Fine finish in store for the second team

There is an enthralling finish in store for the second team in their game against Surrey 

Derbyshire were all out for 214, with Basra making 93. Majid took five wickets and Cameron Steel three, before Surrey made 268 in their second innings. Sykes top scored with 58, while Majid made 47. 

Mitch Wagstaff followed his own first innings of 58 with the excellent figures of 5-87. Will Tarrant took 2-20, with the home side leaving Derbyshire 238 to win in two days.

By the close they were 42-0, with Tarrant on 24 and Wagstaff 18. 

Good days for those two lads and a fine finish set for tomorrow! 

Logically, Wagstaff should get a game at Chesterfield against Lancashire if David Lloyd is injured. 

I hope so, the lad deserves it.

Gloucestershire v Derbyshire day four

Please put your comments here

Not seen it, but shouldn't we have won, after the excellent start from Jewell and Came? 

I'd regard that as an opportunity missed, at this distance...

Another good effort by Seconds against Surrey

There was another good effort by the second team today, on the first day of the 4-day match against Surrey at New Malden.

Surrey opted to bat but were bowled out for 183 by a young Derbyshire attack. Nick Potts was the senior member and he took four wickets, while there were two each for Academy players Stewart and Karim, while Staffordshire player Rory Haydon made the early breakthrough and also took two.

Will Tarrant went for a duck in the Derbyshire reply but Mitch Wagstaff (58) and Amrit Basra (75*) added 113 for the second wicket. Once Wagstaff was dismissed, both Bin Naeem and skipper Nye Donald went quickly, before Stewart saw it to the close with the score 161-4.

I have to say Basra, from SACA, has impressed me a good few times this season and looks a player who really should get an opportunity at first class level. He seems to see the ball early and has both a full range of shots and wonderful timing. 

I hope he can push on tomorrow. 

You can see the scorecard and video clips here

Gloucestershire v Derbyshire day three

Please put your comments here.

Has there not been so much movement/spin today or did the Gloucestershire batters just do a very good job? 

With the forecast, a draw looking the most likely result now? 

Gloucestershire v Derbyshire Day Two

Nice to see another good day of cricket by the county.

Obviously superb batting by Madsen and Came, was the decline pitch/bowling induced or maybe a lack of application? 

Fingers crossed the weather holds and, if we can make early inroads, a win would be very important, putting distance between us and the chasing pack. Especially with Glamorgan currently under the cosh against Leicestershire.

Under 18s thrash Yorkshire

Whisper it quietly, but there is some serious talent coming through the Derbyshire pathway. 

Today the under 18s thrashed their Yorkshire counterparts in a T20 match at York, winning by 108 runs.

Choosing to bat after winning the toss, Rohan Vallabhaneni blasted 50 from just 21 balls, ending up with 61 from 28, before he was caught. He hit seven fours and four sixes and appears a player of astonishing talent. Hall gave late impetus with 43 from 25 balls and the final total of 196-9 would have been challenging at any level.

Yorkshire never got going and a keen Derbyshire seam attack saw, Green, Stewart and Charles take two wickets each. The tall Karim started the ball rolling with the first wicket, while Abrar, a powerful bat and left arm spinner, took the last two.

They all look talented lads and to so convincingly beat a traditionally strong county like Yorkshire was some effort.

Matt Stewart, who has impressed me with an unusually good command of line and length, also found time to effect a 'Les Jackson style' run out in his follow through. The former county great regularly ran out batters attempting to steal a run from his bowling and it put the seal on an outstanding display.

A fine day on all levels, I am sure you will agree. 

You can see video clips and scorecard here

Gloucestershire v Derbyshire day 1

Gloucestershire 187 (Bancroft 58, Bracey 47, Morley 6-55, Thomson 2-20, Chappell 2-44)

Derbyshire 116-2 (Lloyd 35, Jewell 32, Came 29*, Madsen 18*)

Derbyshire trail by 71 runs

A magnificent, career-best 6-55 by Jack Morley put Derbyshire in the driving seat in the game at Bristol today. 

