Durham v Derbyshire T20

No real need to labour this one, as the expected defeat materialised. At least there was a little more fight today, which was good to see, but it was ultimately another year of ifs and maybes.

There was a decent spell from Mark Footitt today, but Durham’s powerful batting line-up posted a total that always looked too much for our boys, especially when Chanderpaul and Madsen were removed by Graham Onions.

It was good to see Dan Redfern show a semblance of form again after a tidy bowling spell, while Tom Poynton chipped in with a typically breezy cameo. For me, Poynton is winning the battle of the keepers and is doing well in all facets of the game – keeping, batting and leading the field – and is one of the brighter aspects of the season as it has developed.

A look at the T20 statistics tells its own story. Wes Durston was the only batsman to top 250 runs, though Chanderpaul would have done but for injury.Of the others, only Hughes topped 200, indicative of a malfunctioning batting unit.

The bowling was largely tidy, with only Footitt and Turner (around ten an over each) getting collared. Groenewald took the most wickets, Morkel was the most economical and Alex Hughes finished top of the averages.

We started with a 3-0 record and ended up 4-6. While fully accepting that it is a difficult group and we didn’t have the best of luck with injuries, it is hard to be anything other than disappointed in that.

Back to the drawing board.

But we knew that.