Despite some impressive form in the Championship and before it in the CB40, Derbyshire's T20 campaign fizzled out like a damp firework tonight as they were comprehensively beaten by Yorkshire. In doing so, our northern rivals exacted revenge for the defeat at Headingley that now seems a long time ago.
Martin Guptill again top-scored and can reflect on a campaign in which he scored an impressive 476 runs at 34. Tonight he and Wayne Madsen set up a platform for late carnage at 90-2 in 14 overs, but two overs later we were 93-6 and in the unpleasant brown stuff up to our necks.
There were late runs for another Academy product, Alex Hughes, who also bowled a tidy spell, but Derbyshire needed to get Yorkshire bogged down at the start of their innings. Sadly, they got off to a flyer, courtesy of an eighteen-run over from Mark Turner. To be fair, Gale does that on a regular basis, but at 52 by the end of the powerplay the white rose was in bloom.
That Derbyshire then took them to the 18th over before winning again reflected the spirit in the camp. Greg Smith and Chesney Hughes bowled good spells, while Steffan Jones, in his final T20 match, bowled beautifully in his first three overs before being collared in his last, Yorkshire winning by eight wickets.
It was not the winning finish that Luke Sutton wanted to carry into the CB40 and again illustrated areas we can improve on. Losing four wickets in two overs was illustrative of panic and we missed some of the injured personnel, especially Garry Park and Tim Groenewald. That Clare didn't bowl and Palladino didn't play was hardly surprising after their efforts in the recent Glamorgan game.
So, much like last year, the T20 campaign promised but eventually came to naught. I remain convinced that our stronger suit is the longer forms of the game. If we can maintain the recent Championship form and recapture some of the cricket we played earlier in the CB40, ultimately no one will be too concerned come the season end.
Reasons to be cheerful? Yes, but a lot of work still to be done.
i don,t think any of us will be sorry to see the rear end of this competition. So long as we focus on what remains we could still end the season with a smirk on our faces,if not a smile.
ReplyDeleteOne thing we cannot do,come the CB40 is play Turner. Im sorry peakfan,he may be a nice lad and all that,but he,s far too costly to even be considered for limited overs cricket. Whatever he had at Somerset has clearly been left down south.