Derbyshire v Nottinghamshire Vitality Blast Game 3 preview

With the same squad named as for last night's game, I have nothing more to add to my previous post on a likely Derbyshire side. I suspect that we will be unchanged, so we must see how it goes. 

Little would give me more pleasure than for Nye Donald to rediscover his form against our great rivals, but we will see how that goes.

As for Nottinghamshire, they have named fifteen. Australians Moises Henriques and Daniel Sams have been making a good impression, but this is a game that Derbyshire can win and really must. If we were to go 0-3, we could afford very few slip-ups thereafter. 

Nottinghamshire squad:

Clarke, Harrison, Haynes, Henriques, James, King, Lord, Martindale, McCann, McKerr, Moores, Montgomery, Patterson-White, Pennington, Sams

It seems strange not to see a top three of Hales, Clarke and Duckett, but also a welcome relief! 

As for the result.. until I see greater consistency from our top order, I am struggling to call a win. If they fire, we can do it

What do you think? 

Thoughts on last night

Starting the Vitality Blast campaign and being 0-2 after two games is not the ideal beginning. 

It's not new. We don't, from memory, usually get off to a flyer and the reassuring thing is that in both games we have come close. It is, as one correspondent put it, small margins that are letting us down at this stage. 

Northamptonshire won last night because one man was prepared to play himself in, knock it around and then utilise his power for the short boundaries at the end. Ravi Bopara, like Samit Patel and so often Wayne Madsen, showed that for all this format is supposed to be for young, lithe athletes, there is still space for a seasoned cricketer with plenty between the ears. 

They also benefited from David Willey lending his experience with the bat and bowling an exemplary spell with the ball at the start of the innings. They are unbeaten so far, so how can we translate what they are doing to our side?

Well, for one thing we need to use Martin Andersson more astutely. One of the three form batters in the side this summer, what is the rationale in batting him at seven? He scores quickly, but without taking the unnecessary risks that Nye Donald seems to favour. Part of our problem is that two of our Blast top three are among our least productive batters this summer. I know Nye hasn't played much, but he looks out of touch and has since the pre-season games.

He likes to go over the top early in his innings and teams have got wise to this, the bowlers dropping their length and knowing, with the shot often premeditated, there are rewards to be had. Being one down early puts us on the back foot and while I don't subscribe to the theory that you don't win if you lose three wickets in the Powerplay (it worked for Northamptonshire and has for plenty of other teams over the years) it leaves you playing catch up. 

I know his strengths as well as any of you and when he is in form he clears the boundary with ease, certainly when they are the size of last night. So give the lad a chance, drop him down and give Andersson the chance to open with Jewell. Having Nye and Ross Whiteley for later innings would be no bad thing.

Just as it was asking a lot of Brooke Guest to bat three after keeping wicket, it is asking even more of Donald. He has come into the tournament with little cricket behind him, having recovered from an injury. The concentration required to keep wicket to a high standard, then refocus to open the batting is considerable. Is it fair or indeed  realistic to expect him to succeed?

Samit was terrific last night, but I'm not sure how many of those innings he has in him. He rode his luck and was hitting at everything. He had to, partly because the Power play was so poor and partly because he isn't going to be running twos. Six an over, when the field is in and you are chasing ten, will win very few matches, because you are then chasing two a ball for the rest of the innings. 

David Lloyd is another who should be under scrutiny. I know he scores quickly when he does get in, but our Power plays so far have seen us scoring at less than seven an over. You could do that by simply knocking it around. Brooke Guest, the fastest between the wickets in a potential T20 side, would vastly improve that side of the game and if he was considered for it, should obviously keep wicket. I am prepared to be in a minority of one, but I can't see how you can exclude one of the most technically gifted players in the club from a first choice side.

There would be a challenge if he and Samit were at the crease together, but he might be a better early innings option. The difference in their respective T20 run rates is negligible and, if we are playing an extra bowler, Lloyd's off spin is unlikely to be required.

Speaking of which, aren't we under-utilising Martin Andersson?  One over for eight and a wicket last night, two overs for thirteen and a wicket at Leicester. Surely such figures are worthy of greater opportunity? 

Small margins. The fighting spirit in both games has been commendable, but the 'execution of skills' as Mickey Arthur likes to put it, is missing. I don't think we have better T20 seamers than Pat Brown and Zak Chappell, even if neither is currently at his best. So we need to maximise the output of everyone else, until they rediscover their rhythm. 

For what it is worth, this would be my side to take on Nottinghamshire and to hopefully move forward: 

Jewell

Andersson

Guest

Madsen 

Patel

Whiteley 

Donald

Chappell

Aitchison/Moore

Ghazanfar

Brown

I think it offers a better chance of success. Having said that, Mickey Arthur hasn't shown himself as a man especially willing to change for the sake of it and especially, dare I say it, with players that he brought to the club.

All is not gloom and doom. Regardless of what happened in this competition, we have much to play for and we are playing some very good cricket.

With little tweaks, it could be more successful. cricket...

Derbyshire v. Northamptonshire Vitality Blast game two

Northamptonshire 194-6 (Bopara 84*, Willey 37, Ghazanfar 2-30)

Derbyshire 188-4 (Patel 83*, Jewell 71, Willey 2-19)

Northamptonshire won by six runs

A batting master class by Ravi Bopara was the inspiration for a Northamptonshire win at Derby tonight.

