Derbyshire v Leicestershire day 4

Hmmm...

Tea on the last day and after a morning in which Wayne Madsen and Paul Borrington batted through without too many alarms, we have lost five wickets in the afternoon session, the most profitable for bowlers throughout the match.

Strange, that. Apparently Borrington got a poor decision when he was well down the track, but our hopes of saving the game now seem to lie with Madsen, unbeaten on 91 in an admirable effort. I'm not quite sure why Robin Peterson was caught at deep square leg in that situation, but I suppose you take the rough with the smooth. I assume he wasn't going for the win...

The visitors are apparently very chirpy in the field which might have unsettled a few, but one would hope that professional cricketers could cope with such stuff.

Two hours to go and four wickets in hand. Useful as Jones and Groenewald are, I wouldn't like the thought of them having to bat for an hour to save this one, so Goddard and Madsen are hopefully going to see it out for the remaining 34 overs or so.

There's a good article in today's Times on the county. If you've not seen it, you can do so at the link below.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article7100623.ece

It is better than Steve James' cheap dig at us in the Telegraph, where he suggests that our losing Chris Rogers for next season is a classic case of "hoist by one's own petard" for a county that has brought in "back door, moderate foreigners."

What Mr James, a moderate county player himself, overlooks is that while the legislation allows such signings, why shouldn't we? It also overlooks the fact that there are not dozens of talented young players being overlooked instead of these primarily South African-born players. One has only to look at the Minor Counties 40 over composite side that will play this season to see that the next level down is not brimful of talent.

Finally, James ignores the fact that Wayne Madsen, for example, is playing under European Mobility of Labour regulations and is perfectly entitled to, whether it pleases him or not. That Park, Smith and Groenewald have been here for years and were on the staff (Smith apart) of other counties also seems to have been overlooked by someone having a cheap dig. Poor fare, Mr James.

Where he does get it right is in an article on the proposed franchise cricket through Test grounds, where he ask the question "who will watch?" He cites the possibility of Glamorgan joining up with Gloucestershire and Somerset as a non-starter due to antipathy between fans. He should try it in the East Midlands. I'd sooner roll around naked in a patch of nettles than feign enthusiasm for a composite Nottingham, Derby and Leicester side that plays at Trent Bridge. The problem has been that we have allowed eight Test grounds to be developed, more than can be maintained unless we saturate the Test market.

While there are lessons to be learned from the IPL, they are not all positive. The current tournament is way too long and I've watched little in the last fortnight, even at weekends. I suspect that the length of this year's competition will test fans and players alike, especially if there are too many dead games. Can you imagine a team's game 12 in the tournament, especially if they've lost eight previously? You could play it in a sports hall and fit in the spectators who could be bothered...

Oh dear. Goddard is out as I finish and so, I suspect, are our chances of salvaging anything from this game. What was that word again?

Disappointing, that's it.