Northamptonshire 289 and 274 (Critchley 6-106, Qadri 3-66)
Derbyshire won by 39 runs
It took Billy Godleman and Derbyshire a while to get the right combination at the right end, but we eventually got Hamidullah Qadri and Matt Critchley on at Queens Park today and reaped the benefits. This was a quite stunning win that came at the end of a terrific game of cricket.
Is it me, or is it just that we are appreciating them more, but this season seems to have produced an extraordinary range of four-day matches. Games across the country that have gone down to the last session, or were still in the balance until the last wicket fell. All of them showing that protestations of four-day cricket being 'dull' are quite simply nonsense.
You don't need Fred Karno's circus, ten overs, one hundred balls or ten-ball overs when the traditional game, in its less thought of form, can produce such games of cricket. Warm congratulations to Chesterfield Cricket Club, whose ability to produce quality wickets that offer help to bat and ball really deserves more matches. We all know about the drainage issues, but there can be little better than seeing a tense finish in such a picturesque setting. And all the time the sun shone on parched grass.
Peakfan's pat on the back goes to Matt Critchley, who today became the first Derbyshire leg-spinner since 'Dusty' Rhodes in 1950 to take ten wickets in a match at Chesterfield. I think he may have been the youngest leggie to take ten in a match for Derbyshire, as Rhodes and Tommy Mitchell were older when they first did it. He was quite possibly the youngest spinner too. Club President Edwin Smith took fourteen wickets in a first-class match against Scotland in 1955, when he was also 21 - there's a nice photograph waiting to be taken!
That is a tremendous feat for Matt. The pressure on young bowlers to deliver when conditions are in their favour is considerable, yet Critchley and seventeen-year old Hamidullah Qadri did a sterling job today. Each took a little stick, which a young spinner can expect on a small ground against a good batting side and with an outfield like lightning. Yet they persevered and came out on top.
Qadri could even be said to have taken the match-turning wicket, a beauty turning to bowl the visiting captain Alex Wakely and open the gates to the lower order. When those watching from the pavilion see a man who is well set castled while playing a defensive shot, doubt can be sown in minds. So it was today.
Whatever Derbyshire do in appointing a new Head of Cricket and whoever is calling the shots at the club - one assumes the Chief Executive - it is IMPERATIVE that the long-term futures of these young players are secured on an appropriate rate for their talents. There are players within any club whose presence is transient and who may or may not make a major contribution in that time.
The likes of Critchley, Qadri, Ben Slater and Harvey Hosein (who also did well here) must be secured for a longer-term future. If they aren't, there will be major questions asked and rightly so.
Of course it is exciting when Derbyshire win a hard-fought game of cricket. It is especially so when the major contributions in that win come from your own. And I'm including Wayne Madsen in that, because he is assuredly an adopted son of the peak, from Durban to Derby.
It was all very nervous this morning and at 227-4, with less than a hundred to win, there looked only one winner. Yet the ball gripped, the catches were held and we emerged victorious, in good time to enjoy the afternoon sunshine ahead of a busy weekend of T20 action.
Grand, isn't it?
Top effort lads, well done!
Fantastic performance. I said we needed 275-300+ and we would have just squeaked it if 275. I was disappointed we didn’t turn the screw a bit more yesterday when on top but the pitch made for what seemed like a great game of cricket. Well done Matt and Hamidulla great to see spin do so well. And home grown spin at that. Not overseas spin. Well done. Onwards and upwards. A strong finish to the season is needed to make everyone optimistic about the new structure and supremo whoever that will be.
ReplyDeleteWhen did Derbyshire last win a CC game at Chesterfield?
ReplyDeleteThank heavens for Wayne Madsen and his continued decline!! Legend.
ReplyDeleteEeee, ain't life grand Peakfan.
ReplyDeleteCracking result for the club, with the celebrations at the end showing all of the lads coming together, and perhaps putting to bed all the allegations of unrest and disharmony.
These are the days we live for, and I agree with your comments that most of the younger players need to be rewarded and tied to long contracts now.
Critchley, Qadri, Hosein and Slater, if he doesn't go to Notts seconds have all proved they can play in County cricket, Let's ensure they remain at DCCC.
cracking performance when at start of play it all looked a bit iffy.
ReplyDeleteYes, the younger players should be given a longer term future at Derbyshire
Excellent result & well played to everyone. Over the 4 days it would appear everybody contributed to the victory.
ReplyDeleteI did comment after day one Dan Wheeldon's contribution with the bat could be important & it proved to be.
