The other day on this blog I wrote that Usman Khawaja owed Derbyshire some runs. By general admission, probably his own, they haven't flowed from his bat in the quantities that might have been expected from a man on the verge of the Australian side. His T20 campaign wasn't great, there's only been a century against the Unicorns in the CB40 and he's only just started to play in the format that is really his forte, the four-day game.The first innings against Yorkshire saw him depart to a very good catch by the Yorkshire keeper, so there was a lot of pressure on his shoulders when he walked out to bat at Headingley today.
Yet Khawaja responded in the grand style, the best style. His century, made under intense scrutiny and probably with plenty of chat from the opposition, showed what a phlegmatic player he can be once he gets in and gets his head down. I've written before that in his judgement of the ball to leave he reminds me of John Wright and there would have been plenty of opportunities for that today. While it was a day for occupation of the crease, Khawaja also played shots when the opportunities arose, reaching his century with a straight six and in doing so ensuring that Derbyshire's promotion ambitions stayed firmly on track.
At the start of the day, Tim Groenewald, David Wainwright and Mark Turner came so close to avoiding the follow on, though when both openers went quickly, like most Derbyshire fans I feared the worst. Yet overseas star Khawaja and senior pro Wes Durston rebuilt the innings and we looked set for calmer waters when Wes and Dan Redfern went in quick succession.
Full credit should also go to Ross Whiteley, a young player who has had his challenges this summer and is undeniably a better player when he plays his shots. Yet here, and not for the first time, he showed a wilingness to subjugate his natural game to the needs of the side and played an admirable foil to Khawaja as the two steered us towards safety.
Ross eventually departed, but by then we had edged ahead and it was perhaps fitting that David Wainwright was at the crease when time was called, someone who has played a big part in Derbyshire's resurgence this summer after a somewhat inexplicable release by Yorkshire.
So what does it all mean? Well, we're now 21 points clear of third placed Yorkshire with a game in hand, which considering they only have 72 to play for is massive. Hampshire are now in second place, having closed the gap to eight points with our game in hand still more than useful. They took advantage of a generous declaration by Northamptonshire (whose attack is not the most demanding) to win in some style. Which must have been a little galling for Messrs Wakely and Willey, who grafted well to set a target that always looked gettable. I only hope that they are as generous when we travel there on Tuesday for the start of the next match, one that is played while Hampshire travel to Leicestershire.
At this stage it looks very much like the title will be decided in the season closer against Hampshire at Derby, before which Hampshire also play a home match against Essex, as do Derbyshire. There's also a tricky away trip to Kent for our boys, but they can be proud of their efforts today. I'd go as far as to say that last season we would not have seen that resilience from a Derbyshire side, nor in several summers before it.
It is only fair that, in closing tonight, a final word should go to Usman Khawaja. Whatever struggles he may have had for form, that innings today may just have been the most important of the season. That it earned us three points is of some value. That it denied Yorkshire 16 is priceless.
Well done Usman. A couple more like that in our last four games and we'll be within touching distance of the prize.
Postscript: as befits the county stereotype, there's considerable gnashing of teeth and moaning on the White Rose Forum tonight.
One correspondent states that " Derbyshire are not the best side in this Division and the table does lie. There are at least 3 better sides than them, but they will get promoted. They have Northants, Essex, Kent and Hampshire to play. I'm not sure they'll pick up a lot more points."
All of which appears accompanied by the sourest of grapes and somewhat ignores the fact that we have beaten three of them already this summer...
One or two might be remembering a couple of years ago when a Derbyshire declaration let Essex into a promotion place that Northants might otherwise have occupied, and think that their declaration today was payback. It was a generous declaration, but Northants had no choice. A win would have taken them to 128 points, equal second with Yorks, ahead of Hampshire, and well in the mix. A draw was useless to them, so they had to set a target that would draw Hampshire in. An 8 wicket defeat suggests that Northants misjudged their own bowling or Hampshire's batting, but they did exactly what they had to do in their situation.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the table, I don't see Yorkshire winning all 3 of their final games. If say, they won 2 and drew the other they'd be on at most 185, so another 34 points should see us up. We'll need a few more for the title but today's result at Leeds has gone a long way in ensuring we reach our target
ReplyDeleteYou're right that Northants had to win, but so did Hants and they could have said them 350 in the knowledge they would have chased whatever the target. Without Brooks the attack is limited.
ReplyDeleteAnon is right and one more win, plus decent bonus points would take us up. We'll need two more for the silverware though and that has to be the target now - as I think it has always been
I echo many of your points Peakfan. My motto has always been "Give Yorkshire nowt". It was a no nonsense performance from us,which in the end resulted in a satisfactory conclusion.
ReplyDeleteWhen Khawaja came in I went to get a cold drink,fully expecting him to be out by the time i got back to the action. The first bonus was to find him still batting. The biggest was watching him see it through to the end. I had my doubts about him last season and still do to a large extent,but yesterday he batted with great authority and his pay cheque has been earned for this month.
Whilst we can rejoice in a semi positive outcome,we made a number of unforced errors in this game,which we would be well advised not to repeat. It is important,no-make that essential we don,t go into our shell and limp over the finishing line. We started the season playing positive,aggressive cricket and must end with the same philosophy. Had this match been devoid of weather interruptions, we would have lost,simple as that. On this occasion we can just about sweep the errors under the carpet,but our position is still fallible and we need to remain alert.
There is still time for it all to go wrong. There is also time to finish with a bang and prove to one and all we are deserving champions.