Delay in the blog

Apologies for those who have been checking in for the blog. At the end of today's play, I decided to drive back home immediately, rather than spend an extra night in Manchester. 

After three and a half hours, I am back, but my blog will need to wait until tomorrow. 

Hopefully it is worth it! Thanks for your patience

Lancashire v Derbyshire day three

Lancashire 458 and 141-6 (Wells 50, Hurst 42*, Morley 3-32)

Derbyshire 314 (Guest 77, Aitchison 45, Morley 41, Anderson 3-53, Hartley 3-68)

Lancashire lead by 285 runs

My 5.30am departure from home should have got me to Old Trafford soon after nine today. Yet thanks to the Great Manchester Run and road closures with no suggestion of how to circumvent them, it was nearer ten before I pulled in to the car park. It was perversely reassuring to find many others had faced similar frustrations, from their accents more conversant with the locale than I...

Old Trafford is much changed from the last time I saw a game here, which was 1980, the Barlow era, Peakfan in his student days with shoulder-length hair and plenty on the top. Changed days indeed and the square is turned around too, just to further boggle my brain after driving around half the local streets with even Google Maps struggling to compute.

The ground is an impressive sight and a walk around it showed the view to be excellent from pretty much anywhere. The press box is also very good, as one might expect for an international ground, pleasantly cool and with a marvellous view behind the bowler's arm. Only the lack of sound from the middle detracted from perfection, but only the churlish would insist that fine work hasn't been done here.

Morley and Guest did well for an hour and a half, two men with points to prove around these parts. Morley's battle with Hartley was enjoyable, the former adhering to the Denis Smith school of thought, as told to Edwin Smith when he faced other off spinners - 'You bowl it, you should be able to play it'. 

Jack did well and played some good strokes amid resolute defence, before being dismissed by the lively Balderson, the best of the home bowlers. The fielders were chirpy and not reluctant to appeal, yet often with little reason. Andersson, after a golden run with the bat, departed quickly for a duck and Derbyshire were in trouble.

Guest remained resolute, sound in technique and with a fine range of strokes when opportunity presented itself. A hooked six, just over the head of long leg, was his closest call but while he remained there was hope of avoiding the follow on. Dal's innings promised much but came to a tame end with a mistimed cut against Hartley and when Guest's vigil finally ended on 77 to Bohannon' occasional and gentle off spin, the follow on writing appeared to be on the wall.

And yet once again the tail wagged for Derbyshire. Chappell and Aitchison added 68 runs for the ninth wicket, despite being liberally peppered with short stuff from Phillip and Anderson. Chappell was struck on the helmet as the follow on target drew ever nearer, before Aitchison, with two sixes and a four from Wells, took them to within touching distance. 

Then Chappell lobbed another short delivery to short leg and Tickner, 'The Man for the Crisis', came in with five needed. He too was struck by Anderson, but an edged four and a spanking cover drive, advancing down the pitch, took his side past the follow on and his season average to 34, before Aitchison holed out on the boundary. It  was a top effort by Ben and he has enjoyed a memorable return. It is worthy of note that the major runs today all came from Lancastrians...

Wells and Jennings set off aggressively, as was expected, as the home side really needs to be bowling again before lunch tomorrow. There were some stylish strokes before Jennings upper cut Tickner straight to the safe hands of Andersson at third man. The Derbyshire field was set deep to slow the run rate and it was stifled with the advent of Bohannon, who lost patience and was very well held by Chappell from the bowling of Morley, who has had a good match here. When the prolific Harris had his average slashed, courtesy of a fine ball by Aitchison and even better catch by Guest, Lancashire had to regroup. 

Wells led this, as he did in the first innings and made an excellent fifty before being bowled by Morley. This heralded a late flurry of wickets, Morley taking a routine caught and bowled before Lloyd held a 'worldie' to dismiss the bemused Hartley off his own bowling.

All results are possible going into tomorrow, but I struggle to see a Derbyshire win here. There would be no shame in going home with a draw and while it is possible to bat here, problems tend to come when forcing the run rate. 

Much will depend on the last four home wickets. I suspect they would ideally want to set 360-plus and may or may not get there.

Intriguing stuff and tomorrow should be worth a watch.

Lancashire v Derbyshire day two

Lancashire 458 (Balderson 73, Bell 57, Hartley 42, Aitchison 3-87)

Derbyshire 112-4 (Came 31, Anderson 2-24)

Derbyshire trail by 346 runs

Derbyshire found themselves in a spot of bother at the end of day two of this game, four wickets down and 346 runs behind on first innings.

Lancashire continue to accumulate throughout the day at a steady scoring rate that remained below three an over for the whole innings. There didn't appear a great deal in the pitch, although the bowlers chipped away. 

