Derbyshire 241 and 13-1
Derbyshire need 60 runs to win
All of a sudden, Derbyshire have got quite good at this four-day cricket...
The "worst team in our history", as described by a fan on another site, who should really be ashamed, has now won, barring a collapse tomorrow that is surely beyond even our darkest days, two games on the trot and moved neatly up the table in the process.
We're not yet a great side and the discerning are well aware of the areas for improvement. But we weren't the worst one either, just a squad short of confidence. That should now be flowing through the side like water through a colander, today's cricket every bit as impressive as that of the first day.
One gets the distinct impression, to use a phrase that Graeme Welch is fond of, that we are now bowling as a unit and, crucially, playing as a team. The trio of Footitt, Palladino and Taylor complement each other nicely and, unlike last year and the early part of this season, the bowlers give little away and act as a mutual support unit in which one or another takes the lead.
If it doesn't always work, David Wainwright chips in and, with Wes Durston back in the team and form, we look a decent and balanced side again - at least in four-day cricket.
Today, the tail did remarkably well to steer us to a lead of over a hundred, despite losing the wickets of the two men most likely to take us to that position in the opening overs. David Wainwright, Tony Palladino and Mark Footitt (pictured) then batted with common sense and no little skill to take us to a position of strength, before Footitt unleashed himself.
On this season's form, there's not a better left-arm bowler in English cricket than Footitt and his new-found fitness, coupled with a vastly improved radar and no loss of pace, makes him one of the most potent weapons in the county game. Only Saeed Ajmal has more wickets than him this summer and opening batsmen must be thinking of career alternatives when it all clicks, as it so obviously did today.
Quite simply, he destroyed a not insignificant batting order, ably assisted by Tom Taylor, whose own form has been quite extraordinary since he made his debut. It is tribute to the young man's progress that no one is mentioning Tim Groenewald - and few of us would have seen that coming.
No chicken counting tonight, but if we don't seal the win tomorrow, look out for Peakfan's loom band site from next week.
Different author and perhaps a different target audience...
Postscript - if Mark Footitt doesn't get a Lions tour this winter, people at Lords should be ashamed of themselves...
I wouldn't stick 5p on your suggestion that Footitt gets a lions call up Peakfan, not going to happen. He plays for Derbyshire afterall. Things looking much rosier now and I think it's down to the balance of the side. We still need that big scoring opening bat to come into the team though as Godleman simply isn't the answer. He maybe has One decent innings in Fifteen in him which is nowhere near good enough, he needs to go.
ReplyDeleteOnwards and upwards they say, and here's to that top half finish.
You can put your 5p on Mark's possible selection for the Lions; after all one of the selectors is housed at Trent Bridge and Mark's pace as strike bowler and the angles he bowls at are (and always have been) held in high regard at Trent Bridge. The danger to your 5p is that would you risk it on Mark being fit by the end of the season? Being prone to injury was always Mr Footitt's Achilles heal; let's face it, if he could stay fit consistently season after season do you really think he'd had made that journey on the Red Arrow west along the A52? Of course not, he'd he in the Test team by now - the automatic successor to Ryan Sidebottom at test level and with his home county.
ReplyDeleteI don't see Mark Footitt as a selection possible for Lions at ODI level however, but you never know, the selectors like to see how players make that step up - and it is a large step up from Div 2 to just Div 1 (it took Derbyshire collectively 4 months to work that out 2013) but the step to Lions is a bit on top again........... you just know the Sri Lankans will be full of runs and bowlers have already rolled Durham over. Good luck to Mark Footitt in his endeavors and well done on 50 Div 2 wickets 2014.
Fom what i,ve heard, the pitch is far from blameless. The rain we had prior to the match is certainly a factor and there has been some good bowling,but all the batsmen have struggled to a lesser or greater extent and the match could easily have been over inside 2 days.
ReplyDeleteI,m not complaining as we look certain to win and that was the objective.Let us just say it was a good toss to win.
All the bowlers have contributed and Footitt must have really enjoyed himself yesterday,along with Taylor,who appears to be developing at a phenominal rate.
It was good to see the tail wag and the contributions from Wainwright and Palladino with the bat did much to put us in a winning position. We should now wrap this up fairly quickly and the league table will be one we dare to look at. The win against Leicestershire was something of a fluke,as subsequent results proved,but it does now seem as if we are heading in the right direction. The team looks better balanced and more confident and we can look forward to the last few matches with renewed optimism.
Ha ha Marc,
ReplyDeleteHow can a nine wicket win be a fluke?