Derbyshire 472
Middlesex 315 and 307-7 (Holden 94, Eskinazi 61, Higgins 56, Gohar 52*
Match drawn
They battled well, but my assertion last night - indeed two nights ago - that the pitch was simply too good for a positive result proved to be correct.
They can be very proud of their efforts and once again it was fine margins.. half chances being spilled, edges going wide of the man and the decision going to the batter, when Gohar looked to have failed to regain his ground. Certainly Guest, a player not known for histrionics, seemed to think he had him bang to rights, but the person whose decision mattered felt otherwise.
It was a good game of cricket and Derbyshire certainly held the initiative for the vast majority of it.
The draw points lifted us to second place in the table, behind Leicestershire, who have started very well. Next up is a trip to Glamorgan, on Friday, a team struggling for form so far this summer. The question will be over the fitness of the key all rounders, with Anuj Dal missing this game, Luis Reece unable to bowl for much of the second innings and Martin Andersson only bowling two overs.
No doubt we will hear more in the coming days.
As always, I look forward to your thoughts on this game when you are able to give them!
A good performance but without Reece and Andersson on the final day a very hard job was made impossible. I really like Morley but I think he had a fairly poor match with far too many loose deliveries. He is still very young though and the pitch didn’t really look to helpful even on day four. But we still looked a good side and barring too many more injuries no reason why the unbeaten run can’t carry on against what looks so far a fairly weak Glamorgan side
ReplyDeleteA very good game and an excellent performance against one of the strongest teams in the division. Very pleased to see David Lloyd battling away. He is a really good cricketer and his problems seem to be on the mentality side rather than in terms of ability. If he could convert more of those fifties to centuries, he'd be a huge asset. Over the years I've got fed up with Derbyshire batsmen seemingly settling for cameos, often nicely made 20s and 30s, which don't win championship matches. There were signs of a more disciplined approach in this game throughout the batting order, and let's hope it is maintained.
ReplyDeleteA very enjoyable match. Derbyshire had the upper hand against a very good side, and that is heartening, particularly in comparison with last season. I really enjoyed watching Thomson bowl, and Morley to a lesser extent because he didn't quite exercise Thomson's control. I thought Chappell bowled well too, and Tickner's wholehearted approach is clearly infectious. I enjoyed Madsen's inventive field-setting. He certainly didn't go through the motions and tried all the tricks at his disposal. With luck, we could have nicked a win here.
ReplyDeleteManaged to listen to Sports Extra whilst on the road today, dedicated to Derbyshire for once. I drive for a living, so the live stream is a complete no no unfortunately. Was at Liverpool docks today when the sixth wicket fell, and got some strange looks from burley stevedores whilst punching the air in glee. Close, but no cigar in the end today.
ReplyDeleteStill, I'm mightily impressed with this season to date. You'd have got big odds on a Leicestershire, Derbyshire 1,2, going into May.
I think we've all criticised Micky Arthur, quite rightly too during his second and third seasons. It was puzzling why such a noted coach was struggling so much with our lads, but now he's not in a dual role, the reason is obvious. Even the most talented struggle to do two things at once.
Onwards to Wales and Glamorgan, shame (for me at least) it's not at Colwyn Bay! Century for Lloyd I reckon😊
Pleased with that. I had expected Middx to make a stick of the 2nd innings, and it was good to see us take charge of the game enough to make a result possible. Like ours has done, their middle order managed to both stabilise and attack, it made for a very good and interesting match. Outstanding work from Lloyd and Andersson, and excellent decisions throughout from Madsen.
ReplyDeleteWe battled well all day but eventually the pitch was just too good to give our bowlers much assistance, even on the 4th day. I thought the idea was to.make the Derby pitch more "sporting", that is to say to move away from it being a batting paradise , resulting in too many drawn matches. So is the lasting quality of the pitch to blame or was our bowling not good enough? I wonder what your verdict is Steve?
ReplyDeleteSo far, after four games, we haven't looked liked losing, with all the players contributing. Today always looked like ending in a draw, although the two wickets that fell just before lunch got me thinking otherwise. I'll take second in the table at this stage.
ReplyDeleteOverall a very encouraging display and effort from the whole team. I emphasise 'whole' because we are now playing as an organised, 'together' unit, really well-led by Wayne Madsen. I do like his decision- making generally. So, its a great start to the season and we have a sound base as we move forward. A mention for Alex Thomson...imo a very talented cricketer, who should be in the side regularly. He combines talent with intelligence.
ReplyDeleteLooks like it might be back to the 'drawing board' with these pitches.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it wouldn't have taken much for us to have squeezed a win, a few opportunities were missed, and there was only one team in with a chance of winning.
I thought Thomson outbowled Morley, which might give MA a little food for thought.
At least it's looking likely that in the latter stages of the championship at the end of the season, we're going to have some interest, other than wondering if we will finish bottom or not. Or have I gone too early there!
I had a tenner on us at 25-1, thinking that if we could get three wins and no defeats in the first 5 or 6 matches we would be in the running. I don't yet regret my choices...but those injuries to the key all-rounders could be a concern.
ReplyDeleteAnother really solid performance. With a bit more fortune this could have been a second win as there were a few half chances (and I also thought that Gofar was out of his ground). In any case we should be confident going into the Glamorgan game. Hopefully not too many problems with injury.
ReplyDeleteWatched some of the game on Sunday afternoon. Seemed a good wicket to me?
ReplyDeleteZak and Tickner were extracting something from it. The ball turned (sharply on occasions) for the spinner. I got the impression, from an admittedly short view, that Morley is accurate but needs to give it a little more of a tweak and Thomson turns it more but isn't as accurate and bowls it perhaps a little too slowly for FC? Not meaning to denigrate either player just an observation.
Certainly a better surface than many last year.