Derbyshire 370 and 166
Lancashire 551
Lancashire won by an innings and 15 runs
Not much time chez Peakfan tonight, as we celebrate, albeit a couple of days early, our daughter's eighteenth birthday. She and our son head down to Manchester for a few nights with friends tomorrow, so it is a whirlwind of activity here, with bags being packed and presents unwrapped.
All a little more celebratory than events in Southport today, although few of us would have anticipated a positive ending to this game. Lancashire's spinners duly capitalised on a wicket that gave them the expected assistance and when Hashim Amla went for eleven, the writing was on the wall in big neon letters.
We need players back to fitness before a major upswing in fortunes will take place. Getting the services of Tillakaratne Dilshan as well as Hashim Amla for Friday's T20 against Lancashire is a welcome boost, although the ongoing absence of Nathan Rimmington is a cause for concern.
For now, the players will regroup and prepare for that game, but you can't fast track experience and we have a lot of players who simply don't have that at this level.
On the up side, if one takes the overseas players out of the game, ours acquitted themselves not too badly. We needed more first innings runs and you simply cannot legislate for when an international batsman plays at his best.
More from me tomorrow, when I will have more time.
I think it shows that where possible it is much more useful to have a regular overseas player or two max playing over the course of the season where they have time to bed into the team and get used to conditions. You only have to look at Lancashire with Prince and Petersen (I know they are Kolpaks but you would take one of them as an overseas if you had them all year)
ReplyDeleteI know it is good for the marketing team to get the likes of Amla in but it simply hasn't worked out on the playing side. I'd like to say that I am positive about Dilshan but looking at his figures for Surrey last year I'm not too convinced - I hope to be proved wrong!