Derbyshire v Warwickshire day 3

Mark Footitt

When it came, the end was an anti-climax, in no way worthy of the performances that had lit up the month of August and most of September. It was, I think it’s fair to say, more redolent of April to July.

The stuffing was well and truly knocked out of our side yesterday and in the closing stages of Tuesday. When that third bowling point was missed, the writing was on the wall, the side likely to need 350 runs to retain parity with events at Trent Bridge. As Nottinghamshire and Somerset traded big scores to end our hopes, the fight disappeared for the first time in some while and the end, when it came, was actually a relief.

The post mortems on the season can come in the days ahead, certainly on this blog. Within the club, there will doubtless be discussions over the season just finished, the slow start, the serious loss of form by too many players, the way ahead. Yet, as the season’s embers died came news to cheer supporters.

Mark Footitt signed a new two-year deal, despite having been offered terms by other counties, most notably Surrey. While Mark remains an enigmatic cricketer, one who is still capable of bowling with a worrying lack of control at times, there were some outstanding performances over this season that suggested he is on the verge of becoming a very good county bowler, one set to become a key component of the new-look side.

We have a lot of good young players at the club, but the reality, as we go into a long close-season, is that places in around half of the side are up for grabs. It is safe to say that Madsen, Chanderpaul, Poynton, Palladino, Groenewald and Footitt would make up half of the first choice side for most supporters. The other places are there to be fought over between the rest of the staff and any close-season signings.

It is a great incentive for the young talent ahead of the winter. They can and will get fitter and stronger, will work on their techniques and be well aware, after the travails of this summer, just how great the demands of the first-class game can be. It is unfair to be overly critical of young players in their first summers of professional cricket, but how they move on from the collective dipping of toes into the water will largely dictate how quickly we are able to return to the top tier of the professional game.

It is one for another night and I look forward to exchanging thoughts with you all.

Thanks for your contributions over the course of the summer. Over the weekend I look forward to sharing plans for the winter blog with you all.

And as always, I look forward to your comments.