Nottinghamshire 173-5 (Clarke 47, Patel 2-24)
Derbyshire 165-8 (Donald 52, Madsen 40)
Nottinghamshire won by eight runs
At least until the cricket came on.
When we get to September and I reflect on the 2024 season, the words that will come to mind will be 'huge disappointment'.
Mickey Arthur has said that this summer he had 'his' team. His first two years were ones of assessing the squad, getting what he could from existing personnel and then improving it.
I am not convinced he's done that. I don't think many other people will be either. To some extent I can ignore four-day cricket, because the Head of Crcket has not been brave enough to instruct Neil Godrich to get more life into the pitches. Had there been a willingness to do that, we might have seen more than a succession of bore draws. Until that is sorted, we will continue to be also rans in that format.
But T20 was supposed to be the focus of recruitment and the signs are either that we have recruited badly, or the coaching team are simply not getting the best from the players.
Yet again last night, we saw the bowlers do a decent job and keep Nottinghamshire to a score that would only be deemed as par at Trent Bridge. When Nye Donald got us off to a flyer, some might have thought we were on course for the double over the home county.
Except we have been here before.
Donald is a batter of genuine talent who hits the ball very cleanly, yet needs to realise that his job isn't done when he reaches 50. Having hit the bowling to all parts again last night, he only needed to knock it around when the field went back, but frustratingly got out when the job was only half done.
Yet it is hard to be critical of him when he is the one scoring runs and the rest of the batting has redefined the word 'underwhelming'.
Madsen has been a shadow of his former self, perhaps carrying an injury, but Patel got 64 in one innings and only 48 in his other seven. My early assertion that his hand/eye coordination wasn't so sharp is being proven correct but he has been up and down the order like a jack rabbit down a hole. Whiteley got 46 in one sparking innings but has only 44 in the other six. Chappell has 34 in six innings but was bizarrely promoted to number four last night. Why wasn't Whiteley elevated against the leggie and with a short boundary to aim at as a left-hander? Guest is second in the averages but was at number eight. I struggle to work out the logic and I'm pretty sure the players must as well.
These are good cricketers but the overall impression, when we are past the halfway stage of the season, is that Mickey Arthur doesn't know what he's doing with them and still hasn't worked out his best batting order. Is it any surprise we are so inconsistent?
The injury to Cam Fletcher didn't help last night, but yet again our team snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. With the exception of the home win over Nottinghamshire, I have never felt we had a game under control, because I don't think the batters have been given a clear game plan and trusted with their role in it.
35 from the last four overs - and with six wickets in hand - would normally be seen as a formality these days. That we fell eight runs short is almost laughable.
There were all the usual noises after the game about our still being able to qualify and 'we have to play better cricket', but it is not going to happen. Realistically, we can only afford to lose one more game to do so and, on present form, even optimistic old me cannot look at things and think we'll do this.
There has been considerable investment in this squad and Mickey Arthur cannot complain about not being backed. Money was found to bring in players that he wanted and his job was to get the best from those players.
Has he managed to do so? I think the answer is fairly obvious.
Four word review; very disappointing, season over.
ReplyDeleteI think we are a nearly team. We should have won tonight and almost certainly against Northants in the first game. In addition we were well place at the half way stage of our batting against Yorkshire before failing to capitalise on Donald's great knock. We are gonna need at least four wins from our remaining games. That will be tough.
ReplyDeleteOn a separate note, we could lose up to six players for the hundred, Donald, Madsen, Patel, Whiteley, Chappell and Brown, Do you think we will engage another overseas for the tournament or give Harry Moore and Yousal Bin Naeem an opportunity.
As we resume our Championship campaign this weekend, it got me thinking about the future of Sam Conners. I understand his contract is up at the end of the season and therefore can start to talk to other counties next month should and /or Derbyshire see his future elsewhere. I wonder if the wickets at Derby would be a consideration in his decision? Any thoughts?
Natwest 81
Is Donald aware that he is allowed to bat outside of the power play ? Silly dismissal (yet again) which started our demise.
ReplyDeleteBen Mead
du Plooy hasn't been replaced. 3 of the fastest 50's and we have only won 1 of those. 7 an over should be a breeze, after that. I agree Donald should reign it in after the power play, but asking someone to go.on and get a ton, is rare in T20. Kris
ReplyDeleteWasn't David Lloyd supposed to be the replacement for Luis DuPlooy ? Somebody who had been dropped by Glamorgan and was playing second X1 cricket, the problem Derbyshire have nowadays is as soon as Derbyshire find and develop a player Madsen apart (Footitt Critchley DuPlooy) as examples they move on
DeleteThis has been a familiar pattern for many years. The wealthier counties, particularly in division 1 will always attract those players of potential. John Morris made this point when he was head coach and its been a continual issue since then. Its difficult to see that changing... unless DCCC become so successful that they are able to retain their own best young players.
