Glamorgan 237 and 361-7
Derbyshire 198 and 225-3 (Reece 91*, Guest 72* Harris 2-24)
Match drawn
It was never on. The loss of overs in the morning and a further stoppage after lunch meant that the run rate had climbed and, having lost the wickets of David Lloyd and Wayne Madsen before lunch, it would have been very easy for the side to have capitulated.
That they didn't was due to fine innings from Brooke Guest and Luis Reece. Both are players of high quality and I never felt a defeat was an option once their stand got going. Brooke is a real all round talent who I love to watch in full flow, while Luis continued his love affair with Glamorgan bowling, after the brief falling out in the first innings.
Lloyd rather gave his wicket away in a mix up with Reece over a quick single, his cause not helped by having to run wide of the bowler, Harris, who was trying to get to the stumps for the throw. Crane hit them from side on and the skipper had to go.
Madsen played a few pleasing strokes, but a good ball from Harris did for him. After that it was the Reece and Guest show, which allowed Derbyshire to save the game with relative ease.
My opinion of the Kookaburra ball is not a positive one after the first two rounds of the County Championship season. As Darren Stevens said today, it does something for about five overs and then you know you are chasing it. The scores have confirmed this and I honestly feel that had the game played out today at Cardiff, there was only going to be one winner.
With the pitch carrying fewer terrors and the ball turning only occasionally and much more slowly, it was easier to bat.
That should not take away from the excellent discipline of the Derbyshire batters.
Thank goodness we return to the regular Dukes ball for the next few games.
I do think consideration needs to be made for the next game to playing two spinners. Having three genuine seam bowling all-rounders in the side for me allows the selection of either a second spinner or another bat. I cannot see why we would need six seam bowlers, five of them right arm, in a match situation, unless one or two have niggles and cannot carry heavy workloads.
What do you think?
I completely agree about having a second spinner in the side. Having Harry Came bowl more overs than Luis Reece / David Lloyd suggests the balance of the team is not quite right. It's a pity Samit is unlikely to play red ball cricket as he would be a very effective second spinner.
ReplyDeleteWith Glamorgan being more match sharp after round one I think a draw was a creditable result.
My concern overall is although there has been plenty of rain about there has been only one positive result in two rounds of matches. I hope it is down to the Kookabura and the weather but the decision to increase the points for a draw will deter teams risking a defeat in going for a win. Also watching some of the other streams seeing how far away from the middle the pitches have been shows where some counties priorites are.
The last thing we want is to give powers that be more ammunition to reduce the County Championship more.
I disagree about the ball. I think these two rounds of fixtures have exposed how woefully lacking county bowlers are when denied a helpful ball in helpful conditions. Something already obvious during any away Ashes series.
ReplyDeleteHuge credit to Thomson for showing how to succeed, more English bowlers need to learn how to do the same.
Congratulations again to Alex Thomson, taking 12 wickets in a County Championship game for Derbyshire in April has been a revelation. It does need pointing out that he needs support in the spin department at some point. Also, our seam attack must improve, in the eternal quest for the team to take 20 wickets in a match, otherwise this season will be a repeat of last year. It remains to be seen how the wicket at Derby rolls out and plays in the next game against Leicestershire. Fingers crossed for good weather.
ReplyDeleteToo early to make too many changes. Positives include Lloyd, Madsen, Guest and Reece with the bat. I've always thought batting with intent is better than shutting up shop. Obviously, Thomson with the ball. Two spinners at Derby? Not for me. I would like to see Reece bowl more, for the left arm factor. Kris.
ReplyDeleteI felt we could have gone for the run chase. Mickey has spoken about being more aggressive this season. Instead, we were cautious. Nevertheless, Reece and Guest both batted extremely well in shepherding us to a draw.
ReplyDeleteI think playing 2 spinners needs to be given serious consideration. If that 2nd spinner were to be (a fit) Patel then it would be a no brainer in my opinion, but I guess this is unlikely to happen.
ReplyDeleteIf we are not at least considering playing 2 spinners, then why have we signed Morley on loan?
Reverting to the Dukes ball might lessen the chances of 2 spinners, but as has been pointed out, our inability to take 20 wickets is a problem and means we continue to struggle to win many games.
Hi, Steve, I'm still puzzled why we didn't try and chase the target. Lloyd is a powerful hitter, but when he came to the crease yesterday, he showed no aggression, indicating that he had decided not to chase. But last year at Hove we chased 380 in 58 overs, and nearly pulled it off. It's also worth mentioning that Surrey had a go at knocking 209 in 19 overs. Mickey has said he wants to win every game. If we want to do this, then we need to have a winning mentality, like Surrey. As you have noted, batting was relatively straightforward for Reece and Guest. All that was required was around five runs an over. That's just a boundary and a single in each over. We should have given it a shot. If wickets tumbled, then we could have shut up shop.
ReplyDeleteA solid start to the season , Dupavillon hopefully adds further impetus to the attack .. Can see rotation of the bowlers based on conditions
ReplyDelete