There's a surprise...

Just when you think that nothing in life can surprise you any more, along comes something that does just that.

Yesterday I went out with my son to the Paul McCartney concert with Derbyshire seemingly in disarray at 100-9 against Northamptonshire. My excitement at the prospect of the gig (which was superb, by the way) was tempered somewhat by a seemingly inept batting performance in a game that had appeared winnable. Granted, we were without Greg Smith, but the concept of Derbyshire defending such a low total appeared to be an unlikely one.

Less than a couple of hours later, I got a text to say that Northamptonshire needed 20 off the last over, an unexpected situation if there ever was one, then got another to say that we had won by nine runs. The smile on my face could probably have lit up Hampden on its own.

So how did this happen? Well, first of all, credit has to go to stand-in skipper Robin Peterson, who seems to have handled his bowlers and set his fields with the intelligence one might expect from a canny cricketer. He had the common sense to not hold back Charl Langeveldt until the very end, but brought him back on and created additional pressure. The South African's four overs for thirteen were crucial, but so too was Peterson's spell for just three runs more.

We must also pay credit to Garry Park, who is having an impressive tournament. He made a crucial 20 and then took three wickets in a very tight spell. It was interesting afterwards to hear him paying tribute to Charl Langeveldt's influence and advice already, which augurs well for the weeks ahead. Park is a good cricketer who has come through an awkward start to the season to deliver some telling performances of late. There are days when he can be hit, but on slow pitches such as yesterday he can fulfil a similar role to that played by Barry Wood for Lancashire and Derbyshire a few years back.

All the bowlers played their part, which they had to do in defending such a total, but those three bowled with remarkable control that created a panic among the home side's batsmen. It was interesting reading 606 this morning, where Northamptonshire's fans were more than a little churlish. No one commented on our bowling (except one who referred to it as "undemanding" or somesuch.) It was a little unfair, though I suppose had the roles been reversed there would have been plenty of comment on our inability to score at 5 an over, irrespective of the state of the pitch.

Several commented on the pitch being inappropriate for this style of the game. If one assumes that the fan attending T20 is different to the one attending Championship cricket that would be fair, as big hits were few and far between. By the same token, I found our game against Warwickshire, which we lost, one of the best T20 games I've seen at this level. For me, there's much more to the game than the ball disappearing to all parts, fun - maybe essential - though that is for some people.

The runs scored by Lee Goddard at the end of the innings yesterday were invaluable and were followed by an excellent display behind the stumps. Goddard has not had the easiest of times since his move from Durham, but this display should give him confidence to push on from here and cement a regular place in the side.

I'm not too concerned about our batting big guns falling for the second successive game, as a pitch like Wantage Road is never going to be conducive to powerful front of the wicket strokeplay. Given the right conditions, Bosman, Durston and Hughes will play their part again in the near future.

The group remains wide open, with only Nottinghamshire looking certainties to progress. If Greg Smith's assertion that six wins would probably put us into the quarter-finals was correct, we now need three wins from nine games, something well within our compass. If we can win tonight's televised encounter against Worcestershire, winning two from eight is very much on. What we could really do with is a high scoring innings to boost our net run rate, which may turn out to be crucial in the end reckoning.

For me, the other three places behind Nottinghamshire will be between ourselves, Lancashire, Durham and Warwickshire. While one cannot discount Yorkshire and Leicestershire, I can't help thinking that the two games against Lancashire could well be the ones that decide our fate. Last year they beat us thanks to big guns like du Plessis and Flintoff, though this year they don't seem to have quite the same "oomph" in the side. If we can make early inroads, they are far from unbeatable.

In closing, I'd just say how nice it was to see Jon Clare back in the first team yesterday, replacing the injured Greg Smith. Clare has had his share of injuries in the last couple of seasons but remains a cricketer of talent. Although playing only as a batsman, he has a great deal to offer Derbyshire cricket and I'm sure that next season will see the return of the all-rounder who burst onto the scene so well in 2008.