I don't think anyone will have seen an all-out first innings total of 187, when Bancroft and Phillips led off with a stand of 68 runs for the first wicket. Yet once Morley was introduced to the attack, the game changed. The ball turned, but not excessively and he achieved success by bowling an accurate line and length with just enough turn to find the edge of the bat, or miss it and hit the stumps..

He looked a bowler of great quality and yet again left me thinking that Lancashire backed the wrong horse when they allowed him to leave. He outbowled Tom Hartley at Old Trafford and here could hardly have bowled a better spell. 

He was well-supported by Zak Chappell, who looked to be in better rhythm than for a while and bowled well, while Alex Thomson nicked in with two wickets of his own, crucially getting the dangerous van Buuren with one that straightened nicely. The catches were held too, Ben Aitchison taking  four of varying degrees of difficulty. The one that started the rot, a diving, one-handed effort at mid-off, set the tone for an excellent, disciplined effort in the field, where only four byes were conceded as extras. Wayne Madsen also skippered the side well, setting astute, sometimes unusual fields to support his bowlers.

For Gloucestershire, Bancroft batted patiently and was perhaps unlucky to be given out caught behind, but the rest, apart from James Bracey, seemed off the pace today. Perhaps the sad morning news of the passing of David Lawrence unsettled them, but they will have been disappointed when the innings closed for just 187.

Towards the end of the home innings, Singh Dale was struck on the arm by Chappell and I fully expected him to be running in hard when the Derbyshire innings began. He did and so did Akhter, but Jewell and Lloyd accumulated well until the former drove at Akhter and was brilliantly caught at slip by Bancroft, though it wasn't picked up by the cameras. 

Lloyd and Came then took the score on, but after looking good, as he so often does, David rather gave it away and was caught at cover. He had earlier played a delightful stroke to deposit Murphy over midwicket for six and it is such a shame he cannot convert these starts into a big score.

Came, moving his feet well and Madsen saw it through to the close against the all-spin attack of van Buuren and the Australian international, Murphy. Neither, at this stage, got as much from the wicket as Morley did earlier, but one assumes they will be the danger as the match progresses.

The assertiveness of the Derbyshire response took them within 71 of the home first innings by the close. A good day with the bat tomorrow will put them firmly in the box seat and while one can never fully legislate against a collapse, I hope the current advantage can be pressed home tomorrow. It will be a very big day of cricket that could be season-defining.

In closing, a word about the stream. I was critical about Derbyshire's on Friday, but it was still still a country mile ahead of the one at Bristol today. Of course it is appreciated, but surely something more than a fixed camera at either end should be possible at this stage in streaming development?

Regardless of that, the Derbyshire return to red ball cricket could scarcely have gone better today.

Postscript: we are going away to our favourite haunt at Berwick upon Tweed tomorrow for a few days, so I won't see much of the play live. 

I will post a space for your comments each day and add anything as I feel fit from scanning through the stream at the end of it.

Book Review: In Syd's Voice: The Extraordinary Life of Dave Lawrence by Dean Wilson

This is indeed the extraordinary recounting of an extraordinary life. 

A man whose family was part of the Windrush generation, who became a highly regarded county cricketer and might have done the same at international level. Yet the snapped kneecap sustained against New Zealand in 1992 forced his subsequent retirement from the game at the age of 29, despite three attempted comebacks.

He later ran a restaurant business and then a night club and in his forties and fifties, became involved in bodybuilding and enjoyed considerable success at that too.

All of his well-lived life is admirably documented by Dean Wilson and the book is well served by an exemplary collection of photographs. 

For those who never saw 'Syd' in his prime, he was an awesome sight, often partnering Courtney Walsh for Gloucestershire in a very fast attack. The photograph of him lying on the turf at Basin Reserve in Wellington brings back the news clips vividly and it speaks volumes for his character that he was able to even make attempts at coming back as he did. 

Yet that sadness is nothing compared to the account of his battle with motor neurone disease. It would take a hardened soul not to shed a tear at the challenges that this brave and outstanding man has faced. I wasn't strong enough, I will admit to that.

