Friday, 15 August 2025

Derbyshire v Worcestershire Metro Bank Cup

Derbyshire 315 (Jewell 113, Montgomery 92, Khurram 3-49, Allison 3-51, Singh 3-58)

Worcestershire 317-6 (D'Oliveira 138, Libby 69, Lategan 42* Haydon 3-59)

Worcestershire won by 4 wickets 

A day that began so well for Derbyshire petered out in the scenic splendour of Repton School today.

Excellent knocks by centurion Caleb Jewell and a classy 92 from Matt Montgomery gave them a platform to post a minimum of 350, but poor shot selection after they were dismissed saw Derbyshire unable to even bat out their 50 overs. 

You can score quickly on small grounds, but with that comes a tendency to try and overhit, which is largely what happened in the second half of our innings. Leaving seventeen balls unused is pretty average at this level, even though Singh, Allison and Shahzad bowled well for the visitors.

Jewell was at his flamboyant best, cover driving with majesty and moving across his stumps to utilise a short legside boundary. He and Montgomery added 150 from 24 overs of classy batting after Harry Came went to an injudicious pull.

The power and timing in Jewell's shots at his best is remarkable, yet Montgomery matched him in a display that promised much. He keeps the score ticking over by opening the face of the bat and running it down to third man on a regular basis, but later he unveiled a full range of shots and would have been disappointed to miss out on a century, one that was there for the taking with eleven overs to go.

Guest was unlucky, playing on after appearing to be in fine fettle, but when Montgomery went, a healthy 267-3 became 315 all out in ten manic overs.

I am a huge fan of Amrit Basra, but with ten overs to go there was no need to play the stroke that he did to the third ball that he faced. Whiteley and Chappell went tamely and the tail surrendered to a total that on a small ground looked barely adequate. Andersson played well for a time, but supporters were left wondering what might have been. No doubt Jewell and Montgomery had similar thoughts, after the strong position that their knocks created.

I think Worcestershire put Derbyshire in, after winning the toss, because they didn't know what a good score would be on this ground. But six an over for a long batting line up seemed eminently doable, even after Aitch and H removed Mohammad and Kashif early, in good opening bursts. It brought together the vast experience of D'Oliveira and Libby, who started to milk the attack nicely. 

Their stand of 183 runs went on to define the match. The former played with his usual freedom and dished out heavy punishment, while Libby, realising his partner only needed a sound accompanist, simply played professional cricket. By the halfway stage, only common sense cricket was required, because the loose balls were frequent enough to offer regular boundaries on a small ground.

D'Oliveira went on to an excellent century, but as I messaged friends earlier, we were fifty runs short of leaving him and his team needing to take risks. 

There was a glimmer of hope when D'Oliveira was caught on the boundary edge by Aitchison off the bowling of Morley. Realising he was going to step over the rope in completing the catch, Ben flicked the ball into the air, seemingly taking it again with both feet inside the rope. It appeared a poor decision by the umpires, who really should trust the honesty of the fielder in that situation. With cameras trained on their every move, who would seriously risk reputational damage in claiming a catch that wasn't? D'Oliveira was bowled shortly afterwards for an excellent 138, but the game was effectively won by that stage. The young South African-born Dan Lategan saw them home without any major alarms, playing some crisp strokes in the process on his debut.

It was a game lost, when the platform for a win had been expertly built in the first two hours. Rory Haydon was again impressive, after also getting a shocking decision when he batted briefly earlier, but he and Ben Aitchison were the only bowlers to exert any control. They offer potential for another year, but it was all we had to cheer in the field. Matt Montgomery was injured in the field and his bowling missed.

It was all very disappointing, but in closing a word for the marvellous pitch and environment at Repton. Groundsman Andy Butler did a fantastic job and I hope it isn't the last time we see the first team at this lovely, well-supported setting. 

Also worthy of note was the stream. It can't be easy to set one up of this standard on an outground, but apart from a couple of times when the connection went down, it was excellent today. 

Postscript: did anyone see the Head of Cricket there today? When the players and coaches lined up for the minute's silence there was no sign of him, nor was he later evident on the stream.

Surely, after saying it wouldn't conflict  with his Derbyshire role, he wasn't with the Northern Superchargers today, ahead of their game tonight? 

Call me old-fashioned, but where I come from they call that a conflict...

Fair enough, if he WAS there, but it's a question worth posing, I think.

