Birmingham 200-6 (Hose 55, Benjamin 43* Conners 3-33)
Derbyshire 197-8 ( Guest 54)
Birmingham won by 3 runs
What a magnificent game of cricket at the Incora County Ground tonight.
Full credit to the batsmen, who struck the ball cleanly, but the bowling could have been in better areas and both Mark Watt and Hayden Kerr came in for heavy punishment.
Mattie McKiernan was the pick of the bowlers, though George Scrimshaw bowled some rockets and Sam Conners should perhaps have bowled out.
Our reply never got going. The scoring rate was fine, but wickets fell too frequently for any genuine chase to be mounted, to a combination of poor strokes and even worse running, Kerr completing a debut to forget by being run out by half the pitch length.
Guest, who kept well and batted even better, took us very close in the end, mixing excellent running with clean hitting. There was fine support from Mattie McKiernan and Mark Watt, but we fell agonisingly short.
Lets not get too disheartened, as Birmingham look a pretty good side to me.
We didn't play well, yet so nearly pulled it off. The fighting spirit is alive and well.
On to Leicester tomorrow.
We came so close...but our top order didn't fire enough.
ReplyDeleteGuest hit three sixes, but the bears hit double the amount of sixes compared to us.
Still, there's enough here to be confident tomorrow.
Asking a lot for Kerr to step off a plane and perform. I think with Hughes or Dal in the team, we win that game. Kris
ReplyDeleteYeah, he has only been bowling in nets for a while and is match rusty
DeleteBig call a side without one of those 2. Maybe Dal wasn't fully fit, and McKiernan played very well.
Any change for tomoro? Be interesting to see..
Shocking debut from Kerr, but he will get better with games.
ReplyDeleteDid he get injured? He appeared in to be holding his hamstring when he was bowling
DeleteNot aware of it. Had he done so I suspe t he would have had a runner when he batted.
DeleteBefore the season I said I had high hopes for Guest and Thompson. Well Guest is turning into some player. I also said I wasn't too impressed when we signed Mark Watt again. His over which went for 24 to tonight changed the momentum of their innings. Sure he may play a part, particularly at Old Trafford, but any better than Thompson? And Watt's fielding has definitely NOT improved....
ReplyDeleteBit harsh, Jasper. Very good bowlers have been clubbed around in T20 and anyone can drop a catch. He will play his part and it was telling that he and Kerr were short of match experience of late
DeletePossibly! I really hope he makes me eat my words. What on earth he was doing at long on in the first place I shall never know, mistake by Masood. I notice he didn't stay at long on....His fielding is average at best, so he needs to compensate in other areas. I just think Thompson is a better all round option. But then MA knows more about cricket than I ever will.
DeleteYes he is not the man for such a key position as he isn't fast/agile enough. But Shan will know now. I prefer to let Thommo focus on red ball, rather than getting Hammered, losing flight and firing in darts
DeleteFair point about Thompson. The pitch at Leicester today may suit Watt. I am now expecting him to have a storming game today!!
DeleteMuch to like in the performance last night, and shows the very fine margins on which these matches can change. For much of the Warwickshire innings it looked like we would be chasing 170-180, it was just a couple of overs, especially the one from Mark Watt that went for 24 that changed the outlook.
ReplyDeleteOn our innings - all the top order took risks, and some paid off and some failed. What I did like was the attitude (very Eoin Morganesque) of get ahead of the asking rate and stay ahead of the asking rate - sometimes that will fail, but I prefer that to going at 7 or 8 an over for 15 overs and suddenly needing 18 an over for the last 5.
Throwing Haydn Kerr into the game so quickly could only ever fail, especially with Dal and Hughes available. I feel for Alex Hughes in particular - he must wonder how he gets into the team now. He might not be the most naturally talented player in the squad, but he makes the absolute maximum of his talents and has never let Derbyshire down.
I think there were two overs from Watt and Kerr went for nearly 50 between them.
DeleteBut credit has to be given to the batsmen. They had to hit them the distance they did!
Yes it was the losing of regular wickets cost us. I confess that neither Dal nor Hughes being in the side was a surprise. But McKiernan justified selection and not sure how you get one in if the plan is to go with 2 spinners and for Scrimshaw to bowl middle overs
ReplyDeleteI thought Scrimshaw was excellent, looks to have real gas. Will be interesting to see what he is clocking on the speed gun today on Sky.
DeleteExcellent game of cricket which looked done and dusted after 10 overs of our reply. Great credit to Guest and also Mckiernan for getting so close and shows some very promising batting strength when the top order doesn't fire .
ReplyDeleteFirst time I've seen Scrimshaw and he seems to have serious gas, quicker to my eye than Brookes yesterday. I thought Connors also did well yesterday and Mattie's figures were excellent.
A disappointing game for Watt and I couldn't really understand why they didn't try to run 2 off the penultimate ball.
As for Kerr, it was a big ask last night but as his namesake blasted out Don't you forget about me around the County Ground, I expect by the end of the year we certainly won't!
No shame in that loss. Warks are a serious t20 side this year and could be the one to watch.
ReplyDeleteI think our bowling looks good this year, plenty of variation and still others who could come in with no let up.
Batting also looks strong and goes a long way down. T20 is always a bit if a lottery as any bowler can take tap on any given day and occasionally even the least fancied batter will go big and bludgeon a match winning knock from just a few overs but I feel we've built a side that will ensure we're competitive in every game and should win our fair share.
Agreed. They are a decent side and I won't jump to quick forecasts of our compy on one game. As you say, this side with good players outside it, should win its share of matches, if they stay fit. Last year we lost Madsen and Hughes and struggled
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