Derbyshire 153 and 84
Lancashire 236 and 4-0
Lancashire won by ten wickets
Much as I had predicted last night, the end of this game came before lunch and Lancashire ran out easy winners by ten wickets.
Jimmy Anderson had match figures of 9-47 and Graham Onions 8-57, highlighting their class for all to see. It was a baptism of fire for the Derbyshire batsmen, although Harvey Hosein fought well for his 29 runs.
There was a gulf between the two sides, but a quick look at the league table shows a similar gulf between Lancashire and everyone. As I write, we are still fourth in the league table and there is no disgrace in such a position.
It was nice to hear in Dave Houghton's post match interview that Anderson was impressed by Sam Conners and said so to Steve Kirby. He is a talented lad and will only get better with exposure to this level of cricket.
He will almost certainly get to bowl against Australia A on Sunday, when we will field a side made up of the senior batsmen and the younger bowlers. Houghton felt that Tony Palladino looked jaded against Glamorgan, while I thought Ravi Rampaul the same in this match. Both are in their mid-thirties, after all.
Hopefully a good crowd turns up to watch some exciting Australian talent on Sunday and the travails of this game can be consigned to history.
More from me between times.
Hi Peakfan,
ReplyDeleteIf Graham Onions and James Anderson could roll up and carry a pitch and weather conditions around the county for the remainder of this season, the past few days of this fixture would have been it! The weather and humidity has been absolutely perfect for swing bowling and it is just unfortunate that this “perfect storm” coincided with our fixture against Lancashire. At the start of the season you would probably not of had this down as a likely victory so I hope the lads are not too disappointed with the result. I always try to look for positives and Luis Reece bowled beautifully (as he has for most of the season!) and is a really important player for us now to balance the side. Sam Conners looks a serious prospect and should be given as much game time as possible. Also, in such difficult conditions and against two of the finest exponents of the art of swing bowling currently on the circuit, I think Critchley and Leus du Plooy’s first innings scores would be worth at least double against most other bowling attacks on another day. Also, just to add to some of the recent discussions about Logan van Beek, the lad is clearly giving everything when he comes on to bowl. To me, his natural length seems to be just back of a length and it is a heavy delivery. As a result, at the moment he is more like the “enforcer” in the bowling unit, with the other bowlers benefitting as batsmen try to pick up runs at the other end, as he cramps batsmen with step bounce and at a good pace. So, although at the moment his wicket taking is low for an overseas player, I think he still makes a valuable contribution each match. However, if he could pitch it up a bit more to give the ball more time to move, those wicket taking stats could soon quickly change. Lockie Ferguson has got the length for English conditions perfect and that should be the model for him to follow if he can. I am sure the coaches are working on this, though. Away from this fixture, I am looking forward to see what Fynn Hudson-Prentice will bring to the team and now might be a good time to freshen things up a bit after a slight dip over recent weeks. I had been wondering / hoping if we might make a move for Aaron Thomason from Warwickshire as he is the type of player I think we are currently lacking since Tom Taylor’s departure to Leicestershire. However, I see Thomason has now joined Sussex. With the T20 tournament fast approaching I really think we need a bit more (if the budget allows) to make serious progress in that competition. Kevin O’Brien with his Irish Passport would be perfect for me - if you are reading this Dominic Cork!!?? Best wishes, James
Hi all;
ReplyDeleteThis is not a criticism, but an enquiry. How, I wonder, were three hours lost on the first morning because the covers had seeped?
I saw pictures of the wicket, and only losing three hours was almost a miracle, but how did it happen? Heavy rain we had I know, but I didn't notice a wind that may have whipped up the covers? We have chocolate bourbons and jammy dodgers to chew on in the Exec to pass the time, but we'd prefer cricket to watch and moan about!
We have an excuse at Matlock, with the square sloping side to side. We've deemed our ongoing policy is to leave the covers off. Better a completely wet wicket than one which imitates The Oval at one end, and a Florida bayou at the other! 😊