Barnett heads in Wright direction

DERBYSHIRE have a single aim this season – and hope that a two-pronged approach will help them achieve it.

Reaching a first T20 finals day would represent a huge step forward for the county and, after three wins in their opening four matches, that ambition is already part-way to being realised.

The county’s upturn in the shortest format has come following the appointment of John Wright as specialist T20 coach while Mal Loye and Steve Stubbings concentrate on improving the club’s Championship fortunes.

Cricket director Kim Barnett believes Derbyshire may well have pulled a masterstroke by persuading Kiwi Wright to come back to a county that he served with distinction as a player.

He said: “John is obviously a coach of renown across all cricket but especially T20, as a result of his work with the Mumbai Indians.

“T20 is a completely different game when you get to the intricacies of it and what better bloke than to have an ex-Derbyshire and former Test player who has been heavily involved with the IPL. Getting him involved was a no-brainer, really.”

Derbyshire had never been involved in a T20 Finals Day. This time around they’ve already beaten champions, Northants, heavily fancied Yorkshire and also Worcestershire, who were despatched by seven wickets at New Road on Wednesday night courtesy of 70 off 42 balls from Billy Godleman.

That has left Derbyshire in an unfamiliarly strong position – but one which, Barnett believes, reflects the county’s T20 ambition.

“We have really regrouped for the T20 and everyone has really pulled together,” he said. “We have come out all guns blazing but it’s so competitive and John is very aware of that.

“He’s trying to refine it as we go along and make sure people are playing in the right places. We have Dominic Cork doing the bowling role with John as well and he won the competition with Hampshire, so knows what’s required too.

“Just getting to the quarters would seem like a final because we just haven’t been close. We’re just trying to qualify first and then we’ll see what comes next because anything can happen in this format.

“It’s really a case of so far, so good.”