After early wickets again fell to the magic of Ghazanfar, Bopara, a seasoned veteran, assessed the situation, stabilised the innings and then cut loose at the tail end, when he had the measure of the pitch. 

So well did he play, despite Derbyshire bowling quite well in the first half of the innings, that 37 runs came from the final ten deliveries. Those runs took the Derbyshire chase from 'steady' to one marked 'there be danger ahead'. 

There was good fielding - Martin Andersson holding a very good catch in the deep - and bad - the same player miscalculating his position and stepping over the rope. Zak Chappell also put one down he would hold nine times out of ten.

Ben Aitchison bowled tidily on his call up to the side, until taking some stick in his last over. The rest were tidy, but not much more than that, until all suffered in the final onslaught, as the visitors added 95 in the final eight overs of the innings. 

A good start chasing 195 was essential, but having watched Bopara from very close quarters during his marvellous innings, Donald appeared to have learnt nothing and hit his second ball straight up in the air. I know it is how he plays the game, but it showed little awareness of the game situation and did nothing for his team's hopes.

When David Lloyd was caught at slip, also from the bowling of the excellent David Willey, the Derbyshire start was little better than we had managed at Leicester last week. A couple of fine shots by Caleb Jewell gave the score a little more respectability, but the dismissal of Madsen in the final over of the Powerplay, from another poor shot, left us 38-3 and with a mountain to climb. Two matches in and we have made a sow's ear of two Powerplays now...

The problem with Samit at five is that every ball is a slog and can hint of desperation, while there is no urgency to the running. And by the end of the thirteenth over, Jewell had faced only 31 deliveries.

But tonight was Samit's night and he batted superbly. He rode his luck, played some stunning strokes and his partnership with Caleb added 114 in 11 overs, before the latter was caught on the fence after a fine display. At one point it looked like it just might to be possible, but at the death the wiles of Willey and Sanderson were too much. 

Just like at Leicester we battled hard, but we left ourselves too much to do. There needs to be a rethink about the top order, because Donald has gone for two ducks in three balls, when a man in prime form, Martin Andersson, didn't bat tonight. 

A semi-decent Powerplay and we won that game. 

I doff my chapeau to Messrs Jewell and Patel, but they simply had too much to do.

Definitely a night for the veterans, wasn't it? 

Book Review: Cricket's Black Dog: The Story of Depression Among Cricketers by Andrew Murtagh

I am of an age where I remember Andrew (or Andy as he was then known) Murtagh playing cricket. He wasn't a regular for Hampshire, but he was often enough in their teams for a young cricket fan like me to take note and file away the name for future reference..

Uncle of the long-serving Middlesex opening bowler, Tim, he was released by Hampshire in 1978, subsequently becoming a school teacher, then well-regarded writer and cricket historian. 

I had no idea when I watched him - why would I, any more than anyone else - that he was facing mental health challenges, that continued through his retirement. 

This book, like Luke Sutton's Back From The Edge which he often refers to, despite somewhat surprisingly admitting he had never heard of the former county stalwart, is not an easy read. How can it be, when it documents the challenges he has faced, his times in The Priory, the torment faced on at times a daily basis? 

There are studies of well-known former players who faced similar challenges throughout their careers, far too many taking their own lives when they could no longer cope with their life without the game. There is an especially good in-depth look at Wally Hammond, a troubled soul and largely unpopular man, despite being one of the greatest players to play the game. He seemed to change in personality after the tour of the Caribbean in 1925-6 and there appears little doubt that the treatment he received for syphilis at the time was a contributory factor. 

It is not new territory of course, the subject area covered admirably by David Frith in By His Own Hand, while David Foot revealed the real reason for Hammond's ill-health in his superb Wally Hammond: The Reasons Why.

The author doesn't come up with the answer to his central question - is cricket to blame, or are cricketers more susceptible to clinical depression? Perhaps input from clinical psychologists may have got him closer, or perhaps there is no one answer to the question. 

People's lives, circumstances and environments are all different and perhaps it is an unfortunate melting pot of these that causes someone, every now and again, to become the latest sad statistic.

What it should do, however, is again make supporters, especially those happy to anonymise their unpleasant output on social media, to be more aware of what they say. You never know the challenges faced by those that we watch, admire and hero worship, but a greater appreciation that they are no different to so many others would do no one any harm. 

This is certainly a book that is well worth reading.

Cricket's Black Dog: The Story of Depression Among Cricketers is written by Andrew Murtagh and published by Pitch Publishing

Derbyshire v Northamptonshire Vitality Blast game 2

Mickey Arthur has named the same 14-man squad as for the game at Leicester, for tomorrow night's game against Northamptonshire at The newly renamed Central Co-op County Ground.

Any change to the eleven will depend on the pitch. There might be temptation to re-use one, in which case the more spinners the merrier and Alex Thomson might replace Nick Potts. Or Ben Aitchison could do the same, if an extra seamer is deemed essential. Alternatively, there might be enough bowling in the side already and they could opt to lengthen the batting and choose Brooke Guest as the wicket keeper. Then again, Potts could keep his place, which after just one over in the last match seems odd.

