It is great to see the genial, undemonstrative seam bowler back in the squad. There will have been times in his recovery from injury that he perhaps thought this day would never come, but Derbyshire have missed him, his ability to dismiss good players and to keep control. I have also missed, in this era of 'celebrappeals' (a personal bete noire) his understated fist pump when the umpire signals the dismissal. Long may it continue...and with great frequency!
Luis Reece is understandably missing after the hamstring injury that limited his involvement in the last game, so it might be that Ben replaces him as a bowler, unless the pitch, after all of this dry weather, suggests it will turn before too long in the game. Given that Ben is no mug with a bat, I think he will take his place in the side, with Jack Morley and Alex Thomson vying for the lead spinner role and Mitch Wagstaff wondering if he might get the nod ahead of Harry Came.
Regardless of our individual preferences, much will depend on how both have shaped up in the nets and I expect something close to this side:
Lloyd
Jewell
Came/Wagstaff
Madsen
Guest
Andersson
Dal
Chappell
Aitchison
Thomson/Morley
Tickner
There is no news on the Lancashire side at the moment, but they will be hurting after the defeat at Northampton. Keaton Jennings resigned the captaincy afterwards and Marcus Harris, closing in on being the first man to a thousand runs this season, has taken over as interim skipper.
Jimmy Anderson was due back for the next match but it appears has been rushed back for this one, with Ollie Sutton and Michael Jones also in a 14-man squad
Likely side:
Jennings, Bell/Jones, Bohannon, Harris, Hurst, Wells, Balderson, Hartley, Bailey/Phillip, Anderson, Williams, Sutton
I can't believe our opponents can play as badly again, so I expect a tougher match here. Key to Derbyshire success would be the early dismissal of their two best bats, Jennings and Harris and Lancashire are bottom of the table because they haven't played very good or consistent cricket, so far. The return of Anderson will no doubt attract media attention and will give them a boost, but at the end of the day he is 42 and can only bowl at one end..
Beware the wounded beast, but if Derbyshire play as they have done so far, they can come back from Lancashire with draw points at the very least.
What do you think?
If we go into this game with the same mentality as the first five, we can win. Perhaps Old Trafford be the setting for Jewell's first ton in Derbyshire colours. I sense that if he gets past 100, he will add another fifty or more to his tally.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see the seconds doing so well, and some good individual performances.
I would be content with a draw. As you say, they will be looking to appease their disgruntled supporters, and with Sir JA back in their ranks will be tougher to beat. Let's hope he's a bit rusty...
ReplyDeleteSeems like the pitches at Old Trafford have been quite flat so far, but if it's going to turn anywhere that's normally the place. Wagstaff offers a spinning option, so I would probably choose him ahead of Came.
Without Reece at 6, the batting suddenly fragile. I feel it has been crucial having someone with such a solid technique, and temperament, at 6. Came batted admirably stubbornly against a very good Middlesex attack, so I hope he gets another go. Is Brown injured or has AitchIson jumped ahead of him? Any news on when Moore might be available?
ReplyDeleteBrown started but didn't finish the second team game. Maybe he was pulled as a precaution, with the T20 coming up. I think Ben a better red ball bowler, tbh. As for Harry, no news, but they won't rush him back to his detriment. He is too important for that
DeleteThank you for the update, and many thanks as always for this superb blog. It really is a gem.
DeleteMy pleasure, Sean and thank you for the kind words!
DeleteI also think wagstaffe ahead af came as we are unlikely to play Morley and Thomson and Thomson probably deserves the nod ahead of Morley based on performances in the last match. Lancashire are lucky they signed Marcus Harris who is obviously a brilliant player. I suppose a few of the Lancashire team have got to put in a good performance sometime but both there batting and bowling has looked awful so far so let’s hope that continues for at least one more game
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, Harris did well at Leicestershire, but not this well. Maybe dropping to the middle order helps him, or perhaps the location is right for him. It happens, as we have found with Martin Andersson
DeleteThis will be a real tough match. Lancashire will be in mentality everyone against us. There supporters want to see Chilton and Benkinstein era to end.
ReplyDeleteThe return of Anderson and new captain might give them significant boost. I do believe if we play game and be very patient. If we stay in the game there be a point in the game where they could self destruct.
The pitch is flat in previous games and high score looks quite likely. I would play Wagstaff for Came purely because of Form. We need to send message 2nd eleven and 1st eleven it’s important stay in form.
Thanks Peakfan, I've been looking forward to your preview all week!
ReplyDeleteI’d play both spinners with it being Old Trafford and the dry weather. It’s been flat there so far so think that is the best chance of a win. If that’s the case then Ben would miss out and have Chappell, Tickner, Dal and Andersson as the seam options. Would still leave a decent batting line up but surely the Lancashire attack will fire soon.
ReplyDeleteIt’s difficult to predict the team today, but I have confidence in whatever 11 is selected. It's good to have so many players performing well. Reece will be missed and Lloyd, Came and Dal need to deliver more consistently with the bat. Let’s hope that starts now! I’m looking forward to a good competitive match with (fingers crossed) a Derbyshire win - allez Derbyshire.
ReplyDelete