Derbyshire v Worcestershire 3rd (and final) day

There must be a few people feeling pretty sheepish today.

I'm talking about those who were on the BBC 606 page last week saying we were rubbish/not as good as last year/without direction. There were also those on the Worcestershire page who claimed that we were a second rate county.

Well, to cut a long(ish) story short, the so-called battle between the best seam attacks in the country ended with Worcestershire being well and truly stuffed, with 5 sessions, an innings an 95 runs to spare.

Though not someone who makes a habit of that sort of thing, I went onto the Worcester board on 606 to make my point a short while ago. So many silly, disrespectful comments were made last week that it was necessary to do so. I would never call any side second-rate, as the fact is that in playing first class cricket they are obviously not. When people stoop to personal attack on players it annoys me as they're unlikely to reply and are easy targets.

The fact is that Derbyshire outplayed one of the supposedly stronger teams in the country and the only downside, if there is one) is lost revenue over a day and 2/3. I'm sure that Tom Sears is not too concerned with that right now, after Derbyshire emphasised the progress being made this year.

Our attack is the best we have had in a while. Langeveldt is such a willing work horse and such a probing, accurate bowler that it creates pressure on the batsmen, while Wagg (pictured) is always likely to take wickets with his late swing. His batting is a great bonus too and at this rate he should be close to an England callup, even at A team level, this winter. Having said that, he and Clare are maybe too young - after all Richardson and Kirby went as "young lions" last winter. Good bowlers both, but young lions? Purleeese....

While the batting remains a cause for some concern, it is fair to point out that Hinds apparently got a very poor decision yesterday (caught off his sweater), as did Chris Rogers. My assertion last week that criticism of Rikki Clarke was unfair also was backed up by a wonderful 3-6 burst this morning. A big knock is around the corner for the captain, but he continues to lead the side with flair and panache and must be a happy man this afternoon.

Attention now turns to the 20/20 with Derbyshire in a solid position in the Championship and with some enviable decisions to make with regard to team selection. Remember, this win - sorry, demolition - was achieved without Tom Lungley. How are we going to get him back into the side?

Happy days! Now for the 20/20