With the visitors' strength in seam bowling, with Ben Sanderson and David Willey opening, not playing to that might be advantageous. Anyway, I would play the following eleven and I am interested to hear your thoughts:

Jewell, Donald, Andersson, Madsen, Lloyd, Whiteley, Guest, Patel, Chappell, Ghazanfar, Brown

I don't see Northamptonshire making many changes to the side that won against Leicestershire, so they should line up roughly as follows:

Vasconcelos, Breetzke, Willey, Bopara, Zaib, Bartlett, McManus, Procter, Scrimshaw, Sanderson, Pope.

George Scrimshaw will hope to make an impression on his return to Derby, while Lloyd Pope and Matt Breetzke will provide the overseas input. Procter and Bartlett were late replacements for injuries against Leicestershire, so they may step down again. 

I think Derbyshire has the talent to win, though much will depend on the pitch and the team selection. There might be a little rain around, so the toss could also be important. They could have done with another run out today at Belper, too, but the rain put paid to that.

Where's your money? 

Best laid plans...

Sadly, I have had to cancel my planned trip to Derby over the next few days.

My wife and I have had Norovirus over and since the weekend and I have lost half a stone, which as a diet is great, but radical.  I still feel pretty weak and, as my wife took ill after me and is still quite poorly, I am loath to leave her as she is.

My apologies to those who I had arranged to meet down there, I do hope you understand. I will need to watch the matches on the stream and, as always, hope for Derbyshire victories!

Onwards and upwards...

Seconds lose at Belper

A disappointing defeat for the second team at Duffield Cricket Club today, losing to Durham by six wickets. 

Batting first, Derbyshire made a disappointing 152-9, with only Brooke Guest (39) Nye Donald (25) and David Lloyd (24)  doing much with the bat. After a lightning start of 48 in 3 overs, Donald was caught and it went downhill fast. There was a shocking decision on Harry Came (have a look) who was caught off a nigh-head high full toss, but a not inexperienced side did little thereafter.

Ben Aitchison bowled his four overs for just 26 runs, while Pat Brown's three went for only 13, but the T20 campaign hasn't got off to the best of starts for either senior team.

What a difference!

Funny game cricket...

Leicestershire 18-5 off 3.2 overs at Northampton, after being 73-1 in 5 against us the other night

It looks like a very open group where everyone is capable of beating everyone else

Follow up - to be fair to Leicestershire, they defended 122 pretty well and only lost with four balls to go. Ravi Bopara played another telling innings in a low run chase, guiding them home. 

I flicked between five matches today and the Essex collapse against Somerset was really average cricket. Matt Critchley batted well, as did Dean Elgar, but the rest were very poor, losing three wickets in one over to not overly thoughtful batting.. 

Elsewhere Worcestershire easily disposed of Yorkshire and Lancashire continue to ride on the coat tails of Jimmy Anderson's return. He took 3-17 today against Durham but much seems to rest on the Lancashire opening partnership of Wells and Jennings. I have also been impressed by Tom Aspinwall in the games I have seen so far, bowling some canny spells.

 I don't think there is a standout team in the group, at this stage, and it is there for one team to seize the initiative.

Thoughts on Leicester

Just as one swallow does not make a summer, one defeat does not end your hopes in the T20. But what will end them quite quickly is if we don't learn from that defeat.

The team selection, whoever was responsible, was flawed. I am assuming that Mickey Arthur had the final say, but Samit Patel would have had a sizeable input too.

While acknowledging that Nye Donald didn't cost us anything last night, his glove work was not tidy, his dismissal was poor, having just lost his opening partner to a good ball and asking him to open with no form - indeed, very little cricket - behind him was ill-thought. If and when he fires, he can put a game out of reach, but my concern is that asking him to keep, after a lengthy layoff with an arm injury, risks aggravating the problem. 

To be three wickets down in 13 balls is a lot from which to recover. Perhaps a rethink is required, with Martin Andersson, who was in splendid form last night as he has been all season, promoted to open, as he did last year with success for Middlesex. If we get off to a good start, then Donald could come in at three, tee off (which he is always going to do) and take us on. If we lose an early wicket, David Lloyd could go in at three. 

Samit is too high, at five. He can still hit a ball, but it is either a boundary or a single, as he isn't fit enough to run the twos. So he should drop down the order, maybe again giving late impetus on his day.

The selection of Nick Potts was odd, after no selections this year. Then to only bowl him in one over - the second - against a couple of batters we all know are dashers was odd. I do fear for Nick as he needs a big end of season to earn a new deal, but his tendency to drag one or two down every over is especially costly in this format. 

Ghazanfar? He looks a class act and will take a lot of wickets this year. No one seemed to pick him and if that first over lbw shout had been given his way, the result could have been different. His two wickets came from deliveries that spun in different directions and he got far more turn than either Trevaskis or Patel (although Samit bowled tidily). After his first over went for sixteen, the next three conceded only thirteen and the only blemish was the dropped caught and bowled. He looks a good signing.

