Gloucestershire v Derbyshire T20 - FINALS DAY!!

Gloucestershire 135-7 (Cockbain 45* Critchley 2-21, Hudson-Prentice 2-26, Hughes 1-19, Rampaul 1-23)

Derbyshire 137-3 (Madsen 47, du Plooy 29*, Godleman 25)

Derbyshire won by seven wickets with 17 balls to spare


Dominic Cork came to Derbyshire as Vitality Blast coach with a view to taking them to finals day.

Tonight, he and his magnificent side did just that, took the monkey from the club's back and made it an unbelievably special night for everyone with interest in Derbyshire cricket.

It was a superb team performance, with the bowlers showing great discipline. There were only two wides and three leg byes in the innings, whereas the home side conceded sixteen extras. On a difficult pitch, such things make a difference and, apart from one over where van Beek was top edged for two sixes, boundaries dried up for Gloucestershire after a bright start.

A tumbling catch by Hughes removed the dangerous Hammond, Hudson-Prentice again making the key breakthrough, then Critchley pouched an injudicious reverse sweep by Bracey, from the bowling of Hughes. Alex was terrific, mixing up his length and pace to great effect and conceding only nineteen in his four overs. Yet so well did we bowl as a unit that no boundary was scored between the end of the powerplay and the fifteenth over.

A key moment came when home skipper Michael Klinger assayed a risky single to Rampaul, was sent back and run out by some margin by the man with the golden arm. Smit, who again kept beautifully, had the bails off in a trice and the home side were in trouble.

Higgins has been a regular thorn in our side of late, but a regulation caught and bowled to Critchley saw him off, before the bowler held a more remarkable one, running twenty yards towards mid on and diving full length to hold the big-hitting Taylor. Van Buuren and the excellent Cockbain battled hard, but apart from a couple of lusty blows that cleared the boundary, the bowling was relentless.

The blue-haired Reece, raising more money for good causes, bowled the other half of van Beek's spell, before Hudson-Prentice and Rampaul admirably closed out the innings. Ravi's command of line and length was again outstanding, conceding only eight runs from his last eleven deliveries, as the target was crucially kept under seven an over.

It could have been tricky, yet despite the constant comments from the commentary box that pressure would be building, we handled it with consummate professionalism. Reece and Godleman came out like Western gunslingers, blasting the ball to all parts and giving us around a third of the target in the first four overs, while the ball was hard. Although Luis was bowled by Tye, Wayne Madsen came in and looked immediately at home.

Godleman's bucolic knock ended with a steepler to third man, living and perishing by the sword, but he had done a job, and our two South Africans came together to nudge, nurdle and caress the score closer to the target. There were a couple of close shaves with tight runs, but it was canny stuff - take a two or four at the start of the over, then knock it around thereafter. It was reminiscent of Wright and Kirsten in their heyday, with confidence building as their stand passed fifty and the total got ever closer.

du Plooy's exquisite timing was again evident, just as was Madsen's class. The wristiness of his strokes was a joy, the ramp over the keeper, eyes on the ball to the last, the mark of a class act. He was out just before the end, lifting a flick off his legs to be caught at square leg, but it was job done at that point.

The winning hit, perhaps fittingly, was made by Alex Hughes. He has given a lot to Derbyshire, has endured his good times and bad, but is a key member of this side. He bowled well, fielded tigerishly and is one of a raft of all rounders whose presence has made this a very good team.

His four through the covers saw wild scenes on the boundary. The visiting fans were magnificent, in fine voice throughout, and it was touching to see the excitement among the players. New arrivals like du Plooy and Hudson-Prentice have a golden end to their first summers on the staff, while older hands, like Godleman, Madsen and Hughes (in experience at least) will be pretty emotional tonight. Dominic Cork appeared to be in his post-match interview, for sure.

Little Derbyshire aren't supposed to be at finals day, but they are there on merit. They recovered from an abject effort against Leicestershire to turn into a T20 juggernaut. The fielding was extraordinary tonight, Madsen's first over stop setting it off, while Dal, van Beek and du Plooy swept the boundaries brilliantly. Dal's speed over the ground was again impressive, fully justifying his selection.

Earlier today, Essex fans voted in large numbers, hoping to get Derbyshire in their semi-final and tonight they got their wish. After that display, they must surely realise that it will be no formality. Whether we win or lose, we have stunned the cricket world this summer, with great credit due to the team, the coaching staff and the supporters for a memorable few months.

Let that juggernaut keep rolling, all the way to Edgbaston. I can't get the smile off my face tonight and even our dog, Wallace, looks proud...

Well done lads. That was simply amazing.

Altogether now...Derbyshire, la-la-la....