Notts v Derbyshire

Well, we got a win so are still in the frame for this group of death.

Am I convinced? Er....no.

At 100-2 with 7 overs to score 45 it was a breeze. I'd back my club side to win from there in 8 from 10 games. Somehow we ended up needing 23 from the last two overs and thanks to Graham Wagg's growing maturity and Charl Langeveldt's words of wisdom we got there on the final ball. It was nice to win, especially at Trent Bridge, but to lose five wickets for 22 in five overs was crazy.

Dad and I enjoyed our usual post game chat and we both pined for a class middle order batsman who would have seen it through. A Jones, Kirsten or Azharuddin would have been unbeaten at the end as we strolled it. I'm not sure why, chasing a run a ball target, we ended up going for big shots. Surely working the ball into gaps and running hard would have been more worthwhile and effective?

Anyway, a win is a win and we now have a few days break before the next match, the return against Nottinghamshire. I still don't think we can qualify from this group as I can't believe we can bowl out Notts so cheaply again and can't see us chasing down a big total. We would beat Leicester, but would also need to beat Durham and/or Lancashire again which is a very tall order.

For what it's worth, I'd bring in Steve Stubbings at the top of the order. He can be a steadying influence and allow others to play their shots around him. It would leave Dom Telo and John Sadler playing for one place in the middle order (or maybe with Dan Birch picking any two from three). Given the paucity of runs from the middle order it might even be worth thinking about Dan Redfern, but I'm not sure how much cricket he has had lately.

It crossed my mind the other day that Charl Langeveldt might have been worth shoving in higher up in this format.This admirable, 100% cricketer is either going to slog a quick 20 or get out and I'd have put him in at Chesterfield with overs running out just in case he found his range.

Played five, won two, lost three. On the plus side, we have been (Lancashire apart) much more competitive this year. On the down side, our excellent attack is creating an optimism that the batting fails to support. I just wish we could say with a little more confidence which Derbyshire side was going to show up.