458 all out by tea on the second day shouldn't have been too great a concern and it didn't appear that way when Lloyd and Jewell set off at a rate of knots. Jewell played four delightful boundary strokes and looked in good touch before being bowled by Anderson, from around the wicket. I think it straightened a little, but he also played down the wrong line, which didn't help. He earlier took a blinding catch at short extra, but it wasn't his day with the bat.

Lloyd was discomforted by several short balls by Anderson, but was given out caught behind from one that appeared to brush his chest, rather than anything important. The fact that the video didn't subsequently appear on the Lancashire X feed suggests that it was a decision made on the volume of appeal, rather than with eyes and common sense. He got a rough deal, in my opinion.

Nor did Madsen last long, well caught off a thin edge by Hurst when attempting to cut Hartley. Derbyshire were being assertive, certainly more so than their hosts, yet they were losing wickets, which as Bazball has more recently showed us, isn't always the best of tactics.

Came and Guest restored a semblance of normality to proceedings, before the advent of the centurion, Wells saw the former bowled by a googly that he left, clearly not reading it. 

Thankfully Guest remained until the close and Morley, the night watchman, lent stoic support.

Much more will be required and the fighting spirit that has typified the season will be needed tomorrow.

Speaking of which, I will be making an early morning drive down to Manchester to see see the remainder of this game. If any regular readers are down there, please let me know and it would be lovely to meet up.

Lancashire v Derbyshire day one

Lancashire 250-5 (Wells 141, Hurst 51, Harris 45, Aitchison 3-51, Tickner 2-59)

v Derbyshire

Wayne Madsen won the toss this morning and saw his bowlers take two early wickets at Old Trafford. Thereafter it was a day of toil and sweat, as Luke Wells made a grafting century for the hosts.

I suppose it was hard luck for Derbyshire that Lancashire finally realised that a man who had spent a good part of his career opening the batting might be the best bet for the role in their  current challenges. He was lucky early on, put down by David Lloyd at third slip, from the bowling of Blair Tickner. It wasn't an easy chance, but at this level was certainly catchable. Did Derbyshire miss a trick by having Lloyd there and not Ben Aitchison? For me, Jewell, Madsen and Aitchison should be our first choice slip cordon, but there were few opportunities for them as the day went on. 

There was very little in the pitch and perhaps the decision to bowl had one eye on the return of Jimmy Anderson to the Lancashire ranks. Yet it would have asked a lot of the England legend to get anything more from this surface than the Derbyshire bowlers managed.

It was so good to see Ben Aitchison back in the side and he was excellent. It is always a pleasure to see a bowler attacking the top of off stump and giving the batters very little loose stuff to get into a rhythm. The ball to dismiss Hurst was a beauty, while the short one that surprised and dismissed the dogged Wells was possibly his first of the day. He will rightly be a happy man tonight, his first and third spells especially the work of a high-class operator.

Everyone bowled tidily, Tickner probably the pick of the rest of the bowlers, although Lancashire were in dogged mode, eschewing risk in the quest for better results after a poor start to the match and the summer. Even the usually fluent Harris took 90 deliveries over his 45, before being well pouched by Madsen, who earlier took an even better one to dismiss Jennings.

The home side will be reasonably happy with the close of play score after being put in, although they never really got on top of the bowling and asserted a position of dominance. Wells played an excellent innings, more fluent after reaching three figures, but hanging in there as someone had to do. Hurst lent gritty support and home supporters at least saw their side fight today, welcome after the game at Northampton.

As for Derbyshire, if you opt to bowl you would probably want more than five wickets by the close. But they stuck to their task well and the fielding was on point for most of the day, well led by Brooke Guest behind the stumps. Only three extras were conceded all day, a good effort.

The late injury to David Lloyd will be a concern, but hopefully he will be able to bat when Derbyshire's turn comes.

In closing, a word for the TV coverage, which was excellent. Pictures and commentary worked well together and Lancashire deserve credit for an excellent customer offer.

Quick reminder

Just to remind everyone to please add your name - or a name - to posts. It is a courtesy to all the users and enables us to get to see who is who, which is always useful. 

That is especially important for any posts in the future that may be critical - as we cannot win every game! 

I will reserve the right not to publish any post - especially critical - that does not have a name appended, to maintain the reputation of the blog.

I know it is easy to forget, if you don't use a Google account, but please send a second post with your name if you happen to do so. 

It would be very much appreciated. 

Many thanks to everyone! 

Lancashire v Derbyshire preview

Ben Aitchison returns to the Derbyshire first team squad for the first time since June 2023, for the game against Lancashire at Old Trafford, starting tomorrow. 

It is great to see the genial, undemonstrative seam bowler back in the squad. There will have been times in his recovery from injury that he perhaps thought this day would never come, but Derbyshire have missed him, his ability to dismiss good players and to keep control. I have also missed, in this era of 'celebrappeals' (a personal bete noire) his understated fist pump when the umpire signals the dismissal. Long may it continue...and with great frequency!

