Anyone else get the impression that the Derbyshire juggernaut is gathering pace in the Championship?
This was yet another convincing day that was sadly ruined by an early finish due to rain. Otherwise we could well have been 350 ahead by now and set to challenge them tomorrow, with a full day to take the wickets.
It will be a difficult decision for Luke Sutton even if the rain stays out of it. A draw wouldn't be a problem for either side, though a win for us would be astonishing. Defeat wouldn't be good though, cementing their place at the top of the table, so I suspect that the skipper won't set too easy a target.
Today we did very well, with star turn being Mark Turner. That's something I have waited all season to write and I'm very pleased for the lad, who got a good reward for a sustained and accurate spell of bowling. 5-32 in nearly eighteen overs is great bowling by any standards and Turner fully deserves his day/evening in the sun after a few trials this season. In the DET today he pays tribute to Steffan Jones' work with him and if he is now ready to let rip for the last couple of months of the season it will be a huge asset. With Mark Footitt back in the Seconds, we might just have the seam attack to take us clear of the pack over the last few weeks.
Meanwhile our batting was better in the second innings, with runs for Wayne Madsen and Wes Durston and 260 lead is a fine position against the league leaders. A cloudy day is forecast for tomorrow, hopefully with plenty of humidity. Our opponents won't fancy that at all, the way we're playing.
I genuinely feel that we can mount a promotion challenge on this form. My only hope is that the club can sort out its technology and improve its Twitter feed, which quite honestly is shockingly poor at present. On the first day of the current game there were no updates till 39-5, then nothing after 220-6. There was no acknowledgement or record of Ross Whiteley's ton until the end of day tweet, which even then didn't give the close of play score.
Today? I got nothing until 4.19pm when we were 148-2, then a further three before 5pm when it said that rain had stopped play. No record of how many Northants made, unless your mental arithmetic is a strong suit. The team deserves much better than this - and so do the fans who subscribe to it.
I'd be interested to hear if anyone else is having similar problems. Maybe its my provider, but I don't think so, based on what another couple of people have said to me. I would hope that someone at the match within the club could do something a little more professional than it is at present.
I guess it is another sign of improvement. Not that long ago we'd all have been glad to avoid the score updates...
To be fair, the twitter feed has been decent and up to date at most of the games so far apart from this one. Rain has cost us 100 runs today so expect fireworks in the morning from Smith, Whiteley and Clare. Personally, I think northants are in a false position and i cant see them being promoted. Take Vaas out of their team and they seem very weak. O'Brien is a good keeper/batsmen but apart from that I wouldn't want to take any of their players and put them in our team. Same goes for Gloucstershire as well.
ReplyDeleteFalcon_Ram
The lead is 260. 96 overs are scheduled for the last day. I would like to see us add 100 in around 23 overs tomorrow morning.With the loss of 3 overs in between between innings that would leave Northants chasing 360 in around 70 overs. A tall order at over 5 an over so a Derbyshire victory or the draw would be more likely.
ReplyDeleteNatwest 81
Great performance from Mark Turner - 5 wickets always looked possible with his pace, it was just whether his captain was prepared to leave him on long enough to do it, and I wouldn't have dared it on most of his performances so far. Perhaps there's something about the confidence not to feel he has to take a wicket every ball that has let him settle and use his pace as a shock rather than stock. It's hard to tell from LVCC highlights, but it would be interesting to hear from someone who was there about what's different.
ReplyDeleteAs for tomorrow, given Gloucs win today, a draw isn't going to help much in closing the gap with them, whilst a win puts us a few points behind them. This pushes me towards thinking that we need to take a risk in setting a target. Meanwhile, Northants should see an opportunity to put clear water between themselves and Gloucs and the rest of the chasing pack, and may be prepared to take a risk themselves.
I think this adds up to a relatively early declaration, setting around 330 in 80 overs. Still well above any rate achieved so far, but allows for the possible clatter of early wickets that might otherwise discourage Northants chasing further.
We might lose it, but I think it's worth the risk. Doesn't it feel good though, to be in a position to dictate terms like this?
I ave been saying for a while now that we are a team to beat.We bat throughout the team and our bowlers are as good as any.Not only can we bat but we also have the bowling options,of the 11 taking the field tomorrow ,only Sutts hasn't taken a first class wicket.I also think it is imperative for the club we hang on to the likes of Timmy G.He has matured into a class act and him with Dino are a fearsome pair.
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Donny Scorpion
We have to go flat out to win this game. We need it more than Northants do. We cannot afford to take more than 10 or 12 overs out of the day,paricularly as there may be a few showers about. Notoveryet,s target seems about right to me. Like you say peakfan,we must hold on to any catches. Ten chances must equate to ten wickets.
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