Tom Knight signs new one-year deal with Derbyshire

Tom Knight

After witnessing a dominating performance by Derbyshire yesterday, news comes this morning that all-rounder Tom Knight has signed a new one-year deal.It is a gratifying news. While Knight has hardly featured as a bowler this year and his action is in the process of being remodelled, his batting has come along remarkably, and there have been several explosive innings at all levels of the game.The player is a game-changer with the bat, and I assume that the award of only a one-year deal, rather than the two offered to other players, recognises that his bowling is a work in progress. Coaches wouldn't tinker with a bowler's action unless they had identified a flaw that would prevent that player getting good players out. I can only assume that while Knight was a bowler capable of controlled spells in one-day cricket, a change to his action may result in his being a match-winning bowler in the longer game. Such a move earlier in his career may have worked wonders with Jake Needham, always a good one-day bowler but less able to take advantage of friendly tracks where he needed to bowl sides out.I will await news of his winter work with interest.Knight at his best would be a potent addition to any Derbyshire side.