Middlesex 433 and 302 (Higgins 68, Robson 67, du Plooy 59, Holden 45, Thomson 4-115
Derbyshire 339 (Reece 125, Donald 54, Madsen 49, Roland-Jones 5-81, Higgins 3-60
Derbyshire need 397 to win
It isn't easy being a Derbyshire supporter, is it?
From the promise of last night, when we were 308-4, we slid anaemically to 339 all out this morning. Yes, there was a new ball and I accept that the home attack is a good one, but there was little in the way of fight and that was hugely disappointing.
Middlesex went in again and pretty much had things their own way after Zak Chappell took a wicket with the first ball. Robson, Holden and du Plooy played well and Higgins did what Higgins does - he is a very fine cricketer.
I thought that Derbyshire stuck to it well in the field and Dal took two excellent catches, one of them in the 'screamer' category. His ground fielding was of a very high standard too and it was a good effort in that heat.
Again, there were puzzling features in the Derbyshire bowling. I found it odd the first time around when our overseas quick bowler didn't take the new ball, yet today Sam Conners didn't either and it went to Anuj Dal. Then, on a very hot day, Luis Reece ends up bowling more overs than any of the seamers, even though he was potentially going to have to go in again tonight and had spent the last two days on the field.
It is all a mess and I am far from optimistic of our getting anything from this game. Having said that, I was surprised the home side didn't put us in for a few overs tonight. Even allowing for a very short boundary on one side, the likelihood of our successfully chasing the required target is slim, as we are in nosebleed territory for successful run chases.
Finally tonight, I am disappointed to say that for only the second time in the history of the blog, I am on the verge of blocking a contributor.
I have never had to edit or decline to publish so many posts as I have in the past week. It is simply not appropriate to put some things into print, especially when it is my name and face on the blog, no one else.
I have no issue with people expressing concern, disappointment and frustration. It goes with the territory as a Derbyshire supporter. But I will draw the line when comments become personal and reflect on people's livelihoods. The person concerned should realise that the name attributed to the comment may change, but the IP address does not. You would not say these things to the face of a player and they will not appear in print associated with my name.
This should be taken as a final warning and any further occurrence will see that address being permanently blocked. I made an earlier mistake in unblocking it after a few days, but I will not accept any comments that contravene the usual excellent standard and that will not happen again.
I am sorry if that comes over as overly draconian, but 99% of people who get involved are brilliant. l am at a stage in my life, however, where my tolerance of nonsense is very low.
Quite honestly, I would sooner pull the plug on it than bother with the additional work.