Derbyshire - Rising To The Top

[IGetOutToFullTosses]

The game v Leicestershire's post has not been approved yet, so will give a small recap before our next game.

We won the toss and bowled first under clouds. Luis Reece and Scrimshaw helped us tear through them for just 97. Rutherford was their top scorer with a well-made 40. We lost a few wickets in the chase but never looked in any sort of trouble, and won by 7 wickets with 45 balls remaining.

Vitality Blast Game v Worcestershire

Team - Reece, Came, Madsen (C), du Plooy, Finch, Guest (+), Kerr, Watt, Aitchison, Scrimshaw, Henderson

Cohen is rested with back-to-back games so Henderson comes in to debut in the format.

Toss - Derbyshire win the toss and elect to bowl.

Scrimshaw's knack of taking wickets in the first over continued, this time dismissing Munro first rock. Aitchison followed him up with a wicket of his own, and we had them on the ropes at 12-2. 3 more powerplay wickets had them reeling at 43-5. Henderson came into the attack and got 2 wickets in his first 2 balls, what a start to his T20 career! A fighting 49 run stand between Roderick and Kashif Ali for the 8th wicket helped add some slight respectability to their score, but 114 is not a very defendable total. Hayden Kerr may have only got 1 scalp, but bowled 17 dot balls in his 4 over spell, ending with an outstanding 1-7.

Their bowlers gave themselves a small sniff, with two early wickets but Came and du Plooy made a handy 30 run stand to just about put them out of it. But we lost Came and then Finch next over, leaving us a tricky 46 runs required with 8 overs left. They kept coming, making us need 29 from 18 but Hayden Kerr played with a cool head to guide us safely over the line.


Worcestershire 114-9 20ovrs (K Ali 44*, M Ali 22, Scrimshaw 3-20, Henderson 2-16)

Derbyshire 118-8 19.1ovrs (Came 32, Kerr 24*, Leach 3-44, Gibbon 2-12)

Derbyshire win by 2 wickets

A real nailbiter! Our batting continues to struggle but our bowling has been phenomenal. Next up we have a County Championship Game v Middlesex.

[IGetOutToFullTosses]

Vitality Blast Game v Leicestershire

Team - Reece, Came, Madsen (C), du Plooy, Finch, Guest (+), Kerr, Cohen, Watt, Aitchison, Scrimshaw

Harry Came replaces the out of form Godleman, while Aitchison makes his t20 debut, with Lakmal being dropped.

Toss - Derbyshire win the toss and elect to bowl.

Scrimshaw gave us a dream start, picking up 2 wickets in as many balls in the first over. Hill and Rutherford recovered well, getting them to 39 for 2 at the end of the powerplay. Watt's first 2 overs conceded just 4, therefore reducing them to 56 after 10 overs, with the loss of 2 wickets. Aitchison came back into the attack and dismissed Hill for a struggling 26 from 34. From there, they fell apart, being bowled out for a mere 97. The wickets were very much shared, only Cohen not taking a wicket.

With just a small total to chase, Reece and Came looked to just play good cricket shots and not do anything silly. They looked good for a bit but both were dismissed within 2 overs, leaving us at 38 for 2 at the end of the powerplay. Madsen and du Plooy were playing nicely together, but Madsen got caught trying to up the ante. Still, he made a handy 33 from 16. From there, it was clinical from du Plooy and Finch and we won by 7 wickets.


Leicestershire 97-10 18.1ovrs (Rutherford 40, Hill 26, Reece 4-16, Scrimshaw 2-11)

Derbyshire 98-3 12.3 ovrs (Madsen 33, du Plooy 19*, R Ahmed 1-18)

Derbyshire win by 7 wickets

Great bowling from us once again! Our lineup is beginning to form nicely. With that win, we move to 4th on the table!

[IGetOutToFullTosses]

Vitality Blast Game v Northamptonshire

Team - Reece, Godleman, Madsen (C), du Plooy, Finch, Guest (+), Kerr, Cohen, Watt, Lakmal, Scrimshaw

Hayden Kerr comes in for the struggling Cartwright, as Masood is on international duty. Cohen makes his first appearance of the campaign, replacing Nick Potts.

Toss - Northamptonshire win the toss and elect to bowl.