This isn't an easy read - how can it be, given the subject matter, including racism within the county game? But it is a book that will live long in the memory of those who read it.

None of us know what the future has in store and this book is testimony to that. But David Lawrence comes out of it as a man of decency, integrity and bravery.

We can surely all aspire to that.

In Syd's Voice: the Extraordinary Life of Dave Lawrence is written by Dean Wilson and published by Fairfield Books

Postscript: I had just published this piece when the news broke of David's passing.

Rest in Peace, David Lawrence. Fine cricketer, fine man

Gloucestershire v Derbyshire preview

Derbyshire return to red ball action tomorrow against Gloucestershire at Bristol.

Surprisingly, there has been no announcement of a Derbyshire squad for this one, but it might be that we go in with two spinners. The game will be played with a Kookaburra ball and the complaint from players around the country - mainly bowlers - has been that it tends to go soft after around 30 overs.

Our hosts have recruited Australian off spinner Todd Murphy and both he and Cameron Bancroft will hope to get their side closer to Derbyshire in the table by the end of this game - there are currently twenty points between them.

Gloucestershire squad:

Bancroft, Murphy, van Buuren, Akhter, Syed, Phillips, Bracey, Bailey, Singh Dale, Charlesworth (B), Price, Boorman, Hammond.

In the absence of a squad, it is hard to call the Derbyshire side, but I would be surprised if Luis Reece was fit, after limping out of last week's second team game.

Likely eleven:

Lloyd, Jewell, Came, Madsen, Guest, Dal, Andersson, Thomson/Aitchison, Chappell, Tickner, Morley

I can't call this one, but the toss will be important and spin could be a decisive factor in the result. There looks likely to be rain interruptions on the last two days, so here's hoping our players are refreshed and raring to go! 

What do you think? 

Postscript - squad just announced, Pat Brown also in the thirteen-man squad

Latest Radio Interview

My latest interview with Matt Rhodes of North Derbyshire Radio is now available online.

It turned out that I was quite psychic with regard to last night's game...we also discuss the return to red ball cricket and the recognition of Devon Malcolm in the King's Birthday Honours List, as well as the two wins last weekend

You can hear the interview here

I am on just after 28.40

Derbyshire v Lancashire Vitality Blast Game Eight

Lancashire 243-7 (Wells 83, Hurst 59, Jennings 33, Livingstone 33, Chappell 2-44)

Derbyshire 163 (Jewell 65, Chappell 31, Ghazanfar 28, Green 3-16)

Lancashire won by 80 runs

After the excitement of two wins last weekend, Derbyshire were firmly put in their place tonight by Lancashire. 

It was, as I wrote last night, a considerable step up in the standard of opposition. Half of the visiting side had played international cricket and the gulf in class was visible to all. While capable of beating anyone on their night, Derbyshire  need eight or nine players at their best to do so and were not remotely close to that tonight. Mainly because the Lancashire big guns turned up and blew us away.

I don't think that Derbyshire bowled especially badly, although the figures of some of them don't bear close inspection. It was more that they were not allowed to bowl well. The game plan appears to be that Ghazanfar has to take early wickets and it seems that opponents are now playing him as an offspinner, who occasionally turns one the other way. He remains a handful, but without pitches supporting turn, there is a limit to what he can do.

Neither Aitchison nor Chappell did much wrong, but they still went for ten an over and with boundaries that were not overly expansive, the risk of being outhit was always there. Lancashire hit SEVENTEEN sixes, so it is fair to say they managed it. It was the second highest score conceded by Derbyshire at Derby, just behind Hampshire in 2017, when Shahid Afridi went berserk.

Wells, who must want to carry the Derbyshire bowling around in his kit bag, did the damage again, well supported by Jennings. Hurst made the equal fastest fifty for Lancashire in this competition  and Livingstone hit merrily until smartly stumped by Guest. The Derbyshire ground fielding wilted in the face of the onslaught, but it was hardly surprising.

