Derbyshire v Middlesex day 3 and 4

Derbyshire 131 (Jewell 33, Sharma 4-36) and 111-3 {Montgomery 38, Madsen 32* Roland-Jones 2-24)

Middlesex forfeited 1st innings

Match drawn

There was only one way that the fourth day at Derby could produce a result. Derbyshire had to thrash a total against 'cafeteria' bowling and then Middlesex chase, after a couple of forfeits.

There simply wasn't the time to do anything else, especially with rain and bad light likely to intervene from 4pm. Such a game needs the agreement of both sides, of course and it appears that wasn't there today.

Middlesex opted to bowl Derbyshire out twice and even the home side's known fragility made that unlikely. Having said that, neither Caleb Jewell nor Brooke Guest can have been happy with early decisions that suggested either glasses or contact lenses had been left in the pavilion by the umpire. Meanwhile, Martin Andersson played probably his worst shot of the season in giving slip catching practice to slip, with Naavya Sharma ending the first fifteen minutes of play with three wickets that somewhat overstated the quality of play.

Jewell trudged off with the air of a man whose second season failed to match anyone's expectations and an average of just 22 was that of an average county bat, not the high pressure role of gun overseas. Derbyshire will hope for - will need - much more from someone next season. His second dismissal, early in the afternoon, had an air of inevitability that was almost painful.

An in-swinging yorker from Sharma was enough for Aitchison and Dal edged Helm to the safe hands of Cracknell, his fourth catch of the innings. Then Bashir padded up to an inswinger and was leg before, first ball and an overnight 79-3 had become 101-9 in just eight overs of batting. It appears nothing collapses quite like Derbyshire and supporter concerns about the direction of the club will continue with such displays and their alarming frequency.

There was greater resilience a second time but it was hard to understand the visiting game plan. With the game drifting, it was an opportunity to rest Roland-Jones and Higgins, who had recently returned from a lengthy absence, yet they both bowled lengthy spells as batting appeared to get easier. Derbyshire didn't attempt to force the pace either, so the innings forfeit proved to be only a red herring, as the game meandered slowly and inexorably to the draw.

With the cricket lacking intensity and bad light eventually bringing the game to an early close, my mind moved on to related matters.

I don't expect Anuj Dal to be at the club next year and his demeanour at the crease is a long way from that of the player who looked set to be a good county all-rounder a few years back. If he is now a bowler who bats a bit, he also needs to take more wickets than the eleven he has in an albeit truncated season. Perhaps he needs a new environment, or plans to move to the next phase of his life outside the game, but I would be surprised if he was at the club in 2027

To be fair, Brooke Guest has also declined as a batter and one has to ask why. He is a player I have always liked and he is better than a mid-twenties average, or should be, as he approaches his cricketing prime. Losing the effectiveness of two previously key players in the middle order is costing Derbyshire dearly. Let's not forget that only Bill Storer, among Derbyshire wicket-keepers, has more centuries than Brooke, so the talent and technique is there.

I feel he needs a niche in the side and, like a good few others before him, is probably less productive the longer he has to wait to bat. He opened the batting for Australia under-19s and was at his most prolific for Derbyshire when batting three. I'd move him up the order in the remaining games, shake things up a little.

If Wayne Madsen plays red ball next summer - and that is yet to be confirmed - it will almost certainly be his last year and the challenge will be to find a way to revitalise and galvanise the batting lineup. With finance an issue, the solution is not immediately obvious. 

But of course, one option has been ignored in this match. With the season effectively dead, what is the point in playing the old maestro? With Jewell now returning to Australia, surely his berth in the side, if not position in the order,  should go to Yusuf Bin Naeem? If he got a couple of innings under his belt, it would be something to hold on to, something to illustrate that the work in the Pathway and second team is valued, something to suggest that the ultimate successor might, indeed, be in the building. 

Mickey Arthur will say he wants a strong finish, of course, but to most Derbyshire fans, does it really matter if we finish fourth or eighth? Isn't this also now the opportunity to let Nye Donald follow up on his contract signing assertion?

“I want to expand my game to all formats and be a player Mickey and Wayne can rely on in red ball cricket too, because we were so close to promotion and getting to Division One would mean so much to the whole Club and especially our Members.”

Why not try it? Why not go to Bristol on Wednesday with this team, allowing for fitness? 

Came, Guest, Naeem, Montgomery, Donald, Andersson, Dal, Aitchison, Potts, Randell, Bashir/Morley

By the way, I still maintain that Matt Stewart should have got that short term deal, not Will Rogers. I will die on that particular hill. 

No disrespect to the young left-armer, but there was far greater merit in playing a 19-year old and raw 'one of our own', than a near-24 year old who isn't. If novelty value alone was the rationale, I don't get it, as the weight of wickets hasn't been there in second team cricket and I'm not convinced they would follow at a level higher.

In closing tonight, over at Lord's Mohammad Abbas finished with nine wickets in the match for Pakistan against England, just two less than he managed for Derbyshire in five appearances. 

Why is this? 

Maybe I need to reflect on it...

Postscript: Donald is in the European T20 League now, of course...

Enter Amrit Basra, under the same idea...