Godleman hits a six second ball of the innings, but is dismissed an over later trying to go big again. Madsen runs Reece out in a huge mix-up, reducing us to 28 for 2. Tom Taylor's economical bowling gives us little opportunities for powerplay boundaries, and we reach 35 for 2 at the end of it. Madsen goes after a struggling 22 from 21, leaving us in a spot of bother. Russell picks up the in form du Plooy for a run a ball 18, with the score 69 for 4. A couple of sixes from Harry Finch swing the momentum back towards us. He reaches his maiden t20 50 from just 33 deliveries, showing plenty of promise. A good last couple of overs from them reduce us to just 148, despite looking like reaching upwards of 165.

After a few good overs for them, Cohen came into the attack and immediately struck, picking up the wicket of Rickelton for 12. Reece picked up Vasconcelos next over, and we were in a good position. Another wicket to Cohen reduced them to 40 for 3 after the powerplay. A decent rebuilding partnership was forming between Thurston and Keogh, ensuring they reached the 10 over mark with 64 runs on the board with the loss of 4 wickets. They went on the attack, adding 46 from the next 4 overs, before Cohen came into the attack and took the massive wicket of Keogh. 2 wickets in the penultimate over for Watt put them in a precarious position, requiring 7 from 6 deliveries. A dot to begin the final over, but a 2 next ball and Scrimshaw was going to have to bowl his heart out to defend this. Unfortunately, it was over next delivery, with Alex Russell hitting a mammoth 6 over mid-wicket.


Derbyshire 148-5 20ovrs (Finch 58*, Guest 36, Russell 2-26)

Northants' 150 for 7 19.3ovrs (Thurston 51, Keogh 41, Cohen 3-35, Watt 2-19)

Northants' win by 3 wickets

We just didn't score enough runs on this pitch. If we could've added an extra 10 or so runs, the result may have been different.

[IGetOutToFullTosses]

Vitality Blast Game v Nottinghamshire

Team - Reece, Godleman, Madsen (C), du Plooy, Cartwright, Finch, Guest (+), Watt, Potts, Lakmal, Scrimshaw

I don't make any changes after a good win over Lancashire

Toss - Nottinghamshire win the toss and elect to bat.

They absolutely tear us apart in the powerplay, scoring 80 runs and losing just one wicket. Watt comes into the attack and strikes immediately, dismissing the dangerous Hales for 22. They reach 117 for 3 at the halfway mark, in a good spot to make a huge total. Cartwright picks up 2 in 2 balls to drag us back into the contest, but the runs keep flowing and we are unable to stop them. We take a few more wickets to restrict them to 221 for 8, but now we will definitely need a massive batting performance to win this game.

Reece and Godleman are both sent back into the hut within the first 3 overs, leaving it up to our middle order. We lose 2 more wickets up until the 10 over mark, but with just 76 on the board we can just about guarantee a loss here. Du Plooy puts up a good fight but we fall 80 runs short in the end.


Nottinghamshire 221-8 20ovrs (Clarke 56, Slater 54, Cartwright 3-35)

Derbyshire 141-8 20ovrs (du Plooy 56, Cartwright 19, Swanepoel 3-26)

Nottinghamshire win by 80 runs

That was quite embarrassing, everyone apart from du Plooy and Cartwright failed miserably. Some changes will need to be made if we are to get back to our winning ways.

[IGetOutToFullTosses]

Vitality Blast Game v Lancashire

Team - Reece, Godleman, Madsen (C), du Plooy, Cartwright, Finch, Guest (+), Watt, Potts, Lakmal, Scrimshaw

Wallis is dropped after making just 12 runs in his 2 innings, with Harry Finch who is in 2ndXI form replacing him at no. 6.

Toss - Lancashire win the toss and elect to bat.

Scrimshaw picks up Jennings and Croft in the first over on consecutive deliveries to give us a dream start, but is unfortunately unable to complete the hat-trick. They end their powerplay on 39 with 3 men back in the sheds already. Salt and Bohannon rebuild the innings slightly with a stand of 40, before Bohannon gets clean bowled by Watt for 20. Salt continues to fight our bowlers but Reece ends his innings on 42 from 39 rocks. Reece then proceeds to take 2 more in the next 2 balls, picking up the first hat-trick of the season for us! Jones and Balderson are able to get them to a respectable 140 allout, but Reece's hat-trick definitely stole the show.

Reece is unable to backup his hat-trick with runs, falling early for just 6. They continue bowling tight lines and restrict us to just 27 for 1 in the powerplay. Lamb picks up the struggling Godleman, and I am beginning to get nervous. Madsen falls in the next over and it isn't looking good for us. Another couple of wickets fall leaving us at 51 for 5 after 10 overs. Du Plooy and Guest rebuild, whittling the required run rate down to just 6.6 from the final 5 overs. They fall in consecutive deliveries, and we needed 7 from the final over to win, with Watt and Potts at the crease. Two wides in the final over from Balderson help us get over the line on the final ball!


