Derbyshire suffer 8-wicket defeat against Worcestershire
Derbyshire 136-7
Worcestershire 139-2
Worcestershire won by eight wickets
Put bluntly, we were outclassed and hammered tonight, by a Worcestershire side that looks well-suited to this format. Especially with Moeen Ali in their side and in such sparkling form.
From the reports, it appears that some manic batting cost us any chance of gaining the ascendancy in the powerplay, with wickets going down in each of the first four overs. No side would expect to win from such a start and we didn't. The lower order did well to get a score of respectability on the board, but no one managed the fifty-plus score that might have stretched Worcestershire.
As it happened, it wouldn't have mattered because Moeen Ali came out and put the attack to the sword, having earlier taken three wickets. It is what you hope your international star will do on a rare county appearance and he didn't let them down. By the time he was out, for 65 in the eighth over, the game was effectively finished as a contest, with his side already on 83.
We didn't become world-beaters after last night's win, nor are we hopeless after tonight. Rather we were guilty of some injudicious shot selection and some suicidal running, neither of which, in a fragile batting line-up, are recipes for success.
There is a distance to travel before we can compete in this form of the game, but the biggest challenge isn't necessarily talent, but consistency. The better players produce their best game on a more frequent basis and at this stage we have too many young players who struggle to do that.
A work in progress.