Sussex 299-8 (Haines 94, Pujara 56, Lakmal 4-60)
Derbyshire 302-2 (Came 94, Reece 92, Lloyd 86*, Ali 24* Lenham 2-61)
Derbyshire won by eight wickets
Winning the toss helped, choosing to chase was certainly to our advantage, but everything about that display was a pleasure to see.
I thought Brooke Guest and Anuj Dal ran things very well on the pitch. The bowling changes were not formulaic, the fielding positions were thoughtful and the bowling was controlled and steady. All of the spinners did well on a pitch that didn't really offer a great deal to them, while the attack was led by Suranga Lakmal in some style.
This - at last - was the bowler I thought we were getting when he signed. He varied his pace, used the full width of the crease and bowled with great intelligence. With support from everyone else he ensured that Sussex never really got away, despite an excellent innings by Tom Haines.
Cheteshwar Pujara also batted well, but struggled with his timing and never really broke free of the shackles imposed by the home attack. A total just under 300 seemed gettable, as long as we got a decent start.
The fielding was excellent, Dal a standout wherever he was. Good catches were held, with Lakmal taking a good one that belied his age.
The last five partnerships by Harry Came and Luis Reece have added 165, 360*, 71, 134 and today 159. It is fair to say that whatever shortcomings there may be elsewhere in the side, we have an opening partnership. Came went off like a rocket, with Reece happy to play second fiddle until he got his own eye in and his share of the strike.
It was beautiful to watch, again, it has to be said, on a pitch that would give a batter fantasies. There were shots all around the wicket and the only disappointment was that both men were caught in the 90s, failing to put the cherry on the icing of the cake that was an excellent team performance. It is nice to watch the growing understanding of the two men and it augurs well for our future.
It was a first chance to see David Lloyd on home turf in Derbyshire colours and he didn't disappoint. He is very strong in late cutting and pulling, entertaining the crowd with a sparkling display in which he saw his team to victory with an unbeaten 86 from just 63 deliveries. Haider Ali knocked the ball around nicely to complete a consummate, professional performance, but did treat what looked a good crowd to a trademark six over midwicket.
The game was finished in style. If this was a trademark and regular Derbyshire performance, it would be so much easier writing this blog.
It was helped by a visiting side that looked deflated. They put down two chances that would be deemed regulation at this level, while the ground fielding was much less sharp than that of Derbyshire.
I look forward to your comments tonight, which should be a pleasure for you to contribute!
Durham next, a tougher game but we travel in high confidence.
Well done guys. Very good performance all round today . I assume Wood was left out to play 3 spinners on the worn pitch? We bowled, fielded and batted like a different team from Sunday, largley helped by the lack of quality from the opposition, especially from their bowling which was even worse than us on our worst day. Let’s hope this is a reflection on things to come.
ReplyDeleteChad Jim
Wow! At last a Derbyshire win and achieved in some style. Brilliant innings by Came, Reece and Lloyd and for probably the first time an outstanding bowling performance from Lakmal. Let's hope we can keep it up.
ReplyDeleteOutstanding performance and great to see Came and Reece continuing their impressive form. They have certainly justified the new contracts given to them. The addition of Lloyd to the batting line up seems like an excellent acquisition and his experience will, no doubt, help the side next season.
ReplyDeleteEqually good to see all the bowlers contribute to an emphatic victory with Lakmal producing the sort of performance one would expect from an overseas recruit.
While this season has been somewhat disappointing there does seem as though next year could see some change for the better with the recruitment so far.
Nudger
I didn’t see the first two matches as I was on holiday, but by all accounts this sounded like a much better performance. There were the obvious individual performances from Harry Came, Luis Reece, David Lloyd and Suranga Lakmal but the whole team played well together to contribute to the win. Yes, Sussex looked a bit ragged at times, especially in the field, but we did well to keep them to under 300 runs when at one stage 350 appeared to be on the cards. Even that probably wouldn’t have been enough given the way we batted today. Durham on Friday will be a much harder fixture but better to be going into it with the confidence from a win than a loss.
ReplyDeleteI only saw the first hour or so, and it looked like the same old inconsistent fare from our bowlers with Haines looking in imperious form. So I was pleasantly surprised to see we had clawed it back and kept them to a manageable total. Looks like we then chased it down comfortably. Good to see, let's hope we can build on this.
ReplyDeleteA very good performance. The shackles came off for Harry Came, who was a joy to watch. He now averages over 40 in all 3 formats this season. Lakmal was good, as was the bowling in general. Kris
ReplyDeleteConnors is only a back up bowler at best.No way should he be leading the attack next season. We desperately need 2 frontline bowlers, who are savvy enough to dent a decent top order. We do not have anything anywhere near potent enough at present. I'm talking Langeveldt and the like.
ReplyDeleteWe managed the game really well. If only we could do that with some consistency. For me, Harry Came’s development and growth in confidence has been one of the highlights of the season. He’s come on leaps and bounds. down the wicket.
ReplyDeleteYesterday I realised why I pay my membership. It is for days like that, when the team plays so well. I love cricket and don’t mind too much when we lose because I know we are a small county with relatively limited means, but when they deliver such a complete performance and look so happy winning together it is such a good feeling.
ReplyDeleteI credit Luis Reece’s bowling for stemming the torrent of early runs. It was a brave decision to bowl him at his pace to a Tom Haines in full flow – he looks a very good player and I enjoyed his strokeplay. And it was a treat to watch Pujara play, shrewdly accumulating, ensuring his team posted a meaningful total. But McKiernan and Watt were outstanding, the full extent of how good they were only becoming apparent when Sussex’s spinners were unable to halt Derbyshire’s progress.
Came looked a proper one-day opener yesterday, with a great range of shots and game sense, knowing when to block and when to attack. Luis is playing beautifully, and David Lloyd looks a great addition and, fingers crossed, we won’t miss Leus so much.
Sussex are a proper county, producing so many of their own players. They are clearly a project and have a great man in Paul Farbrace to guide them. I sincerely hope they thrive in the seasons to come.