Derbyshire 173 (Came 66, Moore 32, Roland-Jones 5-34)
Middlesex 125-1 (Stoneman 79*, Holden 44*)
Middlesex trail by 48 runs
It is very difficult to have any confidence in the Derbyshire batting but at 130-2 we should have been looking at 250-300 as a minimum, on a pitch where the ball was turning, lifting, occasionally shooting and where generally batting was not straightforward. Yet nor was it treacherous.
Twenty minutes later we were 133-8. A couple of balls misbehaved but six wickets for three runs, really? After the top four it was awful, save for Harry Moore's battling 32 from 56 deliveries. Harry Came batted well earlier, but there were no signs, before or after, to clarify how we collapsed so. Toby Roland-Jones found a length but a succession of poor shots did for most of them.
Middlesex batted serenely to the close to reach 125-1, albeit with a few balls doing enough to suggest the game won't make Friday. They won't have to bat again either, because the Derbyshire batting is limping horribly to the end of the season.
It was embarrassing to watch and there appears little that the coaches can do to rectify this. My feelings on that have already been made clear, so we must wait and see what happens during the winter.
Will Mickey Arthur fall on his sword? I doubt it. He won't be asked to leave either, so I suspect that enthusiasm for 2025 will not exactly be at fever pitch right now. It isn't in me and that's a first in 57 years.
Tomorrow's members meeting should be interesting and pertinent questions deserve to be asked.
I only have one tonight, short and succinct...why did we not blood Naeem and give further opportunity to Wagstaff today? It was an opportunity missed.
And outside the top four, no one else took that opportunity.
That's it for tonight. Over to you.
I looked at the teamsheet this morning with dismay but not surprise.
ReplyDeleteOur woeful side limps on with abject results whilst two promising youth players watch on from the sidelines. Why on earth are we not giving them gametime when there is literally nothing to play for, even pride has gone at this point. A repeat of last season and just as unforgivable.
Agreed, Hamez.
DeleteYour first sentence just about says it all.
ReplyDeleteA depressingly familiar days cricket.
Amazing how similar the pattern of these games are becoming. In fact the only surprise for me is that Middlesex have got a run rate of below four!
It was such a positive morning session that it made the afternoon so much more painful and, sadly, all too predictable. Lloyd and Donald are terribly out of form, and Thomson at 7 is a huge gamble, particularly in such a fragile batting order. Dal is a big miss. This will seem harsh, but what was Morley doing? He had supported Moore so bravely. All he had to do was keep going in the same way. It seemed indicative of a general lack of confidence throughout the team. As someone who travels from Sheffield I have to wonder if I ought to renew my membership. I love going to Derby and don;t mind too much if they lose, but I want to see some grit and some intelligence, some nous. I don't think Guest is technically good enough to bat at 3. That's where we need a latterday Simon Katich, an Ashwell Prince or a Jamie Cox. I don't know if they are out there or available.
ReplyDeleteI think Guest is technically the best bat in the club after perhaps Madsen. But this year he has had long sessions in the field and then had to bat 3. By this stage of the summer even one as fit as he must be shattered
DeleteSpot on regarding Guest, he has to go down the batting, not because of his ability with the bat but because too much being asked of him which is leading to us not getting the best out of one of our best players.
DeleteAnother woeful batting display. It will be something of a relief when the season ends.
ReplyDeleteArthur should do the honourable thing and fall on his sword. It would be in the best interests of the club. Whats left of his reputation certainly isn't going to improve. He seems to have lost the confidence of the team.
Ian. S.Africa.
A desperately poor day yet again. As I posted in the comments of your preview, I was surprised and disappointed that at least one of, if not both, Naeem and Wagstaff were not given an opportunity to gain experience and hopefully confidence for next season. If we are keen on signing Morley then fair enough but, if not, surely we should be looking to give our own players a game. I also would like to see Guest no higher than five in the order.
ReplyDeleteWhilst respecting your understandable desire to not let comments get too personal or unkind, I'm sure I'm not the only one checking how long is left on the contracts of Lloyd and Donald.
Dave
Thought about going to the game, but spent a day fishing instead. No regrets
ReplyDeleteCheers Mickey. That's on you.
Andy
I can't agree with the in play comment from Anonymous that this is down to the team being a "bunch of bottlers". Doubtless their confidence is shot but that is the responsibility of Coach and Captain. The squad available for today is ridiculously small, due to the budget being squandered on ageing white ball specialists, poor overseas signings and "shrewd" but injury prone signings.