Luis Reece is understandably missing after the hamstring injury that limited his involvement in the last game, so it might be that Ben replaces him as a bowler, unless the pitch, after all of this dry weather, suggests it will turn before too long in the game. Given that Ben is no mug with a bat, I think he will take his place in the side, with Jack Morley and Alex Thomson vying for the lead spinner role and Mitch Wagstaff wondering if he might get the nod ahead of Harry Came.

Regardless of our individual preferences, much will depend on how both have shaped up in the nets and I expect something close to this side: 

Lloyd

Jewell

Came/Wagstaff

Madsen

Guest

Andersson

Dal

Chappell

Aitchison

Thomson/Morley

Tickner

There is no news on the Lancashire side at the moment, but they will be hurting after the defeat at Northampton. Keaton Jennings resigned the captaincy afterwards and Marcus Harris, closing in on being the first man to a thousand runs this season, has taken over as interim skipper.

Jimmy Anderson was due back for the next match but it appears has been rushed back for this one, with Ollie Sutton and Michael Jones also in a 14-man squad

Likely side: 

Jennings, Bell/Jones, Bohannon, Harris, Hurst, Wells, Balderson, Hartley, Bailey/Phillip, Anderson, Williams, Sutton

I can't believe our opponents can play as badly again, so I expect a tougher match here. Key to Derbyshire success would be the early dismissal of their two best bats, Jennings and Harris and Lancashire are bottom of the table because they haven't played very good or consistent cricket, so far. The return of Anderson will no doubt attract media attention and will give them a boost, but at the end of the day he is 42 and can only bowl at one end..

Beware the wounded beast, but if Derbyshire play as they have done so far, they can come back from Lancashire with draw points at the very least. 

What do you think?

Seconds win at Belper

The Seconds duly wrapped up victory over Leicestershire at Belper this morning, winning by eight wickets with a day and two sessions to spare. 

Will Tarrant took his overnight score to 42 before being dismissed, while Mitch Wagstaff scored 11. Victory was sealed by Amrit Basra, who made an unbeaten 30, with six fours and a winning six from just seventeen deliveries.

While my viewing, like everyone else, has been limited to the clips, Basra looked on a different level to everyone else in this match. One would hope, whether it was with Derbyshire or elsewhere, that there was a place in county cricket for a player of such obvious talent.

But that is another fine display by the twos and Ben Aitchison will be very happy with his continued return and his spell of captaincy.

Seconds on the verge of victory at Belper

Derbyshire's second team ended day two of the game against Leicestershire at Belper on the verge of victory after an impressive team display.

Ben Aitchison took his score to an unbeaten 43 as his team reached 216 all out, a lead of 130 runs. Then Rory Haydon took 3-38 to end with match figures of 8-55, while Academy off-spinning all rounder Joe Hawkins, just 18, took 3-43. 

Leicestershire were in all sorts of trouble at 63-4, but George Maddy (43) and Scotland under-19 international Jamie Dunk (88) at least forced Derbyshire to bat again.

With 98 needed to win, Will Tarrant led off with a flurry of boundaries, unbeaten on 33 as Derbyshire closed on 39-0.

It has so far been an exceptional performance from a very young side.

Seconds take control at Belper

There was another terrific day for the second team at Belper, on the first of what is supposed to be a four-day friendly against Leicestershire.

Again led by Ben Aitchison, who won the toss, they bowled the visitors out for 86 in just 40 overs. Staffordshire seamer Rory Haydon led the way with 5-17, while Nick Potts and Ben took two wickets each. Pat Brown took the other in an excellent bowling effort that conceded only four leg byes as extras.

Derbyshire didn't find conditions any easier and after Will Tarrant was caught on his back foot when called for a quick single and run out, bin Naeem was quickly caught in the slips. Mitch Wagstaff made 24 before edging loosely to the keeper, but Amrit Basra appeared to be on a different pitch to everyone else, making 72 from 82 balls, with thirteen fours and a six in a fine display. Some may recall him playing for SACA in the pre-season friendly, when he scored a breezy 20-odd and dismissed David Lloyd. He certainly looked a talent today.

He was eventually adjudged leg before, but George Lavelle added a gritty 45 and Aitchison was unbeaten on 21 at the close. 

Derbyshire ended on 186-7, a good effort against an attack including Chris Wright, Roman Walker, Matt Salisbury, Ben Mike and Liam Trevaskis.

They will be happy with a current first innings lead of a hundred, at the end of day one! 

Weekend talking points

If runs and wickets are your currency for success in cricket, then Mitch Wagstaff should be in the Derbyshire side at Old Trafford next weekend.

It is an oft-used phrase by Mickey Arthur and I fully understand the rationale. Only if those ahead of you are in prime form should your route to a senior side be held up, when you are in good nick yourself.

I have rated Mitch for a while but there was a time when I felt he was at the time too slight for the senior game. He has filled out now and, at 21, is fully deserving of greater opportunity.

