Monday 20 April 2015

Derbyshire v Lancashire day 2

Lancashire 292 and 36-3 (Taylor 2-13)
Derbyshire 274 (Durston 85, Godleman 76)
Lancashire lead by 55 runs 

At the end of day two of what appears an absorbing contest on a good cricket wicket, one thing is clear.

If Lancashire can be reasonably used as a benchmark of the best that the division has to offer, then Derbyshire are set for a good season. The visitors are 55 runs ahead with seven second innings wickets left. The key partnership is the current one, between the two of the visiting side's three Kolpak players. If we can dismiss Petersen and/or Prince early tomorrow (ideally both) then we should not have to chase much more than 200 in the final innings. I suspect that we'd prefer the chase to be under that, if at all possible, given that five of our wickets went to spin.

You would have got long odds, were you inclined to visit your local bookie, on Guptill, Madsen and Thakor all getting ducks today. These things happen and do to everyone, but the fact that Derbyshire still came close to parity on first innings speaks volumes for the battling spirit in the side.

At 26-3, with our two best batsmen back in the pavilion, long-time supporters might even have feared the follow-on, but Billy Godleman and Wes Durston first stabilised the innings and then became more expansive, unfurling a full range of strokes to seize the initiative. It was a fine start to the summer for both batsmen, Godleman making an early positive statement in a big season for him. To be fair, it merely confirmed the positive 'vibe' about his game from the tail end of last summer, as he and Wes put on 148 in just 32 overs.

Durston in such form is a delight to watch and it is encouraging to see him in the runs at the start of a summer in which he will skipper the side in T20 matches. There was encouragement too in the late runs of Alex Hughes and Harvey Hosein, who with support from Tony Palladino took is to within 19 of the visitors tally.

'This is a big last eleven overs for Lancashire' wrote someone on Cricinfo's live feed. Indeed it was - and they struggled. Having bowled Reece in the first innings, Mark Footitt did for his opening partner this time, while Tom Taylor, given the new ball, responded in the best way by having Reece caught behind and night watchman Peter Siddle caught in the slips. This, coming after he summarily ended the visitor's innings this morning, made for a fine day for the young seamer.

It is all to play for at the middle of the match. With a good weather forecast, a positive result, one way or the other, seems likely and that first session tomorrow is huge in a fledgling season.

Aggression. Attack. Achieve. They're not the right words for the 3aaa County Ground's sponsors, but they're pretty close to what we need tomorrow.

The game is there for the taking after two good days of cricket. Games can be won from such positions and we have worked hard to get here.

Who is going to step up and do the business?

6 comments:

  1. went today - glorious weather. My thoughts on day. Made light work of clearing up the Lancs tail - then i thought we started quite well but Ben missed a straight one and then a fair dinkum Aussie did for Gups and Mads - have to take your hat off to him. Billy G was majestic and Wes played an innings we all know he can albeit he waved his bat round like a fly swatter early on and played and missed a dozen times but he does know how to attack - went after Kerrigan a bit to early and then we struggled a bit - impressive runs from Hughes and especially Hosein brought us just short. Lancs then wobbled horriblly and some balls from Footit and Taylor to be fair were rapid to say the least - one cleared Hosein and nearly went for 6 byes! Anyones game tomorrow tbh. Ground looks good - 2 minor gripes - the wooden ledge on memebrs balcony is just at the wrong height and blocks view of game when sitting down plus bonkers decision to have no club shop in the ground - online sales only apparently!

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  2. Do you think Gup, Mads and Thakor had a wager between them on who could get out the quickest today?, lol. Going to go down to the wire this game, as whatever we're chasing, we'll sure make hard work of it. Taylor the stand out performer for me today. What a prospect!

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  3. Thanks for the comments, appreciated as always, Creweblade. Hope to catch you down at Derby before too long.
    I understand that the club shop issue is a temporary one and will be sorted in due course. With all the work going on - generally much improved - there had to be some short-term issues.
    Encouraging stuff though mate, I'm sure you will agree!

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  4. It would be an excellent result if we could beat a side containing 4 overseas players. Not sure if their captain is Tom Smith or Ban Ki-Moon. Not heard much debate about Kolpak players just lately.... Good to see Ashley promoting the next generation of England players!

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  5. A really good game so far, I'd say it's about even going into day 3. Guptill and Madsen getting 0 between them was a big blow that not so long ago would have rendered the game beyond us, but this side is made of sterner stuff! There were a few disappointing shots, both Godleman and Durston should have got hundreds but rather gave it away I felt, which I hope doesn't prove costly.

    I think it's worth making the point that this side has 10 English qualified players in it, compared to just 7 for our opponents. Indeed Lancashire seem very reliant with the bat on their kolpak contingent, surely a concern for them looking into the future, and they may struggle to maintain a promotion push if Petersen gets injured. I suspect the match may resolve itself on how he bats, though Simon Kerrigan will be a real weapon if we are chasing anything above 200. Even if we don't win this one though, I've seen more than enough to suggest we should be challenging right to the end

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  6. It,s hard to call the winner.Much will depend on how quickly we can remove the Lancashire batsmen. I think Kerrigan,s figures flattered him a little,aided by some iffy shot selection. Well done to Godleman,Durston,Hughes and Hosein who were instumental in taking us close to parity.

    The first session today is a vital one for both teams.For ourselves it,s a case of charity ends at home.We have to be ruthless and make sure we give no second chances to their front line batsmen.

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