ReplyDeleteYes I don't think they are bottlers. There are good players in there, but too many mistakes are made at higher level. I see them, so do others. As in any organisation it has a detrimental impact on morale
DeleteIt's pathetic it really is, players now aren't giving a monkeys they just want the season to end. What a pity that we're stuck with MA in charge for another season, if we had the money he'd be a goner. What a mess!
ReplyDeleteDon't think for a minute they don't care, but there appears to be a disconnect with the coaching and they aren't playing close to their best
DeleteFor me, the game changed when the ball was changed after 34 overs. The score was 112-2 - after 12 overs with the replacement ball, the score was 133-8 (how often have we seen England take wickets in the same situation this season?). The replacement ball seemed to do a lot more and the Middlesex bowlers found the right line and length.
ReplyDeleteEven by the standards of this miserable season, today's batting performance was dire. To lose six wickets for three runs in 43 balls so that we tumbled from 130-2 to 133-8 was inexcusable. The fact that we then reached 173 was due to the sensible performance
ReplyDeleteof a 17 year old batting at number 9 who showed up our middle order.It was obvious that Middlesex would then accumulate runs without alarms and so it proved. I have to wonder what our players actually think of M.A. and his methods? I ask because I well remember the players' revolt of a few seasons ago when John Morris's autocratic rule ended with his being sacked - and our performances improving as a result. Will history repeat itself?
I think he will be here next year for reasons I have stated before. It probably comes down to you can pay him off, but the new coach has no money for overseas players..also think he will be down the line with signings which would come to naught if he goes
DeleteThis was a game that always looked tough. Donald was pretty good in T20 and was a bit unlucky today. He was always more of a white ball signing. Lloyd is out of form and I believe has been carrying a knee injury all season? Sadly, we don't have a Dal or Andersson to fill the all rounder slot, so the batting isn't deep in this game. Again, no overseas. I think players and fans are ready for a break, to be honest. All we can hope, is that we come back better in 2025. Kris
ReplyDeleteYes, Lloyd has had hand and knee injuries this year which won't have helped. And this shows how much we miss Nuj and how badly we need a quality overseas bat
DeleteWe went to lunch with me having enjoyed a good mornings cricket and looking forward to the next season. We were all out by tea and my only feelings were I just want this season to be done.
ReplyDeleteIt was certainly a tricky spell led by Roland-Jones but the collapse was quite something even by our standards until Moore got some runs on the board - with Morley just needing to keep him company…he dances down the pitch to the spinner and it misses everything 🤦♂️
Its going to need a significant addition or two to that batting lineup over the winter to give me any hope of better next season.
Yeah Morley twice now has played a daft shot when someone was going well. Same at Northampton, when Madsen was closing on 50..just block it and let him get that, at least. He has a lot to learn
DeleteMorley's last 5 innings have been 0,0,1,0,1. If, as has been suggested, he joins us I hope he will be shown how to hold a cricket bat.
DeleteIt is irrational to allow Mickey Arthur another season in charge. We are at rock bottom. Will messrs Morgan and Duckett have the bottle to pull the plug ? No because to my mind they are weaker than Derbyshire's batting. Their only aim appears to be make profit. Whilst admirable it can't be at the the expense of the performance on the field. It's pointless making profit if it wasted on 2nd rate overseas signings; players chasing a final payday and other teams' rejects. Enough is enough !!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Simon but in paying him off we might then use so much budget we can't afford any overseas players for a new coach...
DeleteI continue to maintain that it all went wrong when he was allowed to take the Pakistan job. It was disrespectful and you cannot serve two 'masters' at that level and do them justice
Like most of us on the forum, we end up repeating ourselves after yet another mediocre Derbyshire performance. We were in a good position with Came and Madsen, but then collapsed. I knew it was going to happen because it's happened so many times this season.
ReplyDeleteCredit to Harry Came, but, as an opener, he needs to convert 50s into 100s. Mickey said this last year about our specialist batsmen. But nothing has changed.
Once again, Harry Moore was what you might call the star of a very poor show.
We deserve the wooden spoon.
We do. Harry is a good lad but he needs to convert these scores. As one old pro said, if you get 150 in one innings you can afford two ducks and still be averaging 50...'drink at the well' as George Gunn liked to say, while others have asserted 'fill your boots' when the chance is there!
DeleteAnd to Jon Stevenson, I quote from The Grumbler web site today about Gloucestershire winning the T20 final: "Then Gloucestershire, small, skint and likely to move home after a good century at Nevill Road, took their first T20 Blast title with their skilful yet starless team. Led by a talented coach who has inexplicably struggled to get jobs or even interviews in recent years." Money is not everything in cricket.
