Lancashire also had good first team experience in their squad, but Derbyshire scored 185-6, with du Plooy top scoring on 42 and thirties from Reece, McDermott and McKiernan. The latter gave good late impetus, striking his 36 from just 17 balls, with three sixes.
Lancashire never got up to the required rate, with Cohen and Hudson - Prentice conceding only 28 and 21 in their respective four-over spells, Hughes doing even better and conceding only 18. They finished well short on 137-3.
The Derbyshire side today was:
Reece, McDermott, du Plooy, Hughes, FHP, McKiernan, Dal, Came, Wood, Cohen, Scrimshaw.
Cohen and Hudson-Prentice have bowled in the Powerplay and at the death to good effect in both games, so might we see that in the first team?
Madsen, Critchley and Van Beek will definitely come into the side, presumably in place of Came, Wood and Scrimshaw. I think McKiernan is earning himself a place as a powerful finisher and useful leggie, as well as a brilliant fielder.
My question is this. Does Billy Godleman get into a first choice side in what might otherwise read:
Reece, McDermott (wk), du Plooy, Madsen, Critchley, Hughes, FHP, McKiernan, Dal, Van Beek, Cohen.
If he does, who does he replace?
If he doesn't, who would you have as skipper?
My starter for ten.. Go with the above, which offers eight or nine bowlers and a strong fielding side.
As skipper, for me, Alex Hughes. A player with a very good cricket brain and a lot of experience. Luis Reece might be another option, but I would be very happy with team Yozz.
Thoughts?
PS Key for me in these two games, albeit second team fixtures, is that we have scored at ten an over in the Powerplay. Doing that is absolutely imperative for success..
I'd pick the same side though think you could have Godleman (or Wood) over Dal.
ReplyDeleteAccepting that LVB will play, I feel we can play a specialist batsman in place of Dal. Current feeling would be to go with Wood up top with McDermott and Luis at 5 or 6.
ReplyDeleteI would open with Wood. I'm a big fan of Anuj Dal but if he is unable to bowl he is not going to influence a game batting at 8. We can't play him simply because he is our outstanding fielder.
ReplyDeleteHi, Steve, where did you find the info about the result of the second XI game against Lancs? I've looked on the Derbyshire and Lancs web sites and can't see anything.
ReplyDeleteMy T20 XI for the first game would be:
Godleman, Reece, McDermott, du Plooy, Madsen, Critchley, Hudson-Prentice, Dal, Aitchison, McKiernan, van Beek.
Here you go:
Deletehttps://cricket.derbyshireccc.com/fixtures/second-xi/season-2021/second-xi-twenty20/derbyshire-second-xi-vs-lancashire-second-xi-2/
Cheers, Steve.
ReplyDeleteThis could be a cut and paste from discussions in 2018 and 2019 about Godleman's place in the T20 team, and I struggle to understand why we're having it again. His record over the past 3 years is matched only by Wayne Madsen. He struggled last year but so too did every other batter, and Reece's struggles were as responsible for the slow starts. Perhaps bowlers worked out how to frustrate him last year but if that's the case rather than just a poor run of form, he's inventive enough to adapt. He certainly needs to find ways to avoid getting stuck early in his innings and eating up time that others could use more profitably but he was instrumental to our success in 2019 and we need to see if last year was a one-off.
ReplyDeleteThe captaincy is an interesting point. Other than the sentimental pull of one of our own as captain, I don't really see the argument for Hughes, having done it for a time with no obvious impact. There doesn't seem to be a particular line of thinking about succession. Godleman has his circle of trusted counsellors with Madsen, Reece and often du Plooy, but Madsen was the go to when Godleman was injured. I noted that Wood captained the second XI even with Reece, Hughes, and du Plooy playing, so there's nothing to indicate that any of them are seen as potential successors or replacements. Succession planning is an important part of any well-run business, and I'm surprised that there hasn't been more visible thought about this.
I'd love to see a place for Dal but (particularly if he isn't bowling) find it hard to make a case. On paper, there's very strong competition for batting places with the same top 5 that took us to finals day in 2019 plus McDermott available, and Wood (whatever my misgivings about him as a 4 day player) and Guest making good impressions on their limited opportunities last year. With Hughes, Hudson-Prentice, McKiernan, and now Thompson on loan as all-round options offering more than Dal, it's difficult to see where he fits in.
I take your point on Dal and that may be Billy's way into the side. I think sides have worked out he struggles to get spin away, so bowl them against him in the Powerplay.
ReplyDeleteBy the same token, sides rarely bowl spin at the death, so an, opening batsman, with a penchant for the unorthodox at seven or eight may be an asset.
I certainly feel you need your best, most destructive players batting for the longest period. So my top 4, regardless of Billy playing or not, is Reece, McDermott, du Plooy and Madsen. Who bats 3 determined by whether a left or right hander is out.
I don't see Guest or Hosein playing T20 with McDermott to keep. Wood or Thomson the rivals for Billy and Anuj.
As for second team skipper, Wood has that role now. No reason for him not to have that regardless of who plays and his selfless dropping down the order in the last game was impressive and spoke much for him.
I'm sure Billy will play and captain and more than likely open, at least to start with. He certainly seems to struggle to get decent spin away and opposition are well aware of this. There's often a somewhat frantic nature to his batting in t20 but in 2019 he often had success.
ReplyDeleteWe cannot afford him to chew up precious deliveries like he often did last year in the powerplay so one to watch...