Friday 7 November 2014

Something for the weekend

Thanks for your continued support of the blog and apologies for the lack of blogging in the past week or so. A hand problem continues to be irksome, so thanks to Rachel for her help in typing up this one for me!

Mark Footitt was beaten by Derby County's Jake Buxton for the Derbyshire Professional Sports Person of the year award but can be proud of how far he has come to get to that stage. Buxton had a wonderful season for the Rams last year and is fully deserving of the award, but Mark must have run him close with his golden summer for the county. Here's hoping that it is one that he replicates in the years ahead!

Ajmal Shahzad has left Nottinghamshire, where he had little opportunity and has headed for Sussex, were he will doubtless enjoy the conditions at Hove from time to time. Meanwhile Middlesex have replaced Chris Rogers, highly likely to be in the Ashes tour squad, with Adam Voges, also formerly of Nottinghamshire. The latter is a decent player, but will find the shoes of Rogers almost clown-sized to step into. They will do well - or put another way, will need to do much better - to survive in division one next summer.

The 2015 Academy intake was announced earlier in the week and those named were:

Rahib Ali
Callum Brodrick
George Sellers
Hamaiz Mahmood
Rob Hemmings 
Robert Peat 
Tom Ball
Callum Parkinson 
Ryan Bramwell 
Harry Killoran

Those named are a good cross-section of the cricket disciplines and the pathway of these players to progress to the county ranks is now more clear and established than it has ever been, with a natural progression through the age groups. 

All the players fully deserve their selection and I look forward to hearing of their progress in the next twelve months!

More from me over the weekend, when I will be starting the first of the winter interviews with former club personalities.

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