ReplyDeleteI mentioned Alleyne as a good option when Houghton left, but no one would give him a go. Shrewd cricket brain, showed that as Gloucs skipper
DeleteTook the day off work because this would be the last chance I’d have to watch Derbyshire this tear. Started well with Zak - player of the season for me - getting his cap off Bud, one of my boyhood heroes and an all time Derbyshire great. I thought Reece was out to a poor shot after he’d got in, buy Harry really stuck to his task and did well. But my goodness, we have some terrible middle order batters at this level. How on earth did we end up with this captain? Awful. Shades of Bolus, although in fairness Bolus was a much better batter. As for Donald, he is a T20 biffer at best but should be nowhere near the county championship side. I was so excited when MA joined us but for me, his attempt to manage us and Pakistan last year suggested he lacked commitment and I won’t get the faith back. In a recent Wisden Cricket Monthly Cork was talking about how DCCC end up signing players late in career for big bucks who then don’t deliver. I can name Lloyd, Donald, Whiteley, and indeed Patel. Let’s get building a team around Moore, Wagstaff, Bin Naeem, Dal, Guest, Came, Chappell. Already more than half way to a good team there!
ReplyDeleteIf Dominic is criticising the club for signing the likes of Patel and Whitely he’s got a very selective memory while he was captain Derbyshire signed Munton Bailey and Illingworth all had been very good cricketers but well past their best Munton and Illingworth embarrassing I think Richard Illingworth only played about two games before falling out with the captain and was never seen again
DeleteYes, it would appear that if you were signed by Mickey you have a better chance of selection than if you weren't...and this isn't the first time we have made a mistake in signing older players whose best was behind them, as KJB points out...
DeleteSorry, adding my name: Andy T Cleckheaton
ReplyDeleteDavid Lloyd is channeling a 1930's amateur captain, i.e.Mr R.H.R.Buckston.
ReplyDeleteI think people are forgetting what Billy did for the team game. They were playing better cricket than they are now. A disagreement with management & he's gone! So when guys see this, they are all worried about their jobs!! Think dressing room in a poor state. Maybe it wasn't 'his' decision to sign Wagstaff or Bin Naeem...so he doesn't pick them??
ReplyDeleteAs things stand the contribution of Billy to Derbyshire cricket will be seen as of far greater value than that of the Head of Cricket. There is his challenge, to change that opinion of me and doubtless a few others..
DeleteI've seen nothing of MA that suggests he is capable of introspection or changing his style to fit the circumstances. Billy G will be held in far greater regard than MA, and brought far more to us than the 'world class' coach we brought in. I know it might hobble us next season but we need a fresh approach and change of leadership style, because this just is not working.
DeleteAndy
Were MA to leave, and I need to stress that I hope he doesn’t, who might replace him? Who could come in and turn Nye Doland into Mark Waugh? Who could make David Lloyd play with softer hands? Who could make Wayne Madsen ten years younger and Pat Brown two yards quicker? What would they be charged with achieving? Let’s be realistic. Derbyshire are not going to challenge for promotion on this budget, and getting into the T20 quarter finals is tough. I thought we did well in the Metro Bank this season, and were close to beating Kent which might have got us through. Du Plooy is hugely missed. He is high class and was a brilliant signing by DH. Recent signings have been poor and have to be much better this winter. Andersson could be good.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think it would have been fair to throw in a youngster yesterday. The morale of this team is clearly poor, and protecting them might prove a good thing in the long run.
Honestly, Sean? I would take Ottis Gibson, who has taken Yorkshire to likely promotion, yet is no longer required. Good coach, top man. Works well with young people and commands respect.
DeleteI would also consider Daryn Smit as an option internally, for the same reason. People would be more understanding in failure with young players than older ones. Karl Krikken was dispensed with way too quickly at Derbyshire, as an example of what could be done
Rinse and repeat, with regards to performance and comments about said performance!
ReplyDeleteJust as an aside, whilst listening to some of the commentary, mostly from behind the sofa! I'm sure I heard Fletcher mention we're signing an overseas bowler and 'he's been here before' Did anyone else hear this? It narrows it down, but my initial thoughts were that there's only a couple I would be happy with!
Logically Amir, unless Zaman is back for T20. Although if the current demographic is to be followed, Wahab Riaz...😉
DeleteCan Michael Holding still bowl ? If not my guess would be Logan Van Beek.
DeleteThey are the 2 I'd be happy with! Wahab it is then 😃
Delete