Lancashire 219 and 312-6 (Davies 86, Jennings 81, Balderson 56* Critchley 4-126
Derbyshire 195 (Hosein 84, McKiernan 31, Lamb 4-60)
Lancashire lead by 336 runs
They fought well to get within the five runs required for the crucial batting point, that from a nadir of 61-7 yesterday.
Hosein, McKiernan, Conners and Melton (career average before this 0.3) did their best, but ultimately fell short. Attach no blame to them, however, because on the first two days, as a team, we neither caught nor batted well enough.
It is hard to be overly critical. In the past two years we have reached T20 Finals Day and vied for a four-day final to almost the end. This with an attack of youngsters and a squad that was small to start with and became even more bijou without Ravi Rampaul and Tony Palladino. Fynn Hudson - Prentice has had an injury that has limited his bowling too, while we also lost the promising Ben Aitchison, so the challenges have been obvious.
The progress from where we were even two years ago is startling and there is more to come from this squad. They will learn from this and will know that even on a tricky wicket they should have made 200, against ostensibly a second team attack.
After lunch Alex Davies and Keaton Jennings led an assault on the bowlers as attention turned to what we might chase second time around. It wasn't a great session for us, but a long spell from the admirable Critchley saw him with another four wickets, two for Luis Reece lending support, as we dragged Lancashire back a little in the final session.
It will speak volumes for their mentality if they drag themselves up from the lunchtime disappointment today to force a win. Whatever the result, we can surely all see progress and with solid winter recruitment we should make a push for four-day promotion next year. Always assuming there are two divisions, of course - we may end up in a top seeded group based on this year's performances.
That's all for next year. Here's hoping we can make a better fist of a tricky run chase tomorrow.
A brave effort from the boys. So near but so far. Pity about the first innings collapse. Not sour grapes but another shocking decision from the umpires not to give Balderson out on 49 when the replay showed that he had clearly hit the ball. The decision to give Critchley out yesterday was the worst that I have seen in many years of watching first class cricket. I don't think we can repeat the heroics of Trent Bridge even if they declare now.
ReplyDeleteI think the level of umpiring here has been poor, for both sides.
DeleteThere were miscounted overs, the two you refer to. Balderson had McKiernan so plumb yesterday I couldn't believe he wasn't given. Likewise Bohannon on the first morning was fortunate with one that seemed very adjacent.
Not impressed by either, but you will never see a worse decision at first class level than Lloyd giving Critchley out.
The only one I can think of comparable was years ago when an umpire gave me caught down the legside and gave a wide off the same delivery...
It was certainly wide, but I was at least three bat widths away and would have struggled to hit it with a brush handle...
It was too much to expect Conners and Melton to get the runs needed. Hosein and McKiernan batted brilliantly, but if only they could have attacked more to get us to that magical 200. They got bogged down, and we had too many dot balls. Yet when Jennings and Davies came out to bat, they found the gaps and the boundaries
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, the Lancs pair are top order batsmen. Harvey showed excellent technique and batted very well, but he can't play the kind of knock du Plooy played at Trent Bridge as it isn't his game. He bats time, and the situation worked for him.
ReplyDeleteMcKiernan was resolute, but again I question why he was picked when he hardly bowled. At nine he wasn't really in for his batting.
Would we have been better off with Hughes or Wood? Yes, in my opinion. He is a good fielder, can bat and is a useful one day bowler. Good enough for us moving forward? I am not sure, at this stage.