Derbyshire 128 (Amla 29, Hughes (C) 27, Poynton 27)
Yorkshire 131-3 (Cotton 2-19)
Yorkshire won by seven wickets
I'm not going to be too harsh on Derbyshire today.
For one thing, they were playing the best team in the country and were soundly beaten. They were short of some of their best players (though so too were Yorkshire) and they at least bowled pretty well. The four-over spell of Ben Cotton for just nineteen runs is something to build on, while Shiv Thakor also did a good job.
The bottom line, however, is that you will win one game in twenty with a score like that, only then if you are playing on a dirt track. I am sure we are a better side than we showed tonight, but appearances on paper need to be backed up by on-field performance. To go from 66-1 to 82-6 in four overs is amateurish. The game is all about partnerships and we didn't get any going after the second wicket fell.
Tom Poynton struck some lusty blows, but we need some of our older heads in to give a greater balance to the side. Whether they will be fit for Leicestershire next week I don't know, but we have to do much better with the bat.
There is little point in comparing ourselves to Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire, however. At this stage they are a long way ahead of us. What we need to do is pick ourselves up and do a whole lot better against Leicestershire.
They are beatable, but only if we up our game by one hundred per cent. They worked hard at the T20 drills over the winter, but the batsmen were found sadly wanting tonight.
Finally for now, congratulations to Mark Footitt for being selected to work with England ahead of the first Test against New Zealand. Maybe some fast yorkers on the toes of the other seamers are called for to force the hands of the selectors...
Also worthy of note is the top score of Hamish Rutherford for New Zealand today. It augurs well for his spell with us later in the summer.
Just a pity he wasn't in Leeds tonight, preferably with a few mates.
We are simply awful at the T20 stuff. It seems to come as a surprise to them each year.
ReplyDeleteI think the batting order needs a bit of a rethink, why is the in form Scott Elstone batting below Alex Hughes and Billy Godleman. Godleman's inclusion is particularly odd, given that he struggles to rotate the strike against spin and isn't a big hitter either. I'd rather see Ben Slater in that role,mor even better see him go nearer the top of the order and move everyone else down. Footitt is also an odd inclusion, though in the absence of literally every other senior fast bowler understandable. Wainwright also needs a good performance before Dilshan comes, it'll be quite tempting to leave him out when we get another batsman who offers a spin option
ReplyDeletePeakfan, could you please clear up for simpletons like me, what the plans are for our overseas players this season. Has Guptill gone for good, how long is Amla here for?, where does Dilshan fit in?, etc etc. I'm a bit confused with it all. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteI know that we were playing one of the stronger teams but its the same old thing. You have highlighted in your articles for a number of years the importance of a single, over a dot ball and the need to constantly rotate bowlers. We had 50 dot balls out of 110 faced last night and there were too many 2 and 3 over spells for the bowlers. If its possible Mark Foottit seems to bowl too fast for this format and continued at last year's rate of over 10 an over. Yet he bowled his full allocation, but Shiv Thakor only got to bowl his third when the game was gone in the final over of their innings. If only we had a squad the size of our neighbours who can afford to allow Hales to go off and join the IPL and Fletcher to join Surrey on loan for red ball practise. (Completely off topic, but I'm not sure I agree with a loan system that means he can be loaned for County Championship yet still play for them in T20)
ReplyDeleteCraig
one positive thing for me from a very disappointing evening is that Chesney Hughes is now surely a fixture in all forms of cricket for Derbyshire. I would not want him dropped from any of our teams. Perhaps next season the pre-season tour will be a weekend get together in Margate- it will be as useful as a costly visit to Dubai or wherever, on the evidence so far.
ReplyDelete