Cricket Advisor Kim Barnett praised a number of successes in 2017, but insists Derbyshire still have much work to do heading into the 2018 season.
Victory at Bristol on the final day of the season was the third in the Specsavers County Championship and although a home win proved elusive, it was a considerable improvement on 2016 when Derbyshire failed to win a match in the format.
Specialist Twenty20 Coach John Wright led a record campaign in the NatWest T20 Blast in which eight victories saw the Club finish second in the North Group, before competing in a first Twenty20 quarter-final since 2005 in front of a sold-out crowd in Derby.
Barnett said: “I would say it’s been mixed in that there seems to have been progress in all formats with the T20 the big one but there were issues in the four day competition.
“We weren’t as successful as we would have liked and we need to get better and in the 50 overs we were competitive but failed to win matches we should have done.
“We have moved it in the right direction across the board but for me, the batsmen should be looking to average over 35 and the bowlers should be under 30 and once you’ve got that as a template you know you are going to be competing in every game.”
Barnett will remain with the Club in 2018 as Cricket Advisor and the experienced former player is looking to strengthen the bowling department during the close season as Derbyshire aim to be more competitive in the longer format.
He said: “I think a seam bowler who can bat would be the better option from April until the end of June and we’ve already targeted a couple of guys.
“But from an English point of view I think we need a non-overseas bowler as much as anything to support the others. We were in for Graham Onions which showed our intent but he went to Lancashire and that’s what we’re after, someone with quality.
“We need to be able to look at the bowling unit and say on all pitches we’ve got people who share the work load and that takes the pressure off your quality strike bowlers.”
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