Surrey v Derbyshire day 1

Chanderpaul top scored for Derbyshire

It’s hard to know what to make of day one.

On the face of it, we have under-achieved and 219 is at least a hundred short of where we would have hoped to be after winning the toss, especially on a wicket where batting last is expected to be fraught with problems from spin bowling.

We now need to bowl exceptionally well tomorrow to stay in this game, but the way that Derbyshire had to graft for runs today suggested that it wouldn’t be getting easier as the game goes on. Surrey will, of course, hope that the experience of the likes of Solanki, de Bruyn, Davies and especially Amla will put them out of sight before the third innings and much has been made already of the omission of Tony Palladino.

It was a brave decision, for sure. Time will tell if other words are more apposite, but I thought last night that the final choice would be between a seamer and one of the keepers, and so it transpired. Yet Tom Poynton, perhaps the most vulnerable after Richard Johnson’s crucial runs against Middlesex, got the second highest score and got us past a batting bonus point.

No one would suggest the batting looks full of runs with four young players in the top six and we realistically needed either Madsen or Chanderpaul to make a big score. For once the skipper failed, while Shiv battled to top score before falling lbw to one that reportedly pitched outside leg stump.

Can we pull it back? We’ll need early inroads tomorrow and the prompt removal of Amla is essential. Surrey’s batting this season, for all its big names, has been no more reliable than ours and we must aim to apply pressure and take wickets regularly. It isn’t over yet, by a long chalk and the one sure thing about this Derbyshire side is that they will battle.

It wasn’t an especially good day all round. Middlesex seem traumatised by their demise at Derby and have had a horrid experience against Somerset, looking nothing like title challengers. Defeat is almost certain tomorrow and the battle to avoid relegation will run and run.

Let’s just hope that Derbyshire manage to pull away at the finish, like a cricketing Mo Farah.

Finally tonight, there’s been a few comments and e-mails about the absence of Tim Groenewald and Chesney Hughes on paternity leave. As a Derbyshire fan, who wants to see our strongest side out as we approach a crucial point of the season, I can fully sympathise with the view of fans.

Yet, as a father who attended the birth of both of his children (and wouldn’t have missed it for anything), I can see the other side quite clearly too. Derbyshire as a club are an enlightened employer and employee rights – especially those of cricketers – are much different to a few years back.

I would welcome the thoughts of a regular correspondent who is a top employment lawyer though.