As the calendar moves inexorably forward, we come to a home game against Kent that takes the season into September, its final month.
It is not yet beyond the realms of possibility that we could mount a late promotion charge, but most important, for me, is that we finish well, to leave supporters feeling that this has been a season of progress.
Let's face it, most of the critics and journalists had Derbyshire finishing bottom in four-day cricket, as well as nowhere in the other competitions. At present we are sixth out of ten, a top half finish very possible with the right attitude, a little luck and some strong displays.
After the last match the major concern was having an eleven fit enough to play against Kent. Harvey Hosein dislocated a finger before it, Ravi Rampaul was unwell and Ben Slater was hit on the helmet and had to retire from the match.
Ben has played his last match for Derbyshire and will now ply his trade at the other end of the A52. So opportunity knocks as an opening partner tomorrow for Middlesex opener Tom Lace, who comes in on loan to the end of the season. I don't see this as part of a longer term deal, as the player is contracted to Middlesex to the end of 2020.
We needed someone, as there was no other 'natural' opener on the staff, apart from James Kettleborough. Once he was announced in the second team match today, it either meant that someone was coming in, or that Anuj Dal would get an opportunity to play.
I hope he still does, but it would not have been fair to ask a non-opener to do so while trying to impress and win a contract. Dal should play in the middle order and unless the wicket is dry, I would omit Qadri and Rampaul, which would leave Viljoen, Ferguson and Palladino to bowl seam, with Ervine and Hughes in support and Critchley for spin.
With Rampaul and Hosein fit, the thirteen reads:
Godleman, Lace, Madsen, Hughes, Ervine, Critchley, Hosein, Dal, Palladino, Viljoen, Rampaul, Ferguson, Qadri
Kent welcome back Matt Henry, who has been so successful this season, for the run in. The evergreen Darren Stevens is still a key member of their side, while a strong batting line up is led by Heino Kuhn.
Their squad:
Billings, Bell-Drummond, Crawley, Kuhn, Denly, Dickson, Podmore, Stevens, Stewart, Thomas, Riley, Henry, Robinson
It will be a tough game and will take some winning, but it should be a good game to watch and follow.
I will be down in Derbyshire for the duration of the match, but this is a family holiday and I will need to monitor from afar.
My thoughts will appear each evening, or as time permits.
Nothing against Tom Lace in person but a bit disappointed with the signing as the purpose of having a small squad at the start of the season was to give our 2nd XI players an opportunity should there be an opening in the first team.
ReplyDeleteCould Calum Brodrick have played ? Was Callum MacLeod available ?
Inspite of this, weather permitting I am hopeful of a positive result.
I think the key to this match is to make sure we have as dry and grassless a pitch as possible. Kent's unlikely success this year has been so much based on their seam and swing bowlers on friendly pitches that we need to give them the antithesis. We can't control the overhead conditions and what looks likely to be a cool and cloudy morning means that Kent will certainly put us in, but a dry pitch will make it an uneasy decision.
ReplyDeleteIf this is the pitch we get, I'd expect to see Qadri playing instead of Rampaul. Dal deserves to play after his sterling effort at Hove, whilst Ervine deserves to be sent back to Southampton after his appalling second innings which smacked of someone who either doesn't care or can't cope any more. You know from his record than he's been a better player than missed reverse sweeps to his first two balls immediately before lunch, but the jury is very much out on whether he still is. Nonetheless, I expect him to play rather than Dal because apparently we need his experience. Let's hope we see some runs and a sense of responsibility to go with it.
I'm not altogether happy that we've belatedly agreed a loanee opener, partly because it's been done so late when we've known that Slater has been going for weeks - he has said himself that he thought he'd be released several weeks ago - and partly because we have no alternative opener able to step up. I'm not sure why Macleod or Chesney Hughes weren't an option, unless it's a financial issue, rather than a young player that I suspect no-one in the Derbyshire set-up has ever seen. His recent second XI form for Middlesex hasn't been inspiring, but we have to hope that he can emulate what his county colleague, Max Holden, achieved at a similar stage of his career with Northants last year.
I think I have to favour Kent as they are brimming with confidence, and it's unlikely that it will have been knocked out of them by their t20 defeat. Having said that, they are a very vulnerable batting side, and one dimensional in their bowling, so it's certainly one that we can win, particularly if we get the pitch and the selection right. I think, though, that my residual optimism about the prospect of a late promotion challenge disappeared with the defeat by Sussex. It's not impossible, particularly as we have (on paper at least) an easy run in against teams below us in the table, all of whom we've beaten in the last 12 months. Especially with a win against Kent, a top 4 position would represent solid evidence of the improvements that have been made, even with the frustrations and disappointments that this season has brought.
I don’t see the point of signing a lad with zero experience and a very moderate 2nd XI record if there’s no intention of making it permanent at all. I’d much rather see a talented local teenager who does that job with his club/rep sides get the gig.
ReplyDelete