Consider the statistics. In the opening second team game against Lancashire, Mitch made 69 and 73, as well as taking 1-19 and 2-68 with his leg spin. In the one just finished, against Nottinghamshire, he made 74 and 119, as well as taking 2-11 in the second innings.

These are heady figures for anyone and for me Harry Came, averaging 23 this summer, is the one under threat at present. I like Harry a lot, but what appeared to be good touch pre-season has deserted him and were I selecting the side for Old Trafford, Mitch would be pencilled in. 

It is important the Derbyshire are seen to be encouraging their own players and Mitch is in the vanguard with Harry Moore in this respect. Yousaf bin Naeem isn't too far behind and Will Tarrant seems to be making a case to be on the staff next summer. The financial value of playing players we have developed is considerable, although of course they have to make the team when the time is right. Kim Barnett, John Morris and Chris Adams made the Derbyshire side and played alongside seasoned professionals like David Steele and John Hampshire, as well as the likes of John Wright and Peter Kirsten. How can you not learn with such experience? 

We will see what happens, but in a fixture-free weekend here's my latest interview with North Derbyshire Radio's Matt Rhodes. We discuss the Glamorgan game, next weekend's game at Old Trafford, Brooke Guest's contract and Mickey Arthur's lower key approach this summer. 

You can listen to it here and I am on at 13.40 in what is a very enjoyable show.

Enjoy the sunshine and your weekends! 

Postscript - Harry Came scored 128 today for Swarkestone against Mitch Wagstaff's Alvaston & Bolton...

Seconds win in three days at Lady Bay!

Derbyshires Seconds completed a terrific victory over Nottinghamshire at Lady Bay today, winning by six wickets with more than a day to spare. 

Martindale (52) Montgomery (46) and McCann (34) were the only real scorers in the top order, as Derbyshire chipped away at the home innings. The ball was keeping low on occasions and a ninth wicket stand of 54 runs set Derbyshire a victory target of 251, which looked challenging.

Yet Mitch Wagstaff and Will Tarrant led off with a brilliant opening stand of 178 in 36 overs, before Tarrant was bowled for an excellent 73 from 106 deliveries.

Wagstaff went on to a very fine century, with 119 from 128 deliveries, including 15 fours and 3 sixes. When he was dismissed, Yusaf bin Naeem took Derbyshire to the brink of victory before being caught in the deep for 37. George Lavelle ended up unbeaten on 12.

That was a very fine effort by a young team against a similar Nottinghamshire side with decent first team cricket experience across it. 

Wagstaff also took 2-11 in the Nottinghamshire second innings and there were three wickets for Nick Potts. Ben Aitchison continued his return with another wicket and will be delighted with a win as skipper.

Well done, lads. Let the good times keep coming! 

Good game at Lady Bay

At the end of day two of the second team game, Nottinghamshire were 77-1 in their second innings. 

They took a first innings lead of 18 runs, after Derbyshire were dismissed for 308, replying to 326. 

Mitch Wagstaff made 74 and Yusaf bin Naeem 48, before a mid innings collapse saw Derbyshire slip to 248-9.

Then Ben Aitchison made a blistering 54 from 44 deliveries, with eleven boundaries, adding 60 with Matt Stewart, who hung on gallantly at the other end 

Ben Martindale took 3-25 for the hosts and he (32*) and Freddie McCann (34*) are at the crease, after Pat Brown took an early wicket.

Ben didn't bowl in the second innings as his workload continues to be managed during his return.

Aitchison continues his return

Nottinghamshire were all out for 326 at Lady Bay today, against the Derbyshire Second XI led by Ben Aitchison.

Ben built up his workload and finished with figures of 2-57 from 18 overs, which will have done him good.

There were two wickets for Pat Brown and one for Nick Potts, although both went for four runs an over. The standout bat for the home side was the talented Ben Martindale, who made 97 before falling to Academy seam bowler Matt Stewart.

He went on to return the excellent figures of 4-19 in 13 overs.

The Derbyshire side again included former Lancashire keeper George Lavelle and Staffordshire seamer Rory Haydon, previously on the Warwickshire Academy.

They closed on 12-0, with Mitch Wagstaff and Will Tarrant at the crease and Yusaf Bin Naeem and Ajay Khunti - so prolific last season - to follow.

One to keep an eye on tomorrow! 

Observations on the Derbyshire start

There have been times, over the first three years that he has been in post, that I have been critical of Mickey Arthur. There is no need to go over old ground, but I like to think I have at least been fair, realistic and constructive in that criticism. 

Equally, it is appropriate to praise when things have been done correctly. While it is still early in proceedings to give overly effusive comment, this has been the most positive start by Derbyshire in many seasons. 

Arthur brought in Ben Smith as batting coach last year and a winter working with him seems to have been very beneficial for the players, as a look at the statistics shows. 

