A day watching the second team

One of the benefits of my current incapacity is that I have been able to watch a lot of cricket, via the excellent streams available around the country.

Up there with the best is that of Derbyshire and it was nice to see them streaming the 2nd XI game today, against Nottinghamshire at the Pattonair County Ground.

The visitors won the toss and elected to bat and it was sad to see Mark Footitt still on second team duty at the age of 33. I wonder how many times he has regretted leaving Derbyshire over recent seasons, as he seems some way from the first team at Trent Bridge.

By the same token, the Derbyshire attack was led by Tony Palladino, still very much part of the senior set up. He took two early wickets, the first from a beautiful out swinger, the second  a top-edged pull, in a typically parsimonious spell.

At the other end, South African fast bowler Dustin Melton, currently seeking a county deal, did his prospects no harm with a rapid first spell. He beat the bat several times and no one looked especially comfortable against him. Impressively built, he may just  be worth an extended trial. His pace took the third wicket, the batsman late on a hook that lobbed up to mid wicket.

At 30-3 in eleven overs, the visitors were in trouble. Zimbabwean all-rounder Malcolm Lake replaced Palladino, bowling tidy medium pace, but it was former Sussex player Fynn Hudson-Prentice who struck with his first ball, bowling  Bhabra to make it 37-4. Both bowlers kept it tight and captain Daryn Smit would have been a happy man with his side's efforts at that stage.

A forty-run stand steadied the ship, before Hamidullah Qadri took the fifth wicket, the impressive Chris Gibson caught at long on. Anuj Dal plugged away at the other end and batting was far from easy.

Blatherwick came in and looked busy for a while, but after conceding a couple of boundaries, Qadri lured him down the pitch and Smit had the bails off in the blinking of an eye.

Aside from anything else, it was, as always, an aesthete's pleasure to watch such an accomplished wicketkeeper. Standing up is always the test and his glove work throughout was impeccable, his captaincy shrewd.

Hayden Rossouw continued to anchor the innings as another partnership developed, but had a life when Qadri put down a caught and bowled he would have fancied nine times out of ten. As the last ten overs approached, Connor Marshall, a leg spinner who grew up through the Nottinghamshire age groups, bowled with plenty of flight but no real turn.

Late order resistance took Nottinghamshire past the 200 mark, a good recovery from earlier trials. I thought the bowlers stuck well to their task and the innings closed at 204, when Melton's return was too quick for Hall and he edged through to Smit.

I looked forward to seeing Lake, who was a highly rated player back home, but he only lasted four deliveries before Footitt rearranged his stumps, leaving Derbyshire 0-1. That brought in Tom Wood to partner Tyler McGladdery and from that point it was all Derbyshire for a long time.

The latter has played second eleven matches for Lancashire and plays  his cricket in the Lancashire Leagues, where he must have been seen by Daryn Smit. He looks a good player, especially strong on the leg side, though as he gained confidence he unfurled some pleasing drives.

Wood is simply batsman of quality and has shots around the wicket. He has time to spare and, after seeing off the new ball, played a succession of shots around the wicket. He kept the ball on the deck for the most part, which was all he needed to do, in an innings of common sense and maturity.

It came as a surprise when McGladdery played around one from Gibson and was bowled for 68, which brought in Dal. He looked a little edgy, and assayed quick singles that saw Wood have a quiet word. Only 55 runs were needed from 25 overs at this point and the game was effectively won, the chase aided by the Nottinghamshire opening bowlers giving away a number of unnecessary extras that helped the cause.

Dal played  a couple of good shots, then holed out unnecessarily with 20 needed from 20 overs. Wood continued to look imperious and was unbeaten on 86 when Hudson-Prentice won the game with 15 overs to spare in hitting a six over mid-wicket.

It maintained the side's unbeaten start to the season and was very entertaining to watch.

Final thoughts? If not this year, Wood is the natural successor to Lace, when he returns to Middlesex. It is hard to imagine a better, affordable alternative for us.

Melton looked lively and Daryn Smit is still the best keeper I have seen in the country this year.

A good day!