Warwickshire v Derbyshire day 2

Derbyshire 189

Warwickshire 169-5 (Lamb 41*, Aitchison 2-31, Conners 2-40

Derbyshire lead by 20 runs

While they made regular inroads into the home batting today, I didn't think this was an especially good performance with the ball or in the field by Derbyshire today.

All of the bowlers bowled some good balls, but there were too many that could be easily left by the batsmen. When lines were adjusted, they went too far and gave away easy runs off the pads.

Maybe I am being unduly harsh, but I am judging by the high standards of others I have seen over the years, when more often than not the batsmen were made to play. I acknowledge a little early season rustiness, but in a game of low scoring with a helpful wicket, we could have done better. The lack of a third man was a puzzle too, with four or five boundaries squirting off the edge. For me, Reece and Cohen were the best bowlers, though that was not reflected in the scorebook

Nor were we especially good in the field.  Du Plooy put down a fairly straightforward one at slip, while Hosein seemed to put a more difficult one down last ball before tea, certainly from the reactions of the bowler and slips. There were also bits of sloppy fielding, which in a low-scoring game makes a big difference.

I think an issue that Billy Godleman has, with the options at his disposal, is getting them on in the right order and at the right end. Reece and Conners did OK, the former unlucky, the latter proving he can get good players out. Aitchison did very well when he came back after a loose early spell, as did Hudson-Prentice. Cohen didn't get on until the ball was 30 overs-plus old, while Dal, who is a more than handy seamer, wasn't used at all.

At the end of a rain-hit day, Warwickshire were 169-5 and slightly on top. Lamb top-scored but led a charmed life, as batsmen will on here with the ball in the right areas.

We need to bowl better lines and field much better tomorrow, that's for sure.