We aren't far away from a good side. Based on last night, we could easily accommodate Guest for Potts with Andersson and Lloyd picking up the other overs. With a tweak to the batting order, modifying it as required by the game situation, our side would look better with the following line up:

Jewell

Andersson

Donald/Lloyd

Madsen

Lloyd/Donald

Whiteley 

Guest

Patel

Chappell 

Ghazanfar

Brown

Pat Brown had a nightmare last night, but anyone who has played cricket has experienced this sort of game. He's too good not to come again, but hopefully Harry Moore isn't too far away from fitness, which might change the line up again. But with an attack where 8 to 12 overs might be spin, you have to pick your best wicket keeper.

Thoughts?

Leicestershire v Derbyshire Vitality Blast game one

Derbyshire 170-6 (Andersson 70*, Whiteley 37)

Leicestershire 171-5 (Budinger 51, Masood 45*, Ghazanfar 2-29)

Leicestershire won by 5 wickets

Derbyshire fought back well after an awful start today, but ultimately 170, good as it was from 50-5, never looked enough against a strong Leicestershire top order that could simply take their time - even if that is anathema to Budinger and Patel.

You can't lose that many wickets in the Powerplay and realistically post more than we did. Equally, you can't always expect the lower order to dig you out. With Donald, Madsen and Jewell gone in the first four overs, we were immediately in trouble.

Mohammad Ghazanfar did well on debut and could have had three wickets, bar for inexplicably dropping a return catch and being told another didn't carry. But it was clear that after his first nervous over he is going to be a handful, especially if we get some runs on the board.

I don't know why Guest was omitted and I have no idea why Potts was preferred AND given the new ball. It all seemed a bit of a mess and at 86-1 after six overs, with Budinger making a powerful 15 ball fifty, the game had already gone. Pat Brown had a game to forget but again, is good enough to come back from this. Why Nye Donald, who didn't look in the same league behind the timbers as Guest, was preferred I don't know, and his early dismissal was not one to remember with pride.

The reason for our red ball success this summer has been a fine collective effort. Tonight, only half of the side get a pass mark for theirs, which will not be enough to progress. 

Early days, of course, but the performance needs to be much better than this.

Postscript: I was supposed to be on North Derbyshire Radio today, but have had the most appalling gastric bug so had to cry off.

Apologies to anyone planning to listen in.

Leicestershire v Derbyshire preview

There has been a sense of panic among the ranks of Derbyshire supporters today, since the second team for the T20 game against Yorkshire today was announced and Brooke Guest was captain.

People have been putting two and two together and getting five, sensing Nye Donald was therefore set to be given the gloves for the tournament opener. 

I am not saying it won't happen, but I agree with everyone that it would be the wrong decision. Furthermore, looking at the 15-man squad announced for Leicester, I cannot see anyone outside of the obvious selections whose presence would otherwise strengthen the team. 

Nye Donald hasn't kept in a game this season and has just returned from a shoulder injury. Do you really want a key batter potentially hurting that again in diving around? Or a part time wicket keeper trying to read the variations of a mystery spinner? If I was Samit Patel, I would want my best gloveman and I expect to see Brooke in the side tomorrow. 

If he isn't, I would be very surprised.

It would leave the 'other' four overs between Andersson, Whiteley and Lloyd, possibly Madsen. Variations in pace and angle, that would work.

There is no Luis Reece, so one option is out of the window. My own thoughts, for what they are worth, is that Brooke wanted a hit ahead of the game and he has got that, making 44 while batting at three

The Derbyshire squad - my likeliest team first:

Jewell

Donald

Lloyd

Madsen

Andersson

Whiteley

Patel

Guest

Chappell

Ghazanfar 

Brown

Came, Thomson, Aitchison, Potts

The order can be fluid and depends on the circumstances. Brooke could easily bat three, as he did today and knock it around as sheet anchor, if not chasing a massive total. 

Leicestershire will pin their hopes on a big hitting top four of Sol Budinger, Rishi Patel, skipper Louis Kimber and former Derbyshire player Shan Masood. But they have lost several players - Josh Hull and Rehan Ahmed are with England Lions, Ben Green has gone back to Somerset, Ian Holland is in America for the MLC and Ben Mike has a hamstring strain.

Logan van Beek will be their other overseas player and is having a good season. Liam Trevaskis will likely come into the squad too, as will Sam Wood, both in good form for the second team in the past week.

As I write, there is no news on their squad, but I expect Derbyshire to get off to a winning start. The toss will be important with rain forecast, but as long as we keep that top four quiet, I think we can start the tournament in the very best style. 

What do you think? 

Postscript - Derbyshire ran out easy winners against Yorkshire. The home side was restricted to 134-5 in 20 overs, with Jack Morley taking 3-26.

Derbyshire knocked off the runs with 28 balls to spare. Amrit Basra, so impressive this summer, made an unbeaten 42 from 25 deliveries, to add to Guest's 44 from 33. George Lavelle contributed an unbeaten 16 to seal the win.

Scorecard and video clips here

Update - Leicestershire squad:

Budinger, Cox, A Green, Hill, Kimber, Masood, Patel, Salisbury, Scriven, Swindells, Trevaskis, van Beek, Walker, Wood

Final words on the Blast

We are almost at the start of the Vitality Blast and I cannot think that Derbyshire have ever gone into this competition in such a rude state of health. 

