Durham v Derbyshire

As I start this blog today, I am faced with the prospect of supporting Lancashire for one match.

There, I've said it. It hurts, but with Derbyshire 71-3 chasing 299 to beat Durham and with Rogers, Birch and Clarke back in the pavilion, I cannot see a way for us to win this one. At the same time Yorkshire are on course to beat Scotland at Headingley, 90-2 in 17 chasing 245 to win. Today is doubly difficult because their innings was built around a fine knock by "our" Michael Di Venuto. I liked Dave Houghton as a bloke, but the decision to get rid of Diva at the expense of Travis Birt was at the best damn stupid. So he'd had a few injuries and a lesser season. Surely SOMEONE must have spoken to him about the prospect of playing on his Italian passport? The Derby Telegraph did, so one would hope the club might have done. It is water under the bridge now, but water that flowed very powerfully today and washed us well away from where we needed to be.

What it means is that we need to beat the Scots in the last match and then hope that Lancashire beat Yorkshire at Headingley on Wednesday. We cannot now top the group as the rain-enforced no results against Lancs and Yorkshire cost us the extra win that Durham have. If it is a no result (anyone know a good raindance for that area?) it would come down to Net Run Rate between the Yorkies and ourselves. We're currently ahead of them but they're obviously aware of that and keen to win the game today as quickly as possible. Lancashire can only go through if they beat Yorkshire convincingly and Scotland beat us, so how committed they'll be on Wednesday is anyone's guess.

I am fairly sure that a loss will bring the usual grumblers out in force but it should not detract from what has so far been a much improved campaign. At the start of the season, most of us in a poll said we'd be happy with progression and competitiveness. We've certainly had that and would have had much more - if we'd had better luck with injuries. I know all teams have had them in some form or another, but losing the bowling of the skipper today has been important, losing James Pipe's explosive batting has been and so has losing the all-round skills of Greg Smith.

I still think that we'll make a good fist of the Pro 40, with better luck with injuries and Wavell Hinds in the side for additional all round support. We may yet go through, but it is in the air with our having to depend on results elsewhere. At 91-3 in 21 overs and with Yorkshire now 126-2, I know where my money would lie.

OK, here goes... come on Lancashire!