22 comments:

  1. It’s been an excellent day out and likewise I hope they use this magnificent ground again. Totally agree we were 50 runs short after the brilliant partnership between Jewell and Montgomery. I hope Montgomery isn’t too badly hurt if he is as he was off the field from the 12th over or so of their reply. Regarding the catch from Aitchison I was sat right behind it and he did stand on the rope while the ball was in his hand he threw it up after, I just don’t think he realised he had actually stood on the rope. It was unfortunate as he did well to take the catch. Onto Leicestershire next let’s hope for a better result there!

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  2. Typical Derbyshire, after the Lord Mayor’s show. Last Sunday’s heroes become the zeros aided and abetted by Guest and Andersson. If we had batted out the full 50 we may well have won as those extra runs would have created more pressure. Amateurish to not use your overs from that position of strength. Time for Came to be dropped and give Bin Nameen another chance. Big end of season now for Harry.
    So frustrating Derbyshire but how often do we say this?
    Paul

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  3. It was a real shame the way our innings petered out, it was all set up for an exciting run chase but in the end it was fairly comfortable for Worcestershire.

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  4. Disappointing end after a great start. We looked on for 370 but the tail failed to wag unlike on Sunday. Another mention for Haydon, very economical and in the wickets. Just one comment on the stream. Not really interested in the crowd, and on a couple of occasions we missed actual play. Grant from Telford

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  5. As I said after the Notts game, it is very frustrating being a Derbyshire supporter. A brilliant performance then and yet another batting collapse today.
    Batting collapses have got more plentiful under the leadership of MA.
    You would have thought someone as brilliant as him would have got to grips with that issue by now.

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  6. Another disastrous collapse late on All they had to do was play sensibly and they would easily have added another 30 odd runs which could have tipped the balance.At least Basra and Haydon are getting game time and showing what they can do and that has to be a big plus Still can't understand how Whiteley gets picked despite the odd good inningsTopspinner

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  7. Rumour at the ground was that Sean Dickson has agreed to join the club, but de Caires has declined our offer. No idea if true or not. Kris

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    1. While I would like de Caires, I just think his agent has been exploring possibilities and getting a better deal from Middlesex. His recent form will have helped. Dickson is an odd signing, decent player, but somewhat at odds with encouraging youth... If true, of course!

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    2. Dickson has agreed a deal with Leicestershire, along with Eskinazi.

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  8. Fully enjoyed Repton and 350 would have made for a challenging target but sadly the batting fell away . Bowling options not explored despite Chappell and Anderson not at their best plus Montgomery injury didn’t help .

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  9. With Derbyshire, it boils down to one word: consistency. They thrash Notts in the Metro, looking like a team that could beat anyone. And then today...We've seen it so many times before. Why is consistency lacking. No idea. How do you explain 197-1 to 316 all out in a team that comes into a game on a high?

    On a positive note, Repton is a beautiful ground. I hope we can play there more.

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  10. Went today. Stunning scenery 👌 It really was a sight to behold and we must go back there next year. Do not wish to add much to what has already been said. Overall both teams played sections of brilliant cricket in difficult, very hot conditions. Worcestershires fielding was on a another level by the way.

    The umpires left a lot to be desired on the Aitchinson catch & Haydon dismissal.

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  11. Really enjoyed it today even if the seating arrangements weren’t great and I ended up standing for most of the match. But a great setting, and so nice to see us playing away from Derby (yet not at Edgbaston lol). As others have said, we should have been nailed on for 370 or more and our total was disappointing after two great innings by Jewell and Montgomery. We really do lack a top class bowler. If only we could get a class overseas quick or spinner (or both) I think we’d be really competitive. But this attack won’t cut it. Shout out for Haydon though - in about his fourth match he already looks our best bowler by a mile. I really have high hopes for him!
    Andy T Cleckheaton

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  12. Why is consistency lacking? This is surely the key question for us lifelong Derbyshire fans. I'd suggest it's because, although players as individuals definitely have talent, as a collective Derbyshire have lacked the mental toughness/resilience necessary to achieve success for many years, and to a greater extent than any other first class county. In all this season, despite some good moments, we've won seven games - and lost fourteen, which is depressing This inconsistency long pre-dates the current coaches, but it's clear that they have failed to solve the problem. And until someone does, even the arrival of excellent players like Montgomery and the promise of young players like Moore and Haydon won't be enough to turn things around.

