Derbyshire v Lancashire

As I suspected earlier, this one went against us big time.

A slow start isn't much use in 20/20, but losing wickets is even worse and when both openers were back in the hutch inside two overs we were in big trouble. Despite the best efforts of James Pipe, who maybe kept his foot on the gas too much, we subsided well short of the end of the overs.

Vincent and Loye then eased to victory despite a very tight spell from Nayan Doshi, who has already shown himself the equal of any spinner in the country at this form of the game. It was a disappointment after the excitement of last night and although there is still time for us to pick up and qualify, we need to be more consistent.

There lies the crux of the problem, as no one doubts the ability of the Derbyshire batsmen but the problem is their consistency. It is either feast or famine, with little middle ground. With Langeveldt and Doshi supported by the other guys I'd back us to do well if we can set 150 in most games, but ...

Next its the return against Yorkshire at Chesterfield on Sunday and we may well see the ball swinging again. Another win would see us back in the pack and with Notts and Leicester double-headers to follow, plus a return against Durham and Lancs there is still room for optimism.

That batting needs to become more reliable though, no doubt about it.