No other county in the division has four players averaging in excess of fifty (Madsen, Jewell, Reece, Andersson) and a fifth just under it (Guest). Yet with the exception of Pat Brown, who only had one innings, all except Anuj Dal are averaging in excess of twenty. Nuj hasn't yet got going with the bat, but contributes in other ways and if your 'worst' batter averages 17, that is a remarkable collective effort. 

It is also indicative of a squad that understands and buys into the game plan. It may not be an eleven of Galacticos, to cross-pollinate sports, but it is a team that works for and with each other.

The team spirit is clear and the contributions of the overseas players chosen have been important in these early weeks. Caleb Jewell would have liked to turn one of his five fifties into a hundred, but an average of 54 is a good start. He has been involved in strategy discussions on the pitch and proved a very safe pair of hands at slip, where we were fallible last year. 

Plenty, myself included, were wary of the re-signing of Blair Tickner, but I was at least prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. He is second leading wicket taker behind Luis Reece and in the game just finished showed himself a warrior. He ran in hard, was aggressive and gave us something we have lacked in a number of years. He seems to enjoy a 'chirp' on the pitch and probably got plenty back when he came in at the end to try and save the game yesterday. But he handled it and again, regularly chatting with the bowlers, shows what a good overseas can do. 

Good overseas? I accept that the market has shrunk and comparisons with the greats of yesteryear are not always positive. Like many of you I have seen all of our overseas players and you could put together an eleven to take on Mars from their ranks. But compare performances of our recruits so far with others in the division and you might agree. 

Asit Fernando at Glamorgan seven wickets at 66, Cameron Green at Gloucestershire averaging 23 with the bat and not bowling. Dudgeon at Kent gone home injured, Phillip at Lancashire 2 wickets at 85, even Dane Paterson at Middlesex only eight wickets at 43.

So many counties have overseas players coming in through revolving doors, due to visa criteria limiting their stay. Arthur has done very well - and used that oft-quoted little black book of contacts - to pick up long-term signings who buy into the team and club ethic.

Leicestershire have chosen well and are getting good value from Peter Handscomb and Logan van Beek, while their success is, like ours, down to a long batting order and plenty of options with the ball. It is another team effort and should there be any real surprise in such sides sitting one and two in the division? 

It is also worthy of note that domestic recruitment and retention by Mickey Arthur has been very good. Jack Morley has come in and bowled some canny spells for a young man, while clearly working on his batting over the winter. He can and will get better. Meanwhile Martin Andersson has been a revelation, with big runs, useful wickets and a safe pair of hands. It just shows what the right environment, where they are respected and appreciated, can do for someone 

Wayne Madsen and Brooke Guest, two of those whose deals were due to expire at the end of the summer, have signed new ones and it has been a joy to see the new life in the Wayne-meister. Nearly 500 runs in just eight innings, a spring in his step and so, so nice to see a skipper who doesn't make bowling changes by rote and sets innovative field settings. 

Mickey Arthur has changed the staff considerably in his time at the club and there are plenty with deals to play for over the remainder of the summer.

To the best of my knowledge, the deals for

Harry Came, Luis Reece, Ross Whiteley, Samit Patel, Alex Thomson, Nick Potts, Ben Aitchison and Yousaf Bin Naeem expire this year. 

Luis is making a strong case for retention, averaging 58 with the bat and 22 with the ball, though he will not want to miss too much cricket with the injury aggravated at Cardiff. Bin Naeem needs to work but should be afforded time, but the others will understand that top level cricket is unforgiving and the currency of performance is key. They all have incentives to produce their best games and I especially hope that Harry Came rediscovers his best form, as there is no doubt that he can play. Alex Thomson got the nod at Cardiff and did a good job, but he will likewise know that standard has to be maintained. 

We know Ben Aitchison can do it, but must only hope his repaired back can stand up to the rigours of the first class game. He is a very fine bowler with big potential, but needs to be able to play on a regular basis and not everyone can do that. Fingers and toes firmly crossed for Ben to be back at his best.

As for Nick Potts, he has to work hard to show he can get there, or join the ranks of many others who had obvious talent, but perhaps neither the sustained performance nor physical and mental resilience to play enough throughout a long summer.

It will be fascinating to see how the rest of the summer plays out. Perhaps this will prove to be the latest false dawn in a club that has had more of those than a Tony Orlando tribute  show.

Or maybe, just maybe, Mickey Arthur has got a handle on the requirements of the county game now, more than I think was initially the case. I understand that even now he has targets in mind for next summer, players who will further strengthen the team.

He deserves credit for the start, as does the club board, who could easily have gone the other way when the groundswell of support was clearly turning against him. 

I am really enjoying this summer and I didn't think I would. Thanks to everyone concerned for making it so. 

Let's see if we can keep it going...

Glamorgan v Derbyshire day four

Glamorgan 431 and 256-7 (Kellaway 74, Tickner 3-44)

Derbyshire 350 and 308-9 (Andersson 78, Guest 48, Jewell 44, Lloyd 42, Dal 34, Kellaway 5-101, Leonard 3-66)

Match drawn

One of the best final days of County Championship cricket that you could wish to see ended in a draw at Cardiff, with the last two Derbyshire batters at the crease. 

