In May alone Derbyshire won as many Championship matches as in the previous two years. By early June they were top of Division Two and eyeing a C&G final. So where did it all go right?

By going back to basics, says their director of cricket David Houghton. “We had a very long pre-season, came back in February. Everybody did the same hard work and everybody saw it. We didn’t go away and our week at an army camp was cancelled. We just had a day in the Peak District.”

The simple approach has continued. “We don’t do any of these fancy warm-ups,” said their inspirational Grolsch-and-gaspers captain Graeme Welch recently. What have they done with Steffan Jones, who has provided a new sharp edge with 23 wickets in five Championship games, more than in two seasons at Northamptonshire?

“Well, he’s been allowed to bowl,” says Houghton simply. “I said, ‘You’re going to bowl 700-800 overs a season.’ And he said, ‘That’s exactly what I want.’” Finally, a note of caution: in 2002 Derbyshire won five of their first six Division Two matches – and finished sixth. Can they keep it up? “Oh yeah,” says Houghton. “This is a turn-around.”
Paul Coupar, The Wisden Cricketer