young side. I'm sure that he will extol the virtues of hard work, as a player who prepares for batting long periods by doing just that for hours against a bowling machine and net bowlers, ensuring that his game is as grooved and honed as possible.

We also see the captain refer to Shivnarine Chanderpaul as the last man in the nets yesterday, bowling seam at the other players. Could any side ask for greater commitment from an overseas player, especially one of his stature in the game?

It all augurs well and there can be little doubt that Derbyshire will be ready for the season. There's no one-day cricket until May, which gives us time to hopefully make a positive statement in the county championship. I remain confident that we will cause some upsets along the way and surprise a few people, just as I was last year at this stage. I was, I think,  in a minority of one who predicted a promotion challenge and I am equally convinced that we will be a long way from push-overs this time.

Yet there will need to be understanding from fans. Young players, of which we have many, make mistakes and we cannot expect all of them to make a similar impact in the top tier immediately. It would be nice, if unrealistic, for them to do so but there is a need for patience. This side could easily be together for the next five years or more and they are only going to get better.

Likewise we must not expect Shivnarine Chanderpaul to score a hundred every time he bats. He will be doing his best to do so, but can make mistakes, or get a very good ball, the same as everyone else. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to seeing one of the modern greats of the game in Derbyshire colours and supporters have a right to be very proud of the efforts that went into getting him to the club.

With a modicum of luck we will do quite nicely this summer. To use that most hackneyed of phrases it will be a roller coaster ride, but it is one that will give us plenty of lasting memories.

And to quote James Brown, I feel good...

Postscript....technology eh? That countdown timer that has served us so well as we prepare for the season was impressive (thanks guys). Sadly, it didn't take into account the change to British Summer Time....c'est la vie...

4 comments:

  1. It's nice to see Hughes in today's side. I wasn't one of the people who felt he was harshly treated last year - he had opportunities to make an impact in the 2nds and in the shorter forms and didn't. But he's had a great pre-season and has earned his recall.

    50-2 at lunch. In the other games Yorkshire and Durham have lost 4 wickets each, so I'll take 50-2 all things considered.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Peakfan,

    I am enjoying listening to the BBC coverage of the match but unfortunately am already getting annoyed by Charles Collins and his nicknames, his Mother's onions being thanked and his error-prone commentary regarding Derbyshire........namely being surprised both Redfearn and Whiteley are coming into bat before Tom Poynton, and stating that Ant Botha defected to Warwickshire later on in the season after Rikki Clarke had left.

    Hoping things improve or at least my tolerance levels increase!!


    Keep up the great blog!!

    James

    ReplyDelete
  3. Grrrr Charles "the self-proclaimed Dinosaur" Collins has just stated that Pallodino and Groeneweld are number 11s and cannot bat.

    Must have forgotten Tony's non-contribution with the bat against Australia!!

    Regardless of the cricket it is going to be a long season listening to Derbyshire.

    James

    ReplyDelete
  4. Think my opinion is clear from tonight's blog mate... thanks for the comments!

    ReplyDelete

Please remember to add your name. Avoid personal comment at all times. Thanks!