Another game, another loss.
A fine partnership between Brown and Croft helped Lancashire to recover from a difficult start with an unbroken partnership of 131 for the fourth wicket. The continued absence of North, a bowler with international credentials from the attack is a puzzle and I can only assume he has an injury. With Chesney only bowling one over, we had fourteen overs of seam that went for 127 runs.
Once again, however, our Power play was a somewhat lamentable misnomer. 39-1 from six overs when chasing 170 in 19 to win left us chasing ten an over for the remainder of the innings. That's a massive challenge for any side and is going to win no more than one match in ten - and that only if someone plays a 'special' innings.
It certainly didn't win us this one. While Durston bowled well tonight, five from ten balls as the innings required major acceleration was indicative of a batsman still struggling for form. Elstone and Madsen scored quickly when they came together, but we have to do something about the top order - and quickly.
Northamptonshire are next up in a televised match on Thursday and as reigning champions they are going to provide a stiff test. At this stage I'm far from convinced that we are up for it.
Let's hope for a better effort from the Rams tomorrow.
Postscript - warm congratulations to Scott Elstone on the contract that keeps him with us until at least the end of 2016. He has a lot of talent and perhaps we need to allow a naturally fast-scoring batsman an opportunity to move up the order.
We could use 24 from twelve balls during those crucial first six overs....
this is just going from bad to worse and quite frankly the whole thing is lamentable. There are no excuses at all for another sorry show but as that poor commentator, O'Brian reminded us the management are putting it down to a frustrating period of rain.
ReplyDeleteHave our batsmen not grasped the concept of T20 cricket yet?. It's to get runs at a very quick rate, something we're not sure how to do, or are totally incapable of doing so. Durston and C. Hughes have had their chance now and have blown it. Hughes is still living off that 200 against Yorkshire and has done nothing since, and Durston is just way off form. Knight and Slater to replace those two and to try and save this woeful start to the season.
ReplyDeleteI was there and it was pretty dispiriting stuff. Once Brown and Croft got in they looked pretty solid and the less said about our batting the better: in short we never looked like getting the runs. I'm not sure there are any easy solutions; it's obvious we need batters who can clear the ropes regularly in the power play and a better utilisation of our slower bowlers. Easy to say, harder to do.
ReplyDeleteI'll be there for the first two days of the Gloucestershire game, fingers crossed we do a little better in the four day game...
Spireite Tim
The only thing we did slightly and I underline slightly better, was rotating the bowlers more often. The rest was all too familiar. After two matches we are approximately one third of the way towards being eliminated from any chance of qualification. After Northants you can make that half way.
ReplyDeleteIn spite of the fact we are hopeless at chasing targets,we once again invite the opposition to bat. The earlier weather was no excuse,because if anyone had bothered to check the latest forecast,as I did,they would have known the rest of the evening was going to be clear with no further rain. In addition,the pitch will not change in an hour and a half.
Again,we failed to utilise our spin options and in Knight,s case failed to even select him. A decision which in my book borders on a cricketing crime. What does the lad have to do to get a game?. I don,t for one second believe North is injured,he looked perfectly fit to me.
The excessive use of seam bowling is not the right way to win. You know it,I know it and so does everyone except those who select and lead the team. How much longer do we have to wait before the penny drops and we employ the sort of bowling plan that any half competent team would use?. For all his faults,even Krikken realised that spin would give him the best chance of keeping the opposition under some sort of control.
At 38 for 3 would we have recovered to make 170?. Not a cat in hell,s chance because our opponents wouldn,t have allowed us to,apart from the fact we would have self destructed in any case.
To fall short of the target and still have five wickets in hand is appalling. Yes,we would be moaning had we been bowled out,but at least that way it would have eliminated any room for doubt,or to question just what instructions were given to those who batted. I exempt those at the end because by that time the damage had been done.
We have all been asked to buy into the new plan,but i,m buying into nothing that continues to sleepwalk into the same avoidable mistakes match after match. If we fail to learn simple lessons then it serves us right when we lose. Any sympathy for the club,s leadership,both on and off the pitch,does not extend to tactical suicide. People are fast becoming disillusioned and wondering just what the hell is going on.
Anonymous - Agree it wasn't Iain O'Brien's finest hour. Using the word rollocking but spelt with a 'B' and then mixing up Elstone with Hughes for the duration of his innings.
ReplyDeleteMarc - Think that Hughes might be the one to go. Durston's bowling might earn him another game. Chesney was throwing everything into the shots last night but most of them sounded out a real clunk. He's really struggling to time the ball just now.
Mark - Wayne Madsen said over the tannoy after the toss that he was bowling first because he thought the wicket might do something early doors.
I think the skipper needs to change his position in the line up, possibly by opening and accumulating singles whilst others come and go at a brisker pace. His game isn't suited to forcing the pace. He hit a big six square of the wicket on the off side but he doesn't have the shots to hit the slower bowlers over on the leg side.
Peakfan - you referred to Middlesex's double header last week and getting all the disappointment over with in one go. Might I suggest the Falcons play a double and two triple headers over a Bank Holiday weekend. We can then all have one big almighty sulk and proceed to live the rest of our weekends in relative calm.
Craig
Hard to argue with well made and presented arguments gents. There has to be a top order rethink for Northants and if Durston is to play as a bowler he needs to go in lower down.
ReplyDeleteLikewise I've been unimpressed by the commentary. I thought it would be better, to be honest and I listened for ten minutes then switched off...
It was a very disappointing performance all round, and we were outplayed by a fairly average side in every department.
ReplyDeleteSome tinkering to the batting order is required, as try as they might, we don't have any players really who can tee off from ball one and make use of the powerplays. The likes of Moore, Chesney Hughes and Durston have done it in the past, but only sporadically in comparison with the openers at other counties, and only Moore looks in anything resembling form. As a result, we are always behind the 8 ball and playing catch up against the opposition's spinners for the rest of the 20 overs. Given the lack of such a hitter, I agree that Madsen opening would be a good thing to at least try.
Another problem after the powerplay was the running between the wickets of North, who to me didn't look fit. It was also the case in the field, as when he was at short third man, the batsmen on two occasions played it straight to him and got a single. Indeed the fielding is the biggest let-down so far this season, more catches have been dropped and fumbles have been made already than there were in the promotion season, and the opposition seemed able to get 2's far more readily than us. The intensity that was there in 2012 has disappeared, and to me is the biggest problem.
The bowling wasn't a major concern, and we bowled as many overs of spin as Lancashire did. The seamers all seemed to do OK but then have one bad over, probably down to the fact they were bowling at 2 batsmen who had already got set.
Despite the amount of criticism I've just dished out the only personnel change I can think that would help is Knight for C Hughes! The cupboard does look a little bare
Footitt is not a 20/20 bowler.
ReplyDeleteDurston needs dropping.
Probably lost ten runs through poor fielding.
Gave up 5 or so on singles which were there.
Knight must play.
Depressing two days for Derby supporters, especially being at both games.