Yorkshire 180-5 (Sarfraz 42, Viljoen 2-46)
Derbyshire 184-5 (19.4 overs, Godleman 67, Madsen 47, Wilson 33 not)
Derbyshire won by 5 wickets
Wow. Wow, wow, wow!
Beating Yorkshire at Chesterfield was something special. Doing it at Headingley, therefore completing a T20 double over them, was simply astonishing.
This wasn't a weakened Yorkshire either. OK, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow were with England, but the rest of their big guns, bar Liam Plunkett, were there, including players who star in England's T20 side. Many would have expected us to come home with noses bloodied; instead, we head back down the M1 with the points and every right to be immensely proud.
Midway through the Yorkshire innings, 'Anon' sent a message to say that 'Henry and Viljoen are bowling their usual rubbish'. No name, not published and I disagreed. I thought we stuck to things well in the field, conceding only seven extras, compared to Yorkshire's seventeen. At the end of the night, such profligacy cost them. And for the record, aside from three successive wides in the penultimate over, Henry bowled well and Viljoen took key wickets.
Once again, Wayne Madsen starred with bat and ball, thoroughly justifying his earlier PCA Player of the Month Award. Imran Tahir also bowled a crucially tight spell and Yorkshire never got away in the middle section of the innings. Honourable mention too for Alex Hughes, who reeled off three economical overs that prefaced a telling final contribution later.
At halfway I dared to think 'maybe'. We needed a good start and while Tom Wood didn't set the world alight, 24 were on the board when he was out after three overs. Luis Reece didn't last long, but as soon as Wayne Madsen came in he was into his stride once more. Billy Godleman already was and the transformation of Billy into a very good T20 batsman this year has been simply extraordinary.
They put on 77 in eight overs, before Billy was out, with 62 needed off 6 overs, which brought in Gary Wilson.
The skipper hasn't had much opportunity in this competition, but three times now he has come in and played the role of finisher to perfection, exactly as we hoped for when he was signed last winter. He and Wayne knocked it around and, with ten an over off the next three, seemed to be steering us home.
Wayne's dismissal, closely followed by that of Matt Henry, wasn't in the script though and left the equation at 18 from nine balls, but two fours from Wilson left ten from the last. How many times have we lost three wickets in such an over and fallen five short?
Not this time. Alex Hughes smacked his first ball for six , then took a two and a single, leaving the skipper to pull the fourth ball of the over for the winning four. He finished 33 not out from 16 balls, a terrific innings. A captain's innings.
Top of the league. Anything from tonight and tomorrow, against Nottinghamshire, was regarded by most as a bonus. Yet we came, we saw, we conquered. Doubtless the often boorish local support went home unhappy tonight, but for Derbyshire fans, we'll float through the rest of the night and tomorrow.
No chicken-counting yet.
But this really could be the year we qualify, you know.
Two more wins should do it, I reckon, but let's keep the good times rolling.
Fantastic lads. Now for Nottinghamshire...
That really was some chase there. Godleman and Madsen superb backed up earlier by a good effort with the ball. One foot in the quarters and whatever the result tomorrow I will be checking the dates for the quarters, whilst provisionally writing them in pencil
ReplyDeleteI've not been as pleased with a Derbyshire limited overs win since Lords in 1993!
ReplyDeleteOh yes very fond memories! !
DeleteAnother excellent performance by the boys in front of a large partisan crowd.
ReplyDeleteI was a tad surprised that Yorkshire elected to bat with the possibility of an interruption for rain, however, Koehler-Cadmore and Lyth got off to a good start. The Derbyshire attack did well to keep the run rate within bounds. I think Yorkshire's downfall was that the openers along with Willey all holed out when well set. This allowed us to restrain there incoming batsman to a certain extent. Good stuff from the bowlers when you are facing such a line up away from home. Some good catches were taken and the ground fielding was generally good. Once again the slow bowlers, Tahir and Madsen kept the opposition in check and 'Yosser' performed well to concede only twenty three. The paceman bowled well but anything short was dispatched to the boundary. Thought at one stage Matt Henry's wides at the death might have proved costly but it's not easy bowling up the hill at Headingley.
