Leicestershire 172-7
Derbyshire won by 17 runs
By definition, Derbyshire have now improved in T20, winning their second game of the season to better last season's tally with plenty of cricket still to play.
That they did so was largely down to skipper Wes Durston, whose barnstorming innings of 88 gave us a total we could defend. Wes now has five our six top innings in the format and is a very good cricketer, especially when the requisite support allows him to go for his shots.
He got that down the order last night. T20 games are largely won by one player batting as lead and others lending appropriate support and so it proved. There was a better 'feel' to our batting line-up last night, not just because it came off. The return of Alex Hughes, a player I rate highly, was welcome after injury and his cameo at the end, including consecutive sixes in 21 from eleven balls, pushed Derbyshire from a competitive total to one that was going to stretch any side if we bowled well. While only one run, the difference between eight an over and over nine in this competition should not be underestimated.
As they have already proved, this is a better Leicestershire side than recent past and they have some strong players down the order, yet our bowlers held their nerve. Nathan Rimmington's first over went for nine, but he did very well afterwards and Wayne White reinforced the positive impact he has had on the attack with another good spell.
So too did Alex Hughes, whose first three overs went for only fifteen runs and wasn't hit for a boundary until his last, by which time it was too late. He removed the dangerous Mark Cosgrove and although Tom Wells battled hard towards the end of the innings, Derbyshire remained in control of this one and ran out comfortable winners.
And so to Worcester tonight, where I would expect the same team to take the field against a home side that beat Lancashire at Old Trafford last night. It will be a tough game against a good side, but as we have seen, it just needs someone to raise the game and deliver that special performance. Hamish Rutherford will make his debut, replacing the largely disappointing Tillakaratne Dilshan and I look forward to seeing how the talented young New Zealander does in the coming weeks. He has a battle to get into a strong batting side for his country, but good performances at county level, as Martin Guptill knows all too well, can reap dividends.
In closing this morning, warm congratulations to Mark Footitt, on his selection for the pre-Ashes training camp. It is richly deserved and recognition, not just of excellent form over the last three summers, but also a level of fitness that once seemed unlikely in the lad.
I hope it goes well for him and wish him the very best. That he will be missed by Derbyshire is undeniable, but the 'buzz' we would all get from seeing 'Mark Footitt -Derbyshire' on an England team sheet is equally so.
It is within touching distance now, Mark. Show them what you can do..
A lot better last night, but still room for a lot of improvement. Leicestershire should have got nowhere near our total as they were way behind with five overs to go, but loose bowling got them a lot closer. Great innings by Durston again, our saving grace in this comp so far, but Dilshan has proved to be a real flop, we'll not be seeing him again.
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed for Rutherford, and I can see him doing a lot better than Amla and Dilshan, even though he doesn't come with the big name tag. Good luck to him.
You can tell we won last night, had we lost there would have been 4 or 5 comments on here along the lines of "Welch Out" or "They don't know what they're doing!"
ReplyDeleteI am not going to lie and say our batting performances haven't been disappointing, but if you are going to demand the chop for players, you should also give praise where it's due.
Well played last night Derbyshire, the team showed they can compete in this format of the game and hopefully will take a lot of confidence from this result.
Onwards and upwards!
Cant argue Huw...people are always slow to praise but quick to criticise...in life and not just on this blog..
ReplyDeleteTigerish fielding, this time with enough runs on the board to make efforts worthwhile , ensured we got home comfortably . I too like the balance of the team with Alex Hughes playing again, for his bits and pieces play seem to often have that little more substance than some of the others.
DeleteWithout a shadow of doubt,Durston is the key man in this form of cricket. If one of our top three could play this sort of innings every match,we would be looking at something like 3 wins out of 5. It was a superb knock and gave licence to those coming behind him to play their shots without the usual fears. Whether this match proves to be a turning point only time will tell.If we could win another 2 or 3 there would be a light at the end of the tunnel and I hope we can do that.
ReplyDeleteAs you say,Dilshan has been very disappointing and when he returns in August he owes us some runs. Like Chanderpaul,I wonder if age is now catching up with him. In future it may be more beneficial to go for people who are not quite so long in the tooth and perhaps have a little more to prove.
Very good performance last night. Let's take that into tonight lads. Well done
ReplyDeleteH
A much better performance by far last night there is no doubt Wes was the star of the show at one stage I feared for the Prestige Cars which where on display. I felt we needed to be more organised in the field with players not knowing their platings and I wonder what role Tom Knight should have been playing as he batted well down the order only bowling one over.
ReplyDeleteIt was great to hear the players singing in the dressing room after the game and of course well done to Mark Footitt upon his selection to the Ashes Squad.
Batting back to normal tonight it seems....
ReplyDeleteI'll be surprised if Worcestershire don't have 3+ overs, and plenty of wickets, left at the end of the game.
but no contest tonight at Worcester. Trying to do too much too soon on an unfamiliar wicket. really disappointing in terms of mentality and unthought-out approach. What can you say other than the whole set-up is no further forward than five years ago and someone needs to carry the can. This is nothing short of unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteStan
Back to normality again, a comprehensive thrashing. Let's not get fooled by that Leicestershire result, we're a damn poor outfit.
ReplyDeleteFrustrated again by performance today. Don't agree we are a poor side overall, T20 yes and have been for many seasons, we are one of few counties never to get to finals day ?
ReplyDeleteThe achilles heal over a number of seasons has been the batting, one of two players scoring big but no consistency from rest of main line up, even promotion year was based round early season Guptill and rear guard action from no 7 down.
When was last batsman we developed who had sustained season upon season performances? Looking at the second XI this season with Clare opening doesn't give much hope salvation will come from within, why can find bowlers but not batsmen ?
The success, it is a success, in developing the next line of bowlers should allow any spare budget to allocated towards finding suitable batsmen, if possible. In addition a ruthless sorting out of under performers has to be undertaken between now and next season, can't keep giving players one more year to turn it round if the track record is one of mediocrity.
Finally, great to see Footitt rewarded for a superb 2014/15, which also should reflect positively on the coaches etc
RJ