Derbyshire v. Yorkshire day one

Derbyshire 111 (du Plooy 28, Fisher 5-30, Coad 3-28)

Yorkshire 272-5 (Malan 76*, Masood 67, Lyth 48, Reece 2-37, Watt 2-42)

Yorkshire lead by 161 runs

Every year, Derbyshire supporters look forward to the  Chesterfield festival and anticipate a keenly fought game. This year was no exception.

And then that happens.

Notwithstanding that the toss was a good one to win, the home team's effort was pretty anaemic today. Indeed, on a day when stars of yesteryear were in attendance for the former players day, the cynical might say you could have got an eleven together from those players who might have resisted a little better. 

Madsen and Came got good balls early, but some of the rest did themselves no favours by playing across the line to a moving ball. I found myself pining for the days of Alan Hill, Tony Borrington, David Steele and others, who at the very least would have shown them the makers name on the bat, played through the V and made the bowlers work for the wickets. It wasn't easy, but surely not 'bowled out in 32 overs' difficult?

We were poor today and to be all out in the last over before lunch told everything you need to know about a pretty insipid, spineless display. 

Du Plooy and Thomson resisted better than most, but the quality of the batting was put into perspective as Yorkshire raced into a lead of over 150 runs by the end of a rain-shortened day.

Derbyshire went with two spinners, which might have been a decent tactic had we mounted a big enough first innings score to bring them into play in the final innings. Yorkshire had five seamers and could rotate them, which they did well. They were disciplined and impressive, everything we were not.

As it is, unless it rains for the next three days, this game could be over by the close of play tomorrow.

I'm not normally negative, but the Derbyshire attack, with the exception of Mark Watt, went for six or seven an over, including Suranga Lakmal, who we have been hoping to see on such a wicket. It is an understatement to say that the Sri Lankan has been a major disappointment. I suspect a Groenewald, Welch or Palladino would have had a field day.

Eighteen no balls didn't help the Derbyshire cause and it was perhaps the most desperate day of a season where we thought we had already reached the bottom.

I am still prepared to give Mickey Arthur the opportunity to turn this around, but next season is a big one for him, the winter ahead of us perhaps the key factor in whether he will be the success that we hoped for, or just another false dawn

I hope his plans are in motion already, because on the basis of today, major surgery is required.