DeleteIan. S.Africa.
Same old Derbyshire!Les.
ReplyDeleteThe powerplay overs are massive in 20/20.We have had some really good starts which takes the pressure off but our players aren't used to that and can't seem to deal with it.I don't think it matters who bats where in the few overs that remain they are good players and they know what to do.Mickey seemed very upset in his interview and I think the players are letting him down.Topspinner.
ReplyDeleteAll down to Mickey Arthur this, three seasons in under his management and we're no better off than previous campaigns. This has to be his last season as it's been so underwhelming all round. A thoroughly disillusioned Derbyshire supporter
ReplyDeleteSo, we end the power play needing little more than 7 an over with 9 wickets in hand. We have one of the best players of spin in the hutch to counter the inevitable introduction of the slower bowlers, and a batter in Guest who is very adept at working the ball around. What do we do...
ReplyDeleteDonald throws his wicket away again, gives the opposition a boost, we send Zak in at 4 and Guest ends up coming in at 8... 🙄
MA will come in for plenty of criticism, and rightly so, but as I've mentioned before Samit is banging on about playing positive, aggressive cricket but sometimes you need to play smart cricket. I am convinced it was his idea to send in Zak, and although that didn't in itself cost us the game, to me it underlined our insistence on being super positive, and which some of us might describe as needless and reckless..
I don't mind being positive, but to play in the manner that Notts have over a number of years, as Samit clearly wants us to, you need to have the personnel to do it.
Last night was another example of us getting off to a terrific start, thanks to Donald again (17 sixes, so far in the competition), but then losing momentum.
ReplyDeleteThis was a game that there was there for the taking. Our bowlers did well in keeping Notts under 180. Given the experience and big hitters we had, this should have been straightforward.
I don't have a clue as to how to solve the problem of our often poor and inconsistent batting. We don't seem to have a collective winning mindset when we bat, despite everything Mickey said at the start of the campaign.
I agree, Steve, this season has been hugely disappointing.
Ever throught you were drinking in the last chance saloon. Well if your a Derbyshire supporter it's the only damm place you'll ever drink in. In fact take your camp bed with you save you bringing it back for the next game. I can't even take solice in the England team because they haven't got a Scoobie do either. Oh it's bleak at the moment a Ram or Rose either way we're Stuffed.
ReplyDeleteSteve jr.
Anyone know on here what roll Ross actually has. Is he a finisher, a genuine all rounder, a bits and pieces cricketer. An ace fielder or a budding Wicketkeeper who's to tall and can't bend down, so has been banished to the outfield to help Neil push the heavy roller on. Because I don't know why he was signed.
ReplyDeleteSteve jr
Exactly Steve, looking to be a hopeless piece of business, one final big payday for him though
DeleteIn recent history in the blast, Derbyshire have either scored a heroic victory or been utterly outclassed. This season, bar Lancashire, we have been competitive in every game but keep being undone by small margins, poor tactics or crazy individual decisions. That has to be on the coach and captain. Last night was a case in point. The promotion of Chapple to 4 and the associated batting reshuffle was simply bizarre.
ReplyDeleteAnother painful watch last night. So frustrating when we were in a position to win comfortably. The bowlers did their job, again but the batting let us down after Donald’s needless dismissal. And as for the continual change of the order it beggars belief to see Brooke Guest coming in at eight. Quite bizarre! After the power play, once again, we don’t knock it around and find the gaps, instead we find different ways to get out and give the opposition a lift.
ReplyDeleteBitterly disappointing when this seasons focus was on the T20. Too many wrong decisions in just about every game with little if any ‘smart’ cricket.
Mickey Arthur’s three years have not produced any improvement and at best we’ve stood still. Perhaps, as mentioned previously, we should have appointed a coach who has worked at this level.
Nudger
As a Notts member, your fielding was excellent, l hope you recognise that and overall you should have won the game.
ReplyDeleteThe fielding was excellent and some very good catches were held. It just made it all the more frustrating, after all the hard work, that we blew it with the bat and the decisions around the batting order. Donald and Fletcher were outstanding at long on and long off
DeleteI agree with all that has been said but I feel that the contrasting fortunes of our 2024 signings has been startling. Nye Donald has lived up to expectations with some sensational innings and although I recognise some supporters' frustration at how he is getting himself out, his contributions should have been enough to ensure we won two matches that we lost. A less happy situation is provided by the batting form of two T20 "specialists" signed by MA. The batting of Patel and Whiteley has been nothing short of dire. We have to accept that, either their best days are manifestly behind them, or that MA will manage to encourage both players to reproduce their past form. I have to admit that, to me, the former is more likely. Sixteen innings between them and just two scores of note just isn't good enough.
