Derbyshire: A new coaching structure with considerable common sense

John Sadler

The new coaching structure at Derbyshire County Cricket Club is sound and well thought out, covering, as it does, all the bases in the county’s cricket needs.

It is a team with a strong Derbyshire background – a factor that should not be underestimated – and some highly impressive coaching credentials, not to mention considerable first-class experience. That in itself will be of value to the younger players, as the psychological side of the first-class game is one of its biggest hurdles.

There may be a cynic or two who queries the number of coaches, but their remit covers both senior and Academy/age group cricketers. Others may query the cost, but my understanding is that the Derbyshire Cricket Board have helped to fund the appointments. The club now has a structure that will identify and nurture young talent better than has been the case before. Cricket at all levels within the county can only benefit. Most importantly, the players at the club will.

So who are the new men?

Many will recall John Sadler as a doughty fighter as a batsman, who has more recently set up his own successful cricket academy in Yorkshire. He is well regarded and his new remit as batting coach sees the club engage one of the highest qualified batting coaches in the game.

Assisting him will be Steve Stubbings, whose role will be primarily Academy-focused, but with scope to offer support at a higher level, as and when required. Stubbo did an excellent job with the second team last summer and fully deserves a role in the new structure. Both of these will be seen by supporters as sound appointments and if they can pass on their never-say-die attitude to the next generation of county batsmen there will be no cause for complaint.

Graeme Welch will, of course, lead on seam bowling, but will have support from AJ Harris. It is good to see the retention of the latter, as he seemed to do a good job last year. Like Stubbings, his main focus will be the development of younger players and his experience can only benefit the young talent emerging through the Academy. I look forward to seeing how our seam bowlers, already players of considerable talent, improve with Welch’s input and they will be a key component in our quest for honours this summer. Meanwhile, the likes of Ben Cotton, Greg Cork, Jon Marsden and Tommy Taylor have a very good chance to progress under coaches of excellent pedigree.

Much as we have a clutch of seam bowlers emerging, so our spinners will benefit from the talents of another erstwhile county favourite, Ant Botha (left). He has been lured back from a successful coaching role in Australia to look after their development and it will be interesting to see how Peter Burgoyne and Tom Knight progress through his mentoring. Botha was a good professional, a more than useful spinner and a batsman who rescued his fair share of lost causes in the company of Pop Welch. His role will include assisting in the coaching of batsmen and his growing reputation as a coach in Oz suggests he will do an excellent job.

Which leaves Simon Guy, a wicket-keeper of considerable talent for Yorkshire and another level four coach who has worked in the England set-up. He will be the specialist wicket-keeping coach and will bring an array of new techniques and methods with him that can surely only improve our established senior keepers in Tom Poynton and Richard Johnson, but will also aid the development of the very talented Harvey Hosein.

Interestingly, Guy pioneered the development of a face mask for wicket-keepers that gives facial protection but better visibility with lighter weight than a conventional helmet. Whether we will see these on the pitch this summer is a moot point, but Guy is another young coach with impressive credentials. That he has been lured to Derbyshire is proof of how this  has captured the imagination of the wider professional cricket community.

Meanwhile, the importance of fielding to a top side is recognised with the engagement of Cookie Patel, formerly fielding lead of England Women’s successful side, who has worked with a number of county sides as one of the game’s leading fielding coaches. Another level four coach who is highly regarded within the ECB set up, his skills and experience should see Derbyshire as one of the best fielding sides in the country in the coming season. We didn’t always look that last year, so this is another development that will be enjoyed by supporters  – as well as by the county’s bowlers..

Finally, Howard Dytham remains as Academy director, another role that is fully deserved as he has done fine work with the young players around the club’s catchment area and is well-respected. With greater support from former professionals, we should hopefully see players emerging better placed to make an early, positive impact in the first-class game.

My thoughts? It makes a lot of sense. We now have an array of specialist coaches, all of them eminently qualified for their new roles and the DCB support means that we are paying little more for this set up than we were for the previous one. The difference being, of course, that the players have far greater access to support mechanisms and coaching resource. While there are no guarantees in professional sport, our chances of success have to be improved with the addition of such impressive personnel.

I am impressed and heartened by this announcement and would be surprised if there were any dissenting voices. Of course, we’ll be better placed to judge its true effectiveness when we have seen how the players perform, but there must be genuine excitement at this announcement.

Over on the club site, Chris Grant says that he feels we make progress every day. So do I. There’s a lot to like in this and it’s a cracking start to the week.

Onwards and upwards lads.