Derbyshire v Gloucestershire FP40

Despite the defeat at the end of it all, there was much to admire in Derbyshire's performance last night against Gloucestershire. Though quite why the umpires allowed a new batsman to walk out in pouring rain is beyond me, even more strange than how we end up finishing late in the evening before a game the following morning. Things could only have been worse had we to travel to Worcester to play it…

I could understand John Morris' frustration when he and his groundstaff are trying to protect a wicket to win one game while also protecting the one for today's fixture that must have got some rain on it. It was one of those evenings and a shame for those involved in the festival, who would have prayed for good weather.

I thought Derbyshire batted well last night, despite early difficulties. Rogers and Durston batted sensibly before the skipper got out to the worst shot I've ever seen him play, while Durston looked to have hurt himself in taking a sharp single and was out soon afterwards. Madsen looked a class apart on the day and his hockey background was obvious in the way that he plays the reverse sweep. I think he would actually score even more heavily in the middle order than as opener, but it depends on where our greater need lies. He is a fine player of spin, that much was obvious, and the only irksome part of his innings was how the commentators consistently referred to him as "Madsten" and the team as "Derby." Last time I looked we were a county, not city side, though maybe they're paving the way for a franchise…

I also thought Garry Park had a fine game. His impish improvisation with the bat was a delight, while his fielding is always a pleasure to see. His bowling looked good last night too and Park has much to offer the side. The biggest surprise was when he dropped a caught and bowled, seemingly thinking it was coming back at him faster than it did.

In the field we also acquitted ourselves well. Jones always gives good value, while Groenewald looks better every time I see him. I was also pleased to see that Jake Needham has his "loop" back and he looked a bowler of talent again. He extracted considerable turn at times and bowled good lines and length. He also fielded very well and we really need Jake to develop in the next few years. Again it was frustrating to listen to commentators bemoaning our "selection" of spinners for the game, oblivious to the fact that we only have three fit ones now Langeveldt has returned to South Africa and Atif Sheikh is with England Under-19s.

There were only two downsides for me, one being that Greg Smith looked low in confidence with bat and ball. He struggled to time it on a variable surface then bowled some poor stuff for once, leaking runs at crucial times. Meanwhile Lee Goddard gave one of the sloppiest wicket keeping performances I've seen in some time and struggled to take the ball at all cleanly. A missed stumping was a low point, but Goddard seemed to be standing up to quickly, with the ball often hitting his fingertips. Maybe the variable bounce was a factor, but he will need to improve on that performance in the coming weeks. I rate him as a player, as regular readers will know, but he was well below par last night.

Comedy high point? Steffan Jones' bat, which looked like someone had attached a handle to a door. I like the way that a smile is rarely far from Steffan's face, yet he plays the game with an intensity and commitment that few can match. Long may he continue to entertain us all and be a part of the Derbyshire scene. With another ten like him, we could take on anyone.