Unbeaten, second place in the division in red ball cricket, with specialist big guns coming into the side for the new competition. As the club publicity has been telling us, we have three legends of the format in Wayne Madsen, Samit Patel and Ross Whiteley. An overseas bat who has been on fire, with a mystery overseas spinner who got into a World Best XI only a few months ago. Powerful and long batting, plenty of bowling options. 

To be honest, I don't think we will ever have a better chance of progressing to the knockout stage as we have this year. If we fail, I think it will be on one of two things. 

Can Allah Ghazanfar show the form here that he has abroad? Very few will have faced him, or even seen him, so his variations could be devastating. Of course, a bad ball is a bad ball and he hasn't played for a few months. We also need to remember, regardless of his talent, he is only eighteen. He could and may well be The Man.. but it might go the other way. We need to remember that there will be nights when people have a go at him and get lucky. He will be up against some very good cricketers and will be aware that they will be keen to assert themselves. 

Yet what I have read and seen of him suggests a young man with the world at his feet and the ability to take things in his stride. If he hits the ground running, the next few weeks will be spectacular. Good judges rate him extremely highly and good judges are rarely wrong. Just as Mickey Arthur was advised that Caleb Jewell was the real deal, so we have people doing the same with Ghazanfar. I think Brooke Guest will have a hectic time, keeping to this fella.

Then there is the fifth bowler. Logically that should be Harry Moore, good enough to be picked for the Hundred at 18. Yet there is a big difference between being fit, which I understand he is, and being match fit. He hasn't bowled in a competitive game since the start of the season and it is a big ask for anyone to come in with nothing in the tank. 

When he is match fit, he will play, but that might not be at the start of the competition. When he does, it would almost certainly make Derbyshire the only team in it with two 18-year-olds and two others over 40. 

So that fifth bowler is key. People know Zak Chappell and Pat Brown are fine bowlers, they know Samit, they have heard all about Ghazanfar. But they will almost certainly target the other four overs. Whether that is Lloyd, Moore, Reece, Aitchison or whoever, the other team will be coming at them. We could play a specialist bowler, or lengthen the batting further with an all rounder. Maybe Mitch Wagstaff could come into the equation as an extra spinner and they see what they can get from Martin Andersson, but he only bowled one over for Middlesex last year. The safe option may be Luis Reece, until Moore is deemed fit.

We go into the competition with three players having points to prove. Nye Donald could be a sensation at the top of the order and if he reins in his tendency to get carried away his partnership with Caleb Jewell could he special. Sometimes a tendency to overhit is his downfall (Leeds, last year?) but his talent is undeniable. If he and Jewell click, you would want to see it.

Meanwhile, both Samit Patel and Ross Whiteley will know that it is unlikely they will get another deal, certainly unless their figures improve from last season. But these things tend to focus minds and both will feel they still have fuel in the tank. If they both prove that, Derbyshire should be a real force to reckon with.

As I've said before, we need the breaks with the weather, we need to hold our catches and we cannot afford injuries. Our first choice side looks very strong, but if you take a couple of big names out of it, less so. 

Having said all that, in full knowledge of a team high in confidence, I am going to predict qualification from the group. With that talent at our disposal, we should be doing that.

What do you think? 

Under 18s doing well in County Cup

Derbyshire's under 18s are currently in action in the County T20 Cup at York and have been doing well.

Yesterday they beat Durham on the DLS method.  Durham made 174-9 in their 20 overs, with Jake Green taking 3-21. 

With their target reduced to 135 in 16.2 overs, Derbyshire made 154-4, with Rohan Vallabhaneni making a brilliant unbeaten 92 from 51 balls, with 13 fours and 3 sixes. He is currently studying at Denstone College and has already played for Staffordshire.

Highlights can be seen here

Today, they have played Nottinghamshire, who were bowled out for 102, with Charles taking 4-15, Green 3-22 and Karim 2-16. 

Derbyshire knocked off the runs for the loss of five wickets, with Joe Hawkins composed unbeaten 29 and Vallabhaneni, with the same score, leading the way.

Highlights can be seen here

It is all very impressive..

Good article on Mickey Arthur

This is an excellent article on Mickey Arthur and confirms what I have suspected, that he has reassessed his style for county cricket, having previously approached it as he has done international roles.

My gut feeling is that there have been lengthy chats with Tom Poynton, the 'cricket man' on the Board and someone whose recent experience of the county game will have been of considerable value to him. Perhaps Ben Smith, experienced as a domestic coach both here and in New Zealand, will have had input too. 

But it is encouraging, with all that is going on at the club, that Mickey has reaffirmed his desire to be at Derbyshire.

'I'm here until the club say to me, 'not any more'. That is how hellbent I am on achieving success' he said.

Good to see, as we approach the Blast!

Arthur getting it right at Derbyshire

Before the season started, I wrote a post that seemed out of step with most people at the time, suggesting that the club board was right to extend the deal of Mickey Arthur. It didn't meet with much support, nor did I expect it to, but I am pleased to see that there are few dissenting voices today. 

We haven't won anything yet, but to be second in the table - and unbeaten - as we enter June makes this a giddy time to be a Derbyshire supporter. The team is playing as a unit, not a group of individuals and it is so refreshing. Some of the credit has to go to Wayne Madsen, who has lead the side with flair and by setting an example, but only the real curmudgeons will dispute that Arthur has done a fine job, along with his coaching team.