Chasing 244 to win, my expectations at the break were zero and so it transpired. Donald and Jewell started well, but the departure of the former saw the fall of three quick wickets, Madsen first ball, well held by the diving Jennings at cover.

Patel hit it straight up in the air, as he is always likely to do given his approach, Guest edged to the keeper and only Jewell suggested permanence and gave a semblance of respectability to the score with a battling half century, a decent net for Sunday. Chappell struck some powerful blows, as did Ghazanfar, but there was far too much to do when twelve an over are needed from the outset.

It was a rude awakening for Derbyshire. They cannot afford to lose the first five games and the reality is that this will not be the last defeat in this tournament. There are obvious weaknesses in the side and that comes down to a range of factors. No one can be happy with 2-6, but it reflects a competition where they have played some good cricket, but nowhere near enough. 

One final comment on the stream. I have praised it over the past couple of summers, but the standard slipped tonight, in keeping with events on the field. The 'ghosting' of images as bowlers ran in, the wrong angle being shown and wickets being missed was not what we have become accustomed to from a very good team. There was too great a focus on events beyond the boundary edge and there's only so many times you  can watch Freddie the Falcon throwing T shirts to the crowd.

Derby has seen some memorable nights in this competition over the years. Tonight wasn't one of them.

Thank goodness the red ball is back, starting on Sunday.

Derbyshire v Lancashire Vitality Blast game eight preview

I suspect - and hope - that Derbyshire make just the one change to the side that played so well last weekend against Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.

Fynn Hudson-Prentice has returned to Sussex early from his loan spell, after the south coast side were hit by a raft of injuries. 

Fynn let no one down, as he never does, but logically he will be replaced by Zak Chappell, who is back in the squad and presumably restored to full fitness himself

The likely Derbyshire side: 

Jewell, Donald, Madsen, Patel, Whiteley, Guest, Andersson, Chappell, Aitchison, Ghazanfar, Brown (Lloyd and Thomson also in the squad)

If they opt for a used wicket, of course, Thomson or Lloyd may take the place of Ben Aitchison.

Lancashire have Saqib Mahmood in the squad for the first time this summer, but there is no Phil Salt, Joss Buttler or Jimmy Anderson in their squad. But with Luke Wood and Liam Livingstone there is plenty of international experience and the challenge is always to split the dangerous opening pairing of Keaton Jennings and Luke Wells.

Their squad:

Jennings, Wells, Bohannon,  Balderson, Blatherwick, Green, Hartley, Hurst, Jones, Livingstone, Mahmood, Sutton, Turner, Wells, Wood.

The weather forecast is set fair and there should be a large crowd in attendance. It will need a very good performance by Derbyshire, because the standard of opposition is higher than they faced last weekend. 

Can they win it? Yes, because as I have said before, if the entire team turns up, we are capable of beating anyone in this format. 

Will we? That's a different thing altogether. I cannot predict which Derbyshire side will turn up for this tournament, but the reality is that we cannot afford many more defeats if any possibility of progress is to be retained. All of our 'Get out of jail free' cards have been played in those first five games that we lost. 

Hopefully the Derbyshire that we saw last weekend is a permanent fixture for the rest of the competition. 

We might have a better idea of that tomorrow evening.

Postscript: I will be on North Derbyshire Radio again tomorrow night, talking about last weekend's performances and giving my thoughts on tomorrow's game. 

As usual, I will post a link to the interview to listen to over the weekend, should you wish.

Seconds win pulsating Yorkshire clash

The second team won an outstanding game against Yorkshire today by 37 runs.

Joe Hawkins, with an excellent 62, steered Derbyshire to 273, after the overnight retirement of Anuj Dal. It left Yorkshire chasing 215 to win.

At one point they looked like getting there, but an excellent spell by Rory Haydon, who took 4-23, was backed up by Jack Morley (3-82) and Nick Potts (2-25), while Mitch Wagstaff took the key wicket of the talented Noah Kelly.

This was an excellent win, from a side that finished the game looking quite different to the one that began it. 

