2024 was a season for Derbyshire which could only be described as poor at best, dead last in the County Championship with just one victory and failure to qualify for the knockout stages of either white ball competition could not be described as anything else. However it was not a season without light for the county with the emergence of Harry Moore, a 17-year-old fast bowler with great promise and a date with the England Lions this winter. It was a stand out season for Zak Chappell and a T20 resurgence for Pat Brown following his move from Worcestershire. Oh, and as ever Wayne Madsen scored 1000 First Class runs, which for Derbyshire supporters is like a comfort and security blanket, knowing that somethings just never change.
One thing that did change this season was the squad, with many new faces appearing. Samit Patel took the journey down the A52, the aforementioned Pat Brown came from Worcestershire, David Lloyd and Aneurin Donald came from Wales, the latter via Hampshire where he collected Ross Whiteley along the way and Jack Morely and Martin Andersson stopped in for brief spells on loan. Despite these signings and talk during the preseason of these bringing a winning mentality, Derbyshire had to wait until the end of August for their first and only championship win of the season, when Glamorgan came to town. They showed glimpses and flashes of potential and at times put themselves in winning situations, but ultimately their lack of consistency let them down and those winning chances slipped through their fingers.
Just like those winning chances in First Class cricket, they had chances to qualify for the knock out stages of both white ball competitions, but again that lack of consistency made them evaporate faster than the eye could see. The side appeared to lack cohesiveness and a lack of purpose. Players moving around the order appeared to not know their role or what they were trying to achieve in that role. Batting at eight one day or being moved up the order the next, or opening one day and then batting at six the next, this added to the lack of consistency and the ability of the players to meet their potential.
Derbyshire were also hampered by their overseas players, the unlucky Blair Tickner excused. Had the Derbyshire fielders backed him up he could have had a bag full of wickets before his necessary return to New Zealand. However the returns of Daryn Dupavillion, Cam Fletcher and Mohammad Amir were nothing to write home about, the former barely making an appearance after mid season, unable to beat out domestic players for a place in the side.
Pleasingly no one at Derbyshire tried to hide the fact this was a disappointing season or sugar coat the bitter pill it was to swallow for all involved at the club. This is a side with undoubted talent, it just has to be unlocked and allowed to flourish. The hard work, if it hasn’t already will need to start now, adding quality to the squad, not journeymen looking for a payday, and most importantly improving and developing the domestic home grown players they have. The last time Derbyshire won any silverware back in 2012, it was with a side of young, hungry home grown players, supplemented with a sprinkling of experience and high contributing overseas players. A return to this formula, may yield more success as shown by Sussex this season.
Results
Vitality CC: Eighth in Division Two
Vitality T20 Blast: Sixth in North Group
Metro Bank ODC: Fourth in Group A
Leading run-scorers
Vitality CC: Wayne Madsen 1005 runs at 50.25
Vitality T20 Blast: Wayne Madsen 336 at 30.54
Metro Bank ODC: Harry Came 281 at 46.83
Leading wicket-takers
Vitality CC: Zak Chappell 31 at 30.41
Vitality T20 Blast: Pat Brown 22 at 18.18
Metro Bank ODC: Zak Chappell 17 at 21.41
Player of the season
In a poor summer for the team, Zak Chappell had a consistently good season in all formats of the game with both bat and ball, taking wickets and scoring runs consistently. He took 64 wickets across all formats and also scored 492 runs, which may not sound a lot, but the runs he scored were at crucial times and won Derbyshire games. Chappell was consistent for whichever captain he was playing under, the man to throw the ball to and was a genuine wicket threat all season.
Breakthrough Player
While most 17 year olds are worrying about A Levels, trying to pass a driving test or being unlucky in love, Harry Moore was taking wickets for Derbyshire in the Metro Bank ODC along with leading them to stunning victories with the bat against Somerset and Northants. He also made his First Class debut and in the process forced the England selectors sit up and take notice as he has been selected for the winter Lions tour to West Indies. Moore has also recently signed a new deal, keeping him at Derbyshire until 2027, putting supporters mind’s at rest, that he will not be hoovered up by one of the so called bigger counties.
Could have done better
Derbyshire’s overseas signings as a collective, did not give a good return on investment. Blair Tickner was unlucky before having to return to New Zealand for family reasons, however DuPavillion, Amir and Fletcher all failed to contribute to the levels expected. Overseas sigings are meant to win games and quite simply Derbyshire’s overseas signings were barely squad depth pieces. Next year they have acquired Caleb Jewell for the entire season which will hopefully be an improvement, but we shall wait and see if this comes to fruition.
Need to work on
Quite simply winning games of cricket. This was a squad which at times especially in First Class games looked low on confidence and belief that they could win, despite their quality. Mickey Arthur and his coaching staff need to find a way to unlock that talent. As they enter season four of the Arthur tenure, he will have to find a way to do this, or there may not be a fifth season for him to look forward to.
What’s next?
Surely the only way is up, there has to be improvement from an undoubtedly talented and experienced squad, a squad which showed in moments that they can compete with anyone. Expect further strengthening over the winter following the additions of Martin Andersson from Middlesex and Jewell as overseas for the whole season. They will need to replace the bowling lost to Durham in the shape of Sam Conners. This could be in the way of domestic or overseas signing and a return for Tickner to do this would be welcomed by supporters and players alike.
Season Rating
The only positives came from the white ball formats and flashes of excellence which they showed, but Derbyshire lacked the consistency required to push for the knockout stages. Winning one match in the championship showed potential, but there was very little on show to back that up outside of that one fixture.
Mark: 2/10
