Derbyshire v Yorkshire - Royal London One-Day Cup
Yorkshire 239-6 in 42 overs (Ballance 69) Derbyshire 189-9 in 29 overs, chasing 197 to win (Rutherford 56, Godleman 45)
Yorkshire won by seven runs
I have to say I don't really understand Duckworth/Lewis.
How we came to be chasing only 42 less than what Yorkshire made in 13 overs less when they had an uninterrupted innings, remains a mystery to me. I know it is all about acceleration and what they might have done, but my life's too short to try and fully understand its intricacies and nuances.
That said, Derbyshire made a very good fight of their run chase tonight and, against the best side in the country, made them fight to the end to hold on. That they did was down to experience and know-how, but our young side can be proud of how we battled and took it to the wire.
The bowling again held its own against a good side, one with most of its available big guns included. Maybe we could have made better use of the two spinners, whose eight overs went only for 33, Matt Critchley doing well on his List A debut. Yet no one let us down and as in the game at Taunton yesterday, a young attack did an admirable job.
The batting did likewise. Restored to his best place as an opener, Billy Godleman played a fine knock and Hamish Rutherford, with support from the lower order and especially Tom Poynton, almost took us to what would have been an unlikely win.
When he was caught on the boundary, from the final ball of the penultimate over, the game was up, but it was a very good effort. Brooks, Patterson and Bresnan, experienced campaigners all, held their nerve and we just hadn't enough in the tank to cope.
Again, an experienced finisher in that slot might have made a difference in a narrow finish, something that Graeme Welch will be more aware of than any of us.
Irrespective of the result, it was a game that augurs well for the remainder of the competition. Yes, we were beaten and the churlish will doubtless say that a loss is a loss, irrespective of the margin. I'm not one of them though because that was an excellent effort.
If we replicate those skills and the intensity shown tonight, more wins will come in this competition.