As a side they have been playing excellent cricket all summer and the young players coming through give genuine reasons for excitement.

Second team in action

There's an interesting game going on for the second team at present. 

Ahead of day three, Derbyshire are 205-5 in their second innings, with Anuj Dal unbeaten on 106 and Joe Hawkins, recently selected for England under 19s, with him on 27.

It followed a first innings of 227, in which Blair Tickner top scored on 51*, with Dal making 47.

In between, Yorkshire made 286, with Hawkins the pick of the bowlers with 2-24. Matt Stewart also did well, with 2-27 in ten overs and the wickets of Bean and Vagadia. It is so good to see the young Academy talent starting to come through. I assume Matt is a late, in-game replacement for Luis Reece, as he didn't start the match, according to the scorecard, at least

So Derbyshire are 146 runs ahead with all results possible. 

The only worry is that Luis Reece bowled only one over after making a duck in the first innings. Maybe a precaution, but we must hope for positive news in the next few days.

Sunday round up

Small margins.

Those words are used regularly in connection with success and failure in T20. I used them in Friday's radio interview with Matt Rhodes of North Derbyshire Radio (which is a long listen, split over two parts from 21 minutes) 

The difference between the middle of the bat and anywhere else sees sixes become boundary catches. In his two match-defining innings of this weekend, Nye Donald was probably doing little different to what he was when he got out early, but now he is a hero. I suppose we have to accept with such a player that when it is his day he will win matches; when it isn't, he will frustrate in equal measure. 

Think back to the Northamptonshire game. Martin Andersson held a boundary catch but lost his bearings and stepped over the rope, conceding six. That was the eventual margin of defeat. Before that, at Leicester, Sol Budinger escaped a very close lbw call and went on to play the innings that decided the match. 

We were poor in other games and got what we deserved, but those small margins are probably the difference to our currently being 2-5 and not 4-3. As I said on Friday, we need most of the team to play well to win matches. We're not a team of superstars - if you have one or two of those, you don't necessarily need the whole team to pitch in. But we cannot afford five or six to have a bad day. 

This weekend has been great. There are still concerns over the seam bowling and we are missing prime time Zak Chappell, just as Pat Brown is only now coming back to his white ball best. But we have discovered our best 'fit' eleven, even if the batting order is subject to discussion. The spinners are bowling beautifully and we are fielding better.

After the start we had I still don't expect to qualify from the group, but we are fighting and now playing some very good cricket. With the pressure largely off, we can give it our best shot and hope that some of the big guns underestimate us. Never say never and while it remains 'unlikely' and not 'impossible' the fight goes on.

Moving on, it was nice to see Devon Malcolm awarded the OBE for services to cricket in the King's Birthday Honours. While your opinion may have been different from 22 yards away, Devon is one of the nicest men in the game and his time at Derbyshire was one of our best periods in recent history. Like any other player, he had his good days and bad, but it was one of the great sights to see him running in and bowling at full pace.

Congratulations, Devon! 

Next, I read that Blair Tickner will be flying out to Guyana with the Central Stags for the Global Super League T20 in early July. The competition runs from July 10-18 and I assume Blair will fly out to join the squad after the red ball game against Lancashire at Chesterfield. 

We play four T20 matches in that period, but the only issue would come should either Caleb Jewell or Mohammad Ghazanfar be injured. No doubt this was factored into his signing. 

Among their opponents will be the winners of the Big Bash, Hobart Hurricanes, but Caleb Jewell moved to the Melbourne Renegades in February, so will not be required.

That's a relief! 

Finally today, thank you all for your continued engagement. There were over ten thousand views after the Nottinghamshire game and in the next couple of weeks the blog will reach an astonishing five million views. 

Your comments and input are a major part of its success. Do please remember to add a name to your posts - I will always reserve the right not to publish a critical, anonymous post. It doesn't need to be your own name, just one that you prefer to use on here, if you wish. 