The morning didn't suggest anything especially exciting and the declaration came at the interval, 338 in 65 overs the target. I didn't really think it was on and said so on social media. It was a higher rate than had been managed throughout the game, the fielding side could put as many back as they wanted, legside wides would not be penalised and the pitch was fairly slow.

Yet at one point Derbyshire looked to be winning it. Lloyd and Jewell batted very well but, like everyone in the match, got out before making the match-defining score - it was one of those pitches. Madsen looked in imperious form before being brilliantly taken at long leg by Gorvin, who was seldom out of the match and at that point it looked like the shutters might go up. 

Yet after tea, Andersson and Guest launched a counter offensive full of brilliant strokeplay. Guest was especially strong on the reverse sweep, while Andersson just looks the business every time he plays. They added 97 runs and looked like they were about to lead a victory charge, when Guest was adjudged leg before. I have to say I was less than convinced and it took the umpire an age, but such is the game. 

Enter Dal and his partnership with Andersson had Derbyshire chasing a run a ball off the last ten. It was stirring stuff and it seemed like the unlikely just might happen. 

Then Kellaway, who batted well earlier, bowled an excellent spell for the home side and extracted increasing turn, got one to 'pop' and Andersson was defeated on the reverse sweep after a magnificent display. With the T20 fast approaching it was a reminder that he opened in that competition for Middlesex last season and to very good effect.. food for thought, perhaps?

Chappell was elevated, presumably to hit, but was bowled first ball by one that turned through a sizeable gate. Thomson then played too early at Leonard, which left the limping Luis Reece to enter proceedings at ten in the order, certainly the best we have had coming in with eight wickets down, I suspect.

Dal used his feet to try to combat Kellaway but was cleverly defeated by his arm ball, which brought in Tickner to try to save the game, with 28 deliveries remaining. He stoically faced ten of those deliveries, as Glamorgan switched pacemen at one end and hoped Kellaway could twirl one more piece of magic at the other. Then again, Blair averages 32 with bat and ball this summer, so perhaps we shouldn't have worried..

Reece and Tickner resisted. Kellaway even bowled the penultimate delivery with his left hand to try to shake things up, but with everyone around the bat, Luis stood tall and earned the draw points.

Of course it is easy to say that we missed out on the win points today. Yet for me, we took it much closer than I expected and once again I was very proud of the way the team battled and saw their way to draw points that could be very important in September. 

We remain undefeated, we remain in second place. These are giddy heights indeed, yet thoroughly deserved for the brand of positive, exciting cricket that the team are playing.

A win would have been quite special, but I am very happy with our efforts and the progress clearly being made this summer.

Phew! Time to unwind now...

Glamorgan v. Derbyshire day three

Glamorgan 431 and 132-5 (Ingram 64, up Hassan 48, Tickner 2-19)

Derbyshire 350 (Reece 73, Thomson 60, Gorvin 5-85)

Glamorgan lead by 213 runs with 5 wickets remaining

I doubt that even the most positive of Derbyshire supporters - and I number myself among them - could have foreseen the side, at 162-7, getting three batting bonus points. 

Even if they did, to then envisage Glamorgan fighting for their lives before tea would have got you some serious odds at the local bookmaker. 

And yet so it transpired. Alex Thomson and Luis Reece took their eighth wicket stand to 105, before Alex edged a good one through to Chris Cooke. At that stage fourteen were still needed to avoid the follow on, but a few lusty, trademark blows by Zak Chappell got them there, before he was bowled. 

Even then the comeback was not finished, as Blair Tickner proved an admirable, unorthodox foil for Luis Reece, as they added a further 62 runs for the last wicket. 

There is something endearing about watching Tickner bat. He combines the highest backlift this side of Brian Lara, with footwork sometimes akin to Groucho Marx. He might move outside leg stump, or down the pitch, or a bit of both. His feet, hands and head are not always where they should be and there seem more limbs down the batting end than usual, yet he gets a surprising number in the middle of the bat.

Certainly, if you drop it short he will have a go and, with batting and bowling averages near identical this summer, could perhaps claim - with that trademark smile on his face - that he is a genuine all-rounder.

He was a perfect foil for Luis Reece today, who went above and beyond the call of duty in making an unbeaten 73 in 184 balls of defiance. It amply illustrated his commitment to the cause and also the huge advantage of having a man who has faced the new ball in the middle order, when things go wrong. His footwork was limited by his injury, but he ground the bowlers down and got Derbyshire back into the game. He even managed the shot of the innings, a beautiful leg side pickup for six, just before lunch.

He didn't take the field after Tickner was finally bowled, trying to hit Fernando to somewhere near Swansea after 350 had been reached. Yet he undoubtedly looked on, impressed, as the Kiwi followed his batting heroics with his best spells for Derbyshire. 

