Somerset 316-5 (Rew 88, Dickson 86, Umeed 58, Thomas 54*, Chappell 3-54)
Derbyshire 317-9 (Dal 115, Lloyd 71, Reece 44, Moore 36*, Thomas 3-41, Davey 3-46)
Derbyshire won by one wicket
And as we all know, the result went the right way, as Derbyshire stormed to an astonishing win at Taunton today. The returning Anuj Dal made a century of brilliance and charm, while the side got over the line thanks to an excellent cameo from Harry Moore, with an unbeaten 36 from just 20 deliveries.
Not long turned 17, Moore could have been forgiven for nerves when he went in to bat. He had taken stick for the first time when he bowled, though still returned acceptable figures. Yet he looked composed, ran well with Anuj Dal and then, when his senior partner was dismissed, took control with a range of strokes, from late cuts to straight drives for six. It was quite special, but then the whole run chase was, once the again misfiring top order had been reduced to 90-5, after making a decent start at 82-1.
The game appeared gone at that point, but a very fine partnership between David Lloyd and Anuj Dal added 145 in 21 overs. They didn't take undue risks, but the running was excellent and the bad balls were put away. It was nice to see Lloyd in such fine touch, but at the other end Dal was like a Rolls Royce.
It was hard to believe that he hasn't been a fixture in our limited over team, as his wristy stroke play and running induced fielding errors in a good Somerset side. He made his 115 from just 75 deliveries and looked in prime touch, remarkable for a player who has played little cricket of late. The two Somerset England spinners, Leach and Bashir, bowled 17 overs between them for over a hundred, while the experienced Davey was the main threat, after the excellent Thomas bowled out.
It was one of the best run chase partnerships I have seen from Derbyshire. Nothing overly fancy assayed, but they needed eight an over and kept that ticking over throughout. Only when Lloyd tried to reverse sweep Davey did the end come and when Chappell and Wagstaff followed quickly, it looked like a noble effort was to end in vain.
Then came Moore.
Earlier, Somerset recovered from a shaky start through Andy Umeed and the talented James Rew, while a late blitz from Dickson and Thomas looked to have put them out of sight. Chappell, who has had an excellent tournament, again bowled well and it was only a late assault by Dickson that ruined Moore's figures a little. But it is part of the learning curve for a young man with a very bright future.
Based on what we have seen in a fledgling career, Moore has the all round game to become another Dominic Cork, given time.
How good would that be?
Four wins from five games, clear at the top of the table and we have just won as good a game of cricket as you could wish to see.
Happy days! Well done, Derbyshire
Sometimes, just sometimes, miracles do happen and for Derbyshire today was that day. Somerset's total looked way beyond our capabilities, especially when we slumped to 97- 5. But then Dal, with able support from Lloyd, played his best ever innings for us with an incredible range of wristy strokes and a fluency we have not seen before. And then our 17 year old prodigy, Harry Moore, took over responsibility and in his cameo innings smashed the Somerset bowling to all parts so that we won with more than an over to spare. The most exciting Derbyshire win in decades! Let's build on this victory and storm to the finals!
ReplyDeleteI just hope Notts let us keep Harry Moore for another couple of seasons.
ReplyDeleteDerbyshire have a habit of making me eat my words of late, no way did I see us chasing 317 down. What an innings from Dal, barely played this season but he has it in his locker that's for sure. And Harry Moore, what an innings of steel for a 17 year old, brilliant.
ReplyDeleteNext game Bin Naeem for Lamb please who is offering absolutely nothing with the bat. Great win Derbyshire, the best this season by far!
What a great victory that was!Anuj Dal take a bow!Harry Moore is some find and he sure can bat.This may not be the most prodigious tournament in the season but for us now it is massive and is giving our fans such excitement.Topspinner
ReplyDeleteThat was thoroughly enjoyable, with the twists and turns, and delight and despair of a great sporting occasion. For Derbyshire to come out on top was the cherry on the cake.
ReplyDeleteThe middle order needs a bit of a shuffle. Can Dal bat at 5 and bring in Bin Naeem to bat at 6 or 7?
With the exception of the Worcestershire game we have had different players really step up to the plate and win/put us in a position to win games - Chappell, Whiteley, Came, Reece, Brown, Dal, Lloyd.
Wow! What an innings from Dal, especially after his absence for personal reasons. Reece and Lloyd had both batted really well. And then young Harry Moore comes in, playing aggressively but also with composure, and gets us over the line.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back Anuj Dal, we have missed you. What a cracking knock ably assisted by David Lloyd after another mid innings wobble. Then enter young Harry Moore to see us home, what a prodigious talent. Hope we can nurture that talent and see him flourish over the next few years.
ReplyDeleteDidn’t see us winning that with five down but what a great turnaround that must give the side confidence to go further in this much maligned competition.
Nudger
Would we get Madsen, Whiteley and Donald back for a knock out? That would seriously strengthen our middle order, if we got through. Kris
ReplyDeleteLet's enjoy Moore, the team and our success while we can.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely delighted!
Andy
To win this match in the face of Somerset's fine batting, fielding and catching was an extraordinary effort, though it again raises questions about selections. A footnote: the stream was outstanding visually but the commentary, full of hype and at the time of Came's and Patel's dismissals almost disparaging, was well below the standard of Derbyshire's Championship matches.
ReplyDeleteYes ,I fully agree ,the commentators got a little excited and patronising at 5 down …listening to them was eclipsed by a wonderful fight back ..still a tight group but we have every chance if we can win 2/3
DeleteI enjoyed the commentary. You always have to expect at least a little bias towards the home team. I can't argue with the disparaging comments at 91/5. Fair play to you if you called us to win from there, but you'd have been in a very small minority of positive Derbyshire fans at that stage. Jay
DeleteI always let out a groan when I put on the stream to be treated by an in-house commentary team rather than Fletch and his BBC counterpart. A commentator from each side will always keep things more balanced.
DeleteOne of the Somerset guys was at least very knowledgeable about our players, which isn't always the case.
It does make me smile when the tone in the comms box changes when they realise we might actually beat them 😄
May favorite bit was when their comms team picked up on the Derbyshire fans in attendance belting out a rendition of Derbyshire la la la
DeleteSomerset supporters and bbc comms (mr gibson) are as one eyed and biased as any on the circuit, more so than Yorkies. the lack of appreciation or respect to opposition landmarks and shots at Taunton is beyond belief. Its like football crowd, but you would at least hope the comms are not the same yet mssrs gibson, a chave and others are as bad as the crowd.
DeleteA great win for Derbyshire but i urge caution, as i did about the doom and gloom, this is for most counties a 2nd xi competition, and Derbys have not been impacted nearly as much as most, still you can only beat what's in front of you and hope you go on and win it.
Essex Fan
So sad to hear the passing of Graham Thorpe today, a fine Cricketer in his day and a young age to pass away at. Rip Graham
ReplyDeleteIndeed, as a kid growing up in the 90’s Thorpe was one of my favourites. Such sad news 😔
DeleteFindings so far in the one day cup as a whole:
ReplyDeleteDal is a top quality bat and needs a steady position in the team. Bat him at 5 in all formats and he'll go well. Stop messing him about.
Moore is a talent. His batting also looks strong and that's pleasing given we've often had long tails in recent seasons. He, Chappell and Thomson can all bat well.
A decent pitch at Derby and our bowlers look more than effective. Use them or lose them, if we lose Conners to Lancs as rumoured then I've no doubt that having to bowl on the Derby road will have influenced his decision to go.