Friday 22 April 2022

Leicestershire v Derbyshire day 2

Leicestershire 213

Derbyshire 437-4 (Masood 219, Madsen 94, McKiernan 63*, Du Plooy 16*)

Derbyshire lead by 224 runs

I think the English language  lacks sufficient superlatives for Shan Masood.

Suffice to say, as someone tweeted earlier, that in making 91, 62, 239 and 219 in his first four innings for the county, he has broken record after record.

The first Derbyshire player to make back to back double centuries, he has made more runs in four innings than all but two of our players made in all of last season. He is only the second Pakistan player to make successive double centuries in first-class cricket and is the first Pakistan opener to make a double century in County cricket. Now he has done that twice.. 

You get the picture. He is wonderful to watch, with an uncomplicated technique, exquisite timing and unfailing placement. His running between the wickets is exemplary and he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the great overseas players in the county's history.

He and Wayne Madsen became the second pairing, after the legendary John Wright and Peter Kirsten, to share back to back double century partnerships. This is the Madsen of old and watching cricket gets no better than watching those two this afternoon. It was vibrant, majestic, wonderful cricket, after Brooke Guest was the only wicket to fall to a bowler all day. 

Madsen looked set for a century when he tested his running against the fielders arm and was well run out by the direct hit of Ed Barnes for a fine 94. It was an unnecessary risk when he was in total control, but it shouldn't mask an innings of the highest quality. 

Mattie McKiernan came in next, keeping the left/right pairing going and he batted delightfully for the rest of the day, registering a career-best score. He should have been caught, but the swirling wind made the catch far from straightforward. There were some powerful strokes as he fully justified his elevation in the order, as well as the confidence of Mickey Arthur in his abilities. 

Du Plooy kept him company for the rest of the day, looking a little sketchy  but surviving to the close.

Derbyshire scored 401 runs in an exhilarating day of batting. One would expect them to hit it around tomorrow in the first hour or so and take an existing lead of 224 over 300 before bowling again. With the odd ball keeping low and a little bit of turn, one would hope that we don't see a repeat of the last game, but it would surprise me. 

Fantastic cricket from Derbyshire. No one will argue with that. 

Nor the magnificence of Madsen and Masood. 

12 comments:

  1. Worth mentioning his temperament too. It is easy to just swing the bat and give it away when you reach a certain score, but he just continued and continued. I wonder if Wayne is benefitting from Shan Masood taking the pressure off his shoulders too.

    Craig

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    1. Absolutely, Craig.

      A lot of very good players will think it job done when they get a hundred. He just goes on and on. Phenomenal player

      Nice to see the Leics players shake his hand too, as the Sussex ones did at Derby. Classy, sporting..

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    2. And yes, Wayne must be enjoying the lesser pressure on him to score all the runs! If we can get Billy and Leus going, we have a serious side, with bowlers to come back in due course to strengthen further.

      Having two spinners in the next two days could well be handy...

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  2. Watched most of the play today.
    Got to say what a joyous player to watch Masood is. Such a simplistic technique. Exquisite.
    Also brilliant to see Wayne seemingly back to his best.
    Kick on tomorrow and hopefully the pitch deteriorates enough for us to close out the win.

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  3. Unbelievable! Masood is truly a world class batsman and his ability and domination of anopposing attacks reminds me of Mohammad Azharuddin. Madsen back in form is wonderful to see too. Let's hope we go on to win this game...and many more!

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  4. Haven't seen any of the last two days play. Intending being there next weekend. Well done lads - get this one finished off.

    Andy

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  5. Dear Pakistani selectors,

    Nothing to see here. Move on.
    Thanks!

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  6. Masood will get the crowds back to the county ground, he's one in a million and what a purchase by the club. Could Pakistan call him up for their test series, I sincerely hope not?
    Caught an hours play,timed it for Shan's double hundred but I wasn't impressed with Hendrick's bouncers as he was repeatedly aiming for Mckiernan's body striking him on the helmet in the process. Great day Derbyshire, things looking far more rosier this early in the season

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  7. George Davidson can rest easy for another week. LOL
    What is Masood's contract situation, is it just for this year.? If he wants to comeback, they should sign him up now before Surrey or Notts are into him.
    Look forward to watching him at Hove when I'm over in June.

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    1. Masood is contracted for this year only. The problem with overseas players now is that their availability changes from year to year, depending on tours, training camps etc. We may get him another year, but he could miss chunks of cricket.

      I suspect his start with us is unlikely to ever be beaten. But I also think his relationship with MA is such that if he could come back, he would come to us

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  8. Dave Fletcher said, "Masood doesn't bludgeon with the bat. He dissects the field." One of the things that is striking about him, apart from his elegance, is that he keeps pinching singles to keep the scoreboard ticking over. I recall Micky Arthur saying something about the importance of this in his first interview when he joined Derbyshire. Last season, it was common to see our top order get bogged down and the scoreboard grind to a halt. They are all being taught by a master now, so I expect to see a different attitude to batting.

    Fantastic to see Madsen and McKiernan clocking up runs. I'd love to see McKIernan go on to a century this morning and du Plooy a half century.

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    1. Yes, it is the rotation of strike that sets him apart. It will be a huge asset in one day cricket and I expect to see far fewer dot balls than in the past

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