If any of you looked through the comments on yesterday's game, you will see that I defended the role of Billy Godleman in the declaration decision.
With good reason too. Because it was nothing to do with Billy.
At most clubs, as I understand it, when there is a head coach in position, he and the coaching team make the decisions on the eleven that goes out on the field and on such things as declarations. I know that has been the case at Derbyshire for some time, with the exception of the period when Kim Barnett was in charge and he passed greater responsibility and accountability to the captain.
A lot of people seem to think it is a joint decision, but it isn't, so responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of Dave Houghton and his coaching team on this occasion.
Now don't get me wrong. I have massive respect for Dave, who is an excellent coach and a diamond of a man. He is intelligent, articulate, knowledgeable and for me the best man we could have for that role.
But I think he got it wrong yesterday. And we all make mistakes.
Yes, it was laudable to try and win the game. But the reality is that seven wickets had fallen in more than the last day of cricket, half of them to batsmen slogging for quick runs. So the wicket was fairly docile, and our attack was limited to Rampaul, an overseas with no reputation for bowling tight and nursing injuries, an all rounder with a dodgy ankle and a couple of spinners who have not been in prime form and have not bowled, respectively.
Add in that we need these bowlers fit for the crucial weekend of T20 matches coming up and it looks even more a dubious decision. This against a strong batting side, one that turned in consistently high scores up to 330 in 50-over run chases this season, against better attacks but not necessarily on such good wickets. It was akin to giving someone a walnut, and a nail file to get into it.
I applaud most attempts at brighter cricket, but not when the odds are heavily stacked against you. Gloucestershire would have had to make a major pig's ear of their innings to not get those runs yesterday. Had they done so, they could still have shut up shop with nine, ten, jack and we wouldn't have won. Our batsmen worked hard to get us back into the game when we were over 200 behind, but then we chucked it away.
I would have taken the draw points with no question on this occasion, or at least seen how badly Gloucestershire wanted to win and set them 300 in 40 overs. We still wouldn't have won, but it would have challenged their desire for the win, at the very least and made them take a lot more risks.
As I said yesterday, it makes our last three games largely academic, as promotion is surely beyond us. With Lancashire out of sight, five other counties are better placed and we must now ensure we finish as high as possible.
Winter strengthening of the bowling is a must, but that is an article for another day.
For now, we must focus on the return of T20 and the winning of at least two from our three matches over the weekend.
I think you sum up all our feeling peakfan, but whoever made the decision, either as a group or as an individual should really rethink their strategy. When supporters, people on the ground, and BBC radio were all saying before the chase started it was a reasonably easy target with only one winner, it begs the question why the pro's thought we could achieve a win.
ReplyDeleteHave to bow to your better knowledge PF but I can't believe that the captain doesn't have some influence in a situation like this. I don't want to throw mud at Godleman not least because as many say he seems a really decent man but if for the reasons which you have articulated he didn't stand up to the coaching team then he wasn't doing his job. It's pure maths and risk management for me, 5 points which were in the bag and have been lost whereas Gloucs have finished up with an bonus 11 points; credit to them though that they got to the target efficiently and they can only play against the bowling which is thrown up to them.
ReplyDeleteVw said PF,Yes it was a disappointing result at the end of the day. Because at the beginning of the day all three results were indeed possible. It is very easy after the event. With hindsight to say what should have been done. And Billy or Dave Houghton whoever made the decision to try to win the game I will not criticise. Because if we had batted out the day for a draw people would still have complained. Yes the points on the board would have been nice but that is cricket for you... you can never tell. Look at Kent they was in the driving position and collapsed with 40 runs in their second innings what's that all about!. We can now try to win our remaining games and finish in a reasonable position in the table. PS I will just add I really do think Tony Palladino should have bowled yesterday rather than an extra batsman just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteIt's impossible for us to know what went on behind the closed doors of the dressing rooms, but the impression I had watching on the ground was that Gloucs had no interest in helping us to set a target as they maintained their front line bowlers throughout. Neither did they show any great interest early on in pushing the score along, suggesting that they were intent on avoiding the risk of losing and happy to settle for a draw. Even after tea, it took several overs of spin with an ultra attacking field for them to really engage with the chase. If that's an accurate reflection of the discussion between the two teams, our only chance of a win that would keep our promotion hopes alive was to set a target that wouldn't so discourage them that they batted out time, however unlikely it was that we'd take as many wickets in 49 overs as had fallen in the previous 200. It was a remote chance but strange things cam happen to any team once a couple of wickets fall, and given the reward of maintaining a promotion challenge against a defeat that actually means very little, it was a chance worth taking. I suspect a lot of those criticising the declaration here and elsewhere would have been equally vociferous in their condemnation if we hadn't declared and at least given it a go, and the personalisation of it to Godleman is typical of an attitude among some supporters who have never taken to him and criticise him whatever he does as captain or player.
ReplyDeletePerhaps a miracle can happen, and we suddenly go on the kind of run that Northants have and win three on the trot. It would be no more surprising than their sudden turnaround from a rabble of bits and pieces players and loanees incapable of winning a match into serious challengers. I the much more likely event that we don't, our failure to get promotion isn't because of a declaration, ill-judged or not, but throwing away two nailed-on wins against Glamorgan and Durham. As the table shows, nor is it due to the regularly trotted-out excuse of a small budget - Northants is financially held together with string and paper, Glamorgan have been working to very tight budgets for years because of the club's financial problems, Durham's struggles are well known, and Gloucs aren't rolling in cash either. As they show, it's not just how much you have, but how you use it, and we've not used it well for years. Rather more important than Houghton getting declarations right is him getting recruitment, development and culture right, and having the stability over a period of time is key to this.
Absolutely bang on the money. Notoveryet!.
DeleteI have no problem with trying to win matches and I applaud the effort in trying to win the game. A 4th day pitch and 50 overs should have been a good contest.
ReplyDeleteSo we will not win promotion this season. But are we ready ? It would have been far too soon especially as this years bowling attack is unlikely to anything similar next season.
The batting line up now looks as strong as it has for a number of seasons though the order may not be in the exact right order. I would prefer a left/right hand opening partnership.
Things cannot change overnight so to expect miracles this season would have been remarkable achievement.
It's a fair point that even if we'd won promotion, we would almost certainly have come straight back down, as we don't have the quality or depth in our bowling, or consistency in our batting. But to be honest, you could say the same for the other contenders. Northants are a poor side, lacking quality spin and depth in their batting, and carried by an outstanding pace bowler in Sanderson, and decent support from Hutton and Buck. I'm not sure Glamorgan's title hopes will survive the loss of Labuschagne, but certainly won't survive Division 1 without major strengthening which I don't think they have the money for. Gloucestershire have very strong batting but no spin and very shallow quick bowling even without injuries. Sussex, Middlesex and Worcestershire are probably the only ones with the quality and depth of squad to have a chance of staying up, but are hardly any closer to promotion than we are. Doesn't it grate though that three ordinary sides (four if you count Durham in who are no better than us on paper) are fighting for promotion while we watch on?
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