vic's Derbyshire Story

[vic_orthdox]

25th May - County Championship: vs Lancashire (A)

Changes: Bridge in for Cleary. Giving Cleary further rest and coaching, while we need a spinner - and thus far, Joseph Stanton hasn't been up to it.

Coming up against a real yardstick of the competition, on their dungheap. It was going to be a real test of our abilities. Starts for the openers, after winning the toss, were wasted, and 3 down at lunch was not the desired result, and was made worse in losing Casey first ball after lunch. Starts would continue to be the theme of the innings, and it was only the keeper Goddard whom could go past 50 - but he too gave it away when he should have gone on. However, he was mainly responsible for a semi-respectable score, but not one from which you could hope to garner a big lead.

Lancashire was comprehensive in its reply, led by Simon Marshall. A crucial chance by the Derbyshire keeper let him go on, and at tea the lead was already established while there were 7 wickets in the tank. Eventually, with a little nightmare session left over, the Lancs were bowled out in the first session of day 3, with Graeme Bridge rolling out his 41st over when he secured the last wicket.

A bit of "start central" again early in the Derby 2nd innings, and they went to tea three down. With 32 overs to face for the rest of the day, and the forecast predicting much rain tomorrow, there was still hope that a draw could be scrounged. Tea was reached 6 down, with Khalid still at the crease importantly.

Rain washed out the first hour and a half of the last day of play, and after playing till lunch, a further 40 minutes were wiped out. Derby continued to pray for rain, at 7/ 179 - still behind by 39, with Jones and Khalid together.

At Tea, though a further two wickets were lost, and it was Khalid - who to this point had scored a gallant 92* - with Dean, as the team was crowded around the computer, looking at the Bureau of Meterology website.

All of this wold matter little when Khalid edged the third ball back after Tea to second slip. His 92 from 240 balls was brave, but not enough, as Lancashire would only need 15 to win. Obviously, Hemp was mightily gallant for Lancs, stepping up in the void of Anderson who was on international duty.

The runs were knocked off, and once more a top order that fired blanks, and a bowling attack of much the same description, were to blame for a loss that did show that at times, we can match it with the best.

 

[vic_orthdox]

30th May - National League: vs Sussex (A)

Changes: Solanki, having made two 100s and a 50 in a row for the 2nd XI, comes into the team at the expense of Pearson. Simon Jones needs a rest, and is replaced by Cleary, while Stanton makes way for Bridge after his effort in the 5 day game. Sutton also gets a game in place of Goddard, whom is reasonably fatigued. France was given a go in the one day format at the expense of a tired and out of form Bassano.

With weather more overcast in the morning, Derbyshire decided to insert Sussex and have first crack at their line-up. Franks came at them hard from the first ball, and really upset the rhythm of a number of bowlers. However, at the other end the Derbyshire bowlers didn't do too bad a job of restricting the run flow, and the efforts in the last 10 were especially good, considering it looked to be inevitable that 250+ would be the required score.

Solanki's return to the side brought no joy, as he was bowled first ball. The experiment of using France up the order failed as well, and suddenly Derbys were 2/13. Terry Ruttles was once more terrorising the top order, and during his 5th over had 4/18, as Derbys slumped to 5/35. Game over with Wilcox's wicket to Astle, and a subsequent collapse saw the game turn into a farce, as Derbyshire looked completely outclassed in Division 1, still yet to chalk up a win.

 

[vic_orthdox]

1st June - County Championship: vs Durham (A)

Changes: Yup, ringing plenty of them again. Fred Lingham has been brought in for his debut at Sherbourne's expense, who is still doing OK in the one day game. Wilcox will get a rare shot at a County game, and Nethercott will get a run at 3, being thrown to the wolves a bit! Bassano and France omitted from the side. Solanki also comes in for Bryant.

Inserting themselves to take first use of the pitch, the first session was reasonably tame by normal Derby standards, although we couldn't quite go the whole session without losing a wicket - Solanki for 49, last ball before lunch. While Khalid struggled, Nethercott made things look easy in his well compiled 70, but when Casey fell quickly, it was worrying signs after such a healthy beginning. Wilcox continued his struggles with the longer game, and from then on things were slow going. Finally, at lunch on the second day, Khalid saluted his 100, which could prove to be valuable on a wearing pitch. However, from 334 balls, it could prove to make it hard to produce a result.

He was eventually out for 111, and the declaration came soon after. Durham built through the day, with Bridge the hardest to keep at bay, while steady partnerships built. They ended day 2 at 4/180. A might innings from Buller was the pivotal part of the Durham innings, and what kept them in the game. His dismissal was Lingham's first wicket. Bridge was ineffectual inbetween taking the second, and last, wickets of the innings, and it was left to Jones to do much of the legwork.

Vikram Solanki was the star of the second innings, racing to 100, at which stage the team total was only 171. His cutting was of particularly high standard. A few more starts in the top order, and the sickening injury to Casey, who has a fracture after missing a pull shot and will be out for four weeks, was also of note. But just as the game looked as though it was petering out to a boring draw, a declaration occurred, and the Durham outfit was set 266 in 3 and a half hours.

