Derbyshire v Gloucestershire day 4
There have been plenty of dogged Derbyshire opening batsmen over the years. Albert Alderman, Charlie Elliott, Ian Hall, Charlie Lee, Alan Hill - they would all have been proud of the application and grit shown by Billy Godleman today.
Without him, we'd have lost, pure and simple. Our batting, without Wayne Madsen and Wes Durston, is inexperienced and brittle in the middle order and you wouldn't catch me putting my beer money on us chasing 300 on a good day right now.
59-3 at lunch, with Dilshan already back in the pavilion, suggested that an early demise may be on the cards, but Godleman and Shiv Thakor did very well between lunch and tea and ensured that we got some draw points at the end of a frustrating game.
It was the sort of effort that one hopes for from a captain and while winning no prizes for flair, it was exactly what we needed in the circumstances. While we look some way off the promotion pace right now, those points may be useful some September.
More from me tomorrow, when I will have a little more time.