Well done to the young spin bowlers especially in the 2nd innings.
After leaving the ground 3rd evening I did not think we would win the game because I thought Northants where on top & looked comfortable.
I'm pleased to say I was wrong!!
Chesterfield a lovely venue for cricket especially with the weather we are having.
Looking forward to the game on Saturday against Yorkshire.
Belief, desire and passion are the key words for Saturday!
MH
What a great match
ReplyDeleteOver 1100 runs at just under 4 an over
40 wickets with a wicket every 6 overs
7 players getting at least one score of 50 or more including 2 centuries
A bowler getting 10 in the match
Result in the balance until right at the end
Sun shining throughout
And we won!
Only sorry I couldn’t be there
David (exiled in Lancs)
I've previously commented on my doubts about the viability of Chesterfield if the drainage problems can't be sorted out, but there's no question that in good weather it is a magnificent place to watch cricket, and this game came right out of the top drawer with some superb performances. Whilst we're all focussing, quite rightly, on Derbyshire, I thought the individual outstanding batting and bowling performances came from Alex Wakeley and Ben Sanderson, who both deserved better than to be on the losing side and contributed hugely to a fascinating and fluctuating game.
ReplyDeleteI didn't feel quite as nervous as many seem to have done about the outcome. It seemed to me that after we recovered from the wobble on the first morning, we always stayed just enough ahead in a game in which wickets fell in clusters outside a handful of lengthy partnerships. My doubts were more about whether the pitch was going to live up to expectations on the last day, as there were long periods on the third day when batting seemed almost serene. Critchley and Qadri bowled beautifully in tandem, and were well supported by some outstanding fielding and intelligent and sensitive captaincy. It's worth noting that Critchley was also instrumental in our other 4 day win, being trusted to get us over the line when it looked as though Middlesex might frustrate us.
It was also a game that vindicated those of us who have been criticising the batting order. With Hosein and Critchley in the right positions, there was a solidity to the middle order that has been missing for so much of the season, while Wilson looks a much better fit at 7 than higher in the order. Hughes remains a problem at 4 and despite his century in the last match, looks no more in form than he has for most of the season. Godleman's return to opening didn't bring a magical return to form for him, although he had a solidity and fluency about his short innings that suggests that runs for him might be around the corner. Madsen's innings was a masterclass of restraint mixed with controlled aggression, and although it had a slightly tame end as he tried a one day run to third man with a slip in the way, it wound the clock back a couple of years to his very best (sorry Jasper, look in the scorebooks, the evidence is there). Palladino's first innings bowling was essential to keeping us in the game on the second day, and from thinking at the start of the season that this might be his last year, he seems to have regained the snap and metronomic accuracy that has been his stock in trade for so long.
A couple of words for unsung heroes. I thought Viljoen bowled much better than his figures suggest, and on a different day might have got much better rewards. And for Dan Wheeldon, I suspect there may not be many more opportunities to discuss him, as he looked pretty much what he is, a good quality league bowler. It's a legitimate question to ask why we need to play him after the huge investment we've made in pace bowling, but his battling first innings made sure we got to a competitive score, and his removal of Ben Duckett on the third evening was a critical blow. With a fully committed performance in the field (I suspect he left a significant chunk of his shins behind after one diving stop, he epitomised a determined and disciplined team effort.
This win means that we go into the last 6 matches of the season on the tails of the leading group rather than scrapping for the wooden spoon, which is where we would have been if we'd lost. In amongst all of the gloom and despondency, we shouldn't ignore that if we had shown the discipline in the two matches against Durham and the one against Glamorgan and converted winning positions into wins, we would have been top of the division. More of the same when the championship resumes, and we can still finish in a position that more appropriately reflects the improvements we've seen since 2016.
No need to look in any scorebooks.. Wayne Madsen 705 runs at an average of 47 and the leading run scorer in div 2. I only wish i was in such a decline...i am sure at some point Wayne's powers will decline but to suggest that he has reached that point now is complete nonsense.
DeleteAnd btw i am not Wayne, or a member of his family or even a close friend!
Good summation notoveryet. Thank you
ReplyDeleteI had previously thought that Qadri was the favourite to be the next Derbyshire player to play for England (the full side, not the Lions etc). Now I think Critchley will do it first...
ReplyDeleteShame I could only make the first day which was patently the least interesting and even then I left before we took the late wickets. Such is life, but credit to the missus who was attending her first ever 'proper' game and there wasn't a single expression of boredom. Bodes well I guess.
ReplyDelete