Three quick breakthroughs left Durham struggling at 3/7, but from there they got through to tea, requiring 183 in the last session to win. After capturing a fourth, Durham required 96 to win in 44 minutes, and the Derbyshire captain started to think a bit more negatively, and buy some wickets by saving runs. This worked fairly immediately, as the thorn that was Buller was caught at second slip off Dean. When Bridge captured Miller, the situation was 4 wickets in hand, 30 minutes left and 74 to win. Muchall played an extravagant shot to gift his wicket away, leaving 15 minutes for the Derby boys to grab 3 wickets. With the last ball of the second last over, Bridge gave Derby a sniff by bowling Marcus Turner, so Kevin Dean whom had 3 wickets to this point was thrown the ball once more. However, he was unable to come up with the goods, and Durham held on for a brave draw.

 

[readie]

Good stuff, not from your team though mind you

 

[Kweek]

awesome read Jacko

 

[Isura]

Cool story. I miss these. Brave of you to take on a stinker of a team like Derby
Looks like things are slowly turning around though.

 

[vic_orthdox]

5th June - National League: vs Essex (H)

Changes: Goddard back in for Sutton. Nethercott in for France. Pearson in for the injured Dean Casey, who is out for four weeks. I just can't get a full side out on the park! Have five bowlers in the side. Lungley comes in as the extra. Hussey back in the side too. Khalid being rested, is pretty fatigued.

Derby won the toss and decided to bowl. Dean and Jones combined well early, and up till about 16 or 17 overs the home side was well on top. Tom Lungley showed his rust however, and especially in his second spell where Batty gave him a pasting, as he ended up going for 73 from 9. Dean was especially effective in keeping the runs down in the late overs, and was rewarded with some junktime wickets, while Cook made a very risk-free and brisk score.

With a shortened batting line-up, we were still chasing 250. Hussey showed his time out of the game, but at least scoring was a little more brisk. Good partnerships between Wilcox and Pearson, and Goddard and Pearson, came to very little, as the keeper and the sometime-opener both failed to go on and get a really big score to give the side a chance. It was, however, the most promising one day effort from the side in quite a while.

 

[vic_orthdox]

12th June - National League: vs Nottinghamshire (A)

Changes: Khalid comes back into the team at the expense of Lungley. He moves up to 4, and the other batsmen all shift down to accommodate. Further limiting my options is the fact that Bryant is out for 5 weeks.

We were sent in by the Notts captain, and got off to a flyer. Vikram Solanki was the early star, and all of the batsmen got a start, all at good pace too. Nethercott's pull shot for 6 was a particular highlight, however a flurry of wickets saw the possibility of being bowled out well before the 45th over. Luckily, Bridge and Cleary combined and put on runs at a steady rate to ensure that all deliveries were faced.

Simon Jones was expensive from the start, and had to be replaced. Even his subsequent spells were dear, and he ended up going for 70+ off his allotted overs. However, despite a blistering knock from Owais Shah, it still appeared Derby would be OK, as they needed only two wickets and had 60 odd runs in the bank. After a pesky 30 run partnership, it was Charles whom was to become the hero. After being caught off a no-ball, delivered by Dean, he continued to pummell the attack. He only made 60 runs for the whole season last year in one day cricket, yet he notched up 44* of the finest, from only 41 deliveries, as Derbyshire, 8 matches in, had victory cruelly snatched from underneath it's nose.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Ladders as of 13th June

 

[vic_orthdox]

15th June - County Championship: vs Northamptonshire

Changes: Hussey returns to the opening position, taking Wilcox's place and Pearson shuffles down the order. Lingham is out of the side, replaced by Cleary. Additionally, France came in for the injured Casey.

Derbyshire won the toss against the team directly lower than them on the ladder. However, the forecast suggests that a draw is most likely, with rain supposed to hit on three of the four days. Vikram Solanki though only worried about the things that he could control, and hit a masterful 100 on the first day. Khalid, Hussey and Nethercott provided valuable support, until rain claimed the last session.

France and Pearson put on quick runs the next morning, before a bold declaration with 1/2 hour left in the morning. The move paid off, as the combination of all three fast bowlers, in between a number of rain breaks, saw Northants slump to 7 down, and the run column only just in three figures. A great fighting knock from White saw Northants reach their total, and stay well away from the follow-on.

The morning session of the last day was again washed out, rendering the contest useless, as the game petered out into a draw.

 

[vic_orthdox]

19th June - National League: vs Warwickshire (H)

Changes: Lingham back in for Cleary.

Warwicks won the toss and decided to have a bat, on an overcast day. Dean got stick from Westwood early, and Bell batted calmly throughout. Jones came back and struck, while Bridge did a great job of tying up the visitors during the middle overs, earning a couple of wickets for his trouble.

In reply, it was a slow start, but eventually the innings gathered pace. Both Khalid and Nethercott played their roles, but it was Hussey who was the star of the show, facing 142 balls in his knock and ensured that victory was achieved. Finally, the first win in the National League!

