We need to win all four games to have a chance and are four points behind fourth place. I am an optimist but tend to mix it with a touch of pragmatism and it would need a remarkable combination of circumstances to get to that stage.
We must still aspire to win, however and still have the injury list from hell to contend with. What frustrates me is to hear the coaches still talk about 'we should have rested Billy Godleman earlier' when that was patently obvious to many. To claim that there was no one else, when McKiernan and Hosein were clearly fit, is ridiculous. While Harvey wouldn't be my choice for the format, he would have averaged no less, while McKiernan showed his value in the game against Nottinghamshire.
Still no news from the club, but several media sources are saying that Jade Dernbach has signed on loan and I would assume goes into the side tonight. He has played only second team cricket this year for Surrey and didn't play any last year, but at 35 he at least provides experience for an attack that has been shorn of several options by injury.
Likely side:
Came, Reece, Wood, du Plooy, Critchley, Guest, Hudson-Prentice, McKiernan, Van Beek, Scrimshaw, Dernbach.
Worcestershire are a good team in this format but have had a mixed competition and may yet fail to qualify. Their chances will be enhanced by a win tonight and they will hope to do so against a Derbyshire side that has too often failed to press home a position in the ascendancy.
We will see what happens later.
As always, I appreciate your thoughts!
Dernbach has played a couple of games for Surrey this year, bowling 3 overs for 40 runs, which might suggest that he's nothing like the bowler he was. Not a player I've ever warmed to and always felt he was more remarkable by his capacity for self-promotion than his bowling. Nonetheless, with Anuj Dal out again with a broken finger and with only a struggling and short of cricket Cohen as a bowling option, it makes sense, and his experience and competitiveness may be enough to give us that extras bit of steel that would have got us across the line in two or three matches.
ReplyDeleteDespite how close we've been to winning in these games, it's difficult to see Derbyshire managing four straight wins but in this topsy-turvy group, there's every chance that results elsewhere could combine to allow them to qualify if they do. There's been many years when we haven't even had a mathematical chance of qualifying by this stage, and given the extraordinary misfortunes that we've suffered with players, I think Derbyshire's management deserves more credit than you're giving.
Not sure I would judge anyone on 3 overs for 40, notoveryet. Not in this competition. Luke Fletcher bowled 3 for 49 against us at TB and he is pretty handy.
DeleteI have no issue with the signing on grounds of we are running out of players and had that been made known when we signed McKerr there would have been fewer concerns.
I have given plenty of credit to management over the years, but happen to feel that this year we have made too many errors off the pitch and the wounds are too frequently self-inflicted.
We are not dealing with bygone issues and I just feel we should be handling the 'now' better. My opinion, and of course you are entitled to yours!
Corky's definitely got Alec Stewart on speed dial!
ReplyDeleteDernbach has a contract with the Cockney Sparrows in the 16.4 so presumably this is a way of getting match fit for him.
ReplyDeleteCockney Sparrows in the 16.4 is genius.
DeleteSparrers, surely?!
ReplyDeleteThis season is getting beyond a joke the recruitment policy since the season has started particularly the loans brought in appear to have little logic unless the whole purpose of it is to benefit the loanees
ReplyDelete