Friends Life T20: Derbyshire register a good win over Leicestershire

Leicestershire v Derbyshire – Friends Life T20

Very impressive.

That’s my verdict on Derbyshire today, after what in the end was a comfortable win over Leicestershire Foxes. We’ve now won two away games on the bounce and are top of the group. To be honest, we’ll take that.

It was telling to hear how Albie Morkel‘s experience is being used and Derbyshire’s batting yesterday showed a nous that hasn’t always been a feature of our one-day game. That 85% of teams who have someone batting through the innings go on to win may be common sense, but when a man who has well over 200 such games under his belt tells you these things, as recounted by David Wainwright, you have to listen.

There wasn’t much chance for individual success by Albie yesterday, and the home side’s bowlers did especially well in the last three overs to give him no room to open his arms, but Chesney Hughes and Wes Durston batted beautifully. Hughes looks quicker on his feet than I have seen him and got us off to a flyer with some bruising blows, while Wes took up the mantle once he had been dismissed and continued to accelerate throughout his innings.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul also batted well, and I can recall few players who time the ball as well as the West Indian. Even hitting sixes he seems to put little into it and he really is a joy to watch, whatever the idiosyncracies of his stance. It seemed somewhat incongruous to see a man renowned for his powers of concentration to be reverse-sweeping Shakib, but was all the more impressive for that.

It seemed a decent score, one that gave us a chance at least, but the way that Josh Cobb led off the home side’s reply was breathtaking, even though we all hoped it might not last too long. He took Mark Footitt’s first over apart and it was a brave move by Wayne Madsen to give him a second. Few among the club support might have done, yet Footitt took a key wicket with the aid of a very good catch by Billy Godleman. They’re never easy when you have to backpedal as he did.

When Joe Burns took up his mantle it seemed scarcely possible that Derbyshire could win, yet the advent of spin stymied the innings. David Wainwright held a blinder to dismiss Shakib, then ran through the middle order with a spell of spin that suggested he is back to his best.

He got fine support from Dan Redfern and it was hard to believe that he had only bowled six balls in the competition before yesterday. If this was genuinely indicative of his bowling talent it gives us good competition for places, especially when Alex Hughes and Ross Whiteley return to fitness.

The fielding held up well throughout and it would be hard to fault how Derbyshire fought their way back into the game, then won it in some style. Perhaps the bowling wasn’t as on the spot as it might have been at the start, but there’s such a fine line between a ball that can be hit and one that is on the spot. It is also hard to bowl at a batsman who is coming hard at you as Cobb did and credit goes to our boys for holding their nerve.

Durston was a good man of the match, though Wainwright ran him close and his catch and wickets turned the game. Nor should a very tidy display by Tom Poynton behind the stumps be overlooked, a focal point of a sharp effort in the field.

Top of the section, though we’ll have a better idea of the side’s potential after this week’s games against Lancashire and Nottinghamshire. You can’t argue just now though.

More of the same this week boys. We all enjoyed that one.