Derbyshire cricket: Fifty days to go for County season to begin

Aren’t you excited about our season’s prospects with just fifty days to go?

I know I am and I am very positive about how well we can do in the coming summer. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect our Pop-ular coach to win everything in sight, but I have, perhaps like Charles Dickens, got great expectations for the next few seasons.

Besides heightening the intensity of training, having greater resource to coach with and, let’s not forget, a good-sized squad, I think that with the current structure of coaching our net has been widened for young players of talent.

Traditionally, Derbyshire has pulled from the county itself and Staffordshire, but getting the likes of John Sadler and Simon Guy involved might see greater possibilities to the north. Of course, many will gravitate through to Headingley, but there’s no reason why we shouldn’t benefit from a net that can be cast wider than ever before.

I’m very keen to see how the fight for batting places shapes up, who wins the battle of the keepers; what our first choice seam bowling permutation is. There’s also a spinning berth up for grabs and while David Wainwright perhaps starts in poll position, I’d reckon that there’s considerable excitement chez Knight and Burgoyne.

Either of those two, with good winter and pre-season work, could become premier spinner. Let’s face it, both have a massive incentive to do well, as there’s a spinning role in the national side up for grabs. At their ages, they have time on their side but good summers will bring them to the eyes of selectors.

On the basis of last summer, Peter Burgoyne has genuine talent and potential as a batsman who can deliver useful off spin and field brilliantly. Tom Knight is much improved with the bat and in the field and in my opinion the more developed bowler. David Wainwright will be well aware that he has to up his game from last year to hold off their challenge and all three should benefit from the specialist coaching of Ant Botha.

On to other news and it’s been a busy old time for me. Last week I had the great pleasure of interviewing Chris Taylor, who was every bit as engaging and honest as I hoped he would be. I’m finishing off the interview in the next few days but can promise you a piece that will be a real eye-opener for all county fans. I’m very grateful to Chris for giving up his time and I’d urge you all to check in regularly for that one.

This week I am speaking to a club legend of an earlier vintage, seam bowler Brian Jackson. Thanks go to Harold Rhodes for putting me in touch with Brian, a bowler I never saw but wish I had. There may be a few who are unaware of his talent and reputation, but suffice to say that having been pulled from league cricket at the age of 29, he then took over 450 wickets in six summers at less than 19 runs per wicket. That is the mark of a very good player and when no less a judge than Harold tells you that he would be his fantasy new ball partner, even ahead of Les and Cliff, you have to sit up and take notice.

I am looking forward to our chat immensely and look forward to sharing his thoughts with you in due course.If anyone has any questions you would like me to ask, please mail me at the usual address which you can find down the left-hand side bar.

That’s it for now. My grass may not tell the same story at present, when it looks like it may be June before I can cut it, but the season is fast approaching.

I must go and check out my kit in the next few weeks.