Birmingham 199-6 (Latham 58, Davies 49, Ali 33, Brown 3-40)
Derbyshire 141 ((Whiteley 50, Madsen 46, Ali 6-23)
Birmingham won by 58 runs
Having won the toss, they inserted the home side who progressed to 199 -6 without too many problems. Nobody bowled especially badly, but neither did the attack seem especially threatening. Pat Brown was more like his usual self and took two in two in his final over, but the home batters looked fairly comfortable.
Tom Latham and Alex Davies led off with a fine opening stand, before the latter was adjudged caught down the legside. He seemed less confident than the Derbyshire fielders that there had been contact, but he had to go. Thereafter, most chipped in with quick runs, Sam Hain playing the shot of the innings, a ridiculous whip shot, played from outside off stump, which went for six over mid-wicket. He is a very fine player.
Giving credit where it's due, I thought Nye Donald kept pretty well today, with some good takes standing up against the spinners. I would still prefer to see him not doing a dual role, but I don't get paid to pick the side.
Once again the top order frailty that has dogged the competition returned. Jewell popped a tame caught and bowled back to Garton, while Donald didn't get over a drive and hit it straight to cover. With both openers gone inside seven balls, the game was already slipping away.
By the end of the fourth over it was past the point of redemption. Lloyd, after a few pleasant shots, drove hard to point, which Andersson also did three balls later.
It was a hard watch. 29-4 in four overs was poor, again. Madsen and Whiteley added 74, with both hitting three sixes, but the rate was at fourteen an over by the time he was caught at long off. His switch hit six over long on was probably the shot of the tournament from a Derbyshire perspective, but it was scant consolation.
Whiteley went on to reach a fine half century from 36 deliveries, but there was simply too much to do. Hassan took a hat trick and finished with the excellent figures of 6-23, bowling straight and fast, which was all he needed to do with batters swinging.
Birmingham ran out winners by 58 runs and it was all rather predictable.
As we continue to haemorrhage wickets in the Power play, surely it is time to acknowledge that a change of batting order or personnel is required?
A major part of good leadership is knowing when to back & support a plan or approach and when to change things. After 4 games where we seem to be getting worse, I know think the time is right to change things. Though qualification is a mathematical possibility it is not a realistic one. Therefore we should give playing time to our youngsters. The big difference today was how they got the ball to swing & looked like they could take wickets in our powerplay. Our seam attack has looked second best in all 4 games. Shout out for Whiteley who is playing well.
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Another collective shambles which will surely confine us to the bottom of the league when the campaign finishes. We look a mess from 1 to 11 barely any players are standing out, the odd good individual performance masking over a poor team effort. This game was 80% over when Warwickshire raced to 85 for no wicket after 9 overs, you knew then we'd be looking at near 200 if not more. We pulled it back a bit after 17, but the game was well and truly lost in those last few overs, Aitchison having a mare.
ReplyDeleteThe batting is of an equal concern, our top order a real mess, nobody seems capable of going on to score a big innings. Rubbish really and I might look at the odds on us not winning a game in this format and stick a fiver on it
Another poor day. Well done to Madsen and Whiteley for trying to rescue matters but not much good to say about the rest and if you've nothing good to say, best say nothing.
ReplyDeleteA season that was full of promise and hope seems to be spiralling downwards very rapidly. My fear is the T20 malaise may now rollover and affect the rest of the red and white ball summer. I really hope I’m wrong.
ReplyDeleteNormal service resumed by Donald - is Arthur too stubborn to change things, or just daft ?
ReplyDeleteDreadful. Grant from Telford
ReplyDeleteWe cant get going with the bat and the bowling is all over the place.Why was Guest overlooked when Samit was out injured.Donald failed again but he's not the only one.Lloyd always finds a way to get out so Madsen and the middle order are constantly under pressure .Overseas players struggling too so doesn't look too good.Topspinner
ReplyDeleteThree more games on the road ,the top 4 finish ciuld be out of sight by next Saturday night . Time to take a step back and reconsider selection and tactics .So far only 2/3 players have performed per game which won’t win games !
ReplyDeleteIt's difficult to think of something to say that hasn't been said already. So just one word .....shambolic. It gives me absolutely no pleasure to say this but sadly it is true.
ReplyDeleteThe innings win of 13 days ago, does seem a while ago now. To be fair, Tickner, Dal, Reece, Morley and Guest don't compete in this, so we are talking about 2 different sides really and very different formats. Don't forget that Notts couldn't win a game in T20 or CC last year. At least we are doing well in one! Kris
ReplyDeleteDidn’t watch myself I’m pleased to say. On the positive side it’s unlikely anyone else is looking at many( if any) of our players for the hundred or any franchise team and with any chance of qualification gone it’s a chance to rest a few players before the proper cricket starts again
ReplyDeleteI think as a player it’s a tough gig at the moment. All the knives are out on most of the players. Why in the last 2 weeks has it gone so wrong for us? The analysis you did answers that question.
