It probably wasn't the day that Derbyshire hoped for when they turned up at Northampton this morning, but, judge as you never judge a book by its cover, you never judge a cricket match at the end of the first day.
311-6 is a fair effort by a good batting side, with James Middlebrook extending his remarkable batting record against us before the close, when he was unbeaten on 50. The Yorkshireman has always made runs against Derbyshire, both for the county of his birth and for Essex, so his contribution was not unexpected. Rob Newton made a fine century and there were contributions down the order to make it a frustrating day for Derbyshire.
Nonetheless it would appear we stuck to the task on another day of great discipline where we only conceded six leg byes as extras. Such professionalism deserves reward at season-end and we can only hope that it is met by similar work when the batsmen's turn comes. There appears nothing untoward with the wicket and we now need to see our boys bat for a day and a half in reply.
Meanwhile at Leicester, our local rivals did us a good turn with a stoic batting effort against Hampshire, scoring 334-8 by the close. Wayne White got a timely fifty for them, while 18-year old Shiv Thakor looks a cricketer of extraordinary talent, an unbeaten 71 being the latest in a string of fine displays.
Guess Nottinghamshire will sign him at the end of next season then...
In closing tonight, I was amused to see that Ravi Bopara is "guesting" for Gloucestershire against the South African tourists. Presumably, in the light of their capping Australian Ed Cowan on his debut last month, they'll be doing the same for the Essex man?
I wonder if the Saffers might consider a similar deal? Wouldn't say no to Jacques Kallis....
Until tomorrow.
Your certainly right about notts, leicestershire must hate the site of them nicking their players.
ReplyDeletepaul.
I had hoped for better,I must admit. I know Madsen can,t be blamed on this occasion,but it underlines the value of batting first and posting a sizeable total. I didn,t go yesterday but by all accounts it seems to be a decent batting strip. We are in danger of this match slipping away,in terms of winning it,so it,s crucial we keep them to around 350. Like you say Peakfan,we bowled with some discipline. Just a pity we didn,t add a few more wickets.
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