Derbyshire 272-7 (Slater 148 not)
Northamptonshire 278-3 (Cobb 88, Duckett 70, Keogh 63 not)
Northamptonshire won by seven wickets
I feel sorry for Ben Slater tonight.
His third List A century of the summer should have been a springboard for a Derbyshire total in excess of 300 today, a masterful innings and new career-best. At 165-1 after 32 overs, that should have been a given, but the innings subsided and only 107 came from the last eighteen overs.
Despite Ben's heroics, it didn't look close to enough on a ground known for high scores and fast scoring. So it proved. Josh Cobb scored his regulation runs against us, Ben Duckett confirmed his talent and Rob Keogh finished things off nicely as the home side won with eight overs to spare.
It was disappointing and although tomorrow's game against Leicestershire is billed as a 'must win' we'd need a strange combination of circumstances, ones that I don't believe in, for us to sneak into fourth place. With rain forecast, it isn't really likely.
To be brutally honest, nor is it really deserved.
Played four lost four in a week of crucial one day games. That's Sadler's chances of the gig diminished. All very disappointing but so typically Derbyshire.
ReplyDeleteA strange combination of weather patterns to boot. The combination is that the game at Trent Bridges is abandoned to rain and we sale through for a big win on a dry evening.
ReplyDeleteLets hope for rain tomorrow night so we can claim an improvement in the one day format, avoiding the wooden spoon in both in both compettions. Substantial reward for all the much lauded investment in our in day game. It should warm the cockles of our hearts.
Then it is back to the 4 day game and another fight to avoid the wooden spoon. One we look like losing this year.
Team selection? Will we persist with bingo game method or adopt an analytical approach, does it really matter?
Looking forward to news of further departures in the coming weeks.
Corky is the man, if he can get off the feather bed that is Sky Sports
ReplyDeleteThe team today was like the surname of Bob Cunis, neither one thing or the other.
ReplyDeleteGood line indeed Knack...an Arlott special from a more innocent time too!
DeleteHa ha 'Knack'. Like it. You're not Wes Durston are you?
ReplyDeleteI don't profess to be any kind of professional cricket expert just a long in the tooth Derbyshire supporter. However before the season's first ball was bowled I couldn't for the life of me see how we were going to take 20 wickets or contain opposition batsmen if not taking wickets. Unfortunately both these frailties have ended our season early in all formats. I agree our overseas players although an improvement on last season have fallen short and failed to win games particularly the close ones. I feel we desperately need a strike bowler who can make opposition top order batsman a little unsure whether they will come out on top on any given day. We need to address also, a foil if the wickets are unfavourable for pace, with an experienced spinner, and I don't mean a batsman who bowls slowly. I agree these players will be difficult to find but it's a must for us to progress next season. We can't expect our younger players to bail us out. Constant 'hammerings' destroys a young players confidence! Ben Slater take a bow as one youngster who has stepped up to the plate, but strangely has made way for other players out of form, during some very strange team selections.
ReplyDeleteI feel its management issue. The people behind the scenes work hard and no doubt what we achieved off field with ground improvements been magificant. We got ground thats is in 21st centry and not left behind. A number of desions have gone against club on feild. The changing roles of Krikken and Houghton the biggest mistake. A combination that overachieved and did so well to soon before team was ready. The club forgot Houghton and Krikken relationship and loyality. Then appointment of Welch some may say bad appointment. The gut feeling there was element of gamble as was unproven as 1st team coach. Welch proved to be fantastic bowling coach but job to big. Still admire how Welch handled himself in mist of leaving Derbyshire. A man of honour. Where next? Think we need a exprience coach. Somone who knows the county circuit and can build again. A simlar appointment like Stilman and Jones. The appointment needs to include senior players as dressroom key. Think from sounds of it the dressing room needs to change back to Krikken days. Its key when things to do wrong for managment to acknowledge and let supports know what learnt over the last 3 years. I am concerned of introduction of Barnet and Cork. I think been fantastic servants for clubs. They fantastic county cricketers but what other coaching exprience apart from leadership do they bring to team. I also think advisory roles can undermine coach alot. Its certainly shakey ground for harmoney. As support we keep following Derbyshire and keep believing and keep faith. Postive this season is Thakor, Slater and Hughes have gone up level in preformances
ReplyDeleteLots of talk about recruitment on here, but how many good quality players are going to be attracted to join a county with such poor prospects of success, where good performances go unnoticed by the wider cricket world in the context of team failures, not able or willing to compete in financial terms, and with unclear management arrangements? More to the point, who is going to make the decisions and carry out negotiations, given the uncertainty around Sadler's position? This isn't just a matter of whether he is in the job but what the job is. I note that the advert for Pipe's job refers to liaison with "the head coach" not "the elite performance director", from which I infer that the management structure has been or will be changed. It's hard to see who we're going to attract, other than those who have no other option.
