County Cricket: The week ahead for Derbyshire

This is a busy week for Derbyshire. YB40 games against Hampshire on Tuesday and Scotland on Thursday are important and winning the two of them would leave us very much in contention to progress from group B.

They also know they can beat these teams. Scotland have been hammered by Durham today and we won easily enough in Edinburgh, while the players need only to cast their minds back to the pre-season Barbados tour last year and the final championship game of 2012 to realise that Hampshire can be beaten. Whether we can do so just now is another question, but there is enough talent in the side to do so and, lest we forget, we are a division one side while they are in the second tier. Time to assert yourselves gentlemen and put in a big one.

Then of course, on Friday we see the crucial championship game against Somerset at Derby begin. How nice it would be to get win points on the board for the halfway stage of the season. I gave you my thoughts on that side last night and Somerset, while a side of talented players, haven’t impressed especially this year. They are, in short, beatable if the weather stays out of it.

Also, this week I expect news to break of a second overseas signing for the T20. Yes, I think there will be one, as we’d have otherwise broken the news to the contrary by this stage. I also stand by my comments of June 6 and expect that player to be from South Africa. Who it will be I don’t know, but if he can hit a good long ball and ideally bowl a few overs he will do me.

More during the week, quite possibly at very strange times!