County Cricket: 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.

PS – 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.