Leicestershire v Derbyshire day 3

Leicestershire 267-5 (Horton 66, Ackerman 65, Reece 3-58)

v Derbyshire

There was an end of season air to the cricket at Leicester today, the players all aware that the 71 overs possible, thanks to the herculean efforts of the groundstaff, were likely to be the game's total.

That it was not the season end, but an unseasonably cold Spring day was betrayed by several Derbyshire players wearing woolly winter hats, rather than the traditional cap. It was a day for the hardy, and perhaps foolhardy.

Truth be told, we didn't bowl especially well today. It was understandable, with a wet ball likely difficult to grip, and none of our bowlers would have wanted a muscle spasm in the cold. Neither South African really hit their stride, but the most we were going to get from the day was three points, and we ended a wicket short of two.

Luis Reece, who continues to prove himself a cricketer of considerable value, ended up with three wickets and bowled some fine balls. I have racked my brains and can think of only one other opening batsman who bowled good quality seam and that was Eddie Barlow, though he latterly dropped to the middle order. I am sure that Luis will be happy to be mentioned in that company...

Ravi Rampaul bowled a decent spell with no luck, while Will Davis bowled a couple of slippery spells that augured well for the season. I was especially impressed by Matt Critchley, who bowled thirteen overs for just 31 runs and a wicket. There was a nice loop to his bowling and he will be a key figure as the summer progresses.

There's still a few too many balls that the batsmen don't need to play, something that was a cardinal sin in the days of Cliff and Les, but we brought it back well from 157-1.

Mind you, it's a good job that tomorrow is set to be a washout. Ed Eckersley was unbeaten on 40 and always gets runs against us, a ton nigh inevitable.

I have a long, twelve-hour day at work tomorrow, so a final wrap-up on the game will likely need to wait until Tuesday.

I don't think any of us will miss too much.