Derbyshire 275-8 (Thakor 60 not, Palladino 49) v NorthamptonshireIt was a curious old day at Wantage Road.
It began and ended well, yet the post-lunch session was as madcap a procession as we have become used to in recent years. 117-2 became 161-7 in the time that I took our puppy, Wallace, for a walk, each beep of the incoming tweet leaving him looking at me with what appeared increasing incredulity.
He's not used to it, of course. It was a shame, because Billy Godleman and Chesney Hughes led off in fine, aggressive style and when Billy departed, Hamish Rutherford took up the cause and looked well set at lunch, with Wayne Madsen as his partner.
Ye the middle order disintegrated with a fine spell from the tireless Rory Kleinveldt, a worthy overseas professional who just keeps bowling. At that stage it looked like 200 might be the underwhelming summit of our ambitions, but at a time of adversity you look for your players to dig deep. They did.
Shiv Thakor has disappointed with the bat since arriving from Leicestershire, though the occasional innings has hinted at the talent that appeared obvious when he played there. Here he had the opportunity to play himself in and shape an innings, to which end he applied himself splendidly. Almost three hours of application brought him an unbeaten sixty, with six boundaries, as he shared a priceless stand of 105 with Tony Palladino.
We know Tony of old. He is another who digs deep when the chips are down and has probably performed rescue acts often enough now to be considered an all rounder. Perhaps an average of fifteen doesn't substantiate that, but his big scores usually come when the runs are most needed, which will do me, his team mates and undoubtedly his coach, too.
He deserved a fifty, but fell one short and Luke Fletcher saw it through to a premature close when the light got too murky.
How good is 275-8? Well, we won't know until the home side bats tomorrow, but the best sign is that wickets can go down on the track, which will do me. A few runs more would have been nice, but it could have been considerably less.
Fingers crossed tomorrow sees our four-man seam attack 'do a Kleinveldt' - but hopefully without the late-innings heroics.
I'll see you then.
I saw Chesney's dismissal - Northamptonshire put in on their Twitter feed. Worth a watch as it was a sensational bit of wicket-keeping.
ReplyDeleteI'd imagine some Derbyshire fans will have been thinking the middle order collapse was status quo from the last few summers, but it happens to all teams, and it's how you dig in as a team that really matters. Sussex, many people's favourites for promotion in 2016, were dismissed for 163 by Leicestershire at Hove, whereas Shiv Thakor and Tony Palladino managed to guide us to a score of respectability. Hopefully Luke Fletcher and Andy Carter can stick around long enough this morning to support Shiv on his way to his first century for Derbyshire. Unlikely I know, but it would be vital for the lad's confidence for the summer ahead. There's no doubting the talent is there, but I think everyone wants to see him kick on now. I think you previously touched on this Peak Fan, but the frustrating thing is having Shiv as a better bowler and Alex Hughes as a better batsman both vying for the same spot. Healthy competition yes, but maybe long term there could be logic in moving Hughes up the batting order slightly and keeping Thakor as fourth seamer and 7/8 in the order. Would be nice to see them both cement a place in the starting 11 in the near future.
ReplyDeleteIt was superb work Tim!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post Josh. Definitely an option