Enjoy what is left of your weekends and, for some of you, Father's Day. As part of my gift I have a ticket to see Scotland play The Netherlands in Glasgow on Wednesday, an opportunity to see Derbyshire old boys Mark Watt and Safyaan Sharif. The latter is now Scotland's most prolific wicket-taker, with 261. 

Good effort, that! 

Derbyshire v Leicestershire Vitality Blast game seven

Leicestershire 196-5 (Budinger 49, Masood 43, Brown 3-51, Patel 2-33)

Derbyshire 197-3 (Donald 60, Patel 52, Madsen 35, Jewell 32, Scriven 3-29)

Derbyshire won by 7 wickets

Weekends don't get much better than that for Derbyshire fans. Even if it seemed like it took place in some kind of parallel universe, where they beat everyone with ease..

Following gone from last night's emphatic victory over Nottinghamshire, they completed an East Midlands double by fairly convincingly disposing of Leicestershire at Edgbaston today.

It didn't look that way in the first half of the game. Sol Budinger blazed away in his finest style to give Leicestershire an excellent start, before the spinners brought back a little control. The return of the seamers saw another assault, with Cox and van Beek taking 55 from the last five overs. It left Derbyshire chasing 197 to win. 

I thought Samit Patel over the last two days bowled two of the canniest spells of spin that I have seen by a Derbyshire bowler in this format. Today, while his figures were not as spectacular as at Trent Bridge last night, he commanded respect and was well supported by Mohammad Ghazanfar. Although wicketless, the Afghan tyro was accurate and also returned fine figures. 

Derbyshire needed a good start and for the second time in two days they got it. Jewell and Donald led off with 93 in just seven overs, the latter breaking his own record for the fastest fifty in Falcons colours, this time taking just eighteen deliveries in a stunning display of hitting. 

Jewell seemed unhappy at being adjudged caught behind off the bowling of Scriven. Given that Cox, the wicket keeper, seemed to appeal every time he held the ball, maybe he had a point. Donald followed two balls later though and it left two new players at the crease.

Supporters may have had concerns about the inexperienced of that third wicket pair 😉 but the 41-year old Madsen partnered the 40-year old Samit Patel in a stand of sixty runs, surely the oldest half-century stand in the history of T20 in this country? They batted with great common sense, as you would hope, given their collective experience and kept up with the required rate.

It settled nerves, but when Madsen went in similar fashion to the way he was dismissed at Leicester earlier in the season, caught at long leg, 43 were still  needed in just over five overs.

Tom Scriven had bowled excellently for Leicestershire, but Patel took him on in his final over and hit him for two sixes and a four, to make the victory a formality. It had been, quite honestly, as good a run chase as you could wish to see.

Captain Patel scored the winning boundary and reached an excellent half century in 32 balls, a challenging chase completed with ten deliveries to spare. While the fan base has been clamouring for him to drop down the order, today he moved up, batted three and, to be fair to him, controlled the run chase to perfection. He can be very happy with his weekend's work.

I won't allow myself to get carried away. We all know the talent is in this squad to do this more often and we shouldn't have lost five straight games. Yet it was clear that confidence has been restored and I am hopeful that a mid-table finish is still possible. More importantly, the bounce will be back for the red ball, and as I said on the radio last night, once you get on a roll, the game seems so much easier.

Whatever happens, this has been an excellent weekend for Derbyshire supporters, one that will be looked back on with considerable pride and enjoyment.

Well done, gentlemen!

Nottinghamshire v Derbyshire Vitality Blast game six

Derbyshire 199-5 (Donald 73, Guest 37*, Whiteley 35* Harrison 3-32)

Nottinghamshire 153-9 (Clarke 59, Patel 3-14, Ghazanfar 2-26, Brown 2-35, Hudson-Prentice 2-38)

Derbyshire won by 46 runs

Derbyshire produced an outstanding all-round performance at Trent Bridge tonight, beating Nottinghamshire with considerable ease by 46 runs.

From the moment that Calvin Harrison turned one inside an attempted drive by Caleb Jewell, I fancied our chances. We were bowling second, on a pitch taking spin and both of our spinners did a fine job tonight. If only we had done that at Durham, when we won the toss...

