And so the Derbyshire action starts

Albie Morkel

OK, it’s in Dubai, but let’s face it: we’re all excited about the start of cricket again, aren’t we?

I’m not so sure that I’ll be setting my alarm to follow the fifty-over match against Worcestershire, as it unfolds at 6.30 am our time; but I will be hoping for score updates through Twitter and a solid Derbyshire performance.

I don’t think we should read too much into team selections on the tour, as the likelihood is that everyone will have an opportunity to stake a claim; however, when the real stuff begins, I would expect Stephen Moore to make his club debut – albeit not First-class – against the side that gave him a start in the county game.

I think Moore will prove an inspired signing by Derbyshire. He is a player of great experience (the sort we could have done with last summer) who is equally at home in four and one-day cricket. He is capable of setting a formidable total and the prospect of his pyrotechnics, together with Chesney and Wes Durston, in the One-day game should whet the appetite of any cricket fan, let alone those of a Derbyshire persuasion.

Good luck to the lads, and I also hope we avoid the injuries of previous tours. We’ve had Tony Palladino and Paul Borrington fly back early with broken jaws and can do without that kind of trauma, thank very much. On Radio Derby the other night, I was asked if I thought Derbyshire could bounce back to division one and my answer was simple – yes. However, to do so, we will need the kind of luck that all top teams need with injuries and the weather. In 2012, the weather gods shone on us at times, even though that didn’t detract from the title at the end of the season. You learn to take the rough with the smooth in sport and it usually evens out in the long term.

Further afield, I will be following the T20 in South Africa tomorrow, too, where Albie Morkel has been recalled to the South African fold. He’s still a very good player, as evidenced by his all-round form for us last summer, but I’m baffled by their selection policies. There is little cohesion to the selections, and the rationale appears to be that if we give enough players a game we will eventually find a decent eleven. Sadly, too many of them don’t appear to be of the requisite standard, and I was surprised how badly their first choice side capitulated to the Australians. The injury sustained by Dale Steyn hit them hard, and the fast bowling ‘shoot out’ with Mitchell Johnson was won easily by the Australian. He’s a changed bowler since he was taken under Denis Lillee’s wing and probably the best fast bowler in the world at present.

Selection is another area where I hope to see greater consistency this year at Derbyshire. While well aware that we have a good-sized squad and need to rotate players to keep them fresh, we also need to ensure that there’s greater logic to selections (and batting orders) this summer. There were a few times last year where it was hard to follow the rationale, and, while it is a coach’s prerogative to choose the best eleven he sees fit, it helps if supporters can appreciate the thought process. I don’t expect that to be a problem this year, and, especially in the one-day game, I hope to see more consistent performance as a result.

Starting tomorrow would be nice… though not, at this stage, essential.