There's a massive day in prospect tomorrow, one that may define the eventual location of our 2014 championship cricket.
At 82-2 chasing 298, Durham could get away tomorrow morning. Conversely, early wickets could put them under pressure and we could establish a first innings lead. Nothing today suggested the wicket was playing up unduly, apart from a few deliveries that kept a little low. Mark Footitt's worst spell in some weeks let Durham get away, before Tony Palladino's late spell removed the openers and left us with a glimmer of hope to make early inroads tomorrow.
From 242-3, to fail to make 300 was disappointing. The middle order came and went in the blink of an eye and it took a late flourish from Palladino and Wainwright to get us close to the extra bonus point, which for the second game running we missed by two runs. Those two points may, come season end, make all the difference, but we'll have to wait and see on that one.
At this stage it is hard to see how we can win this game, short of a major spell tomorrow morning. If first innings scores are close, any declaration would have to be very carefully timed and I'm not sure if we would come out of a last day run chase on top, with the wicket as it is.
Somerset look like having little play tomorrow, so any finish there looks likely to be contrived. I don't see Surrey setting an easy target, especially when they are still forty behind on first innings. That being the case, maybe a draw would do us, something that our earlier batting deserved at the very least.
I was staggered - no, make that embarrassed - to read a Derbyshire supporter criticising Paul Borrington tonight after anchoring our innings with an innings of considerable skill. Making 75 against the best new ball attack in the country is a laudable effort and the lad should be praised for having the guts and technique to stay in there and allow others to bat around him, playing more expansive shots. He now averages 38 from five completed innings this summer, third in the averages and still gets people moaning.
It is a disgrace. I can only say that if we'd had similar application from players at the start of the summer, we may not be where we are right now. There was good support from Shiv and Richard Johnson before it all went somewhat pear-shaped with the second new ball.
Anyway, tomorrow is our bowler's turn. I'll be down there and look forward to a day of niggardly, aggressive bowling and sharp fielding. Any sort of lead is welcome and the next six sessions of cricket promise to be pulsating stuff.
It may be top v (near) bottom, but I doubt Durham feel they've outclassed us at this stage. As for our lads, they've given the likely title winners a tough battle for six sessions. We need to maintain that intensity tomorrow and Saturday.
Big effort, lads...
Couldn't agree more, Peakfan. Borrington did a vital job in building a platform, and it's not his fault that others failed to make best use of it. He does need to convert those regular 20s and 30s into bigger scores, but today he did us proud. As you said the other day, though, if we do stay in this division, it will be one of the greatest achievements in our history, given the disastrous start to the season.
ReplyDeleteAs you know,i,ve been a critic of Borrington,s for some time but I thought he did well today. Yes,he might have been a little quicker but at least he didn,t throw his wicket away and those runs mat prove very important. Given we were 240 for 3 with 31 overs worth of bonus point overs remaining,a target of 350 should have been well within our capabilities. It was a poor showing from the middle order and there was no reason why this collapse should have happened.
ReplyDeleteWe have much to do tomorrow and need to gain the three bonus bowling points to match Somerset. At least we still have a decent chance of staying in front of them should that mission be accomplished. The weather looks like taking time out of all the current matches so for us,a draw might not be a bad result,assuming the other games follow a similar pattern.
Today was disappointing,having got into a good position,but if we can get these bowling points then we might still be smiling come the end of the game.Important day tomorrow though.
I think we'd probably have regarded 300 as a competitive score at the start, but it was very disappointing to get to 242-3 and then collapse to 298. There has to be some credit to Durham's bowlers (perhaps making up for letting us get to 242-3 in the first place with extras the third highest scorer) as they've done it to other sides this season, but the trouble is that everyone does it to us. Whatever the outcome of the season for us, there needs to be some hard thinking and work on how the middle order approaches this part of the innings. It's been a constant feature of the season and has repeatedly prevented us taking a grip on matches when we've had a decent start, and lost matches when we don't.
ReplyDeleteAll credit to Paul Borrington for his effort in this and recent matches. I've been a regular critic of his in the past, and really doubted that he had the ability to be successful in Div 2, never mind Div 1. He's still a long way from convincing me totally, but he's played important innings for us against top class bowlers in the last couple of weeks, and with Slater, has given us some of the most solid starts we've had in a couple of years. If this is a sign that he can now add weight of runs to time spent at the crease, it's churlish and foolish (particularly given the frailty of much of the rest of our batting) to complain that he doesn't score as fast as we'd sometimes like. If more had done what he has done, we wouldn't be where we are today.
Unless we bowl out Durham quickly in the morning for less than 180 or so, I think the really crucial phase of this match will be our second innings. Durham's best chance of winning this is to score as many as they can as fast as they can, even if they concede a lead, so that they can get us in as quickly as possible tomorrow. With rain around, there's little advantage to them in using up time to build a big lead. If they do, they risk rain getting in the way, but also give themselves only the one chance of winning - bowling us out quickly. They will know that our greatest weakness has been our second innings batting, and they know from today that we still have the capacity to collapse quickly. If they don't succeed, they can expect us to set a target, so this approach will give them a second chance of winning.
I disagree with Peakfan somewhat, in that I think the greatest chance of a contrived result is here rather than Taunton. With a game in hand, Surrey won't want to give Somerset a sniff of a win if they can avoid it, simply because defeat makes it near impossible for them to avoid relegation. Somerset have a stronger incentive, particularly if there is any possibility of us winning, but would probably be better off taking the draw points that could put them ahead of us. For Derbyshire and Durham, apart from the 3 points for a draw they'd lose, a defeat wouldn't do either huge damage. Looking at it from the other angle, a win for us greatly increases our chances of survival (and if Somerset don't win, makes us clear favourites), while a win for Durham comes close to making them champions. I think Durham will take the challenge if they can't bowl us out quickly, and I think we'll go with them.
Hi Peakfan, been a while...
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you in regards to Boz. Ridiculous comments from those on the falconsforum who are insinuating that he's to blame for not reaching the 300 bonus point. They should have a proper look at the scorecard and see that the loss of 4 wickets for 6 runs straight after the new ball was where things went wrong. The only thing he should be blamed for, if anything, is getting out when well set, which I am sure he is frustrated about more so than the supporters sitting behind a keyboard.
D.
Good comments gentlemen and thanks as always for them. Boycott once said that an opener should score around 30-40 a session, which would be more than acceptable and give roughly a hundred in a day. Full credit to the lad, especially in a game of such importance with the commensurate pressure.
ReplyDeleteNotoveryet, I didn't say that there would be a greater chance of a contrived result at Taunton, just that it was the only chance. I find it hard to believe, unless the weather forecast is badly wrong, that there can be a result there without an agreement between skippers. As you say, neither wants to lose, so a draw there, if we do at least the same, is no bad thing - but we need those bowling points today!
Not read the comments but criticism of Paul Borrington is nothing short of disgraceful if based on his efforts since coming back into the side.
ReplyDeleteBang on with another prediction, then. I'm not sure what to make of Durham's approach today, as it seemed neither one thing nor the other. If their only intention was to maximise bonus points in a draw, they weren't going quickly enough, and much the same if they were looking for a lead from which to bowl us out quickly in the second innings. It's hard to see a run chase developing from the current situation either, unless it's a very short one that I wouldn't have thought we'd be very interested in.
ReplyDeleteSo it's hard to see any situation we can hope for a win from, but with the weather looking fair in Taunton and Surrey ready to fall over again, it looks as though we'll need the win against Warwickshire and hope that Notts play like the team they think they are for once.