Gloucestershire 287-6 (Hammond 140*, Middleton 41*, Bancroft 40, Andersson 2-42, Bashir 2-51)
v Derbyshire
Yet a lot of the talk was regarding the latest issue with the substitute trial.
Anuj Dal slipped badly in his delivery stride, just after putting down sawdust to bowl around the wicket in his fifth over. It looked nasty and is seemingly so, with the player stretchered off and looking likely to be hors de combat for some time.
But what 'like for like' substitute could be allowed? Rory Haydon is a bowler, Nye Donald a wicket-keeper/bat. They could have summoned Mitch Wagstaff from the Seconds, but he is an opening bat/leg spinner. The closest option always seemed to be Amrit Basra, playing at Nottingham in the seconds, unless Alex Hughes was going to be re-registered after a four-year hiatus...
Instead the replacement was Luis Reece. Supposedly missing for 'personal reasons', unable to bowl with an ankle injury and averaging 60 last year to Dal's 28. It was approved by the match referee and Gloucestershire had no say in the matter, but it is odd. Especially when his injury has seen him spend time off the field in previous matches. Confused? Me too.
It is silly, how could it not be? Tough as it would be on Derbyshire, maybe you just go back to writing it off as one of those things, field a substitute and bat with ten.
To the action, I thought Derbyshire bowled with commendable accuracy and discipline today, which was good to see. There wasn't undue assistance for them, but they kept the ball in the right areas, beat the bat sufficiently for interest and acquitted themselves well.
Bancroft was disciplined for the visitors, before giving his wicket away with a tame flick off the hip, while Hammond played some nice shots and kept his side afloat through a period when an hour passed between boundaries. Bracey lent good support, until a cleverly floated ball from Bashir deceived and bowled him.
There will be dissenters out there, but Bashir is box office. He is always trying something, encouraging his team mates, chirping away. I enjoy watching him, because there is always a sense that something is going to happen.
All the seamers bowled well, but special mention to Martin Andersson, who was commendably accurate and rewarded with two wickets, the second showing athleticism beyond some of my viewing experience.
Hammond went on to a very good unbeaten 140, but should have been caught on 99, when Aitchison put one down at second slip that he would normally take in his sleep. It compensated for the dismissal of van Buuren, who was caught at short leg by Montgomery when he could scarce have seen the ball, seemingly well-middled by the unfortunate batter.
Derbyshire will have thought they had broken through at that point, but Middleton lent staunch support to Hammond and the visitors reached the close at 287-6, the stand worth 120.
Honours fairly even, I would say, but the visitors will likely end the day the happier.
That was turgid stuff. Why have we bothered to sign Abbas if we're giving him pitches like this one?
ReplyDeleteIt's ridiculous
Ps best to Nuj, hope he's not out for long
I thought the bowling in the final session was poor apart from Bashir. Way too many short balls and too many wide balls the batsmen didn't need to play at. Another dead pitch at Derby.
ReplyDeleteMichael
I was probably one of the dissenters but I must admit Bashir bowled beautifully today and is very good to watch. He also proved why a spinner should always be picked instead of 5 or even 6 medium pacers. I think the whole match will be quite attritional and a very close finish. Both teams have very similar bowling attacks with no extreme pace
ReplyDeleteI thought the bowling was poor in the final session apart from Bashir. Way too many short ball and wide balls the batsmen didn't need to play at. Another dead pitch at Derby
ReplyDeleteSorry for publishing the same comment twice. I wasn't sure the first one had gone through.
ReplyDeleteMichael
Similar to others before I really enjoyed watching Bashir who is showing signs why he has played for England.
ReplyDeleteThe pitches remain a major concern and are contrary to pre season comments from the club. They will not attract people to the CC and do nothing for the clubs hopes of promotion if most home games end in draws.
Our much vaunted seam attack of 10 will be down to 7 choices for the next game ( 6 if Reece is not able to bowl ) so maybe we could do with a turning track ?
Unfortunately early season optimism is already fading 😔
Paul
The injury to Dal is a strange one unless the ground staff had watered the playing area because there hasn’t been any rain in Derby for over a week, also one of the commentators on YouTube said Reece wasn’t playing for family reasons
ReplyDeleteThe Cricinfo match report states that the 'personal reasons' related to his "young son's illness" but that he was happy to be the replacement.
DeleteAnother pitch which didn’t seem to offer much assistance to the bowlers and I thought they’d done well to have Gloucestershire six down for 167. But Miles Hammond played very well for his century and perhaps deserved the life he was given on 99. His partnership with Ed Middleton has, I think, given the visitors some much needed impetus after they had chosen to bat and didn’t seem to be heading for the sort of score that they would have wanted. We really need to take some early wickets tomorrow or I fear we will be chasing the game.