ReplyDeleteI think Micky Arthur and Samit Patel have to take responsibility for these performances. The Leicester game was huge wake up call regarding the batting. They decided to stick order and not change anyone Its proved to be bad decision doing neither. We have only shown up in 2 power plays out of 8. That has to be starting point. Win more power plays
The is togetherness is really important as we need to overcome this barrier. I would play Tickner and Dal as could see them having positive effect on the dressing room. I would play Guest as Wicket keeper to take load of Donald.
We need to go back to Lloyd and Donald partnership 2024 that everyone forgotten about that was pretty good last year. They definitely won power play together know each others games well.
Objective view from the ‘other side of the Trent’
ReplyDelete- Donald at 5 or 6 but don’t keep - Guest one of the best gloveman in the country consistently, and would keep the scorecard moving
- Patel - thanks for the memories but time to move on
- Lloyds role needs defining
- Wagstaff needs a chance
- agree, Tom Wood was worth a white ball contract
One of the commentators on the Bears live stream said of Derbyshire's batting after the fourth wicket fell, "Another poor shot. This is atrocious batting by Derbyshire."
ReplyDeleteI've nothing to say that hasn't been said already. Nor do I have a solution to our T20 problem. We seem to have the wrong mindset going into games.
I'm also concerned that this might affect our red ball games.
Winning a few games in this format didn't translate into the 4 day game, so I'm hopefully losing most (if not all of them) won't carry over into the proper cricket. Love to know the thinking behind bringing Guest back for a game and then dropping him again!
ReplyDeleteTrying to put some positivity into the current situation , Came , Reece, Dal , Morley , Tickner & Guest have been part of an effective red ball team plus Harry Moore awaits .. Looking forward to Bristol and the next 4 day game .
ReplyDeleteDefinitely no sign of improvement. I am also regretting that i have tickets for 3 of the remaining 4 away games as well as the coach for the home away game. Could be a long trip back from Durham. Like others have said the once unlikely prospect of us being better at 4 day cricket than T20 is now an almost certainty.
ReplyDeleteLet me inject a ray of sunshine through the dark clouds that have gathered over our start to the T20 campaign. In 2022, when we reached finals day, we lost four of our first six games and went on to win seven of the next eight. So...you never know...
ReplyDeleteI do think the batting lineup needs looking at but…
ReplyDeleteThe major problem is the bowling. Its been awful outside of a few good overs from Ghazanfar but if your relying on a teenager to carry the bowling youve got problems.
Chappell and Brown have been nowhere nowhere near their previous standard, and the 20th over is going for over 20 every time. The only reason we've not conceded 190+ in every innings is because two teams didn't need to. We are batting like every ball needs to go for six, and the application could be better but even when Madsen and Whiteley did well yesterday it got to the point they had to start swinging early as the run rate climbed to 18 an over.
Also been very disappointed with the fielding.
I fully agree with your analysis from yesterday Steve. I also want to say a big thank you for the blog. It keeps me connected and informed here in France where no-one - even my wife - is interested in cricket (even though most vaguely know what it is).
ReplyDeleteIn the commentary on the stream yesterday they said the decision to bowl was strange as the pitch would only get slower and more difficult for batting. We need to get these basic decisions right as we move on. Warwickshire gave us a lesson yesterday, especially Davies and Latham who picked their shots superbly. Our top order should study them (I get the impression Lloyd always gets out to the same bad shot, even in 4-day cricket).
The difference between the spirit of the four day team and the t20 team is enormous. Losing four in a row can’t help but part of that must be that certain ”federating” players are not being selected or are not available. The presence of one or preferably more of Tickner, Reece, Dal or Guest would make a lot of difference to the atmosphere in the team which in turn could improve results. And this despite other players having ”better” stats.
Team spirit is also down to leadership. For me Wayne needs to be captain in all fomats, if he would accept. This would provide consistency of approach and he is more of a leader than Samit.
As for team selection, our one-day specialists need to play for me. As I understand it we receive money for every player appearing in the hundred. This income must be included in the club budget and we therefore need to give them exposure and maximise their chances of doing well and of being selected (and therefore recovering some money. This means keeping Donald and Brown in the team, even if on performance they do not merit an automatic place. Keeping Jewell and Ghazanfar in the team seems logical as they must be costing us a lot (I feel sorry for Ghazanfar, a youngster a long way from home - he deserves every encouragement). Of the rest, for me I’m afraid only Madsen and Whiteley fully deserve to keep their place. Andersson deserves a chance at a settled role of opener.
For what it's worth , my team in batting order for the next game would be, subject to fitness and taking account of the above:
Jewell
Andersson
Guest (wk)
Madsen
Whiteley
Reece
Donald
Thomson (or Patel or Wagstaff)
Dal or Tickner
Ghazanfar
Brown
Let’s hope for positive results to boost morale.
Allez Derbyshire
Very similar to my team in tonights piece, Adrian. Though we can only play 2 from 3 overseas. Tempted though I am to play Reece, I want him fully fit for the red ball!
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