A Bigger Challenge: Derbyshire County Cricket Club

[MateGaming]

Nice to see your still going with your save Mate, hopefully third time lucky for promotion. How has young Anuj Dal progressed? I see he is still on your staff, In real life he was at Notts academy before moving to Derbyshire.

Hopefully! I'm getting quite into this and can't see myself stopping any time soon.

I've hardly used Dal; he failed to make an appearance last year and played only five games in all competitions in 2019. Has been performing decently for the 2nd XI but unfortunately I'm not convinced he has a future at the club. His contract expires at the end of the season and, as things stand, it seems unlikely he will renew. However, if he impresses between now and then, that could certainly change.

[DaveRobbo]

Always annoying going into the one day campaign on the back of a good Championship win. Hopefully you'll pick up where you left off, there's runs in your team and if LvB, Brown, Gregory start motoring you're in business. Really enjoying following this

Speaking of Gregory though, he's not in my good books this week. Although I think the Kent lads had a bit of a heavy night last night expecting today to be another wash out!

[MateGaming]

Always annoying going into the one day campaign on the back of a good Championship win. Hopefully you'll pick up where you left off, there's runs in your team and if LvB, Brown, Gregory start motoring you're in business. Really enjoying following this

Speaking of Gregory though, he's not in my good books this week. Although I think the Kent lads had a bit of a heavy night last night expecting today to be another wash out!

Yeah, definitely think Championship cricket remains our best bet for now.

As a Hampshire fan, I'm not too fond of Somerset myself after the One Day Final - and of course, the tital race - so was more than disappointed to see that not only were they playing in the first place, but the Kent batsmen had decided they preferred Division Two!

[MateGaming]

14th May 2021: Derbyshire vs Glamorgan
Derbyshire won the toss and elected to bat first.

We well and truly threw all our eggs into one basket with this clash against leaders Glamorgan; praying we'd win the toss, we'd prepared an absolute road and planned to bat through the first two days, and hopefully rip through them when the clouds come out on the final two days. Thankfully, we won the toss!

XI: Luis Reece, Billy Godleman, Luke Wells, Wayne Madsen*, Cameron Delport, Ed Pollock, Steven Davies+, Lewis Gregory, Logan van Beek, Justin Agnew, Pat Brown

Derbyshire 1st: 491 (179.5 overs - Pollock 117, Reece 113, Madsen 87, Davies 78*, Delport 63; vd Gugten 6-143)
Glamorgan 1st: 449 (86.2 overs - Ingram 170, de Lange 89; van Beek 5-127)
Derbyshire 2nd: 207-3d (75 overs - Delport 62*, Wells 58*)
Glamorgan 2nd: 75-0 (29 overs)

Match drawn
Points: Derbyshire 10, Glamorgan 11
MOTM: Colin Ingram (Glamorgan)

My 'master plan' didn't quite come to fruition. In fact, the pitch was so unbelievably flat that the visitors amassed a score not far from ours, in less than half the time, Ingram particularly aggressive and scoring at more than a run a ball. Suddenly, we realised a collapse would leave us strongly on the back foot, so we took the cautious approach and batted for time, leaving us a session to try and bowl them out. However, the pitch was still so dead that the openers got through unscathed and earned a draw, a credible result in the end against the league leaders, which leaves us third in the table, ten points behind Warwickshire in second.

[GrahamB]

The very aggressive batsmen always seem to do well against me - Colin Ingram, Josh Cobb and Ben Stokes come to mind. I'm sure there are a few others too.
Really annoying because they just tear your attack to pieces single-handedly.

[bryce87]

The very aggressive batsmen always seem to do well against me - Colin Ingram, Josh Cobb and Ben Stokes come to mind. I'm sure there are a few others too.
Really annoying because they just tear your attack to pieces single-handedly.

I used to have the same thing happen to me and felt the same way. I have since come up with a simple strategy to counter this.

Before I begin bowling I take a few seconds to scroll through the opposition batting lineup. I then identify these very aggressive batsmen who could potentially take the game away from me. When they get to the wicket I bowl at them on two bars of aggression instead of three. This cuts off their scoring options and funnily enough I have rarely had the problem since! It works just like bowling three bars to a normal player.

[GrahamB]

I used to have the same thing happen to me and felt the same way. I have since come up with a simple strategy to counter this.

Before I begin bowling I take a few seconds to scroll through the opposition batting lineup. I then identify these very aggressive batsmen who could potentially take the game away from me. When they get to the wicket I bowl at them on two bars of aggression instead of three. This cuts off their scoring options and funnily enough I have rarely had the problem since! It works just like bowling three bars to a normal player.

Nice - worth a shot!

[MateGaming]

20th May 2021: Derbyshire vs Hampshire
Hampshire won the toss and elected to bat first.

We are unchanged against my home county, who sit fifth in the league and have England legend Sir Alastair Cook opening the batting.

