Tony Palladino knows Derbyshire will need luck on their side to be successful this season
But the veteran knows his team will have to play intelligently and ride their luck in order to compete with their wealthier rivals.
He said “We’ve got a dangerous, well-rounded side, but we’ll have to be lucky with injuries and we’ll need to play smart cricket,
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Hide Ad“It will help us to play intelligently by adjusting to suit certain games and preparing as much as we can.
“We need to a lot smarter off the pitch as well as on it”.
Armed with a new-look exciting bowling attack, under Palladino’s coaching, Derbyshire are looking to better last year’s performances.
“I think getting into Division One and reaching quarter-finals in the one-day competitions would be a massive achievement for us,” he added.
In his testimonial year, Palladino is relishing the opportunity to combine his playing career with coaching, admitting the decision to stay in cricket and coach was a ‘no-brainer’.
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Hide AdPalladino insisted that he still trains as hard as he did before, but enjoys the unique nature of being able to coach after training.
He added: “I didn’t think it would be as difficult as it has been, it has put more strain on my time management so it’s a challenge.”
The player-coach is also looking to instil his team ethic attitude when coaching his bowlers, saying: “If we win but I go for 0-100 it doesn’t matter, we’ve still won the game and that’s all that matters to the supporters.”