Lancashire 140-10 19.3ovrs (Salt 42, Jones 29, Reece 3-18, Scrimshaw 3-27)

Derbyshire 141-7 20ovrs (du Plooy 49, Guest 40, Lamb 2-22)

Derbyshire win by 3 wickets

A great bowling performance from our bowlers was what got us over the line in the end! du Plooy's good form continued which was also nice to see!

[IGetOutToFullTosses]

Vitality Blast Game v Yorkshire

Team - Reece, Godleman, Madsen (C), du Plooy, Cartwright, Wallis, Guest (+), Watt, Potts, Lakmal, Scrimshaw

Once again I go unchanged after 2 great wins.

Toss - Derbyshire win the toss and elect to bowl.

Lyth smashes Scrimshaw for 14 in the first over. They end the powerplay 58-1, losing Lyth for 31 when he was dismissed by Reece. Their onslaught continues, carting everyone I bowl for 4s and 6s. They reach 105-1 at the halfway mark. They continue to slaughter us until a mini collapse slows the run-rate, meaning they were only able to make 187-6.

We lose our openers within 3 deliveries early on, setting us way back. We reach 43-3 after the powerplay, needing a massive partnership to get us back in the game. After losing Cartwright and Wallis in quick succession, du Plooy and Guest stabilise our innings, but we still needed 83 from the last 7. We try our hardest but lose consistent wickets to be bowled out on the last ball for a disappointing 163.


Yorkshire 187-6 20ovrs (Kohler-Cadmore 81, Lyth 31, Scrimshaw 2-33)

Derbyshire 163-10 20ovrs (du Plooy 66*, Guest 17, Thompson 3-25, Bess 3-47)

Yorkshire win by 24 runs

A disappointing loss after starting our campaign with such promise. Next up we have Lancashire, who have won just 1 out of their 3 games so far.

[IGetOutToFullTosses]

Vitality Blast Game v Leicestershire

Team - Reece, Godleman, Madsen (C), du Plooy, Cartwright, Wallis, Guest (+), Watt, Potts, Lakmal, Scrimshaw

I go unchanged after a walloping Warwickshire by 10 wickets.

Toss- Derbyshire win the toss and elect to bowl.

Rutherford makes a cracking start, hitting 24 from just 11 before being dismissed by Lakmal. They end the powerplay 63-3, with Scott Steel unbeaten on 34 from 17. We slowed down the run-rate, forcing them to make mistakes. A fast finish from Ackermann and Naveen Ul-Haq brought their total to a respectable 167-9.

We made a measured start to our innings, scoring 33 from the powerplay for the loss of just Godleman. We reached 75-1 at the halfway stage thanks to Reece's 16 run over off of Bowley. Reece passed 50 soon after, but it was Madsen's 50 from 21 that got us above the run-rate required. We lost a few late wickets but the damage had already been done.


Leicestershire 167-9 20ovrs (Ackermann 47, Steel 45, Watt 2-26, Potts 2-31)

Derbyshire 170-4 18ovrs (Reece 78, Madsen 50, Griffiths 1-15)

Derbyshire win by 6 wickets

Another great chase! Hopefully we can keep it going against a good Yorkshire team next game.

[IGetOutToFullTosses]

Vitality Blast Game v Warwickshire

Team - Reece, Godleman, Madsen (C), du Plooy, Cartwright, Wallis, Guest (+), Watt, Potts, Lakmal, Scrimshaw

I bring in Godleman to partner Reece up top, hoping they can form good partnerships throughout the Blast. Cartwright comes in as an aggressive middle order batter and another bowling option. This will be the t20 debut for both Potts (who is in good 2ndXI form) and Wallis.

Toss - Warwickshire win the toss and elect to bat.

Scrimshaw takes the first wicket of our campaign when he traps Davies in front for 7. They reach 44-1 after the powerplay, looking to build a big score. Watt comes on and takes 2 wickets in his first over. At the halfway stage they were 69-4. We continued to bowl well, restricting them to just 120 allout. All our bowlers apart from Lakmal got a wicket, which was promising.

Godleman and Reece started well, scoring 47 from the powerplay. We reach 90 at the halfway stage without loss. They continued their partnership and chased the total down with ease.


