Derbyshire 231-4 (Wood 110*, Came 56, du Plooy 30)
Leicestershire 160 (Handscombe 61, Khan 3-27, Chappell 2-20, Scrimshaw 2-30)
Derbyshire won by 71 runs
They recorded their highest T20 score, while Tom Wood scored the joint second fastest century for the club in T20, a record he now shares with Wes Durston. He and Harry Came added 148, the second highest stand in T20 cricket, while Zak Chappell broke the record for most wickets in a T20 season.
It was heady stuff. Wood was preferred to Luis Reece and batted magnificently. We all know that he is capable of such an innings, he has played them before. The surprise is that it took until the later part of the competition for him to be given the opportunity to be the powerhouse, the pinch hitter. He is a big, strong lad and while he may not always come off, when he does, it is likely to be a match-winning innings, as it was tonight.
He and Harry Came led off in great style, which enabled the middle order to play brisk cameos to take the total to previously unknown levels. It was powerful, it was wristy but it was played with a lot of common sense, the running between the wickets being especially pleasing.
Leicestershire looked a mess, with some very ordinary bowling and dreadful fielding. Louis Kimber had a nightmare on the boundary, dropping a relatively straightforward catch and messing up a time or two. But this should not detract from a brilliant batting display which put them under pressure and, when they gained the ascendancy, Derbyshire did not let up.
du Plooy played a Chesterfield-style cameo, Ali only came in for the last over. A huge six over mid wicket, another over cover, then caught on the ropes. It was remarkable, marshalled by the Ticknall Tonker, who carried his bat and deserved the rapturous applause from the county faithful.
The only concern was the potential of rain and when Mulder and Handscomb led off with a stand of 75, the visitors were briefly ahead on Duckworth Lewis. But the advent of McKiernan, who bowled well, dismissed the South African and wickets fell regularly after that.
Some good catches were held, du Plooy taking a well-judged skyer and Khan a safely-footed one on the boundary edge. He and Ali offer dynamism in the field that is welcome, as well as regular smiles and an obvious level of enjoyment. Both have been excellent additions to their roles in this format and few would complain were they to return next year.
Scrimshaw and Chappell bowled excellent spells and this has been a tremendous year for the two of them. As the run rate climbed, the visitors realised the game was up as Khan's howitzers rattled through attempted hits and disturbed the timbers. Scriven looked shocked at the one that was through him before his bat got close.
If he can stay fit and maintain his current form and attitude, he will be in great demand around the globe and become a very wealthy young man. To be that good at only 21 is quite special, but to retain modesty, humility and good humour, which he also appears to have in abundance, is a joy to behold.
Again he was magnificent to watch and if Derbyshire can win on Sunday, the attack should be a different proposition this year for the likely trip to Somerset.
Can they beat Worcestershire? Having watched them bowl against Durham tonight, certainly. Some of the bowling was awful, the fielding very average. Thanks to a brisk innings by New Zealand star Mitchell Santner they managed to get a Duckworth Lewis tie, but it was by the skin of their teeth.
Home advantage will be important and I hope that the wicket for the game plays similarly to the one tonight, which was excellent for this format.
The game deserves a large attendance, but the side deserves it even more. They had been written off, but after losing the first three games, a combination of team spirit and finding the right personnel has put them on a roll.
While there remains concern over what happens if a bowler gets injured, as happened to Ed Barnes of Leicestershire tonight, this suddenly looks a team to be reckoned with. A powerful top order and batting down to number nine offers hope.
Sunday will be a very special day
Everyone concerned deserves great credit for keeping us in the mix until the final game.
This was Tom Wood’s game. He’s often promised runs but failed to deliver. However, last night he produced top drawer batting and looked in control from the start. The decision to play him instead of Reece must have had something to do with the 167 he scored against Yorkshire for the seconds this week. Scoring 110 not out in 54 balls was a massive achievement.
ReplyDeleteCame provided excellent support as they racked up 148 for the first wicket. I don’t recall Wood and Came opening together before. Perhaps we have found the right combination.
With such a huge opening partnership, the pressure was off for Madsen, du Plooy and Ali. All they had to do was smash the ball about, and they did just that.