XI: Luis Reece, Billy Godleman, Luke Wells, Wayne Madsen*, Cameron Delport, Ed Pollock, Steven Davies+, Lewis Gregory, Logan van Beek, Justin Agnew, Pat Brown

Hampshire 1st: 460 (115.1 overs - Vince 85, Dawson 84, Willey 72; Gregory 4-85, van Beek 3-108)
Derbyshire 1st: 434 (189.5 overs - Madsen 130, Reece 118, Gregory 67*; Buller 4-108)
Hampshire 2nd: 209-5d (40.5 overs - Vince 83, Rossouw 49; van Beek 2-42)
Derbyshire 2nd: 94-3 (43 overs - Wells 33)

Match drawn
Points: Derbyshire 8, Hampshire 10
MOTM: Lewis Gregory (Derbyshire)

Another draw on an unconducive pitch, which provided almost nothing for the bowlers throughout. Both teams scored highly in their respective first innings, including a 7-hour long partnership between Reece and Madsen which yielded 257 runs. By the time we had been been bowled out at the start of Day 4, a result was almost out of the question, and after we successfully batted out 43 overs after Hampshire's declaration, the match ended in a draw and we took eight points, dropping into fourth in the table.

[MateGaming]

27th May 2021: Gloucestershire vs Derbyshire
Derbyshire won the toss and elected to bat first.

Bannister replaces Agnew as we take on Gloucestershire, who are currently bottom of Division Two.

XI: Luis Reece, Billy Godleman, Luke Wells, Wayne Madsen*, Cameron Delport, Ed Pollock, Steven Davies+, Lewis Gregory, Logan van Beek, Chris Bannister, Pat Brown

Derbyshire 1st: 204 (62 overs - Davies 57, van Beek 56*; Worrall 4-50)
Gloucestershire 1st: 351 (88.2 overs - Dent 94, Walter 58; van Beek 5-92)
Derbyshire 2nd: 433 (142.1 overs - Reece 112, Gregory 70, Madsen 64; Walter 3-103)
Gloucestershire 2nd: 287-6 (66.2 overs - Higgins 63*; van Beek 3-99)

Gloucestershire won by 4 wickets
Points: Gloucestershire 23, Derbyshire 4
MOTM: Paul Walter (Gloucestershire)

A pathetic performance against the worst team in the division statistically. Our batting in the first innings was woeful, followed by an equally poor bowling performance, LvB aside (once again). We were much better second time around with the bat, with Reece scoring centuries in consecutive matches, but we were terrible again with the ball and conceded a win that should never have happened after setting them a target of just under 300 on a tricky pitch.

This match, for me, underlined the fact that our bowling is still nowhere near up to standard:
Logan van Beek is the only bowler with an average below 30 (30 wickets @ 24.00). Pat Brown has the next highest tally, with 16, but at a cost of 40 runs per wicket, and a rate of upwards of 4 an over. Agnew and Gregory also have poor economies, as does the backup seamer Reece. Our bowler with the lowest economy, Chris Bannister, only has four wickets at nearly fifty. This poses a massive problem, because, not only do we not take enough wickets (still), we concede runs at fast rates, allowing teams to push on and bat us out of the game. Our batting has generally improved over the last two years, but the loss of Palladino has really hurt us and we've been unable to replace him successfully.

[GrahamB]

How are you placed on the points table?

[MateGaming]

How are you placed on the points table?

We are currently fifth, but having played an extra game than all the teams immediately around us, and already 21 points away from promotion. It will take some effort to achieve promotion this year, so I'm desperately hoping it comes soon!

[MateGaming]

10th June 2021: Derbyshire vs Warwickshire
Warwickshire elected to bat.

We entered this game against leaders Warwickshire with the bad news that Gregory has broken his finger and will be out for five weeks. Copperfield has been called up the England ODI squad (to be fair, he does average 51 in the format) but we shouldn't be without his services for too long.

XI: Luis Reece, Billy Godleman, Luke Wells, Wayne Madsen*, Cameron Delport, Ed Pollock, Steven Davies+, Logan van Beek, Chris Bannister, Hamidullah Qadri, Pat Brown

Warwickshire 1st: 142 (47.4 overs - Burgess 32; van Beek 5-39, Brown 4-33)
Derbyshire 1st: 420 (136.5 overs - Reece 138rtd, Wells 89; Topley 4-104)
Warwickshire 2nd: 234 (85.3 overs - Hain 54, Sibley 51; Qadri 6-80, Brown 4-37)

Derbyshire won by an innings and 44 runs
Points: Derbyshire 22, Warwickshire 1
MOTM: Pat Brown (Derbyshire)

What a performance and a stunning win! After recent results, we decided that a bowler-friendly pitch was the way to go, and van Beek (who else?) exploited it to great advantage, taking yet another five-wicket haul, his fourth of the season and his nineteenth in total for Derbyshire. There was also a welcome return to form for Brown, who has struggled of late. We then punished the visitors with the bat, the two substantial opening partnerships were a real highlight, with Reece force to retire hurt after an impressive 138 (his fourth Championship hundred of the season, to go with two fifties). With the ball, we were just as destructive, but Qadri starred, taking career-best figures, as Brown picked up another four wickets to take his season tally to 27 scalps. A thoroughly convincing win at an important time, which reduces the gap between us and now second-placed Warwickshire to 22 points.

