Good news comes in threes for Derbyshire

A 64% increase in the overall attendance in Derbyshire's T20 attendances reflects the a national boom for the format and amply illustrates the earning potential for the county - IF we can get better at the shortest form of the game.

The improvements in our bowling last season were well documented and easy to spot. It is not hard to see how there could be further progress if the bowlers kick on still further in 2016. Ben Cotton, Shiv Thakor and Alex Hughes all looked vastly improved bowlers and with support from others could make up a handy attack in the competition. They bowled tight lines, fired in the yorkers to good effect and kept the batsmen guessing. With more winter work on mixing up the pace, our attack should be both young AND talented.

Which makes the news from New Zealand of Neil Broom's continued good form all the more exciting.

Broom currently averages over seventy for Otago and the thought of he and Hamish Rutherford alongside Wes Durston, Wayne Madsen and Chesney Hughes in the line-up must whet the appetite of Derbyshire fans - even before we appoint a T20 specialist. Add in Alex Hughes and Shiv Thakor - both of who will be keen to improve on this year - and we should bat deep.

Where we fell down last year was in some fairly abject batting performances, with games given away by batting collapses that at times stretched credibility. The loss of Wayne Madsen and Alex Hughes for several matches didn't help our cause and too often we needed a little nous in the middle when the key phases of the game commenced.

If Broom, Rutherford and our mystery man can inject that much needed experience and common sense, we might just see a Derbyshire side that wins more than its fair share of T20 matches.

We'll see.

Finally tonight, the new intake for the club Academy has been announced. For some, that may be run of the mill news, but one or two of these lads could quite possibly in the first team in a couple of years time.

I will look at them in more detail another night, time permitting, tomorrow.

Adieu, until then.