Derbyshire v Essex day one

Until 15 overs from the close, today had gone swimmingly for Derbyshire.

We'd gained maximum bowling points fairly soon after tea on the first day, with the wickets shared out and a rich haul for David Wainwright, then suddenly the carpet is pulled from under our feet with David Masters showing why he is day in, day out perhaps the most underrated bowler in the country.

Three down at the close, although one was the night watchman, Tony Palladino. I seem to have written this a lot of late, but the first session tomorrow is massive. The first task, all joking apart, is to avoid the follow-on at 96. Then we need to mount a total and get some bonus points bagged. Theoretically Masters shouldn't have long spells in him after a period out with injury, so we need to see him off and then pick up runs from the lesser members of the attack with the softer ball. There's no Harbhajan Singh and Derbyshire will be happier facing Tom Craddock, talented as he is, than the Indian maestro in the fourth innings.

First we need to get close to the Essex total though and there's enough depth in the batting to get up to 200-250. Seeing off the shine is vital and the morning session, traditionally one for bowlers at Derby, is going to be a biggie. Full marks to Paul Borrington for seeing it through to stumps, but he and the rest of the batsmen have a lot of work to do tomorrow.

There had been suggestions from some fans that David Wainwright could or should be omitted from the team in favour of another batsman or seamer, but I am a firm subscriber to having a balanced attack. There may be arguments to omit a spinner in early season, when you would generally expect less turn than in the later months, but that argument carries less weight when the spinner is also a useful batsman, as Wainwright is. You might have omitted a Phil Tufnell at some stage this summer, but Wainwright gives balance to the Derbyshire side and his dogged batting could be especially valuable tomorrow.

Indeed, in future seasons I can see more spin options coming into play for Derbyshire. Given their current rate of progress, it might be perfectly realistic for a one-day side to feature Tom Knight and Peter Burgoyne, as well as David Wainwright, as all three have the priceless ability to bowl with control. That is unlikely to happen in championship cricket, but if Burgoyne continues to develop as an all-rounder (great century for the Seconds last week) he will force his way into the side, as will Alex Hughes, who has come on in leaps and bounds this summer.

Our match is similarly poised to Yorkshire's at Scarborough, where I suggested a result pitch would either make or break their promotion ambitions. Kent, meanwhile, are well placed against Leicestershire, but as I've said before, you can never judge a game after one innings.

We needs Bozza and Wes to start the recovery tomorrow, then Dan Redfern and Ross Whiteley to show us why they are so highly rated as cricketers. Plenty of batting still to come and no reason for us to be downhearted at this stage.

There is, however, a very special prize up for grabs if they do their stuff...