Think the key to keeping Yorkshire within reach was the fact that we took wickets at vital times.
What can you say about Billy Godleman other than that was an outstanding innings in difficult conditions. Stop start with the weather and one eye on the D/L statistics. Billy smacked two fours off Willey before hitting him for six. Wonderful stuff to watch surrounded by a large Yorkshire contingent. The partnership with Wayne was a match winning performance. Madsen's innings was a joy to watch he found the gaps to continuously run ones and twos and his reverse sweep was productive as ever although on this occasion it was also his downfall. It was only after Billy and Wayne had departed that the home fans started chanting Yorkshire, Yorkshire... It didn't last long!
The skipper and Alex Hughes saw us home with 'Yosser' hitting an excellent six off the first ball of the final over to ease the pressure. That silenced the crowd and the rest was a formality.
Another tremendous performance by this team that seem to get better and better. A great run chase without any histrionics. Billy man of the match with Wayne in close pursuit!
John Wright and the backroom staff have done a brilliant job, l just hope it has a long term impact on the team in all the formats of the game. Is JW just here this year or is his contract longer term? He has certainly had a major influence on this great bunch of players.
Had to take a screen print of the league table on the way home LOL
Onwards and upwards!
Stuart, York
quite simply..affirmative to above comments.fab stuff.c'mon you falcons!,
DeleteAre you watching Paul Allot? No, you're probably not.
ReplyDeleteWell done Derbyshire and to all who've contributed. It might be early days, and it may all suddenly un-ravel but for the moment ... we're top of the league. Great stuff.
Great effort. Wayne's all round contribution would claim motm from me. I will be there tonight more in expectation than hope..not often said that against notts!
ReplyDeleteAnd all of this without Shiv!!
ReplyDeleteA win against Notts tonight and it's nearly job done with the last three matches we have all being should wins. Notts need the win desperately to keep their hopes alive, so the pressure will all be on them. I note that Cork's in the squad instead of Taylor which suggests it isn't going to be a pitch with much pace. Add in some long boundaries and let's see how well Notts big hitters (and their lumbering fielders) cope with wide open spaces away from the comedy boundaries at Trent Bridge.
ReplyDeleteGreat effort last night Peakfan.
ReplyDeleteNo need to meddle with the team (providing no injuries), let's go with the same against Notts.
I think 2 wins from 4 will see us qualify, whilst 3 will hopefully get us a home draw.
One point to mention is how different people view bowling returns in T20. For example I think 10 an over isn't to bad, when you remember that batsmen are generally going to keep coming at you. I have a colleague however, who thinks anything over 7 an over is poor!! Isn't it great how we all have different opinions?
Anything under 7 is a miracle now with big bats and short boundaries. For me 4 overs for less than 40 is a good effort...
DeleteI was there last night. Absolutely loved it.
ReplyDeleteSome great performances but again a team effort.
Sat in the western terrace and listening to all the grumbling around me was well worth it. Well played lads.
I say 36 and under (9s) is excellent as for me 180 is a case of well done like lasf night
ReplyDeleteThe bowling averages show only 25 out of 148 bowlers going at 10 or more per over, with the median looking around 8 or so. Most people would probably see 160 as the minimum defensible total in most circumstances, so I think 8 is the more realistic acceptable level. Of course it depends on where and when you do most of your bowling, so you have a better chance of getting below 8 if you're not bowling in the powerplay or closing overs. Venue must also play a part, and it's striking that 5 of the 25 bowlers with an economy rate above 10 are from Notts. That's the obvious downside of playing at home with comedy boundaries, but I'll be happy enough to see them going for 10's again in an hour or so, as long as we go at 8's.
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