Time to move on for Derbyshire fans

After a disappointing season, it’s time to look at the younger lads for some hope for Derbyshire fans. Scott Elstone is one such ray of shining light

After a disappointing 2013 so far, Derbyshire head coach Karl Krikken has accepted that some performances recently had slipped from an expected standard.

“As long as everyone does their best, that’s all you can ask. If your best is not good enough, that’s another thing” said the Derbyshire coach and indeed no one can give more than their best.

At least at the end of this season, the people at the club know what is required to play at this standard, and I feel we will be better prepared next time around from every perspective.

At this juncture, what we can do, is to take plenty of encouragement from the performances of the second team, who won again yesterday against Glamorgan, albeit with the assistance of five wickets from Wes Durston in a thrilling climax.

There have been plenty of good displays from young seamers such as Ben Cotton, Johnny Marsden and Tommy Taylor, as well as Greg Cork.

After a relatively fallow period it would appear that the Derbyshire supply of such talent is back in full production, and I look forward to the day, perhaps in the not too distant future, when we field an attack of locally produced lads, rather than those brought in from elsewhere.

Another player who seems to do little wrong is Scott Elstone, a Burton-born lad who spent his formative years on the Nottinghamshire staff. Still, we all makes mistakes in life.

Elstone was released at the end of last summer, but at 23 would still appear to have much to offer the first-class game. He has played a lot of cricket at Derbyshire this year and has played a number of good innings, the runs usually made at a good pace, while also appearing with some success for the Unicorns.

His batting for Dunstall has been both powerful and impressive, while he also brings useful off-spin to the table, good enough for him to be regularly among the wickets. He is also a brilliant fielder who took two catches for England against India in 2011 while fielding as twelfth man.

He would, in short, appear to fit the criteria for Derbyshire in team strengthening, in being available and affordable, besides being perhaps better than what we already have. Much will depend on who else becomes available in the coming months and how much money we have, but he is a name worth keeping an eye on.

The Sussex game starts today and, unlike Charles Dickens, I have no great expectations of this one. A win would be terrific, but would also need one or two players to produce something special over the next four days.

Here’s hoping that someone steps up to the mark.