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  13. A very fine knock by Jewell and Montgomery looks the player the Notts fans told me he is. It's a shame he's now injured too. Two very good bowling performances by Aitchison on the trot. He can be proud of his comeback season and a contract extension is overdue. Kris

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  14. I hope that the Derbyshire committee take note that this game was a sell- out. I left it too late to get a ticket myself . Why is it that whenever we play a home match away from Derby it is always well supported? Chesterfield is of course the obvious example, and now Repton has followed this trend. By contrast, going to Derby I sometimes feel that apart from me the "crowd" consists of three men and a dog. I know that we need to have the majority of our home games staged at our HQ , but surely for the sake of supporters in the far reaches if our county as well as our coffers, we should be playing more games away from Derby.

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    1. There is fine line with playing away from Derby and using more outgrounds as every fixture has to be worthwhile doing for the club.I agree it is baffling why more people turned up at Repton on a workday vs the game on a Sunday against Notts our local rivals but again that comes down to the venue and it being a unique event to enjoy.You can however have too much of a good thing and by making these “one off” events it tends to draw the crowds in. It also must be noted both Repton School and some local key sponsors did a lot of work to make this the success it was. The Metro Bank one day cup has seen various outgrounds used around the country. Some of these are forced due to the Hundred hosting grounds being used but others like Kibworth and Repton are welcome additions. I’m sure the club and the school learnt lots from the day and if it is used again then tweaks can be made to get more people in to enjoy it and improve the spectator experience.
      One final point, the work done behind the scenes by some excellent individuals who work for the club should not go unnoticed. It takes some long days of planning and set up to pull off what was a great day yesterday. Apart from the result of course !

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  15. Not much to add. You don't win many one day games batting first, if you fall in a heap and can't bat your full overs.

    I find it somewhat concerning that our best bowler now seems to be a guy who has spent the majority of the season in our second team, and currently doesn't have a contract beyond the 50 over competition. Possibly a bit harsh on BA, but still...

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  16. When we have built our new changing rooms, we would be delighted to host the county again in Buxton. That really would serve the north of the county better than Chesterfield (which of course is always superb) and we would be confident of a sell out. As for yesterday the setting was magnificent, the wicket excellent, it was everything good about county cricket ... though a few more coffee and food outlets would have been welcome. Pleasantly surprised to find that it was sell out and that our club membership did not cover entry ... but thank you to the county steward who kindly found me a ticket! Wasting balls, o dear, dear, dear!!! Bob in Buxton

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  17. Thoughts on Repton. Delightful setting. With no terrace views of the cricket were very poor. The attendance was good, but I think this was due to the extra hospitality & number of Worcester fans that a new venue attracted. Nothing wrong with this if it makes money but if the aim was to attract new supporters then I doubt it did that. It is an odd choice for an our ground, it’s only 7/8 miles from Derby so is not taking cricket to a different part of the county, surely Buxton or Ashbourne would make more sense if that was the aim.
    Happy to go to Repton again, but not fussed if we don’t.

    MarkB

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  18. I was there, good venue and well organised, though some tiering to the seating and more food outlets might have helped (though I didn’t have to queue at the bar) – lack of ice cream van was talk of the crowd until it turned up later (!), though the local shop did a roaring trade.

    On the cricket:
    1) Why no Luis Reece? He was being “rested” now is “injured”. Unlikely he was resting then injured – strange or misguided from the media team?

    2) Talking of the media team, why few updates (apart from the odd one) about the women’s team? I see the media team has posted that we are “inclusive”…are we really?

    3) Why was Dal taken to Cheltenham/Neath when he was supposedly injured or at the very least did not play? Presumably he is now fit but not selected.

    4) What does it say about our coaching that arguably our best batter and bowler in the comp so far – Basra and Haydon – have been picked from the 2s?

    5) Why have Chappell and Brown (and perhaps others e.g. Dal) regressed this year?

    6) Why did we sign an overseas – Tickner - who averaged 80 with the ball (?) last year, partly on the basis of his availability, yet he is not available for the One Day Cup? Don’t say we don’t have the money – its 3 weeks – and could have been an advantage for us.

    7) Why do our players keep making the same mistakes? Came – gets a start, doesn’t go on. Andersson – LBW. Whiteley – chipped to infield. Chappell – width outside off 3 balls in first over, too many short balls etc., decent when pitched up.

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