Warwickshire 120-10 19.3ovrs (Stirling 26, Scrimshaw 4-15, Watt 3-23)

Derbyshire 121-0 13.4ovrs (Reece 66*, Godleman 52*)

Derbyshire win by 10 wickets

Another great chase, this time in the shortest format. Our bowling was clinical which allowed our openers to easily chase down a below par score.

[IGetOutToFullTosses]

County Championship Game v Nottinghamshire

Team - Masood, Reece, Madsen (C), du Plooy, Wallis, Hughes, Guest (+), Henderson, Aitchison, Lakmal, Conners

I go unchanged after a spectacular chase v Worcestershire.

Toss - Nottinghamshire win the toss and elect to bat.

This will be a tough game against a good opposition. Conners continues his good form, dismissing Hameed for 29. They reach Tea on Day 1 at 240-4, after a century from Ben Duckett. They continue to bat well until we take the new ball, allowing Aitchison and Lakmal to rip through their lower order, bowling them out for 352.

Reece and Masood walk out on day 2 with a big task on their hands, facing England legend Stuart Broad. Broad gets the better of Reece with the teams score on 35. We end the session at 93-3, struggling to face their class bowlers. Madsen passes fifty just after we lose Wallis to a Swanepoel yorker. I sense trouble when we slump to 222-7, but Guest and Aitchison play well enough to keep us in the game as we were bowled out for 265.

A good start once again from Duckett and Hameed is brought to an abrupt halt as Conners picked up both of them within 3 balls. After that, we take consistent wickets throughout the middle order, (the largest other partnership being just 46) to bowl them out for 233.

They set us 321 for an unlikely win, but we had a 3 sessions and a half to do it in. We end the day on 48-1, having lost Masood 3 balls prior to the end of the day. Madsen departs early on day 4, worrying me. Du Plooy and Reece consolidate, putting on a 102 run stand before Lunch, only for Paterson to trap du Plooy in front. We reach Tea at 260-5, needing just 61 to win. Hughes and Guest reach the target, and we win our 3rd game of the season in emphatic fashion!


Nottinghamshire 352-10 (Duckett 124, Mullaney 61, Aitchison 4-77, Hughes 3-66)

Derbyshire 265-10 (Madsen 64, Masood 41, Broad 4-82)

Nottinghamshire 233-10 (Duckett 52, L. James 43*, Reece 4-49)

Derbyshire 323-10 (Reece 85, Hughes 71*, Paterson 2-83)

Derbyshire win by 5 wickets

Another great chase! Reece won the man of the match for his 4 wickets and match-winning 4th innings knock. Now we have the 20 over trophy which will be interesting.

[IGetOutToFullTosses]

County Championship Game v Worcestershire

Team - Masood, Reece, Madsen (C), du Plooy, Wallis, Hughes, Guest (+), Henderson, Aitchison, Lakmal, Conners

I bring Henderson in after some good 2ndXI form. Despite averaging just 25, Wallis gets another go as once again there is no better option.

Toss - Derbyshire win the toss and elect to bat.

I bat first on a seaming pitch under a lot of sun. Reece's form slump continues as he edged off for 10. Madsen and Masood combine for a 140 run partnership, before Madsen was dismissed the ball before Tea. We end the day on a commanding 303-3, du Plooy and Wallis not out. Wallis reaches his 3rd FC fifty off a mere 55 balls. After 2 quick wickets, Guest and Hughes bat aggressively, trying to push the total even higher before declaring. We push the total up to 447 before being bowled out.

Their openers do a good job before Conners dismisses Libby for an unlucky 49, the score on 73. From there, Conners rips through their top and middle order, taking the first 5 wickets of the innings. They end the day on 205-8, needing a further 93 runs to avoid the follow on. Henderson cleans up the tail, and we enforce the follow-on.

They start well once again, making 90 runs before Conners dismisses Pollock for 42. Ali and Libby destroy our bowling attack, adding 131 together before Lakmal finally breaks through. They end Day 3 58 runs ahead with 7 wickets in hand. We bowl them out for 432. This meant we had approximately a session and a half to score 212.

We reach Tea on Day 4 at 80-2, requiring 132 from the last session. We lose du Plooy for 23 after a yorker from Joe Leach. Madsen passes 50 from just 48 balls! What a knock so far, hopefully he keeps going. We whittle the total down to 49 required from the hour, but lose Wallis for 27 from 19 after he attacked one ball too many. Madsen edges off for 79 from 91, but the main damage had already with us needing 20 from 31 minutes. Guest hits the winning runs and we had scored 212 in just 38.3 overs!