He seems a changed man this year. His interviews are less bullish, less full of 'spicy' rhetoric about performance and individuals. He is letting his team do the talking and they are responding to a man. It's not 'sexy cricket', they're not 'entertainment machines', they are a squad of players working with and for one another. 

Let's be honest, his recruitment has been spot on so far. Caleb Jewell, Martin Andersson, Jack Morley, Blair Tickner - they have all come in and produced fine form, enhancing the side with bat and ball. Jewell and Andersson have also taken their places in a much-improved close catching unit, all of them into double figures already. 

Watching him today as the players came off the field, all of them receiving handshakes and hugs, suggested that he has a better handle on how to work with the group. Equally, it is fair to say that they better understand their roles within the team and they are delivering to a man. 

It is not just the first team. The second eleven is playing some excellent cricket, players are emerging through the pathway and everyone who gets into a team at any level is making a strong case to preserve their position. 

It has been a number of years since we could last enjoy a domestic summer as we have the first two months of this one. It is unrealistic to expect it to continue without a defeat or two along the way, but if they continue to show the fighting qualities that have been so evident during the first half of the red ball season, they will continue to surpass expectations. 

So it is only fair to say well done to Mickey for his efforts this year. It was also right to be critical of last year especially and to my last breath I will contend that a mistake was made when he was allowed to take on the Pakistan role, which sent completely the wrong message at the time. Now, fully-focused on Derbyshire, the dividends are starting to be reaped. There is a swagger in the demeanour of the players, a willingness to fight for the win, and even greater one to battle against defeat. That Jewell, Madsen and Reece are averaging over 50 maybe isn't even as surprising as Tickner averaging 34, Chappell 22 and Morley 28 with the bat. Kudos to batting coach Ben Smith in this too, while five players already in double figures of wickets suggests Ajmal Shahzad is earning his corn, too.

The renaissance in the career of Luis Reece is a clear example of improved man management. Given a development plan and a defined role in the side as middle order bat and opening bowler, he has responded with arguably the form of his life. At the start of the summer I feared that this might be his last year, unless something special happened. With a batting average of 71 and 23 wickets at 21 he is again a key man in a side that bats long and often has seven bowling options.

I am sure Arthur is already looking at options to take the squad on again. There is the much-anticipated arrival of Allah Ghazanfar to enjoy and the knowledge that we have a vested interest in the second half of the red ball season since the last time I had hair. The signing of the young Afghan hero made the cricket world sit up. A player from the ICC white ball team of the year coming to Derbyshire? Who else knew he was available? Definitely one from the contact book, that close connection with Mahela Jayawardene bearing fruit. 

Were you a betting man, the odds on Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Glamorgan being one, two, three at half way would have been long. Just as with Kent and Lancashire being two of the bottom three, but those positions are on merit and performance, or lack of it.

If we get to the end of September still in the top two, this will be a season that lives long in the memory.

If it isn't already.

Derbyshire v Kent day four

Derbyshire 587-5

Kent 326 and 247 (Stewart 49, Reece 3-21, Brown 2-53, Chappell 2-58)

Derbyshire won by an innings and 14 runs

Another magnificent effort by Derbyshire saw them wrap up victory over Kent before lunch at Derby today, winning by an innings and 14 runs. 

I wrote at the start of the season that a major factor for Derbyshire this season would be luck with the weather and holding their catches. Today the threatened rain failed to arrive, while some excellent catches were held, two of them by substitute fielder Nick Potts.

It was a strange morning, for all that. Muyeye was given out caught behind to the first ball of the day and it looked to come off his shoulder. Yet two other strong appeals were given not out, even though nothing other than the bat was near the ball. Very odd.

Derbyshire came out this morning with a pack mentality that was a joy to see. The fielding was sharp and after the early Muyeye dismissal, a fine catch by Guest, standing up to Reece, dismissed Benjamin. Leaning drove too soon at the same bowler and was well held by a tumbling Potts at mid off, while Finch was bowled by Dal off his thigh pad. When Parkinson, who can resist with the best of tail enders, was quickly trapped leg before by Morley, the end appeared to be nigh.

Yet Stewart, who displayed greater fight than most of his teammates, struck hard for 49 runs in a last wicket partnership of 64, taking on Brown and three times hitting him over the ropes. 

Would Derbyshire need to bat again? Would the game extend to lunch and perhaps the victory quest be ruined by rain? No, because Brown induced a top edge and Potts, again making good ground and holding on as he dived, held a fine catch at third man and victory was completed, with Ball never likely to bat again with his injury. 

So now we pause a heady red ball campaign for The Blast. Second in the league and still unbeaten as we enter June. Whatever happens from here, the Derbyshire players have given supporters a reason to be proud again. To take 20 wickets on a pitch that wasn't unduly difficult was a fine effort. Yet then again, so too was scoring 587 runs with the bat.

Again, without claiming psychic powers, I suggested that at the start of the season that only a team effort would bring Derbyshire success. Well, six of the seven bowlers used took wickets in this match. Of the others, Jewell scored a double century, Madsen a century, Came 89, Lloyd 50 and Guest set a standard in the field. 