[MateGaming]

17th June 2021: Derbyshire vs Essex
Essex elected to bat.

With Reece out for three weeks, he is replaced by Hughes, who will bat at three in an attempt to not disrupt the batting lineup too much. Derbyshire are otherwise unchanged against Essex, who sit one place below them in the table.

XI: Luke Wells, Billy Godleman, Alex Hughes, Wayne Madsen*, Cameron Delport, Ed Pollock, Steven Davies+, Logan van Beek, Chris Bannister, Hamidullah Qadri, Pat Brown

Essex 1st: 185 (69.1 overs - Lawrence 64; van Beek 7-49)
Derbyshire 1st: 332 (108 overs - Delport 78, Pollock 70, Davies 55, Hughes 52; Porter 4-98)
Essex 2nd: 321 (93.2 overs - Browne 106, Lawrence 62; van Beek 5-87, Hughes 2-27)
Derbyshire 2nd: 175-4 (66 overs - Godleman 42, Delport 41*; S Cook 3-35)

Derbyshire won by 6 wickets
Points: Essex 3, Derbyshire 22
MOTM: Logan van Beek (Derbyshire)

Another very impressive victory against a strong side. We bowled brilliantly first innings (mainly LvB, obviously) to dismiss them cheaply, before contributions all the way through the order gave us a massive lead again. Essex did a better job second time around, with both Browne and Lawrence impressing, though van Beek still managed to get another five-wicket haul. A target that may have been tricky was made easier by the calmness of Godleman at the top of the order, as we move up to third; however, Warwickshire and Hampshire both have a game in hand. Warwickshire went on to lose this game, but Hampshire won; this puts us in fourth, just three points behind third, but still eighteen from promotion.

[MateGaming]

30th June 2021: Derbyshire vs Worcestershire
Worcestershire elected to bat.

Derbyshire are unchanged, despite the return of Copperfield from England duty, as they face Worcestershire, who have struggled so far and sit seventh in the table.

XI: Luke Wells, Billy Godleman, Alex Hughes, Wayne Madsen*, Cameron Delport, Ed Pollock, Steven Davies+, Logan van Beek, Chris Bannister, Hamidullah Qadri, Pat Brown

Worcestershire 1st: 329 (103.5 overs - Fell 99, Santner 71, Leach 56; van Beek 7-97)
Derbyshire 1st: 204 (72 overs - Wells 73, Pollock 49, van Beek 46*; Pennington 6-62)
Worcestershire 2nd: 146 (38.5 overs - van Beek 5-59, Brown 4-65)
Derbyshire 2nd: 171 (49.3 overs - Pollock 70, Delport 48; Leach 3-32, Bolland 3-50)

Worcestershire won by 100 runs
Points: Derbyshire 4, Worcestershire 20
MOTM: Logan van Beek

After reducing the visitors to 23-4, courtesy of a fantastic hat-trick from LvB, we would be right to be a little disappointed in allowing them to reach above 300 - an eighth-wicket partnership worth 96 causing the most annoyance. Then another hat-trick, this time from Pennington, saw us in a similar position, at 19-4. However, we were unable to form sustainable partnerships and were bowled out for 204. Under cloudy skies, we bowled well to dismiss them cheaply and set up a tricky target. And so it proved, as yet another top order failure saw us in trouble at 41-4, and we never recovered as we were dismissed well short of the target.

[MateGaming]

7th July 2021: Hampshire vs Derbyshire
Hampshire elected to bat.

Reece returns in place of Hughes as we travel to Hampshire, who are second in the table. The pitch is an absolute road and we can expect a high-scoring game.

XI: Luis Reece, Billy Godleman, Luke Wells, Wayne Madsen*, Cameron Delport, Ed Pollock, Steven Davies+, Logan van Beek, Chris Bannister, Hamidullah Qadri, Pat Brown

Hampshire 1st: 275 (75 overs - Northeast 79, Willey 49; Bannister 4-57, Brown 3-68)
Derbyshire 1st: 414 (153.4 overs - Pollock 121, Reece 73, Madsen 64, Wells 62; Willey 3-99)
Hampshire 2nd: 402 (95.2 overs - Northeast 110, Vince 85, Cook 66; Brown 5-85, van Beek 3-129)
Derbyshire 2nd: 189-5 (58 overs - Pollock 48, Reece 46

Match drawn
Points: Hampshire 8, Derbyshire 9
MOTM: Sam Northeast

As expected, the match finished comfortably in a draw; we required around 75 more runs to win, and Hampshire needed five wickets. Another session would have no doubt yielded a result, but the pitch was too flat to provide great entertainment. However, that didn't stop impressive individual performances from Bannister, Brown, Pollock and Reece, as we were impressive in the first innings with both bat and ball. We sit fifth in the table, 21 points from promotion.