Derbyshire 447-10 (Masood 133, Wallis 59, Tongue 5-136, Leach 4-128)

Worcestershire 226-10 (Libby 49, Barnard 49, Conners 5-61)

Worcestershire (f/o) 432-10 (Libby 125, Ali 82, Conners 5-80)

Derbyshire 212-5 (Madsen 79, Reece 29, Leach 3-59)

Derbyshire win by 5 wickets

What a chase! Masood and Reece set it up and Madsen played well along with the middle order to get the job done. But I think Conners' performance was the best. His 10fa carried our bowlers.

[IGetOutToFullTosses]

County Championship Game v Glamorgan

Team - Masood, Reece, Madsen (C), du Plooy, Wallis, Hughes, Guest (+), Watt, Aitchison, Lakmal, Conners

I go unchanged after a good win against Leicestershire. Hopefully we can play well against Glamorgan, a team I would expect to defeat.

Toss - Glamorgan win the toss and elect to bat.

We pick up a very good 4-79 in the first session, including the massive wicket of Labuschagne for just 6. We take 2 more wickets before a mammoth 158 run partnership between Douthwaite and Salter for the 7th wicket saved Glamorgan and gave them a good total of 312 allout.

It takes us a whopping 6 overs to score our first run due to some good opening bowling from Neser and Hogan. Reece is the first to go and Masood follows suit not long after. We reach 205-5 at the end of Day 2, with Madsen and Guest not out at the crease. Guest is caught a ball after bringing up his 50. Madsen tons up after 224 balls, his 33rd FC century and 1st this season. After a 104 run partnership between Watt and Madsen, wickets tumble ensuring we lead by 28.

We bowl with aggressive fields and they seem to work, before Labuschagne hits 20 off an over from Luis Reece. Labuschagne proceeds to tear our bowling attack up, before Hughes finally dismisses him for 167 from just 215 deliveries. They declare soon after his dismissal, setting us 286 from 2 sessions and a quarter.

I bat for the draw from the outset, but we lose 5 wickets in a session leaving du Plooy and Guest a massive task of surviving the final session. We lose du Plooy and Watt in the first over, just about sealing our fate. But Aitchison and Guest bat together for an hour before Guest is trapped in front by Hogan. From there, we fall apart and lose with a mere 18 minutes left.


Glamorgan 312-10 (Douthwaite 112*, Salter 62, Reece 4-28)

Derbyshire 340-10 (Madsen 164, Guest 50, van der Gugten 5-86)

Glamorgan 314-5 dec (Labuschagne 167, Cooke 54*, Lakmal 3-82)

Derbyshire 126-10 (Masood 20, Neser 4-44, Hogan 3-24)

Glamorgan win by 160 runs

How poor was that 2nd innings performance! Madsen was so good for us, setting us up for a big 2nd innings, except we couldn't capitalise.

[IGetOutToFullTosses]

County Championship Game v Leicestershire (Away)

Team - Masood, Reece, Madsen (C), du Plooy, Wallis, Hughes, Guest (+), Watt, Aitchison, Lakmal, Conners

Cohen gets the axe after going at over 4 so far this season. Our batters get 1 more chance to get into better form, mainly because of the lack of other options.

Toss - Derbyshire win the toss and elect to bat.

I win the toss for the 3rd time in a row which is nice. We don't lose a wicket in the first session, but score a measly 65 runs. The run rate begins to grow after Lunch, but Reece tries a bit too hard and gets dismissed for 61. Masood goes for a well-made 78 in the next session, bringing an out of form du Plooy to the middle. He falls cheaply once again, making me further question his spot in the team. Our middle and lower order does OK to bring us to a decent 308 allout.

Ackermann is their only batter in the Top 6 to score over 30, showing we have improved with the ball. They finish Day 2 on 201-6 thanks to Ackermann's century. I take the new ball early on Day 3 and take the remaining 4 wickets for 47 runs.

Reece goes early but rebuild slightly before Madsen goes with the score on 55. Masood passes yet another half-century, continuing to show his class. du Plooy breaks his form slump with a very good century, but wickets fall around him. We end the day at 266-4, 326 runs ahead. I add a few quick runs on Day 4 before declaring, setting Leicestershire an intimidating 389 for victory.

Lakmal gets the ball rolling early picking up Evans and Ackermann both for 0. We take consistent wickets throughout the second session, leaving Leicestershire reeling at 7-120 at Tea. Watt finishes things off and we win by a massive 235 runs.


