Derbyshire 372 and 286 (Andersson 62, Potts 57, Randell 45, Guthrie 3-61, Harrison 3-74)
Northamptonshire 310 and 37-0
Northamptonshire need 312 runs to win
Half centuries by Martin Andersson and Nick Potts (his first) with another good supporting knock from Brett Randell saw Northamptonshire set 349 to win. By the close they had reached 37-0 in 16 challenging overs.
Good as the recovery was, it does not mask another failure by the top order, something that has to be addressed over the winter. While allowances can be made for Yusuf Bin Naeem, finding his way in the game, neither Harry Came nor Matthew Montgomery can be happy with season averages of 25 and 28 respectively. More is needed - and is essential - for improvement in 2027.
Andersson was again excellent, but Derbyshire hopes were boosted by a stand of 99 between Potts and Randell. Potts has had a good game here and confirmed his season of promise with a crucial knock, mixing sound defence with crisp strokes. Meanwhile Randell again highlighted his importance in these closing weeks and has done an excellent job for the county.
Vasconcelos and Procter batted well to get their side to the close unscathed, but they will need to do more tomorrow, especially in the first session, which has yielded the most wickets throughout the match.
I thought Abbas bowled beautifully in his spell tonight, conceding only one run in five testing overs.
We will need more from both overseas players tomorrow, but the game is beautifully poised, going into the final day.
Watching Guest’s dismissal today reminded me of one of my favourite ever players, Steve Waugh.
ReplyDeleteIn order to become a more successful Test cricketer, he deliberately cut the hook and pull shots out of his repertoire. He realised that eliminating these high-risk shots meant fewer ways to get dismissed.
Brook is a talented player, but at the moment, we are not seeing him at his best. I hope that soon he makes a conscious decision to remove some of his riskier shots which result in him getting dismissed.
Dre.
I am minded of when the great Herbert Sutcliffe was challenged on getting out often on the hook.
Delete'But I score a lot of runs with it too' he replied. It's a balancing act and only Brooke will know if the cost/benefit ratio is in his favour
Well we've had almost 50 overs between Abbas & Bashir in this match, and not a single wkt to their name. Bashir is tidy, however looks toothless.
ReplyDeleteNick
But there are some pitches where there's nothing there and tidy works, Nick. I have never seen a bowler who ALWAYS looks like taking wickets and sometimes keeping it tight and forcing the errors is the way to go...
DeleteAn exciting day in prospect tomorrow. I think over the next couple of seasons we might see Potts develop in to a batting allrounder. Lovely knock today. Grant from Telford
ReplyDeleteAnother fine innings by Andersson and some fine contributions from Potts and Randell. But I feel that Aitchison's absence tomorrow might be crucial as we try to bowl out Northants who are still hoping for promotion. Now is the time for Abbas to show he can take wickets for us.
ReplyDelete