 

[vic_orthdox]

22nd June - Twenty20 Cup: vs Durham (H)

Starting Team:
Pearson
France
Bassano
Nethercott
Sutton+
Solanki*
Khalid
Stanton
Lungley
Lingham
Sherbourne

Generally, prefer to give players who are in poor form the chance to buy a few wickets/slog a few runs and get themselves into form in the Twenty20 games, and protect the guys who are in good form, because I've tended to find that they only have form to lose in these games when they go for it. Hence Khalid and Solanki down the order.

France got the side off to an absolute flyer, and brought up his 50 off only 26 balls. Him and Pearson struggled to find the boundary though as the field was put back, and what lookoed like could be a 185+ score was reduced by disciplined bowling.

Durham got off to a reasonable start, but never got the big score from someone to carry them near the total. The spinners were successful for Derby, as well as Lingham, whom seems to be a bowler of potential.

 

[vic_orthdox]

24th June - Twenty20 Cup: vs Leicestershire (H)

Pearson was the mainstay this time, but the elevation in scoring rate of last game was never quite seen, and it was cameos throughout as the 150 was just surpassed. Ex-Derby player Paul Havell managed to get a bit of tap.

In reply, Leics were dominant, and two extremely fast paced innings saw them over the line comfortably. Sherbourne was probably the most impressive of the bowlers, even getting a maiden under his belt.

 

[vic_orthdox]

28th June - Twenty20 Cup: vs Yorkshire (A)

Changes: Wilcox in for Khalid. Tom Jefferson gets his first match of the year, in for Lingham.

We got ourselves to what could be a defendable score, although we tried hard to sabotage our own efforts, with three run-outs not making things any easier. Solanki and Wilcox's partnership was important. Hoggard took three wickets in the third over to really put the brakes on things early.

Pryah and Stubbs were the only two to get into double figures for Yorks, but while they were there they looked like taking the game away from Derby. A good spell by Stanton saw them home, with assistance from Sherbourne and Solanki, who continues to do a servicable job as the fifth bowler.

 

[vic_orthdox]

29th June - Twenty20 Cup: vs Lancashire (A)

France was run out for a diamond, first ball of the game! Things didn't get much better, and 20s from Wilcox, Nethercott nor Solanki could prevent a below par total.

Lancs never really stretched themselves in reply, doing only what "they had to do" in reaching the total with 7 balls to spare.

 

[vic_orthdox]

1st July - Twenty20 Cup: vs Nottinghamshire (A)

Changes: Hussey in for Bassano, and moves to opening. France heads down to number 3.

Jacobs got Notts off to a flyer after being sent in, and the rest of the order held that scoring rate. It was Solanki, and the final overs delivered by Lungley and Sherbourne, that stopped the total from being enormous.

We were restricted well in reply, with disciplined bowling not allowing us to ever get close to the total.

 

[vic_orthdox]

4th July - Twenty20 Cup: vs Lancashire (H)

Do I really have to talk about it?

 

[vic_orthdox]

5th July - Twenty20 Cup: vs Leicestershire (A)

Changes: Bassano in for Solanki. Cleary in for Stanton. Khalid in for Wilcox.

A much better batting performance after winning the toss, with Bassano taking over in the middle stages with a crucial 30-odd, in addition to the scores above, when things looked like collapsing quickly.

Playing only four specialist bowlers, Khalid did a good enough job with the ball to ensure that it didn't hurt us too much. Jefferson copped some tap, but Sherbourne and Cleary were impressive. Some later order hitting by Leics sent a few nerves through the system, but in the end a comprehensive victory.

 

[vic_orthdox]

6th July - Twenty20 Cup: vs Nottinghamshire

After a few early wickets, the Bassano and Nethercott partnership was rather fruitful. This got us up to a pretty defendable total.

Early wickets were important, and Sherbourne was huge, ending up bowling 3 overs for 5, as well as taking wickets.

Also, surprisingly, this last victory snuck us into the knockout stages of the Twenty20 Cup.

 

[vic_orthdox]

8th July - County Championship: vs Gloucestershire (A)

Changes: Dean out for Sherbourne, whom looks to have struck some form.

After winning the toss, Hussey was the catalyst for a pretty good start, from which Nethercott capatalised and scored his maiden hundred. He got good support from Khalid, but the scoring rate combined meant that acceleration was required, with rain predicted throughout the game, and this led to the total being not as large as it could have been.

The bowling was decidedly impressive. Sherbourne struck early, Bridge played his role, while Cleary was consistent. Jones was expensive, but struck twice in an over to turn the game, and his statistics belied his contribution.

Rain was making setting a target difficult, as was good bowling. Khalid battled hard, Nethercott chipped in, and eventually occupying time was as important as making runs, as to set Gloucs an achievable total with enough time to spare to bowl them out.

In the end, it was two sessions plus 70 minutes, although the likelihood of rain was high, for Gloucs to make 297. The game was teetering at tea time, with Bridge's dismissal of Armstrong leaving a bit under 150 for the Gloucs to chase, but rain denied both sides in their quest for victory.