"WE" is about to become "them" again and it is possible that, having come close to beating "them" with "us" on Monday, he could soon be lining up for "them" again and trying to beat "us".

Confused? Welcome to the world of Tom New.

The 23-year-old wicketkeeper is coming to the end of his spell with Derbyshire, having joined for a month on loan from Leicestershire as cover for the injured Jamie Pipe.

His stay extends beyond the end of the LV County Championship match against Glamorgan, which starts next Tuesday, but with Pipe able to practice catching the ball again following his broken finger, New knows he may not be required for that game.

New will have the gloves again at Edgbaston over the next four days and can play a key role in an important game for the county. A strong performance for Derbyshire against Warwickshire is the key to mounting a possible promotion challenge in September.

After that, New may have to revert to his role as understudy to Paul Nixon at Grace Road and that will be tough for him.

He is well enough thought-of at Leicestershire to hold his place in the side as a batsman for much of this season but the fact that he requested to go out on loan to get the chance to keep wicket shows his frustration at not being able to get the gloves off the hardy Nixon.

Wicketkeeping is an art that demands constant practice and too much of New's work early in the Championship match against Middlesex betrayed the fact that he has become rusty.

This month with Derbyshire may have confirmed in New's mind what he probably already suspected – that to fulfil his ambitions as a wicketkeeper, he may have to move away from Leicester.

But it has also given him a perspective on Derbyshire's prospects for the rest of the season and he says he believes they can challenge for a top-two place in the final quarter of the season.

"If we can pick up a reasonable number of points at Edgbaston, kick on against Glamorgan and Gloucestershire, then it's Leicester at the end of the year where anything could happen, depending on the personnel that's still around," he said.

"If we could do well at Edgbaston, I would back Derbyshire to be there or thereabouts at the end. It's a tight league and hopefully they can come through.

"I've thoroughly enjoyed these last few weeks.

"I've enjoyed the lads; they have been fantastic and have made me more than welcome. John Morris is a great coach to work under and I've enjoyed my cricket. I've enjoyed keeping wicket.

"Wicketkeeping is something that has got me this far in my career and I certainly want to continue. Unfortunately, I've not had that opportunity at Leicester.

"I think it's gone alright for me with Derbyshire. I would have liked to have got a few more runs at Worcester but I had a 30 in the Championship at Derby and a couple of good scores in the one-dayers, so it's been quite a successful time for me.

"I'm with Derbyshire until after the Glamorgan game but whether or not I play depends on Pipey. If he is fit, I would imagine he would come straight back into the side, which is great for Derbyshire, I suppose."

New deserved credit for his part in a partnership with Dan Redfern which forced a tie in the Pro40 League match against Yorkshire and he was so close to being the hero at Grace Road on Monday, when his 36 not out was not quite enough to beat his parent club in the same competition.

Having spent his whole career with Leicestershire, New confessed it was an unusual feeling to try to defeat the county who still pays his wages but admitted to an added personal incentive for wanting to do well.

He also said that if he does happen to end the season playing for Leicestershire against Derbyshire on September 24 in a Championship match that may be of some significance for John Morris' side, there will be no divided loyalties.

"It would have been extremely nice to win on Monday and to prove a point or two that I should be playing for Leicestershire," New added.

"It was a shame we didn't quite do it at the end but I just ran out of partners. Perhaps we should have got more runs from the top order but we bowled and fielded well earlier in the match and kept them to maybe 20 runs short of a good score on there.

"It was a little bit strange turning up in the morning as a Derbyshire player but once I crossed the line it was 100 per cent for Derbyshire and at the end I wanted Derbyshire to win because at the moment I am their player.

"Every time I step out on to the field I want to win, no matter who I am playing for. That's how I play my cricket."