Batting first after being inserted by Nottinghamshire, Jewell and Nye Donald led off in fine style, getting through the Powerplay without being parted for the first time. Caleb went to the first ball after it, but Donald was on one of his nights and hit the ball with great power. Yet tonight his batting was measured, he didn't approach his innings like someone on a golf range. There were five sixes in his 73 from 34 deliveries and the only frustration was when he got out ahead of time, but he had given us a foundation on which to build.

Madsen came in at three, as I suggested he should do on the radio this morning, but he and Patel both got out quickly. Samit is still too high, but tonight it didn't matter, because Whiteley and Guest batted brilliantly to add an unbroken 65 from the last five overs. Brooke is always likely to do that and again, the frustration was that he has been excluded from too many games so far. Whiteley hit with serious power, continues to look in fine touch and the final total of 199 set Nottinghamshire a real challenge.

It was even harder when Ghazanfar's brilliance took two early wickets again, opposition batters having little idea what he was bowling. Nottinghamshire were in disarray and it could have been all over when Hudson-Prentice deceived Clarke, who top edged to mid wicket. Guest made great ground but either his call wasn't picked up by Ghazanfar or was lost in translation and a horrid collision ensued. The jeers from the home support were boorish and uncalled for, as it looked for a while as if Ghazanfar was badly injured, but thankfully he was able to walk from the field after attention from medical staff and returned later to complete his spell.

Clarke and Montgomery gave the home side hope, but a a magnificent spell by Patel turned the game. In four overs, a clearly pumped up Derbyshire captain removed Clarke, Montgomery and Moores and the game was won. He bowled with great guile tonight and 3-14 in T20 is a magnificent effort. If he would just accept his place in the batting is down the order these days, there would be no complaints from me.

The Derbyshire seam attack was much better tonight and it was nice to see Brown's many variations back in play, together with better line and length. Hudson-Prentice also did well and while Aitchison is a relative novice in this form of the game, he let no one down. 

The frustration is that we know these players have this sort of performance in them. It has taken too long to get the correct eleven on to the park, but I hope that fitness allows us to keep this side for the rest of the competition. Perhaps Chappell and Aitchison may rotate, or play together when FHP goes back to Sussex.

Anyway, we are off the mark and have beaten Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge for the first time since 2013. It was a night that will live long in the memory and was a very good team performance, the kind that has lit up our red ball summer.

Let's see a few more now, fellas. 

The standard has been set tonight. 

In closing, I had a lengthy interview today with Matt Rhodes from North Derbyshire Radio. 

You can have a listen here and I am on at the 21 minute mark. 

Weekend preview: Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire Vitality Blast games six and seven

I will be on North Derbyshire Radio again tomorrow, talking to Matt Rhodes about the T20 Blast and the contrast with the red ball summer. It isn't going to be something that can be sugar- coated, but I will attempt to offer some constructive criticism, as I always try to do.

I will post a link to the interview as soon as it has aired tomorrow evening.

Mickey Arthur did a lengthy interview on the club site this afternoon. As I said before, I really feel he should have fronted up after some of the matches we have played, which after all is part of his role. I didn't get an awful lot from the interview, to be honest. Yes, we haven't been able to field a first choice side, but the same goes for pretty much everyone and others have managed to do quite nicely in adversity. 

The only thing that came out of it was that Luis Reece and Anuj Dal have been recovering from injuries sustained in the red ball fixtures, so they have been unable to be considered for selection. I wouldn't have had either in my first choice white ball side before the tournament, in fact, the only one missing from that has been Harry Moore. Though I would have been very reluctant to pin pin our tournament hopes on a lad of 18, just as I felt it asked a lot to do so on Mohammad Ghazanfar.

The same squad is available for the weekend games against Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. I think the side that we fielded last night is the best we can put out at present. So the players and coaches need to find a way to play to potential.

The Head of Cricket did say that once it is clear we will not progress he will give opportunity to players who may contribute in the next year or two, so watch this space. As someone who is normally positive, I don't rate our chances of winning eight from ten very highly, but I would love to be proved wrong.

