There was a handy run out for Derbyshire's players at Chesterfield tonight as the county side, as expected, eased to victory over the league select put together by Kevin Dean.
There was an unbeaten 74 before retiral from Shivnarine Chanderpaul, a breezy 24 from Albie Morkel and runs from most others in a total of 184, before the bowlers kept their opponents well short at 136 by the end of the twenty overs. I may be wrong but I doubt that Morkel has played in much darker conditions in T20, certainly not for Chennai.
The side was largely as I expected it to be and had suggested in a first choice side last week. With the Yorkshire game at Headingley fast approaching, I think we will go in with close to this side:
Durston
Hughes
Madsen
Chanderpaul
Morkel
Redfern
Johnson
Clare
Wainwright
Burgoyne
Groenewald/Turner
It gives us three seamers and four spinners, as well as lengthy batting. I'd like to see Alex Hughes in there but am unsure if he will be risked in this first game.
Mind you, Yorkshire have their own injury worries. Besides losing Root, Bairstow and Bresnan to England duty, Phil Jaques and Steve Patterson are injured and Jack Brooks is unlikely to be risked, while Iain Wardlaw is with Scotland. With no overseas player, barring a late signing that Jason Gillespie says is 'a remote chance' they look beatable to me.
Of course, both Andrew Gale and Garry Ballance tend to score for fun against us and spinners Rafiq and Rashid will feature, as will veteran Ryan Sidebottom.
It will be a good game, but I am optimistic that Derbyshire can make Morkel think he's back with Chennai Super Kings on Friday night.
Just need Dan Redfern to bat like MS Dhoni and we're laughing...
I can't really see why Alex Hughes would represent a risk Peakfan. Assuming fitness he would be the second name on my teamsheet and second only to Morkel.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest dilemma is where Chanderpaul bats. Having someone nudging it around for singles is not really what you want in this sort of cricket. If he does play that sort if game there is no idea batting slot and we run the risk of falling behind the run rate. I realize he can play big shots and I think we will need to see some of those.
I'm not convinced Turner is a wise choice at the moment. He,s been going for an awful lot of runs in recent matches and someone of his pace has opposition runs written all over him. He may do okay but it's a helluva risk. It's bad news about Knight,s injury but at least we have Durston as a spin option.
This match is winnable as is the one on Saturday. If we get off to a good start it may give us the confidence and belief to mount a serious challenge for qualification. On the other hand.......
I would also mention this is where Krikken really needs to be pro active. If it were me, I would have every player padded up and prepared to bat in a position dictated by the course of the game. In the past we have stuck far too rigidly to the set batting order and haven't shown enough flexibility.
ReplyDeleteI'm somewhat traumatised by the fact Billy Godleman and Paul Borrington have both been named in the squad. The lack of Alex Hughes is also a worry with 4 games coming up in 8 days. I think Chanderpaul has to open and bat through, though I doubt the powers that be will agree with me. Jon Clare has an abysmal t20 record with a career best of 18 with the bat, and 7 wickets in 5 years, and 2 keepers are in the squad, so the team largely picks itself for me...
ReplyDeleteDurston
Chanderpaul
Hughes
Madsen
Morkel
Redfern
Johnson
Burgoyne
Wainwright
Footitt
Groenewald
Marc...Hughes' selection is a risk because he isn't fully fit mate - no other reason!
ReplyDelete