With such things, good seasons and great memories are made. Last year we could have been sponsored by Teflon. This year? Gorilla Glue..

Bring on the Blast. Ghazanfar is here, Samit's Falcons are set to fly...if he can do as well as Wayne's Wonders, we will be alright, eh? 

Book Review: Ten Drunks and a Parson: The Life and Times of Ted Peate by Ian Lockwood

I'm always a sucker for books on Golden Age and Victorian cricket and the people who played it. So when Ian Lockwood's book on Yorkshire spinner Ted Peate came in the post, it had a good chance of meeting with my approval.

It does not disappoint.

Admirably researched, it tells the tale of a man who emerged from the ninteenth century phenomenon of 'clown cricket' to become the country's pre-eminent left arm spinner - indeed, one described by WG Grace as the best in the world. He played in the first Test match, took over a thousand wickets in his ten first-class summers, yet was sacked by Yorkshire at the age of 35, dead ten years later.

Peate's problem, as the author explains in detail, was that he liked a drink. His many admirers wanted to buy him one and he found it hard to say no. Yet in that he was no different to most of his teammates. The book's title comes from how Lord Hawke was supposed to have described the under-performing Yorkshire side when he took charge in 1883. It was he who sacked Peate, yet it seems he was by no means the biggest problem in the side.

Peate's almost meteoric rise to fame and his slow fall to penury and premature death are very well captured by the author, whose research is as impressive as his writing. The book beautifully captures the age and the role of cricket, as well as painting vivid portraits of the incredible characters within it.

Peate was the first of a long line of outstanding left arm spinners in Yorkshire and can count himself unlucky that, although he lived a far from blameless life, he was the example that was made to 'encourage' the others. Bobby Peel, who replaced him in the Yorkshire side, gave far greater problems yet was tolerated for much longer by the man who released his predecessor. 

So why was he sacked, missing out on a benefit that would have made his retirement secure, even for a man not known for fiscal propriety? Perhaps Lord Hawke wanted an example made, his decision made easier by the presence of the younger Peel, a better bat and his supposed equal with the ball. That the latter was given far greater leeway adds fuel to that argument, but it did little for Peate and his wellbeing.

His remaining life was one of declining health and eyesight, still playing with success in club cricket, despite a widening girth, but aware that his plan for after the game, a sports shop in Leeds, was failing, with declining profits after his retirement. He died of pneumonia, a few days after being soaked on a trip to the theatre, in March 1900.

He lies in an unmarked grave in Yeadon cemetery, to the left of the runway at Leeds-Bradford airport. He is not alone in his last resting place being unmarked, as Derbyshire greats George Davidson and Bill Bestwick, among others, lie similarly unrecognised.

There's a worthy job to be done there, for all three. 

Speaking of worthy jobs, Ian Lockwood has done a fine one here, in a book that I heartily recommend. Likewise, Pitch Publishing have delivered another worthy title to their outstanding catalogue.

Ten Drunks and a Parson: The Life and Times of Ted Peate is written by Ian Lockwood and published by Pitch Publishing 

Derbyshire v Kent day three

Derbyshire 587-5 

Kent 326 (Compton 156, Dal 4-50, Chappell 2-72) and 157-3 (Muyeye 55*, Compton 49)

Derbyshire lead by 104 runs

Derbyshire did remarkably well to take nine Kent wickets today, over two innings. It enabled them to enforce the follow-on and give themselves a reasonable shout of victory on the final day. 

The question mark surrounds the weather, which is set to take time out of the final day's play. With Tawanda Muyeye and Jack Leaning entrenched, they will need to work hard and will almost certainly face a final innings run chase against the clock.

But it has been an excellent effort. The pitch has not yet deteriorated to any great degree and neither spinners nor seamers can simply sit back and wait for things to happen. When edges have been found, the catches have been taken and Caleb Jewell again showed himself to have a safe pair of hands today.

Ben Compton has played two fine hands for the visitors, with over 200 runs from his two innings, but when Pat Brown forced him into gloving to Jewell at short leg, the door appeared to be open for Derbyshire. Whatever his record and merits in red ball cricket, Brown's pace here disconcerted the visitors. I think he overdid the short stuff a little, but there was a clear tactic to induce the top edged pull or hook to earn the wicket 

But Muyeye and Leaning stood firm and a huge effort is needed to seal the win tomorrow. But Anuj Dal, who has bowled very well so far, might well be the man with a plan on the final day.

One assumes Derbyshire needs six more wickets, as it was painful to watch Jake Ball's attempt to bat with what looks like a severe abdominal strain. Unless the situation was really critical, surely he wouldn't be asked to try and bat again?

A late opportunity to run out Muyeye was missed, the ball missing the stumps when he was well short of his ground, after a mix up with Leaning

But Derbyshire will hope to take these half chances tomorrow.

Derbyshire v Kent day two

Derbyshire 587-5 (Jewell 232, Madsen 100, Came 89, Reece 50*, Leaning 2-85)

Kent 210-3 (Compton 105*, Dal 2-34)

Derbyshire lead by 377 runs

Derbyshire did brilliantly to compile a mammoth first innings total of 587-5 declared today, largely on the back of a career-best 232 by Caleb Jewell and a century by Wayne Madsen. 