ReplyDeleteI really hope the injury to Anuj is not as bad as it seemed. It was horrible to witness.
Disappointed with Abass's contribution so far and I just feel it will be another poor overseas addition to add to the recent list. This has draw written all over it after just one day as the pitch still looks batting friendly
ReplyDeleteI think he's a good bowler, but I hoped the pitches we offered him would play to a clear strength. In the two that we have seen so far, that hasn't been the case. He has probed and maintained good lines and lengths, but hasn't yet run through a side.
DeleteI'd like to see him on a pitch that suited him, but increasingly feel that won't be at Derby and with it looking likely he will miss 7 of the remaining 12 games, if selected for the England tour, the challenge is clear
I thought we were unlucky with the first new ball, Bashir bowled well & was good to watch whilst Andersson did a very good job considering he was 5th seamer. Come the second new ball & last session we looked tired & ill disciplined and let a good position get away from us. It was a bit reminiscent of the last hour on day 3 at Old Trafford. I suspect that the game is going to go the same way as the Worcester game. At Derby so far I make it 31 wickets in 5 days of play.
ReplyDeleteMarkb
As usual the pitch is dead. Pathetic from whoever is making the decision to produce these anti result decks. Do we want to try and go up or not?
ReplyDeleteAnd surely this is a prime example of why substitutes are a good thing. I hope Dal's injury isn't as bad as it looked but the idea that we should play the best part of 4 days with 20 men because someone was injured early on is backwards thinking. Slightly bizarre for Reece to not be included originally but they're both seam bowling all rounders so as close to like for like as we had. Railing against substitutes is luddite thinking.
Maybe I'm a Luddite...
DeleteHe was not included because of the health of his child, which I totally get.
But the ECB needs to clarify the process of substitutes. Back in the day, football clubs had one substitute. If your right back got injured early and you had a centre forward on the bench, you have to reshuffle.
You can't have a batter, bowler and all-rounder on the bench all the time, because when might they play? With second team games going on, they need a chance to impress and to stay in form.
It seems to have been introduced without thinking through the challenges. Let's be honest, the county game has existed for 156 years and it has caused more challenges this year, with the trial, than it ever did before.
As it stands, you only need someone hurrying when traversing the country, then being involved in an accident, for the whole thing to come tumbling down...
I do agree it could be implemented better.
DeleteSecond team games should run tues-thurs with first class games fri-mon or whatever for starters and I imagine most teams are travelling with squads of 14 or so anyway to be honest so a bat, bowler and all rounder is doable.
Perhaps the sub's needn't be so strictly like for like but should have to be a young player either under 21 or with less than X first class games to their name.
My first chance to get to Derby this season and it was a gorgeous day but I felt we let the game get away from us. Bashir is quality and Andersson bowled well, but the main seamers were less impressive. Despite having lots of seamers on the staff, injuries etc mean we will soon be down to the bare bones. What with that and the nature of the Derby pitches I’m becoming less optimistic than I was. I hope I’m wrong!
ReplyDeleteAndy T Cleckheaton
You timed it well, Andy! A lot of people will think you should go more often, if you can take that weather with you...😂
DeleteThe pitches are a concern, but clubs are afraid of being pulled up by the ECB and it appears to be the current direction of travel
A bit of a disjointed season so far, especially with injuries to Reece, Madsen and now Dal. The big bonus has been Bashir. I wasn't convinced when he signed, but he's bowled beautifully. 8 wickets at 29, in April. He actually has the aura of an international cricketer. It's early days, of course. Kris
ReplyDeleteYes and it is HOW he goes about his game that impresses me, Kris.
DeleteHe is totally involved, fully committed and must give a huge boost to his teammates. Considering that at the moment he's costing us nothing, he will go down as one of our better signings in recent years.
The promotion charge seems to have misplaced a bit of its spark lately—possibly somewhere on a pitch that refuses to do anything remotely interesting. There plenty of time to settle in, put the kettle on, and wait patiently for a batter to gift their wicket rather than be properly dismissed.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes it more puzzling is having a genuinely strong opening bowling attack… and then asking them to operate on a surface that gives them about as much assistance as a flat car park. Instead of hunting wickets, they’re left hoping for the occasional lapse in concentration or a ball that accidentally remembers it’s supposed to misbehave.
Is this another Hybrid pitches? So far at Derbyshire they what I have seen they are built to last—and fair enough, they do that job very well. The only issue is they also seem quite committed to lasting in the most uneventful way possible. Over the past few years, you may see many 500+ run feasts, but equally, dramatic collapses under 150 are about as rare as a ball jagging sideways on day one. It all tends to drift along in a polite, mildly uneventful manner.
