Derbyshire 222 and 234-9 (Madsen 62, Hosein 54 not out)
Derbyshire won by 1 wicket
Phew!
You can have all the T20s that your heart desires, but this was proper, nerve-jangling, nail-biting, stomach-churning stuff. Four days of cricket that was like a prize fight, the sides trading blows and in turn gaining the ascendancy, before it all came down to one ball left in an over, Nathan Buck to bowl it to Ravi Rampaul.
To be fair to Ravi, batting exploits haven't littered his career like confetti at a wedding, but here he faced up to a bowler who had bowled well and with great hostility. It may have been the last delivery of the over, but it could have been the last of the match.
Yet after threatening a starring role, Buck blew his lines. A shortish ball, on Rampaul's hip, which he flicked with Caribbean wristiness to fine leg for four. Perhaps the worst ball that Buck bowled at the wrong time, but there will be no complaints in the Derbyshire camp.
In a summer that has been littered with close matches, this was up there with the best of them. Tony Palladino finished off the home innings this morning in quick time, before the early loss of Billy Godleman confirmed that the run chase would be a challenging one.
Yet the subsequent 94 run second-wicket partnership between the impressive Tom Lace and the always impressive Wayne Madsen suggested that we might stroll it, against the odds. They took their partnership into the afternoon before Lace went, then Madsen's dismissal put the game back in the balance. His excellent 62 left him 48 runs short of another thousand in the season, a fine effort.
The collapse was on when Gary Wilson inexplicably called for a single that was never there, then Matt Critchley, short of runs and confidence, was caught at slip. 116-2 had become 122-5 in the blink of an eye and the home side were suddenly favourites, with 111 still to win.
Then came Harvey Hosein. For the rest of the afternoon the youngster never looked in trouble, for the simple reason that he, like Madsen and Lace before him, played straight and through the 'V'. Batsmen got in trouble here when they played across the line and although Anuj Dal and Hardus Viljoen lent important support, we still needed nine when last man Rampaul sauntered to the crease.
Yet Hosein showed his growing maturity by shielding him, as well as his growing confidence with an audacious ramp over fine leg to reach an outstanding fifty. He declined singles to protect Rampaul from the rampaging Buck and deserved to score the winning runs.
That honour went to Rampaul, whose fist pump as the ball crossed the boundary showed how much it meant to him. The teams cheers could be heard over the radio too, rightly so as their fourth win of a progressive summer took them to fourth in the table.
I have seen plenty of abject run chases by Derbyshire over the years. Less a chase, than the hesitant limping of an arthritic snail. Here they battled it out, fought their corner and, when the denouement came, it was our own light heavyweight who took us across the line.
More thoughts from me tomorrow, but Harvey Hosein can be a very proud young man tonight.
He has got back into the team and, rather echoing my comments of early season, he has grabbed it with both hands.
The role deserves to be his now.
The spoils go to Derbyshire, after a fantastic game of cricket.
A great win for Derbyshire, and whilst there are dome negatives we have to take our hats off and celebrate a close win. In the past we would have failed in a close run chase like this so we have made strides forward this year. Whilst not setting the game alight lace has not let us down, and would be a good acquisition if available, he is young and can progress. I think we should give Harvey hosein a massive pat on the back, since the powers that be have trusted him in the last couple of games his batting contribution to the late order has given us some back bone and made we supporters feel that we can eak out some runs from the tail. Well done to him for grasping that opportunity. Roll on the arrival of Dave Houghton when hopefully we can batten down some of these existing contracts, and add what he wants to them. Well done boys congratulations all round.
ReplyDeleteA great victory, for all the reasons you mention. Harvey Hosein refused to throw it away, and deserves huge credit. We need players who aren't content with flashy cameos, and he has proved more than once that he has the mental strength to cope with challenging situations.
ReplyDeleteA pleasing win, as they all are when you're a Derbyshire supporter. Further confirmation for me, were it needed, in the contrasting performances of the two wicket-keepers that I'd be seeking to pay one of them up.
ReplyDeleteHaving spent much of the last 3 days chuntering about Derbyshire letting good positions in the game slip, this was a great day's work, from Palladino's surgical removal of the Northants tail to Hosein's calm and unflustered shepherding home of the innings. Although there was less movement than on the previous days, batting continued to be a challenge. Lace and Madsen deserve credit for getting through the morning. Lace needs to work on rotating the strike, as I've seen him get bogged down and then out as the pressure of maidens builds on him a few times. Apart from Wilson's run out, I don't think anyone can be faulted for getting out, although it probably looked from a distance like a typical Derbyshire collapse.
ReplyDeleteBen Sanderson was quite outstanding and confirmed my view that Lancs have got the second best bowler at Northants. He was Hendricks-esque in his accuracy, persistent hostility, and ability to wear down any batsman. Hutton was challenging as well, and although he's had a bit of a slow start to his Northants/ career, I think he weas someone we should have been looking at last year instead of chasing expensive Kolpaks.
