Middlesex v Derbyshire day 4

So the unbeaten run ends, which it had to do at some point.

There is no disgrace in this one and we were at least competitive to the end. I'm not sure if the wicket eased a little as the match progressed, if we bowled badly or if they batted well. What they have, of course, is something that Morris aspires to, in quality throughout the batting lineup.

We have Chris Rogers who is a very fine player and the skipper in full flow is a good player to watch. The rest of our batting, at least until the arrival of Wavell Hinds, is at best functional. Stubbings, Sadler, Klokker are journeymen professionals, rather than "stars". That is not meant as a criticism, merely an observation. Compared to Smith, Joyce and Shah - all international players - they don't come out too well. This is of course why John Morris is approaching other players on the 28 day notice. Hypothetically, if we signed Stephen Moore and David Sales/Alex Gidman, our batting takes on a completely different look.

Of course, salvation may lie within. Dan Redfern is as good a prospect as any in the country and should get his chance before the summer is out. Greg Smith is another who can only get better and we must not overlook the talents of Dominic Telo, who will undoubtedly come again once he is acclimatised.

We effectively lost this game in not posting a first innings total again. The bowlers pulled us back into it, but the batting failed again in the second innings. This time the tail "wagged" effectively, but another 100 runs would have made all the difference.

Until we are less reliant on Chris Rogers we will not win many Championship game. The Australian is an admirable professional but needs support. No one can fault Steve Stubbings as in most matches we have had a start. Thus far he and Rogers have posted 3, 31, 25, 78, 47, 41, 47, 33, 87 and 23. However, in each of these innings, our third wicket has been down by 62, 196 (an exception), 116, 108, 61, 58, 66, 78, 135 and 78.

Room for improvement? Yes. Confident that it will come around? Still yes - and hopefully soon.