Lloyd on board to promise positive county
Derbyshire start the new LV County Championship season at home to Gloucestershire on Friday with a new wave of optimism at the Incora County Ground. Colston Crawford hears from new captain David Lloyd about what may be expected.
A NEW captain, a string of new signings and, as always, new hope for a fresh season – that is the outlook for Derbyshire cricket supporters as the 2024 campaign looms.
Longstanding followers have become accustomed to seeing hope dashed and it was, rather comprehensively, last season as, despite the invigorating presence of head of cricket Mickey Arthur, his second campaign in charge did not match the first.
There was to be no win in 14 LV County Championship Division Two matches, the Vitality Blast campaign fell short of qualification for the knockout stages and there were but two wins from eight goes in the Metro Bank One Day Cup.
Leus du Plooy’s captaincy did not work out and the knowledge that he would be leaving for Middlesex relatively early in the campaign did not help. Injuries again sidelined key bowlers and some signings did not have the impact they would have hoped.
But you do not keep Arthur down for long and Derbyshire, who continue to be superbly run off the field, have recruited, you would think, about as well as they possibly could, given their resources.
Central to that will be the captain. Interestingly, David Lloyd is the first new captain brought in from elsewhere since Rikki Clarke in 2008.
It did not go well for Clarke but there is a good argument for Lloyd, who will reach 32 during the season and is here looking for a new challenge after 11 years of first team cricket with Glamorgan.
Usefully, he was here on loan last season for the 50-over competition and, while the captaincy had not been confirmed at the time, he spent a good deal of time diligently finding out lots about how the county functions. It was a good sign.
“Having some experience here last year, playing in the 50-over stuff and getting to know the lads, the coaching staff and the club itself has helped the transition into captaining,” he confirms.
“The captaincy was something which was talked about when I came here but there was nothing concrete until just after Christmas, when Mickey and I sat down and talked about it properly.
“The captain would be whoever he thought was best for it and I’d have backed that either way.
“When he asked me to do it, it was something I couldn’t turn down. I’m very grateful for the opportunity and looking forward to getting stuck in.
“I’m delighted to be captain, we have a great group of players here and they’ve been really welcoming.”
Lloyd and his wife have two young children and this is a lifestyle as well as a cricket choice. Wrexham, where his folks are, may also be in Wales but it is a lot easier to get to from Derby than Cardiff is.
“It’s been quite a big move, in terms of my family, with two young kids and it’s something we wanted to do,” he says.
“We wanted to move to Derby, get to know the area and the people and be around the club.
“We wanted to come here, settle here and so far it’s been great. My wife is happy, the kids are happy and Wrexham is close compared to Cardiff
“A part of me, I had always said that I wanted to challenge myself in a new environment at this stage of my career.
“When it came around that Derbyshire were interested and I spoke to Mickey, about his ambitions and plans, it was something that really excited me.
“He mentioned some of the players he was bringing in, it seemed a really good opportunity and I felt invested in it.”
Naturally, he believes they can improve on last season.
“This time of year, everyone thinks they are going to win the league,” he concedes.
“But the players who were here have the experience of what happened and will want to improve on that.
“The players we’ve brought in have had success elsewhere and I think we have a good variety of ages and experience.
“There is so much talent and potential, so it’s all about backing ourselves and believing. There’s no reason why we can’t push for that top end this year.
“I know everyone says that at this time of year but I do genuinely believe that we have the squad to be able to do that.
“It’ll be that change of mindset, getting the first win under the belt and going from there. Obviously, a lot of people want to prove people wrong from last year.
“I remember last season, in pre-season, Derbyshire were among the favourites for promotion, so it was disappointing but it’s a clean slate now and we can’t do any worse than what happened last year.”
There are seven new recruits, discounting Mohammad
Amir, who will not be available until the end of June, and there will presumably be another, to replace Amir for at least the first half of the season.
It could take time for them all to gel but Lloyd thinks the lifestyle of cricket helps.
“The lads already here have welcomed everyone who’s come in with open arms. It’s a great group and hats off to them for that,” he says
“It can take a while for things to click but because we spend so much time together, you really do have to get on otherwise it can be a very long summer.
“We are lucky in terms of having a good group and the coaching staff have been great, too, so it looks a really good environment and now
it’s about finding that winning mentality, that edge on the pitch, especially in four-day cricket.”
In terms of the style of play, do not expect Derbyshire to suddenly aim for a county version of Bazball – thankfully – but perhaps do expect a somewhat more positive approach.
“We have a lot of seamers, so getting those 20 wickets will be key,” says Lloyd.
“You look at the way the game has gone, in terms of Bazball and stuff like that but you have to earn the right to get into those positions.
“We’ll try and be positive and there will be times where we
might have to sacrifice losing a game to get a win – putting ourselves in a position which might favour the opposition because you want to go for the win.
“We will be braver than probably we have been in the past and that’s a big thing, really.
“It’s about the lads knowing we can win and, once you get the ball rolling, you can get on a roll. We’ll aim to play with confidence and positivity – with brave cricket, basically.”
As we all know, the proof of the pudding… but for an opening gambit, you rather think Lloyd’s measured words will be welcome.