It was no real surprise to see Ben Slater make his first century for Derbyshire's first team today, as it is patently obvious that the lad can play.
As Chris says below the previous post, he looks to score at every opportunity, plays the ball on its merits and doesn't over-complicate things. It probably helped him to have Wes Durston in there at the start of his innings, but both he and Alex Hughes did their prospects no harm whatsoever. They will face tougher opposition in the years ahead, but at any one time you can only face the opposition in front of you.
Hughes is another busy cricketer who has a lot to offer. He is a bustling bowler who in the right conditions will cause problems and is a batsman with a good range of strokes. I suspect in time his batting will be his stronger suit and the bowling will be a useful asset, especially in one-day games, but he is a bubbly character with a very good attitude. I think he will go a long way when he gets greater opportunities.
Slater's next goal will be a full contract with the county, but after good runs for Chesterfield and the Seconds this summer, one would hope that this is a formality. With Peter Burgoyne they make up an impressive triumvirate of local talent.
There was less good news for others needing a score. Billy Godleman batted pretty well, but got out before reaching fifty, while Paul Borrington will be disappointed with his early dismissal. So too will Dan Redfern, who is out of sorts right now and some way from the player who made giant strides forward last summer. He is more than capable of coming back, but needs to be prepared to work at his game and reduce the loose shots that are costing him dearly at present. His way of playing, like David Gower a few years back, looks glorious when he is in full flight, but careless when he's not and perhaps a little restraint is needed.
More tomorrow, when we should have had a pretty good day if today was anything to go by.
It was another very encouraging knock from Slater by all accounts and he looks a player of some potential. The same can be said about Hughes who also took full advantage to press his claim for a starting slot. It was good to see Durston reach three figures as this season he has probably been more guilty than most of losing his wicket when seemingly set for a high score..
ReplyDeleteThere was a better innings from Godleman but i'm sure he would have liked to have doubled it at least. It wasn't a good day for Redfern who seems stuck fast in first gear this season. I'm not entirely convinced he made a terrific amount of progress last season. He did on occasions produce a telling innings in the four day games but even when he,s in relatively good form he rarely puts anything like a sequence of scores together. On his day he looks very classy but the lack of many three figure scores behind his name may indicate he has a concentration problem at times and then ends up throwing his wicket away. Evidence to support the theory he often pre meditates his shots can be found in some of the silly ways he gets out in one day games with too many improvised shots. They look great when they come off but if they get you out you end up looking a right burke. Some time at a lower level may do him good and help restore some confidence.
The old football chant " can we play you every week" is very apt for this match. Well done Slater and Durston, but Godleman is really playing with fire at this moment in time as are Redfern and Borrington.
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