He and Dal wasted nary a delivery and Tickner's pace earned him two wickets, hurtling in and causing problems for all. He could have had more, as both ul Hassan and Ingram had close lbw shouts.His three spells were first rate, real 'lead by example' stuff, and 2-19 in 13 overs was a magnificent effort. I also liked his applause for Gorvin, who again resisted a solid working over at the end of the day.

Thomson followed his fine innings with some very accurate bowling, thoroughly justifying his choice as lead spinner. With respect to Morley, a young player I rate highly, he wouldn't have scored the runs we so badly needed here. Mickey Arthur got that selection spot on.

There was no real urgency in the Glamorgan batting until the closing overs, when both set batters were dismissed. After that it was a case of battening down the hatches. The home side will hope to set Derbyshire north of 300 in the final innings, while our hope will be to keep it under that score. 

A good final day has been set up. 

Let's hope that it lives up to the sense of anticipation.

Glamorgan v. Derbyshire day two

Glamorgan 431 

Derbyshire 215-7 (Andersson 46, Guest 45, Jewell 34, Thomson 30* Gorvin 4-49)

Glamorgan lead by 216 runs

Last night I wrote, as I have many times over the years, that you cannot judge a pitch until both sides have batted on it.

Now we have seen that, there are several observations that can be made, with a degree of confidence. 

One is that the wrong decision was made to bowl yesterday. There was much more lateral movement today and Glamorgan's seam-heavy attack made the best of it. 

Not to put too fine a point on it, they - and in particular Andy Gorvin - bowled much better lengths and allowed the ball to zip around. Perhaps the overhead conditions were more conducive to movement, but surely that was an even greater reason to have a bat, when we won the toss yesterday under clear blue skies? 

Nor do I understand our obsession, when the tail enders come in, to start digging it in short. I am not convinced that too many players, in this day and age when there is so much protective equipment, are that bothered by it. Long gone are the days when a couple of steps towards the square leg umpire became the norm from nine, ten, jack when the quick ran in.

 All that the - and I am choosing the word carefully - naive approach from Blair Tickner seemed to do was fire up Gorvin, who was not at all discomforted by the short stuff and after the initial blow on the helmet just ducked and let it go sailing through to Brooke Guest. 

The 86 runs added with Timm van der Gugten, for the eighth wicket, were priceless in the context of the game. Without them we would now have at least avoided the follow on. After getting Ingram early, the tail wagged with far too great a vigour for Derbyshire liking, but they were undoubtedly helped along the way by the naivety. Or daftness, where I come from.

ul-Hasan, not one of the home side's front line bowlers, was also zipping it around and was helped by some ponderous footwork, while van der Gugten, one of the best day in, day out, bowlers on the circuit, had it on the proverbial piece of elastic. 

Guest and Andersson batted well, but an injudicious cut from the latter opened the gate and Dal was immediately suckered down the leg side in a clearly planned move, brilliant wicket keeping by Chris Cooke as it was. When Guest was bowled by a beautiful leg cutter from ul-Hasan, the writing was on the wall and in very large letters.

Yet even then the fight of '25 was shown by Thomson, who batted very well, and Reece, clearly inconvenienced and batting with a runner, but hanging in there. 67 more, with three wickets left, to avoid the follow on..

This has been a very encouraging start to the season by Derbyshire and we should perhaps not get too carried away by one bad day. 

But bad habits can become the norm just as easily as good ones, perhaps more so. 

The trick now is to return to things we have done well. 

Oh, and have more confidence in ourselves if we win the toss.. 

Glamorgan v Derbyshire day 1

Glamorgan 336-6 (Ingram 80*, Northeast 63, Tribe 58, Reece 2-33, Dal 2-41)

v Derbyshire

I can only assume that when Wayne Madsen won the toss today, he and Mickey Arthur had seen the green tinge in the pitch and thought there would be considerably more help for the bowlers than transpired. 

And there wasn't a great deal, for seam and spin alike.

The home side made good use of the pitch, almost everyone getting going, but a couple of them giving it away with unnecessary hook strokes. Were it not for such acts of profligacy, we could have been really struggling tonight. Tribe, off the back of a double century for the second team, did well for them in the morning session, playing some nice strokes.

As things stand, Glamorgan may yet make 500 in the first innings, with Colin Ingram, dropped twice, still there to add more tomorrow. I must have written 'Ingram makes Derbyshire toil' a few times over the years, since he was a successful professional locally..

The bowling was okay, but we could have done without Luis Reece pulling up for the second consecutive game and probably unable to bowl again in the match. His two wickets before lunch brought Derbyshire back into it, while two from Dal later on gave a semblance of parity to the day.

The good thing is there was no sign of any spin and when their turn comes, Derbyshire should have every opportunity to score heavily themselves. With genuine all-rounders down to number ten, maybe the rationale is that we can go for a last afternoon run chase, if something realistic is set. 

