That this game ended in a draw was not remotely surprising, given the amount of time that the weather took from it.
What was remarkable was that there was as much play, given that the BBC weather this morning had dark clouds hovering over Cardiff all day long. They got 68 overs in, sufficient time for Wayne Madsen to find his way back to the form that was always inevitable and for Scott Elstone to record a maiden century that was welcome and, apparently, impressive. An unbeaten 103 from 131 balls is an impressive rate to score a maiden ton and the batsman has given Graeme Welch a selection dilemma ahead of the next match. It is hard to drop someone who scores 151 runs for once out in a game, that's for sure.
From the comments, it would appear a few of you felt that yesterday's declaration by Jacques Rudolph was perfectly acceptable. That is, of course, your prerogative, and healthy debate is always good and enjoyed.
I still maintain that the declaration was at best a gimmick and at worst a cynical ploy to get their over rate back up. Rudolph may have opened with Hogan and Carter today, but he had Cosker on pretty sharply, after six overs and at no point did I feel that this young Derbyshire side was under threat.
I accept that the Glamorgan skipper was entitled to declare his innings when he wanted, but in doing so he laid himself open to accusations that he could have avoided with a little thought. I'm not convinced the combination of his attack and that wicket would have been an issue for us, but he did what he did and that's the end of it.
For Derbyshire, although we lost a lot of play (and two possible bowling points) there was much to respect in a solid performance. Competition for places is hotting up, we've found a young leg-spinner and Amla is coming.
Looking forward to Sunday already!
The batting practice afforded to Elstone and Madsen by Rudolph will, I'm sure, prove to be of far greater value than any extra overs our bowlers may have got.
ReplyDeleteWe move on, hopefully with players back the next time we line up.
An excellent effort from elstone, very impressed and hopefully it will give him some real confidence going forward, shame chesney didn't get some runs as well.
ReplyDeleteSaw madden describe the declaration on the bbc website as 60% about the bonus points and 40% about winning. I think that's about right to be honest. It can certainly never be proved otherwise so I would be amazed if there were any points deductions. I think it will be quietly forgotten about.
We move on to Sunday. I will be there for the first two sessions or so. Look forward to seeing you there peakfan.
Spireite Tim
Yes, somewhat ironic that the declaration enabled a first ton for one of our lads!
ReplyDeleteLook forward to seeing you on Sunday Tim - it will be good to catch up mate!