Cork to return for third season as Derbys T20 coach
TEMPERS BOIL OVER BUT THAT IS NOT SUCH A BAD SIGN: P38
DOMINIC Cork will be back for a third season as Derbyshire’s T20 head coach as the Falcons prepare for a new campaign in the Vitality Blast.
The former England all-rounder, an outstanding player for the county between 1990-2003 before going on to enjoy successful spells with Lancashire and Hampshire, has already seen both sides of the coin in the role with Derbyshire.
In his first season, he led them to Finals Day for the first time but the Falcons had a miserable time in 2020.
Playing all their matches away and, unlike some of their rivals, with no T20 specialist overseas recruits, they won only one of their group fixtures.
But their success in 2019, when he inspired a level of belief in the side not previously seen at the Incora County Ground, leaves Cork still very much in credit and his return is a positive move by the county.
“We have laid some really strong foundations over the last few years and we’re really looking forward to building on that this season,” said Cork.
“Last year was disappointing, there’s no escaping that, but with the return of cricket to Derbyshire, the addition of overseas talent to a balanced squad, we’re confident of competing again this year.
“We got a taste of Finals Day in 2019 and we all want to perform on that stage again.”
Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Mcdermott, one of the leading run-scorers in the Big Bash League with Hobart Hurricanes this winter, has already signed up to join the Falcons in the Blast.
Derbyshire are aiming to add a second Aussie, fast bowler Sean Abbott, who was due to play last season before the pandemic forced many plans to be changed.
Many of the current Derbyshire squad were also part of the county’s 2019 success, including their four top batsmen from that campaign, Billy Godleman, Wayne Madsen,
Luis Reece and Leus du Plooy, while their leading wicket-taker in the competition, Alex Hughes, and Matt Critchley have also proved very effective in the shorter form.
Cork will be assisted by bowling coach Ajmal Shahzad and batting coach Mal Loye in the dugout.
Head of cricket Dave Houghton added: “Dominic is a proven winner in Twenty20 cricket, both as a player and with the work he has already done as T20 head coach.
“We have a good mix of youth and experience in the squad and the guidance that Dom and the coaching team can give them in white-ball cricket is invaluable.”
The Falcons will again play 14 matches in the North Group this season, starting away to Lancashire on June 9, with their opening home fixture against Warwickshire on June 13.
THERE was a moment in Burton Albion’s game against Northampton Town when Josh Parker and Sean Clare had a sharp exchange of views.
Northampton had a throw-in midway into the Burton half and nothing came of it in terms of danger to the Brewers but, suddenly, Clare was yelling and pointing at Parker.
Now, as we know, Parker has been around the block a couple of times, playing in Serbia, Slovenia and Scotland.
He’s seen the highs and lows of the game, probably more lows than he would have wanted after being frozen out by Red Star Belgrade and eventually taking them to court.
He is not backward in coming forward and Clare got a verbal volley back, complete with the pointing.
They both had another crack – and then they got on with the job in hand.
I sat there watching that and, far from thinking it was unseemly seeing two team-mates squabbling, I thought, ‘that’s brilliant. This matters to them.’
I’m told the two get on well. Both are Londoners and they are not playing together for the first time, as they were both with Gillingham in the 2017-18 season.
Parker was under contract and Clare on loan from Sheffield Wednesday, playing 26 games for the Gills, most of which Parker also played in.
Both have added something to the Brewers.
A few eyebrows were raised when Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink signed Parker on an 18-month contract.
After 14 clubs, most of which, in this country, Gillingham apart, have only involved a handful of appearances, he probably could not quibble with the description “journeyman.” Not too far short of half of his career appearances have been made from the bench.
But a good journeymen is useful to have around and Hasselbaink had seen him at Gillingham and been impressed.
Had things worked out differently, Hasselbaink might still have been with Northampton and Parker might have been playing against Burton on Saturday. Hasselbaink had inquired about him.
What we have seen so far is that Parker knows the basics and sets out to do them well. He has a good touch – even if he couldn’t locate it early on in his full debut against Hull City – a good awareness of where his team-mates are, as illustrated by his sublime pass to set Jonny Smith up for the winner against Hull, and he is a unit, hard to shake off the ball.
On Saturday, we saw that he delivers a good set-piece, too. His corners were right on the money and John Brayford, who loves to arrive late at the back post, came very close to getting on the end of two of them, denied the first time by an excellent piece of defending by Joseph Mills.
His canny free kick from 25 yards, dipping low towards Jonathan
Mitchell’s right-hand post, had the Cobblers’ keeper scrambling unconvincingly until it clanged off the post.
Parker likes that Hasselbaink has brought him in as a voice of experience for the younger players.
Hasselbaink, though, will not spare him from criticism any more than anyone else.
After the Hull game, as we raved about the pass to Smith, the manager agreed it was excellent but added: “But I expect a lot more from Josh. I expect him to cause much more havoc for the opposition.
“I need him to be a bit more energetic, to go beyond his comfort zone. If he does that, I think you will see a hell of a player.”
Meanwhile, the satisfaction in seeing Clare’s commitment to the cause is that it is obvious he is one loan player who is not going through the motions.
He wasted no time, when he arrived, in saying that the attempt to convert him into a right-back with Oxford United, who he joined in the summer, had simply not worked.
He was keen to get back into midfield and it appears Oxford were happy with what they have in those positions.
Oxford were therefore happy to let him go out on loan and you would guess that either they take notice of how good a midfielder they have or he shows off to his next club how
good a midfielder he can be.
After only two starts and an energetic 15 minutes from the bench, plenty of Burton supporters would already be happy if that club turned out to be the Brewers.
He is a fierce competitor. He gets up people’s noses: no less than a taller, younger Stephen Quinn, you might say.
He wins the ball, he finds yellow shirts with his passes and he is quite comfortable with the less glamorous but vital defensive midfield role.
There was one terrific moment in the first half when Mills, controlling a loose ball in midfield, had it unceremoniously taken away by Clare. It was a fair challenge that left the
Northampton man on his backside and Clare strode on to set Lucas Akins up for a shot, one Akins might have done better with.
You could see, in Clare’s argument with Parker, in his confrontation with Sam Hoskins, which earned both a booking, and then, more happily, in his celebration of Michael Bostwick’s opening goal, how much it all mattered to him. It is certainly not something you always see in loan players.
Clare is very much in the mould of most of Hasselbaink’s signings: a player with something to prove who has time on his side, at 24, to prove it. Him proving it by the end of the season can only benefit Burton.