Northamptonshire v Derbyshire day1

Derbyshire 348-8 (Andersson 105, Reece 39, Donald 37, Aitchison 33*, Chappell 32, Hawkins 29* Chahal 4-116)

v Northamptonshire

A terrific rearguard action by Derbyshire at Northampton today put them in a good position after day one.

It is hard to judge a pitch until both sides have batted on it and the cause wasn't helped when Jack Morley was injured before the match and missed out. With Alex Thomson out with a broken finger, it meant the spin department on a turning pitch was 18-year old debutant Joe Hawkins, of who more later..

That Derbyshire reached 348-8 was largely due to a magnificent century from Martin Andersson. It was his third of the summer and for me, the best. He was assertive and played strokes all around the wicket. He has developed into a serious player and should only get better.

There was help for seam and spin alike, while a variable bounce on the first morning was presumably a concern for the home side when they lost the toss and were consigned to batting last on it. 

The variable bounce did for Caleb Jewell, leg before to a short ball that trapped him low on the shin, before Came went the same way to a leg spinner.

It was 89-5 before we knew it, after being 82-1 three overs earlier. Something we have seen before and the expectation was that the home side would likely be batting before tea. 

Yet Andersson batted superbly and hit fourteen boundaries in his century. Donald lent good support for a while, without suggesting permanence, as did Chappell, who will likely be annoyed to be dismissed on the reverse sweep when he too was going well.

Yet even their dismissal  did not end the resistance, as Hawkins and Aitchison added an unbroken 48 runs for the 9th wicket. We know that Ben can handle a bat, but here we saw the debut of Hawkins, who was clearly not fazed by the situation, pitch or opposition. He has a good technique and used it to counter pace and spin alike, surviving with a degree of comfort to fight another day. He also played a contender for shot of the innings, a delightful cover driven four.

Some of the home side fielding was decidedly average and Scrimshaw's drop was pretty shocking. Mind you, so was the incessant noise from the slips, who seemed to go full on Frankie Howerd whenever the ball didn't hit the middle of the bat. I put the sound off when they got excited at Luis Reece leaving a ball eighteen inches outside off stump. There's really no need for that.

Chahal was a danger all day, but bowled some loose stuff too and his figures reflect it. 

Derbyshire will be the happier at the close. And I didn't expect to write that at one o'clock this afternoon.

Postscript... this afternoon I enjoyed a long chat with Edwin Smith and we reminisced about when he took eight for 21 in his second appearance at the age of 17. He could relate to Joe Hawkins today and if Joe becomes half as good a cricketer, we will be happy.

Edwin reminded me of a trip to Northampton in the 1950s. They got to the ground to find a green wicket and his expectation was of little bowling. 

When they went out to the middle, they found a 'beach', with grass cuttings on it to give the impression of a green top. His spirits rose as he anticipated a long bowl and some wickets.

Alas, Cliff Gladwin and Les Jackson bowled them out, with support from Donald Carr's slow left arm. Edwin barely bowled, a harsh lesson for a youngster, as had been being dropped from the side after his 8-21.

I suspect Joe will bowl a lot of overs here..