Derbyshire 372-4 (Godleman 102, Hudson-Prentice 99, Reece 96, du Plooy 50*)
v Middlesex
Had Derbyshire elected to bat today and finished at 372-4 they would have been very happy. That they did so after being put into bat by Middlesex must make dressing room an ecstatic please to be tonight.
When one also considers that Wayne Madsen was missing, following a sprained ankle sustained in warm ups, the closing score marks a position of extraordinary dominance.
Billy Godleman set the standard with his fastest ever first class century, made from 118 balls. He seemed to approach it like an RLODC innings and several times advanced down the wicket to the seam bowlers.
In such a score it is surprising to see only one century, but Luis Reece looked horrified at giving his wicket away with a loose drive on 96. He batted very well, though the innings of the day was by debutant Fynn Hudson-Prentice.
Tasked with replacing Madsen at three, he batted beautifully for almost three and a half hours, before top edging a pull that would have given him a deserved century, to be caught for 99.
From the way that he batted, that three figure score will not be long in coming. The signs are that he will become a key member of this side and it will be nice to see genuine competition for places.
Alex Hughes failed, but du Plooy, with a patient 50 that was diametrically opposed to his one day knocks, saw us safely through to stumps.
This was not a bad visiting attack. It contained two former England bowlers and enough balls went past the bat to encourage hopes of a home win in the next three days.
In the immediate future, we need to bat and bat some more.
Well done fellas. That was a top effort, and it looks like we might just have picked up another talent in Fynn Hudson-Prentice.
He can be very proud tonight.
Enjoyable day in the sun ,it was a shame Reece and Hudson-Prentice missed out on a deserved 3 figures.
ReplyDeleteHave to be aiming for 500 plus tomorrow .
Well played Derbyshire
Wow did not expect such a good score after being put in. Well done lads. Disappointed for the lad on debut Hudson-Prentice to get out on 99 is a shame but am sure he would have taken it. Disappointed for Dal though all the times he’s been batted at 8 and this lad on debut gets chance to bat at 3. He sure took the chance though so can’t ask for anymore. Hope Dal scores some runs tomorrow as think he’s been hard done by with team selection in certain games and batting order generally. I noticed Du Plooy took an age to get off the mark. But he’s still there tomorrow. He has something. Hope he converts tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI think we have found a gem in du Plooy. He played the perfect innings in the circumstances. I can't wait to see how he develops into next season (but he'll probably have been snaffled by Notts!).
ReplyDeleteWatched bits during the afternoon with the England game on the telly and this on the iPad. FHP looks a very tidy player and may well be making himself undroppable in the way Dal never could.
ReplyDeleteA shame Madsen missed out but in truth he has been on a run of low 4 day scores and in the long run the opportunity afforded to others at the top of the order may do us good in the medium to long term.
Where can you i view it on ipad?,i have one.but wasnt aware of seeing tge game live.
DeleteOnly bbc commentary.fanx poddy
Hi Poddy just go to club site and click the link on left 'match day live'
DeleteScroll down to see a, link they post in Twitter to the stream. Then wait till the new link opens, click the play icon in middle and you are away!
https://live.derbyshireccc.com/
DeleteAn excellent day in the sun with good cricket from DCCC, pity all our top three didn't all get a century, would that have been a first? I am not sure I would even call Billy's innings a 50 over performance, I thought it was so out of character, on many occasions rushing the quick bowlers and 'swiping' at the ball with head in the air, sometimes edging for runs and other times inelegantly missing. The shot selection and his screech and animated celebration on reaching three figures led me to think there was more to it than just another century! Had someone upset him or was it because it was against a former county? Any thoughts?
ReplyDeleteWell done to the players today, lets hope we can build a major total, then bowl tightly, take regular wickets and put them under pressure from the off.
I don't think Billy has great memories of his time there and he got some rough treatment. Runs against them are probably sweet as a result.
DeleteYes, excellent performance so far from the batsmen. Looking towards maybe the high 400s?, I have to agree re gung ho..great innings from the captain; and with his usual very dry funny..humorous remarks..dontcha just luv dave the "fletch" commentaries! 😁.he makes other BBC cricket commentators sound quite mundane and boring imho. It was all guns blazing from Billy the captain. And the other batsman seemed to take some momentum from his lead. Apart from poor Hughes. Who perished for a duck...but Hughes has been in very good form for us lately so no complaints really.. we now have to find a place to wedge Madsen back in!....but still a nice problem to have i think.
DeleteI'm not sure it was the wrong decision for Middlesex to bowl, whatever the scoreboard says, although it must have been chastening for Malan to have to turn to a spinner after 70 minutes to try to get some control having put Derbyshire in. It was a combination of poor catching and some outrageously good luck for Godleman and Reece that made it look a poor decision, and it would have been no surprise to see us 3 or 4 down at lunchtime. I suspect that we might already be 70 to a 100 runs above par for this pitch, with plenty of scope to add this morning. There was plenty of movement early on and a few signs of unevenness later in the day to encourage our bowlers, who will have at last a weight of runs behind them to enable them to exert sustained pressure without having to over-strive for wickets. Derby's pitches often flatter to deceive, suggesting that they will deteriorate later on but flattening out, but this is not a Middlesex side in good order (striking that their entire attack for this match, despite its illustrious names and high reputation, have fewer wickets than either Reeece or Rampaul alone).
ReplyDeleteFull marks to Hudson-Prentice, who played beautifully throughout. He had a great platform, and it might have been different if he'd been coming in at 4-1 as he might well have done, but he was busy, organised and played the bowling on its merits, and gave the innings the stability that Wayne Madsen rarely does nowadays, whatever the breath-taking beauty of some of his shots. One swallow of an innings doesn't make a summer, and he has plenty to prove still, but we might just have gone from famine to feast with the batting. If Dal makes runs as well, and with Lace available for the next game, who misses out?
Fair comments all. To be fair to Fynn, he doesn't usually bat 3, and though he may long term, he is more likely a, five or six, when the shine should be off the ball anyway.
ReplyDeleteAs you say, Dal runs today will be interesting..
Great performance today can't be many innings where five players exceed 90
ReplyDelete