ReplyDeleteI think retention is a much more immediate concern than recruitment. If the DCCC website is right, we have 10 players whose contracts expire at the end of this season (excluding Poynton, Knight and Elstone, and the two overseas), and who have not had extensions or new contracts announced. I'm sure that decisions have been made and negotiations commenced (though not who might be making them) but at present we don't know if Durston, Chesney Hughes, Slater, Palladino, Cotton, Hosein, Davis, Cork, White, or Hemmings will be here next year. There might be some straws in the wind about one or two of them - for example, Northants supporters told me today that Harry White was playing for their second XI a couple of weeks ago, but he wasn't in ours last week - but there are at least three among this list who might attract attention from elsewhere.
Until these are resolved, and we know how many gaps we're filling, discussion about who or what we might need is pretty pointless. We fell into this trap at this time last year, when we all agreed that we needed to strengthen the batting, and celebrated (or at least nodded understandingly) when Rutherford and Broom were announced. Had we known then (as presumably the club's management did when it was negotiating these contracts) that Footitt was going to be allowed to leave with a year on his contract if he decided he was going to refuse an extension, we would have been saying that recruiting two batsmen weren't the top priority.
Many thanks to Adam for the tickets, I can't help but feel I'd have enjoyed the day a lot more if Northants batted first. They showed real intent with the bat, whereas we went out to bat like we were playing a one dayer 20 years ago. It looked like a different sport altogether. I'm not sure if we went out looking to set just a par score, or whether that was really the absolute most runs we could muster, but the sheer ineptitude of Slater's team mates, who hit the ball straight to a fielder when they were looking to rotate the strike and got out at the first attempt to play anything aggressive was in stark contrast to any other team I've seen this year. Madsen looked horribly out of form yet again, and Durston is a batsman who is good at taking advantage of the fielding restrictions, not a finisher when the men are out. Given Slater and Godleman have cemented the opening spots, I see no alternative but to play Chesney Hughes instead. A shout out to Alex Wakely, who realised we couldn't get it through the infield and regularly had 6 in the ring when he could have had more out.
ReplyDeleteThe bowling was a little better, though to some extent was on a hiding to nothing, as Northants looked to chase a well below par total quickly to improve their net run rate in their final match. Cotton didn't bowl very well, and neither did Thakor, who for me has to drop out for Palladino today. Critchley bore the brunt of the attack, as he was always likely to do, though it should be noted he was the victim of several fielding errors, Godleman costing him 11 runs and a wicket with three separate errors, one a difficult catch dropped, all on his own. Alex Hughes looked far too tense with the ball, though it made little difference when defending a total that was at least 50 under par I'm afraid.
Poor show all round, but well done to Slater at least!
Lol Tim, Derbyshire will appoint Sadler as he's the cheap and easy option. Will be another huge mistake if they do so, but mistakes are what we excel at aren't they?.
ReplyDeleteI called it over a week ago when PF said it was a massive week in the season.
ReplyDeleteIts the hope that kills you and Ive given up with this lot.
They broughtbin Cork but he can only domso mch. The damage is done on the pitch and when they cross that white line.
They dont know how to win. They dont know how win under pressure.
Derbyshire play their Cricket like we are still in the 1980s. The game managment, running between the wickets, strike rotation all poor poor poor.
The game continues to move on at a rapid rate and we make the same mistskes year on year.
I said it. I knew we wouldnt win any of these crucial games and so its come to pass.
The new coach needs to be a WINNER. He needs time to build from scratch, a new team , anew direction a new philosophy a new style .
A new Derbyshire that needs to become the opposite to the old Derbyshire.....
In another word.........
WINNERS
John
Based on the events of the last few days in white ball cricket the season is effectively over .In saying that the Club has some critical work to do to start preparing for 2016 NOW. We have 4 players averaging 50 plus who could have their heads turned(Madsen Hughes Godleman Thakor) Durham look like they could lose Stoneman Jennings and Borthwick ( aka their top 3)
ReplyDeleteThere are only 20 days cricket in the next 50 days so make time to ensure these players remain and ensure the young talent feel secure and engaged ( Hosein Slater Davis) Our selection policy has been unclear and if I was Slater or Ches I would have mixed feelings tbh
The Coaching situation is fractured and requires rectifying in a timely manner to support this critical piece of work with the playing staff
Welch Botha gone, Pipey going , Consultant 0/5 record etc etc. TIME TO ACT MR CHAIRMAN