We will see. Long ago I realised you never comment on a game, until both sides have had an opportunity to bat. 

Tomorrow is another day..

Glamorgan v Derbyshire preview

Despite concerns that at least two of them may be missing through injury, Mickey Arthur has named Luis Reece, Anuj Dal and Martin Andersson in a thirteen-man squad for the trip to Cardiff tomorrow. 

The final eleven will as always depend on the pitch in Wales. Alex Thomson bowled with excellent control against Middlesex, but is the one likely to miss out - probably with Pat Brown - as Derbyshire look to extend their unbeaten start to the season.

There is reassuring depth to the county batting so far, with the plethora of all rounders - David Lloyd also in the mix - also giving bowling options a-plenty. If Thomson's spin is likely to come into the equation, in the light of a dry forecast, then it is anyone's guess who misses out. Probably the one most in need of a breather, ahead of long and hectic season.

David Lloyd will hope to build on his return to form in the last game, while others will hope to continue a very good start to the summer, where runs have come throughout the order. 

My likeliest side:

Lloyd, Jewell, Came, Madsen, Guest, Reece, Dal, Andersson, Chappell, Tickner, Morley (Thomson and Brown)

Glamorgan haven't got off to the best of starts and currently lie bottom of the table. They are missing experienced seamer James Harris and all rounder Dan Douthwaite, as well as leg-spinner Mason Crane. Meanwhile, supporters seem annoyed at the absence of Billy Root, who has been excluded from the side so far, as twelfth man, but here finds himself out of the squad altogether. In the final year of his contract, that is a situation that many clubs will be monitoring as the summer progresses.

Timm van der Gugten continues to spearhead the bowling, this year with assistance from Sri Lankan, Asitha Fernando. Sam Northeast and Kiran Carlson continue to be batting lynchpins but Colin Ingram, forty this summer, remains the key wicket. Like Wayne Madsen he has been a stalwart servant for a long time (since 2015 in his case) and a player you hope to remove early.

Glamorgan squad:

Byrom, Northeast, Carlson, Cooke, Fernando, van der Gugten, Gorvin, ul-Hasan, Ingram, Kellaway, Leonard, McIlroy, Tribe

The toss will again play a part, but if Derbyshire wants to maintain their good start and make a genuine push for promotion, this is a game that they have to win.

In good form and high in confidence, I think they will. 

What about you? 

Derby Book Festival - a worthwhile cricket event!

Cricket books and writers don't often make it to book festivals. Which is a shame, because there is an audience there and for the right person, people will turn up, just as they will for any writer on any subject. 

So it is a pleasure to help to publicise the appearance of David Kynaston, a well-known social historian, at the Derby Book Festival later this month.

Richie Benaud's Blue Suede Shoes was The Cricket Writer's Club Derek Hodgson book of the year and was longlisted for the William Hill sports book of the year prize in 2024.

David Kynaston and Harry Ricketts relive the compelling story of a gripping Ashes-deciding Test match that heralded the dawn of a new era for English cricket.

The Ashes are on the line as England and Australia meet at Old Trafford in July 1961 for the fourth Test. For most of the match, England have their noses ahead – until a dramatic final day, of intensely fluctuating fortunes, as the tourists eventually storm to victory. In short, an Ashes classic, told here by David Kynaston and Harry Ricketts in vivid and immersive detail, recreating the sometimes agonising experience of millions of armchair viewers and listeners.

At the heart of Richie Benaud's Blue Suede Shoes are two strikingly contrasting personalities: England's captain, the Cambridge-educated, risk-averse, establishment-minded Peter May; and Australia's captain, the charismatic, risk-taking, open-minded Benaud – a contrast not only between two individuals, but between two cricketing and indeed national cultures. Whereas Benaud and Australia symbolised a new, meritocratic era, May and England seemed, in what was still an amateur-dominated game, to look back to an old imperial legacy out of sync with the dawning Sixties.

The sharply observed final chapters take the story up to the present day. They relate the 'after-lives' of the match's key participants, including Ted Dexter, Bill Lawry and Fred Trueman as well as May and Benaud; trace the continuing chequered relationship between English cricket and broader social change; and, after six more decades of fierce Ashes rivalry, wrestle with the perennial conundrum for all England supporters – why do the baggy green caps usually beat us?

The talk venue, timings and ticket details are below and while it coincides with the date of the first T20 match of the summer, at Leicester, it is in the afternoon, so you could manage both events, should you wish. 

Or, if you prefer your 'cricket fix' to be more local, perhaps this is an opportunity for you.

Do consider going and supporting the festival and this, which should be an excellent event!

David Kynaston: Richie Benaud's Blue Suede Shoes

 Friday 30 May | 2:00pm - 3:00pm

 £10 

The event is sponsored by Geldards and tickets can be booked here

 Venue: QUAD, DE1 3AS