The trouble is, polite and uneventful cricket doesn’t usually get you promoted. Unless the surfaces start offering a bit more encouragement to the bowlers—and, crucially, start playing to the team’s strengths—it’s hard to see the promotion push being anything more than a well-intentioned idea that’s currently stuck in neutral.
Just a few observations. The notion that we're producing these pitches at Derby because of new directives from the ECB is nonsense, the pitches have been like this for quite some time now. This one is yet another hybrid....
ReplyDeleteRegards Abbas, he's had a few chances go down which hasn't helped, but it's no surprise he's finding the Derby pitches a challenge. Having said that, I have been a little underwhelmed so far.
The Gloucestershire commentator seemed to be suggesting that we were massively advantaged by replacing Dal with Reece. Yes, Reece averaged well with the bat last year, but it's not his career average. He is not going to bowl in this game, whereas Dal would have bowled plenty of overs, and probably very usefully too. He may or may not score more runs than Dal would have in this game. Derbyshire put his name forward as an option (knowing he couldn't bowl) and it was agreed. I don't see a problem, nor a massive advantage for us.
Luis had already announced in an earlier interview saying there were issues with his child's health. This can't be an easy time for him, and if he felt he couldn't initially play, then that should be fully respected.
Regards Bashir. I have been very impressed, but not that surprised. It's always been clear he has a great work ethic and enthusiasm for the game. He just wants to play and learn. Signing him for one year (for free!) was always a no brainer, it was just the second year that I questioned, but he's looking good value at the moment.
Good points well made, Jasper
DeleteOf course it is the county I support, but bringing in a bloke who also averages over 50 this year, instead of one averaging 25, when you are likely to have a last day run chase isn't like for like. But how often can it be? Maybe the answer is that the 12th man has to be under 21/23? So at least they get experience. But then when do THEY play?
I don't know if it was a medical appointment yesterday, or just how things are, but bringing a bloke from his home in the northeast to Derby as your replacement doesn't seem right, especially with the external pressure he is bound to be feeling. Either Basra or Potts were more local and probably as close as you would get to 'similar'
Bashir? Totally agree, good cricketer who is engaging to watch!
I know Nick Potts just scored some runs in the recent second team game, but I don't think even he would class himself as an all rounder just yet! Basra also just played in that game, and bowled a grand total of zero overs!
DeleteRegarding a last day run chase. One might argue us being a bowler light (Dal) may mean Gloucestershire will be in a better position to dictate terms than they might otherwise.
I agree the substitute rules need reviewing, and they are going to be, but in this case it's an all rounder (who can't bowl) for an all rounder. Can't see an issue, not for Gloucestershire anyway. If Luis blasts an unbeaten 150 on the last day, I might reconsider 😆
I don't think I would consider him a genuine all-rounder either, but he CAN both bat and bowl, which in this match Reece clearly can't. Of course, if he opens from the Racecourse end this morning I might change my stance!
DeleteI totally understand why Derbyshire had Reece as their first choice, but I'm not sure why the match referee allowed it, unless my interpretation of 'like for like' is wide of the mark. With five other regular bowlers still to use, and Montgomery available, it isn't quite like when Edwin Smith bowled one end at Scarborough all day, in the absence of alternatives!
Anyway, we disagree and that's fine. Let's hope for quick wickets, followed by a big score when we bat😀
Constant reogerring theme at Derbyshire struggling to bowl teams out. Why is it No 8 and No9 batsmen from various teams over the years hit record scores. But then do nothing for the rest of the season..
ReplyDeletePaul
Don't know, Paul. But it isn't a new problem, for sure
DeleteThis year’s decision to allow injury substitutes by the ECB is a ridiculous idea ( I know there’s been plenty by the ECB) it makes a nonsense of everything that’s gone before in the game, some of us are old enough to remember Colin Cowdrey going out to bat at Lords with a broken arm in a sling to try and save a test match against the West Indies. Regarding Derbyshire this season the biggest issue they have at home is the hybrid pitches they are using and this year’s pitch regulations
ReplyDeleteJust what is the point of County Championship Cricket. 450-8 Gloucestershire as I speak, absolutely nothing for the bowlers again. You could call another draw after that 1st day, pathetic to watch really
ReplyDeleteShould we be conceding nigh on 500 against what in by common consensus the poorest first class county? Discuss.
ReplyDeleteProbably not, but they batted well, fought hard and got their rewards. We didn't bowl especially well and have our backs against the wall to save this match.
Delete