I've been one of the cheerleaders for Harvey Hosein, as I've now seen him countless times batting with this kind of solidity and authority. Everything looks jittery about him until the bowler's running in, and then he's very calm and controlled. On a day when everyone was being beaten regularly, he didn't play and miss at much and only played one false shot. He's one of our most versatile batsmen, being as comfortable against spin as anyone, as he showed against Kent. Hopefully, taking Derbyshire home in this game will boost his confidence about his role in the team and in his own ability. Whether keeping wicket or not, I'd be inclined to bat him at 5, partly so that we can see how many of his not-outs he can convert into big scores, but also so that he can be the one that others bat around, a role that Madsen always used to be superlative at but doesn't do that often any more.
Not least a cause for celebration is the fact that Derbyshire showed that they have learned to win without playing particularly well. There are a lot of issues to be sorted out, but David Houghton can at least be assured that if this group of players can be kept together, there's some real character in the team. It's worth reflecting again that if we had nailed down the two games against Durham when we had the chance to, we would have been only 5 points behind Sussex and still dreaming about promotion. However bad Derbyshire can still look at times, that is real improvement.
Well done lads very pleased, nice to win a nail biter for once.
ReplyDeleteWell done to Lace, we need to try to get him on perm or on loan next season, I love a LH/RH opening partnership and Reece at 3 and Madsen at 4 would be perfect for me, I always think best bat plays 4 or Reece and Wayne can swap if Wayne prefers 3. Lace has yet to get the half century but he's seen off many a new ball and has looked good getting his 30s and 40s, more to come and hopefully DH has this one on his desk when he starts if its not already informally been agreed. If he's not gonna play next season a loan makes sense but lets try to get him signed up properly.
Hughes is in good form and finishing season well again.
Rampaul did well for a change he has been my biggest disappointment this season and Viljeon bowled well in patches and what can you say about Palladino class as always, miserly, challenging and takes wickets. Sign him up!
Hughes is not a 4 though so he bats 5 or 6 for me next season and ideally we get rid of Wilson who is not cutting it that run out today was embarassing. The fact he is so stop start with Ireland doesn't help him. I think he will end up staying as mates with BG but we should look to improve on him at 5, one day player at best for me and back up keeper. Smit is probably best placed to be 2nd Xl keeper and maybe even captain if the Kettlebrough experiment is not extended. Hosein needs the gloves and to bat 7 or maybe even higher at 6 but lots not get carried away he needs a full season too improve his keeping and to keep scoring runs he has been treated disrespectfully. It was clear 2-3 years ago he had something special with the bat and if we lose him we have ourselves to blame and I would blame Billy who much as I do like him, as I have said before I think we placed too much pressure on him and he needs to improve the captaincy. In an ideal world I would like middle order experienced player bringing in but not sure finances will suffice. Critchley is a 7 or 8 at best 6 is too high. He's an attacking player and should be below Hosein who can build an innings as we have seen today.
Something like this next season would please me
1 Godleman
2 Lace
3 Reece
4 Madsen
5 New middle order player, experienced head, Kolpak?
6 Hughes
7 Hosein
8 Critchley
9 Palladino
10 Viljeon
11 Olivier
That middle lower order would then look better to me and with Palladino able to hang around and Viljeon who can clear the boundary it looks much more solid.
Reece and Hughes is more than enough as 4th and 5th seamers. Hughes has shown recently he has been criminally under bowled this season. I would like him at 6 as he is in as a true all-rounder then not a 4 and tell him we expect him to influence games in both domains.
All in all some very positive steps taken, 4th in the table is an excellent return and we need to finish strong. Felling chuffed for a change, although clearly there are things we can work on as per my post.
Even though we always seem to be in a crisis of some sort if someone offered 4th place (with a couple games to go) in Red Ball and just missing out on qualifying out of groups in both white ball we would have probably taken that at the start of the season as a decent season.
ReplyDeleteWe need to give Hosein a full season as keeper. It is the only way he is going to get better with the gloves and with Dave Houghton being an ex keeper this can only be a big help.
No more Kolpaks for now please. They have been to much hit and miss for me. Plus I don't think the money is there
ReplyDeleteHate to say I told you so PF but how many runs does Harvey have to get before he gets the Job first pick? This was clear to me and many others 2 seasons ago and actually got fed up of commenting on it. 2 years of proper development lost in my eyes. Nothing ever surprises me at DCCC. Wouldn’t be surprised if we take the guy from Leicester and Hosein goes the other way. That would be typical
ReplyDeleteDerby John
Hosein needs to bat at 6. Substance over style. Not that he lacks the second, but a better fit would be either Critchley or Hughes following, not in front of.
ReplyDeleteThat would give HH time to recover from a day ( maybe ) behind the stumps, yet allow him the time needed to build, not just bat with the tail.
Yes, I'm aware there are ten other players contributing, but with Elkesley and now Foster calling it a day I do hope a contract of "worth" is being offered in the near future.