Leicestershire 213 and 250 (Kimble 54, Parkinson 49, Thomson 3-50, Dal 2-16, Lakmal 2-57)
Derbyshire 531
Derbyshire won by an innings and 68 runs
It was a professional performance from start to finish and it was fitting that two former county players, Callum Parkinson and Will Davis, were at the crease at the end. The old Derbyshire vanquished by the new.
Leicestershire fought well, with Parkinson cruelly missing out on a half century that was fully deserved, and Kimble offering stout resistance, but Billy Godleman rotated his bowlers constantly and well to get those last four wickets.
Two were taken by Suranga Lakmal, who led the attack with discipline, energy and perseverance, while the other went to Mattie McKiernan, who had a terrific all round game that he will remember.
It was a team performance that takes us to second in the table at the time of writing, a point behind Nottinghamshire.
A world way from expectations, perhaps and there will be challenging days to come. Yet it shows what is possible when a coach can provide a structured environment for players to flourish.
It is no coincidence that we have seen a return to the Madsen of old, nor that players like Dal, Thomson and McKiernan are showing massive improvement. Nick Potts has emerged too, raw, but obviously capable of wickets at this level.
After three matches, we look a proper team, with competition for places and two very good overseas players.
Who knows where it might lead?
Great performance! We look revitalised. We're scoring runs, taking wickets, and fielding well. Masood in the division two leading run scorer, and Connors is the second leading wicket taker.
ReplyDeleteAnd, as you say Steve, we're seeing a huge improvement with some of the players. They have self belief.
All credit to Mickey for hitting the ground running.
Masood will have days when he gets out cheaply. This happens to all world class players. This is where the other batsmen will need to step up a gear. Hopefully, du Plooy is on his way to recapturing the form he showed when he first arrived. Billy is struggling, but we know he has runs in him.
Impressive performance that, and once we get a couple of our seamers fit we'll be ultra competitive. Well done Derbyshire you've put a smile on my face today
ReplyDelete611 runs for Shan so far, that is amazing. I wonder who is our fastest player to reach 1000 runs, one for Peakfan I think?
ReplyDeleteI wasn't sure, but asked Dave Griffin who confirmed that it was Peter Kirsten who was fastest to a thousand.
DeleteApparently, Shan has a maximum of 8 innings to break that record, and must do so during the Middlesex game at Chesterfield..
Thanks for that,I think that is very achievable. Come on Shan!
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