The morning after the night before...

There were a lot of children at the cricket last night and it struck me, as I watched with everyone else, how exciting it must have been for them. 

Plenty of boundaries, lots going on, a glorious evening and a Derbyshire win. It was the sort of event that captures the imagination of the young and I cast my mind back to when I was that age and how impressionable I was. 

I also smiled when I read today's comment from Chris in Shropshire. Like him, I applaud the way that this Derbyshire is going about their cricket. We know there are weaknesses in the attack and we are well aware of why - it is impossible to sustain a standard with so many injuries. 

Yet the game is a simple one. Score more runs than your opponents and in the past two matches they have done just that. It is unrealistic to expect your team to score more than eleven an over and roll over the opposition for a hundred. But if the collective comes out on top, eleven people have fulfilled their roles. 

There are plenty of smiles in the camp and they are clearly enjoying their cricket in both red and white ball forms. There are obvious heroes, such as Martin Andersson - who will surely be picked up for the other competition this year and therefore miss the 50-over tournament. Yet someone like Amrit Basra is equally important.

Fleet-footed, he patrols the boundary like a cheetah and has saved many runs already. He has also held his share of catches in the deep and there is a reassurance in seeing he and Ross Whiteley in key positions, fine fielders both.

Ross is another. At the start of the season I thought this would be his swansong, but his form so far - bar for that over in the first game - has been excellent. 117 runs from just 61 deliveries and giving immense power to the death period of the innings. He was out first ball at Leicester, but otherwise he has been impressive, restored to the form of his best years.

I feel for Caleb Jewell. He is partly the victim of the success of the opening pair, because he has to kick on without really taking time to get in. Yet his rate is noticeably slower than others, with 93 runs from 70 balls and with the arrival of Ghazanfar he will likely be rested, in favour of Came, Bin Naeem, maybe even Reece. An attack of Aitchison, Javed, Morley, Ghazanfar, Montgomery and Andersson looks stronger, on current form. Let's not forget that Zak Chappell may be back, so too Pat Brown, but he will need to test that shoulder before he is considered.

It is an odd and tough section. Leicestershire looked ordinary against Derbyshire, yet last night beat Lancashire, while Durham slipped to heavy defeat against a Yorkshire side we largely outplayed. 

Only one team in the country has currently got a better NRR than Derbyshire, so qualification is definitely there for the taking. If they continue to play as a team, fight to win every ball and bat with the freedom of expression that makes watching them a joy, it can happen. 

Tomorrow they will face an Essex side from a different section, who have won one and lost two so far. It will be a good opportunity to see where they are as a side and it is a game that should make for fascinating viewing. In their current form, batting as they do, Derbyshire should fear no one 

Just going back to those children that I mentioned at the start, last night, when Donald and Andersson were swashbuckling their merry way at the start of the innings, I allowed myself a contented smile.

Still Jewell to come in, then the incomparable Madsen. Oh, then there's Montgomery, all class, placement and timing. Crikey, then there's Whiteley to hit it to all parts. And of course, Basra, who we know can be very destructive and is quickly into his stride.

These are days to enjoy, days that as you grow older you will look back on with a wistful nostalgia, the 'privilege' of those who have experienced the less rewarding days.

Credit to Mickey Arthur and his coaches for the brand of cricket that is making us enjoy the game again, or for the first time.

Summer evenings, for a sports fan, don't get much better than last night. Win tomorrow at Chelmsford and we will go into the week's fixture break with smiles as wide as an ocean.

Then it is time for Nottinghamshire again...

Postscript: THREE Derbyshire players in the fastest scoring T20 players so far this season. Nye Donald top of the pile 

When you think that Madsen and Andersson aren't in there...