Derbyshire 308-10 (Masood 78, Reece 61, Wright 3-83, Davis 3-94)

Leicestershire 248-10 (Ackermann 103, Aitchison 2-36, Conners 2-38)

Derbyshire 328-6 (du Plooy 132*, Masood 84, Mulder 3-79)

Leicestershire 153-10 (Azad 45, Lakmal 4-53, Watt 3-34

Derbyshire win by 235 runs

What a performance that was! Great batting and bowling! Maybe I have found our best XI!

[IGetOutToFullTosses]

County Championship Game v Sussex (Home)

Team - Masood, Reece, Madsen (C), du Plooy, Wallis, Hughes, Guest (+), Watt, Aitchison, Lakmal, Cohen

I drop Finch after a poor start to the season, allowing Hughes to get a go. Henderson also makes way for Watt. Our 3 other bowlers, (Aitchison, Lakmal and Cohen) get another chance to cement their spot in the team after taking just 5 wickets combined last game.

Toss - Derbyshire win the toss and elect to bat.

Reece is clean bowled 4th ball of the match making me question my decision to bat first. We continue to fall apart, losing 5 for 75 in the first session, Madsen and Hughes the only to pass double figures so far. Only Madsen's 63 along with a handy 41 from Aitchison save us from utter humiliation.

They bat decently to reach 4/147, making me nervous that this could be our first loss. Tom Alsop didn't allow us any chances on his way to 111, before Cohen bowled a pearl to dismiss him, only for their lower order to fire and help them reach a commanding score of 390.

From there, our top order faltered, leaving us 4-43 before a 78 run stand between Hughes and Wallis stemmed the flow of wickets. Unfortunately, once again we fell apart and were dismissed for 197.

We clawed our way three runs ahead, meaning they had to bat again. However, Haines and Thomason didn't let us get any inroads and they got home easily.


Derbyshire 196-10 (Madsen 63, Aitchison 41, Garton 4-58)

Sussex 390-10 (Alsop 111, Rizwan 49, Lakmal 3-70, Cohen 3-93)

Derbyshire 197-10 (Wallis 58, Aitchison 43, Robinson 5-42, Finn 3-37)

Sussex 7-0 (Thomason 6*, Haines 1*)

Sussex win by 10 wickets

A 10 wicket defeat, really really disappointing. It could've been an innings defeat if Aitchison had not scored those lower order runs however. du Plooy, Guest and Reece are all underperforming with the bat, while Aitchison and Watt are struggling with the ball. Expect changes for the next match.

[IGetOutToFullTosses]

County Championship Game v Middlesex (Away)

Team - Masood, Reece, Madsen, (C), du Plooy, Finch, Wallis, Guest (+), Henderson, Aitchison, Lakmal, Cohen

I drop Conners after he took just 2 wickets in the university match and was not as effective as I wanted him to be. Henderson gets the nod ahead of Mark Watt who just recovered from a minor injury.

Toss - Derbyshire win the toss and elect to bowl.

I bowl first due to cloud cover in the first 2 sessions. We have a tremendously good first session, taking 5 wickets and conceding a mere 77 runs before Simpson (81) and Andersson (50) form a great partnership of 110, keeping Middlesex in the game. Henderson and Reece clean up the tail and Middlesex were allout for a below-par 250.

Once again, Masood and Reece form a mammoth opening partnership, this time scoring 163 before Masood holed out to mid-on. Reece edged off a ball after bringing up his ton and we had two new batters at the crease. We lost 3-12 in the middle order before a rescuing stand from Wallis and Guest stemmed the flow of wickets. From there, we fell apart and were bowled out for 345.

Their openers put together a partnership of 168 to give the lead back to Middlesex. Unfortunately, our bowlers were unable to capitalise on this, and the lead ballooned to 282 by the end of Day 3, with still 6 wickets in hand. We lost a session and a half straight away on Day 4, and I knew this was going to be a draw. They declared immediately and set us 283 to win.

I batted for the draw and got it, losing 4 wickets in 45 overs.

Middlesex 250-10 (Simpson 81, Andersson 50, Reece 4-39)

Derbyshire 345-10 (Reece 100, Masood 74, Bamber 4-58)

Middlesex 377-4 dec (Malan 99, Stoneman 90*, Henderson 2-80)

Derbyshire 78-4 (Masood 24, Murtagh 1-12)

Match Drawn

A decent result first up. We could've won if our bowling was better in the 2nd innings, but our batting did well.

[IGetOutToFullTosses]

Any suggestions of lineup changes or tactics are welcomed, I haven't played this game for a few months so need all the help I can get!!!