Warwickshire 288-7 (Thomson 68*, Mellor 58, van Beek 3-69, Watt 2-32)
Derbyshire 289-5 (Madsen 119* Hughes 69, Godleman 40)
Derbyshire won by five wickets
From the moment that Derbyshire split the Warwickshire second wicket partnership today, there was never a moment when we did not look in control of this game.
Ed Pollock threatened briefly, but his assaults on bowling attacks are often too short to be game-changing. That second wicket partnership of Sibley and Hain threatens a lot of runs, however. Today, the returning Logan van Beek nipped out the first two and clanged the third on the helmet in a hostile spell. He strives for a wicket every ball and while this can be costly, he does have the ability to get people out. I admire anyone who gives total commitment and Logan scores heavily in that area.
I was especially impressed at the way in which he and Ravi Rampaul closed out the innings, with a succession of yorkers and short deliveries that were hard to deal with. It augured well for the T20, especially when one adds Kane Richardson to the mix.
Mellor and Thomson did well for the visitors, but they didn't really get away, due to fine spells of spin bowling by Mark Watt and Wayne Madsen. Both showed excellent control, the former bowling his spell straight through and claiming two good wickets. I think supporters are starting to warm to him and he looks more relaxed now. He bowled excellent lines and probing lengths today.
When we kept the final total under 300 I was confident that our batting could chase it down, even shorn of the injured Leus du Plooy. We got a good start from the openers, but were rocking slightly when Tom Lace didn't last long.
There were no real worries however, as Alex Hughes was quickly into his stride and shared in an imperious partnership with the impeccable Wayne Madsen. My superlatives for the latter were exhausted some time back, but suffice to say that he looked in a different league today.
Don't get me wrong, Hughes played a trademark innings and their partnership of 134 in 22 overs effectively sealed the match. Alex was caught with just under fifty needed, then Harvey Hosein looked unnecessarily skittish in his short time at the crease.
But Matt Critchley opened with a flurry of boundaries and Madsen ended the game in a salvo of sixes. When he is in this form he appears incapable of an ugly stroke and once again we could only look on in admiration and be grateful for his talents.
Fourth in the league tonight and playing third place at Old Trafford on Thursday. We really could not have wished for more at this stage and we still control our own destiny. We have competed strongly in every match and probably took Nottinghamshire, the runaway group leaders, closer than anyone.
Plenty of reasons to be very happy tonight, then. We may have a small squad, but it is perfectly formed.
Well done gentlemen. Once again.
Wish we were adding Kane Williamson into the mix. Do you know something we don’t? Ha ha.
ReplyDeleteSeriously solid showing today. Warks aren’t the powerhouse club they were but still need a high level of performance to see them off.
Very good performance today. The wicket of Hain was crucial and for me, Watt's bowling was the turning point; he showed excellent control and we should praise the fielding too today; very few runs were given away. Warwickshire did well to get to 288.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little concerned about Reece he looks a bit out of sorts but Godleman played well in the powerplay and there were some excellent boundaries. Madsen and Hughes were superb and until the latter was out they barely gave a chance.
This is a different Warwickshire and they were there for the taking but nontheless a great win.
Excellent performance today in what was a must win game. Madsen was at his empirical best, but I think Alex Hughes must take a lot of credit, he came into the game needing runs, and entered the stage when things could have gone downhill having lost 3 wickets, he supported Wayne and kept the scoreboard moving with some excellent shots, having got the support Wayne unleashed some amazing shots particularly as we broke into the last 100 required. Everything that was pitched up was driven by Madsen and Hughes, so Hannon-Dalby set a deep third-man, LONG STOP!, Deep Fine-leg, and deep Square-leg all on the boundary, and set about bowling short for the catch from the ramp & top edges, but it was good to see the batsmen (other than Harvey) had thought about things cut those shots out and proceeded to pick the gaps left in front of the wicket to accumulate and clear the ropes.
ReplyDeleteWatt and Madsen bowled well, but if I wanted to be picky, it would be nice to cut out some of the extras, and bad balls that get punished, we are lucky that in every innings someone got the runs, at some point, that may not always happen and we may have to scratch around for runs so restricting the opposition to a target of 200-250 would make life a bit easier.
Having said all that a great performance which keeps us in the frame for the Q/F, two very important matches to come, but it is in our hands. Well played
Excellent result
ReplyDeleteOne note I think you mean Richardson not Williamson
But here’s hoping
I'm happy for Kane Williamson to come in for a few weeks as cover for du Plooy. They've done well to keep that one quiet!
ReplyDeleteSeriously impressed with the guys so far this season- got a bit of steel to them and no shortage of talent.
No inside knowledge guys, just a typing error. Duly amended! 😂
ReplyDeleteGreat performance today. The boys stuck at it and kept their nerve. No one messes with Wayne Madsen when he's in this sort of form. And great to see Alex Hughes get into the groove. Credit (again) needs to go to Billy for getting us going early on and giving us a good run rate to build on. His stats are amazing in six games: 479 runs at an average of 95.8, with a strike rate of 91 and around 200 runs coming in boundaries. That innings against Northants seems a long time ago.
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