Anyway, Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, then Leicestershire at Edgbaston. Pre-tournament I would have said we could beat either of these teams, but it just hasn't happened. Maybe a collective return to form is around the corner, but the more realistic me feels a defeat tomorrow, with the possibility of a first win after that is a more likely scenario. 

Until we find a way to bat and bowl well in the same match, I don't see a change to the currently advertised program. For me, we initially shot ourselves in the foot with team selection, then caused further damage with batting orders that don't make a great deal of sense.

What do you think? 

Durham v Derbyshire Vitality Blast game 5

I didn't see the game last night, as you all know, so I won't comment on the action side of things. Apart from the catch held by Fynn Hudson-Prentice, which redefined nonchalance.

His bowling figures and those of Mohammad Ghazanfar were outstanding, but I have two questions about the game.

Before it started, a friend contacted me and said that the pitch looked 'worn'. This was confirmed by Derbyshire opening the bowling with both Ghazanfar and Samit Patel, when they won the toss and opted to bowl. 

Why would you do that? Even in a hi 20-over game, a worn pitch will always be harder from which to score runs in the second innings. We seem to continually shoot ourselves in the foot by strange decisions and I don't get that one. 

Secondly, why, at the end of the game, did we send out a loan player for interview? After five straight defeats, surely either the Head of Cricket or captain should be out there? With the greatest of respect to Fynn, he shouldn't have been put in that position. 

I would have had plenty of questions for Mickey or Samit. Why did we bowl first? What has gone wrong in a squad clearly built for this format? Why do we approach chases like the Keystone Cops? Why does Samit insist on batting high in the order? Why does your best bat (Madsen) not go in until five, your second best till six, your form player until seven? Are you now going to give opportunity to others, with a view to experience and doing better another year? 

You cannot ask these questions and get the answers that supporters want to hear from a bloke who is only with you for four matches.

I do feel sorry for Ghazanfar, who has let no one down and bowled very well. We won't see him again after this year, as someone will throw a lot of money in his direction for his services. As a signing, hats off to Mickey Arthur, but why has the rest of the side gone so horribly wrong? 

Northamptonshire have won six straight games, playing good cricket, yet there was little between the two sides in our second match at Derby. Is it leadership, game plan, mental toughness or attitude that is the difference? 

I can't really add anything else to that, so I will leave it to you to fill in any blanks. It is just very strange that a squad that has done so well in red ball cricket has been very poor, in the one format where expectation was high before the season started.

I am guessing no one fancies our chances of eight wins from nine...?

Durham v Derbyshire preview Vitality Blast game 5

Fifteen will travel north for Derbyshire tomorrow, for the game against Durham at Chester le Street.

I have no idea which eleven will take the field, but Mickey Arthur takes a little turning when his mind is made up, so there may not be many changes to the side that lost at Edgbaston on Sunday.

You know what my team would be from yesterday's post and the Derbyshire squad is: 

Patel, Came, Jewell, Lloyd, Donald, Madsen, Whiteley, Andersson, Aitchison, Guest, Brown, Hudson-Prentice, Potts, Thomson, Ghazanfar.

Ryan Campbell has named fourteen for Durham, namely:

Ackerman, Aldridge, Clark, de Leede, Drissell, Foulkes, Minto, Lees, Neesham, Parkinson, Raine, Rhodes, Robinson, Sowter

Durham have won one and lost two of their three games so far. They have players missing, but Ackermann has been a thorn in our sides over many years, as has Alex Lees. Ben Raine remains a player of great value  and it will need a much improved Derbyshire performance to beat them.

Yet sooner or later, a talented Derbyshire side has to click. Maybe tomorrow?

As I explained yesterday, I won't see tomorrow's game live, because we are in Glasgow to see Bonnie Raitt. I can only hope that Derbyshire score at a bonny rate and we come out on top... 

I will watch the match back on Thursday morning, but will leave a page for your comments from the end of the game tomorrow.

Fingers crossed!