ReplyDeleteChapel Guy
Good post. Donald with the bat and Brown with the ball have been excellent recruits, sadly the others have fallen well short of expectations.
DeleteNudger
We could make five or six changes to this team tbqh, but there in lies the problem, we haven't any real quality in reserve.
ReplyDeleteDal, Lamb, Conners, etc would make very little difference so we're left with this lot for the remainder of the tournament now.
Captain fantastic is struggling now, 40 off 35 balls following on from three very low scores, we will need a replacement very soon, impossible to replace really.
Anybody take note of Rishi Patel's knock last night for Leicester 103 off 48 balls, oh for somebody like him in this line up
Two comments you've made almost in passing, Peakfan, seem to me to illustrate the major strategic errors that have been made. First, why not instruct the groundsman to prepare more suitable cricket pitches? Second, why put so many eggs in the T20 basket? These strike me as fundamental mistakes which have shaped our misfortunes, as have the poorly thought-out recruitment of overseas players and the belief that the T20 side should have as many as three veterans who (despite all their fine achievements) are past their best. There have been a few positives, but simply not enough to create a winning team and a winning mentality. Donald, Lloyd, and Brown have been good recruits. Patel has bowled very well but there have been some odd tactics, not least the batting order. Above all, the mindset of the team doesn't seem to be geared to winning consistently. With regard to Brooke Guest, a good player, it's true that his average is high, but his scoring rate is less than electric in T20. Mickey doesn't seem to have recovered from the setback over the recruitment of Amir. He does have an excellent CV but at this level the requirement is to get the very best out of the available resources and that hasn't happened. It's easy to criticise, but I think a better strategy would have included the following components: better 4 day pitches, two versatile overseas players, and a focus on creating a highly competitive 4 day team which could be tweaked by the addition of Patel and someone like Matt Carter for one day cricket.
ReplyDeleteBringing in Chappell at that point was bizarre. And I've actually said before, it could be a good move to bring him in the power play, he can clearly give it a smack so could be a good risk and allow Madsen and guest etc to do what they do best in the middle overs. Id even understand it if we were needed 10 an over. But to bring him in after the power play and only needing 7.5 and over? What was that about? Facet
ReplyDeleteWe won’t win every game due to the format , budget ands squad depth . In 3 games we have been in the ascendancy and unravelled , which for me comes down to clarity of role and decision making ..
ReplyDeleteNorthants away … 14 off the last over bowled by Reece , who just isn’t a death bowler
Yorkshire away ..114-0 off 10 and posted 179 … fiddled with the batting order
Notts away ..74-1 off 7 chasing 174 fiddled with the batting order
The bowling and fielding unit looks reasonably solid but the batting has stuttered plus some of the decision making has been odd ( order , shit selection )
Amir will no doubt play but the batting needs some serious improvement
Will need to win 5 out of 6 in what’s a tight group
Donald Lloyd and Guest doing ok with the bat
Patel Chappell Brown doing ok with the ball
Need 2/3 improvements in the team to upgrade but not sure we have it in the squad based on form
I wonder how long Donald is here for. I notice he only signed for 2 years. I hope he can be persuaded to stay longer. Now he is hopefully over his injuries, he is pure dynamite in this format. Kris
ReplyDeleteIn year one of Mickey's project, we seemed to be on the up. Masood's magic seemed to rub off on some of the other players, notably Dal, Guest and Connors. Since his departure, we seem to have been on a downward spiral.
ReplyDeleteMany of us have highlighted various reasons for our failure to win games, and our lack of consistency.
I have to admit that watching Mickey's post match interview after last night's defeat, I felt sorry for him. He clearly wants success for Derbyshire, and he believed he had assembled a squad that could go far in the T20.
So, how does he turn things around in the T20? What do you do about experienced and powerful hitters such as Patel and Whiteley not delivering the goods? To be honest, I don't think bringing in either Reece, Lamb, or Came would make a difference to the batting. The problem seems to be mentality.
How do you change that? No idea.
Last night was a low that I did not expect to see again, given the apparent talent in that dressing room. I don't think Mickey Arthur knows the answer. Shambles of a season
ReplyDeletePeakfan in fairness to Mickey Arthur I seem to remember before the season started you were among those enthusing over the group of players he had put together for both the four-day matches and for the Blast so isn’t it a bit unfair now to be criticising him?
ReplyDeleteNot at all, anon (please use a name). It is one thing signing good players, another all together getting them to play at their best within a team. He hasn't done that, end of story. Professional sport is tough, coaches are judged on results. We haven't had enough positive ones
DeleteI don't think Mickey is BRAVE enough in spite of what he says. When it comes down to it he hasn't instilled into the players the belief and understanding how and when to dare to win. Steve Jr
ReplyDelete