They then chipped away at the Kent innings, taking three wickets by the close of play. 

Yet I cannot see a positive result in this game, on a pitch that remains a very good one for batting. Ben Compton looked in fine fettle for the visitors and reached an excellent century by the close and his wicket will be the crucial one in determining whether Derbyshire can enforce the follow-on. Jack Leaning is another, a player with what my memory suggests is a good record against us, for first Yorkshire and now Kent. It will be an important first session tomorrow, weather permitting.

Earlier today, Jewell and Madsen added 176 for the third wicket, both batting beautifully and enjoying the conditions and a limited Kent attack after Jake Ball limped off with what looked like an abdominal injury. Wayne was at his imperious best and the century never seemed in doubt after he overcame a little early innings sketchiness.

As for Jewell, he went on to his highest-ever score and looked a player of the highest class in doing so. He carried out his role to perfection and could hardly have played better than this. After Madsen holed out to long on, Luis Reece played a breezy innings on his return to the side, while Martin Andersson hit four sixes in his unbeaten 31 from just 17 deliveries. 

Anuj Dal took two quick wickets in an inspired late spell, but digging out another seventeen looks like a tall order, especially with interruptions likely on the final day.

Perhaps they should cling to the words of Kent coach Adam Hollioake, speaking on his club's feed earlier. He felt it was a very good toss to win and that the pitch was likely to deteriorate. If the worst happened and the game ends in a draw, the points would almost certainly keep Derbyshire in second place, going into the mid-season red ball break.

But early wickets tomorrow could change the complexion of things.

We live in hope.

Postscript: in closing, KJB Loyal asked earlier if I thought the record innings of 274 by George Davidson would ever be broken. There was an opportunity today, but it didn't happen. 

I think it will take a lot of doing. It was a different game then and the Derbyshire innings of 577 in 1896 took 271 five-ball overs. There was not enough time for Lancashire to be bowled out twice, even though they faced 187 overs themselves over two innings in a three-day match...

It will take some beating and I would be surprised if it happened in my lifetime. Given modern over rates, it would need someone in prime form to do it, or a match situation where a draw was the best and only outcome.

Derbyshire v Kent day one

Derbyshire 351-2 (Jewell 152*, Came 89, Lloyd 50, Madsen 30*)

v Kent 

Wayne Madsen won the toss at Derby this morning, then sat with his pads on until the evening session, as his top order made hay while the sun shone.

David Lloyd and Caleb Jewell led off with a stand of 99 runs, which was followed by one of 196 by Jewell and Harry Came, as the visiting bowlers were put to the sword. It was a good toss to win, as little happened with the ball until the evening session and the second new one. Came was especially unlucky to be dismissed, run out at the non-striker's end as Jake Ball got a fingertip to a straight drive from Jewell.

Lloyd looked in very good touch and a leg side pickup for six was probably the shot of the day. He is always very easy on the eye and it is just a shame that sometimes the scorebook doesn't reflect the way he plays. What he and Jewell do, in this mode, is put the opposition under pressure and this was maintained throughout the day.

Came batted beautifully and it was nice to see the rhythm back in his batting, no doubt given  confidence after his second innings effort at Old Trafford. His feet moved well and he was looking set for a century when he was so cruelly dismissed. 

Yet today was really all about Caleb Jewell. Regardless of the numbers, this was his best innings, so far, for Derbyshire. It was the sort of knock that Chris Rogers, Michael di Venuto or Simon Katich might once have played, largely playing straight, secure in defence, assaying nothing overly ambitious but severe on any lapses of line and length. 

There were a few of them and 31 extras tells a tale of an untidy effort by the visitors, but Jewell batted beautifully throughout and crucially kept going. He might have gone in the afternoon session, when Matt Parkinson, who I felt bowled well in his early spell, thought he had him caught at short leg. There was a somewhat unedifying scene, as Parkinson made his feelings known to the umpire, which seemed to earn a rebuke to his captain and he wasn't quite so effective afterwards. 

I thought the Zimbabwe-born Nathan Gilchrist was the pick of the visiting bowlers and produced some of the day's best deliveries, but it cannot be a lot of fun, at 295-2, to see Wayne Madsen walking out to bat.

The skipper looked a little sketchy at the start, but was quickly into one-day mode as the score mounted against an understandably tired attack. He kept Jewell company as the Australian took his score to 150 and his season tally past 600 runs, a fine effort in his first county summer.

This was what I wanted to see from Caleb. We all knew he could bat, had wonderful timing and real power. What we learnt today was that he can harness those assets to considerable concentration. Ahead of the T20, where we all know he will excite if he gets going, he has shown county supporters why very good judges back home still feel he could be the answer to Australia's opening problem, especially when Usman Khawaja retires.

A few more innings like today will see people sitting up and taking notice.

An excellent effort by Derbyshire, with power to add more tomorrow. It doesn't, to be fair, look like the sort of pitch where we can blow Kent away after racking up 600, but tiredness and pressure can do funny things.Madsen will be able to set aggressive fields and it would seem, at the end of day one, that it would be difficult to lose this one. 

For a Derbyshire side to reach the halfway point of the red ball season, still unbeaten, would be quite remarkable.

Great stuff, lads!