Leicestershire 380 and 294-9 (Eckersley 104, Parkinson 3-88)
Derbyshire 362 and 104-4 (Madsen 42 not, Thakor 31 not)
Match drawn
"They batted well this morning, they made us work hard to get them
out, so credit to them for that. But it's a deteriorating pitch, the
ball is starting to go up and down a bit - it's the sort of pitch the
bowlers can control the scoreboard on, and anything around 200 or more
wouldn't be an easy chase.
"We still have some good batters, Ned
Eckersley and Niall O'Brien are class, and we're not too worried yet. I
can't see us settling for a draw at any point."
They were the words of Ben Raine on the BBC website last night
Hmmm. So Leicestershire then bat on today for two sessions, scoring 185 runs in 58 overs, leaving Derbyshire 313 to win in a session, or 38 overs if you will. Either he thought that they had Hadlee and Holding to open the bowling, or we had Wright and Kirsten back by special arrangement.
If they had left us 270 in 60 overs they'd have had a very good chance of a win, especially when we started our innings with the nonchalance of a man bailing out a sinking ship with a teaspoon . Were it not for the common sense and skill of Messrs Madsen and Thakor once more, we could have been in trouble anyway, but that was awfully negative cricket from the home side.
I followed the morning cricket in expectation of a late morning thrash and declaration, but when they batted on and on I stopped checking the score until the last half hour. That doesn't happen very often and speaks volumes.
Be assured that if Derbyshire had batted similarly I would have been equally vitriolic in my comments, because the day did no favours to the home side, nor to county cricket.
It was a shame really, as it has been a good game of cricket for three days. Callum Parkinson bowled another splendid spell, finishing his debut with seven wickets and an unbeaten 48, while credit should be given to 'Ned' Eckersley, a talented cricketer for completing his second century of the match.
But by crikey, what a disappointing end to it all.
Obviously Ben Raine and Leicestershire realised their opinion on the pitch was flawed and in fact it held no dangers whatsover even for Derbyshire
ReplyDeleteI'll be looking forward to your "vitriolic comments" on Derbyshire if and when we are in a similar situation.
The annoying thing for me is that they declared at 9 down thus denying us the rare opportunity to bowl a side out twice in a game
What were they thinking, near the top of the table against a side who they must know doesn't bat well under pressure and with a very young and inexperienced tail. It beggars belief.
ReplyDeleteThe season is over Peakfan, I've absolutely no interest left at all. This has been another bitterly disappointing season, and season ticket sales will be at an all time low come next April I'd guess. Who in their right would keep on paying for one when they're witnessing this rubbish week in week out.
ReplyDeleteWe have to get our recruitment right this winter with a pace bowler the first target. Our attack is by far the weakest of all the counties, and needs to be addressed asap.
I watched all four days of this match, it was not a great game, the pitch was slow and scoring rates for much of the game were as a result slow. A memorable game for Callum Parkinson though, who I have seen a little bit of in the seconds recently. He never gives much away, which is promising at such a young age, he can get some turn and he is a very competent batsman. His attitude is also very positive, he always has a smile on his face and can be heard encouraging whoever is bowling.
ReplyDeleteMark makes a worrying point above which I think is quite true, the membership figure for next year could potentially be very low even by out standards. A lot of people are not happy with things on and off the field for various reasons. If nothing happens to give these people some faith during the winter then I fear we may lose some people.
I always enjoy going to Grace Road, it is a simple ground with good basic facilities and is very cheap too! It was only £10 to get in on the day which is excellent value and there is no reason why all counties cannot do the same. Leicestershire have improved this season thanks to the recruitment of some solid county professionals. However there is some concern there regarding the lack of youth talent coming through the ranks and Leicestershire have to be careful that in a few years time they don't find themselves back at square one.
It's a good job they didn't declare earlier as we may well have found a way of losing the game.
ReplyDeleteThe chance of a win spurned once again.A regulation slip catch dropped in the first over on Sunday,taken and we could have chased a total circa 200 in the last two sessions.There is a lack of consistency in all facets of the game and a lack of 'big match' temperament as a team.
ReplyDelete