Despite Leicestershire scoring well in the first nine overs, I never worried that they would seriously challenge our record-breaking score. A collapse always seemed inevitable, and indeed it came with Khan, Big George and Chappell all picking up wickets to add to their impressive totals this season.
We go into the game tomorrow against Worcestershire looking a force to be reckoned with. After such a poor start to the campaign, it has all come together, just as it did last season.
You mean it will end in a shambolic embarrassing thrashing at Taunton?
DeleteMaybe, maybe not. It might end tomorrow, it might end at Taunton, or at Edgbaston.
DeleteBut we have battled and at the end of the day it is eleven against eleven in any match
Put a ‘rate limit exceeded’ ban on this KJB Loyal account Peakfan. There was nothing to moan about last night, so they revert to last season’s failings! Craig
DeleteAnother excellent performance almost matching the demolition of Yorkshire. It’s taken a while to find the right balance but this eleven looks the part. I suppose consistency is the key but that batting line up looks full of runs while an attack including Chappell, Khan and Scrimshaw must be an unwelcome sight for many batsmen. And the fielding deserves mention with some excellent catches in difficult conditions.
ReplyDeleteOn this form l don’t see why we cannot progress once again to the knockout stages.
Nudger
Unbelievable Knock and great performance tonight. We've given ourselves a real chance of progessing again when it looked impossible after the first 3 games. At the risk of sounding like a broken record I can not understand how Wood is not a first pick in this team. Stats can be misleading but cricket is a very measurable game. Before the start of this tournement Woods avearage in T20 was around 40 with a strike rate around 130. Those figures stack against the best players we have. Its not as if we havent seen him do it before. Two very strong 50s, one setting and one chasing. Also when he was eventually selected this season, his first 2 innings against Leicester and Birmingham was a large factor as to why we won those games. Then after a couple of low scores when coming in with very few balls left, he's ommitted again. Muddled thinking comes to mind. I dont know what his average/strike rate is for this years tournement but im guessing the figures are even more impressive? With Deploy almost certainly departing and Madsen in the twilight of his career I think its importent to get Wood signed up for next year at least before someone else comes knocking. I also dont buy into the White ball only pigeon hole theory. Cricket is cricket regardless of ball colour. He clearly is not a red ball county opening bat. Any one can see that in the way he plays. He could be a destructive middle order batter. His 2nd team record suggests there is a red ball cricketer in there if his skill set is utalised correctly.
ReplyDeleteChadd Jim
A fabulous innings from Tom Wood and a pleasure to watch. I really enjoyed the partnership with Harry Came and they seemed to have a great understanding of batting together with good running between the wickets. Of course, there will be matches when they don’t score runs, as with any opening partnership in this format, but I think there is huge potential for it going forwards.
ReplyDeleteThe bowling attack continued to show its recent form and was seemingly undaunted by the good start that Leicestershire got off to. Earlier in the competition we might have gone looking for wickets and tried a bit too hard, but there was patience yesterday and sticking to what they knew had worked before - though a large target helps with that! Zaman Khan continues to be an absolute joy to watch. Even in the warm-up he is full of enthusiasm and fun which must feed through to the rest of the team.
Looking forward to tomorrow’s game and whatever the result, the group stage is ending with us in a much stronger position than I thought it would a few weeks ago.
Sarah
One of the pleasing aspects about our T20 batting is that we are doing well in clearing the rope. So far this season, we've hit 89 (with du Plooy and Madsen both hitting 17 and Ali 16) sixes. This compares to 61 last season, 56 in 2021, 25 in 2020 (shortened season) and 59 in 2019.
ReplyDeleteIt's also worth noting that Leus du Plooy has taken 14 catches.
Performance levels are improving and the balance and personnel of the team have evolved since the feeble defeat to Northants (0-3). The next step, effectively, an eighth-final, against the Rapids will challenge our level of consistency. If we manage to stay afloat, then, it could be argued we are entering the Q-Fs in the right kind of form, in spite of it being a return to the proverbial scene.
ReplyDeleteFirst things, first, though. Let's play well on Sunday, eh..?
Matt.