Derbyshire 148 all out (Thakor 44)
Essex 108-0
Every game at Chelmsford this season has seen the team winning the toss bowl first. On each occasion, the batting side has failed to make 200 and the bowling side has gone on to win the match.
Against such statistics, the breaking news this morning that we had lost the toss hardly filled me with excitement. Our batting is low on confidence and at present I had little expectation of a score that might enable us to dictate the game.
My worst fears were realised inside the first hour and although Shiv Thakor and Wayne White gave an element of minor respectability to the innings, we folded for under 150.
By the close, Essex were only forty behind with ten wickets in hand. Hard as it is to say it, the game is as good as gone after the first day's play
As regulars will know, I am a positive bloke, but June has largely been a horrible month. The expectation of April seems a long way off right now and there's much work to be done to get things back on an even keel.
Disappointing really. It is hard to say otherwise.
The problem we have is that too many of our players are sadly playing to the maximum of their potential. In other words they're simply not good enough for Div 2 Cricket. How many other counties would be interested in signing the likes of Slater, Godleman, Elstone, Chesney etc ?. It's just the odd good day's cricket here and there this season, and will ultimately end in deep disappointment. If the weather holds out, I'm expecting this game to be over in three days, maybe the fourth morning, then it's right back to the drawing board again. Very very poor Derbyshire.
ReplyDeleteThere can no denying this kind of display is now the norm and not the exception. It really is a sorry state of affairs and I agree with other contributors,the time for excuses is over. It,s difficult to fathom quite where we go from here and just how to turn this around. In all seriousness,I don,t think we are capable.
ReplyDeleteConfidence is history and we look a team that expects nothing else than to get beaten. We can,t even get the basics right. Lord knows how many catches we have missed and many of these,including Cook today,have come at a very high cost. Listening to some of the commentary,I lost count how many times Cook and Brown were allowed to offer no shot to deliveries which were too wide. It,s unforgivable when the bowlers have a new ball,we desperately require wickets and it,s wasted on shocking bowling.
The only debatable question now is how badly we are going to lose. I wouldn,t be in the least bit surprised if it,s by an innings plus.Godleman has been the only batsman to show any sort of consistency and most of the others don,t know where their next run is coming from. It,s very depressing and I hate to say it,but I don,t think we have seen anywhere near the last of it yet.
We did of course rescue a worse position against Kent but lightening doesn't strike twice. The harsh truth is barring one or two occasional individual efforts we are way off being good enough with the bat. Godleman apart, averages are poor to mediocre for the season and declining.
ReplyDeleteNo more excuses - it needs people to man up and deal with their jobs.
Be nice to hear from Welch when things aren't going that well, strange how he's so quiet. Different story when we have a good day though.
ReplyDeleteno catches by derby dropped at all. essex dropped a couple though
ReplyDeleteWhile agreeing with some of the comments of others,its hard to argue against the fact that at Essex,you lose the toss,and you lose the match.That has nothing to do with form or confidence,and is a poor reflection of pitch preparation that a match is decided by the toss of a coin.
ReplyDelete