A Bigger Challenge: Derbyshire County Cricket Club

[DaveRobbo]

Just caught up. So unlucky to miss out on promotion, but as you say I think you'd have been happy with a 4th place finish before the season started!

[MateGaming]

Just caught up. So unlucky to miss out on promotion, but as you say I think you'd have been happy with a 4th place finish before the season started!

Certainly would have done. After a poor start to this season it will take some effort to challenge again with only two promotion places this year though.

[MateGaming]

Royal London One Day Cup Review

Results:
19/04/20: Northamptonshire beat Derbyshire by 6 wickets
21/04/20: Nottinghamshire beat Derbyshire by 52 runs
24/04/20: Leicestershire beat Derbyshire by 9 wickets
26/04/20: Yorkshire beat Derbyshire by 24 runs
28/04/20: Derbyshire beat Durham by 2 runs
30/04/20: Warwickshire beat Derbyshire by 4 wickets
02/05/20: Lancashire beat Derbyshire by 8 wickets
06/05/20: Worcestershire beat Derbyshire by 14 runs

Points: 2 / 16
Position: 9 / 9

Top Performers (Batting):
John Copperfield: 8 innings, 473 runs @ 59.13, HS 124, 4x50, 1x100, SR 86.0
Wayne Madsen: 8 innings, 332 runs @ 41.50, HS 155, 2x50, 1x100, SR 98.2
Ed Pollock: 8 innings, 331 runs @ 41.38, HS 113, 1x50, 1x100, SR 107.8

Top Performers (Bowling):
Logan van Beek: 8 matches, 10 wickets @ 38.70, BB 2-41, SR 40.2, economy 5.78
Chris Bannister: 8 matches, 8 wickets @ 49.87, BB 2-41, SR 55.4, economy 5.40

Records
Highest Total: 315 vs Yorkshire, Leeds (career record)
Lowest Total: 203 vs Leicestershire, Leicester
Highest Innings: Wayne Madsen, 155 vs Worcestershire, Derby (career record)
Best Bowling: Luis Reece, 3-43 vs Warwickshire, Derby
Most Runs: John Copperfield, 473
Most Wickets: Logan van Beek, 10

Partnerships:
1st: 47, Ed Pollock & Billy Godleman vs Leicestershire, Leicester
2nd: 97, Billy Godleman & Ed Pollock vs Northamptonshire, Derby (career record)
3rd: 176, John Copperfield & Wayne Madsen vs Worcestershire, Derby (career record)
4th: 76, Ed Pollock & John Copperfield vs Northamptonshire, Derby (career record)
5th: 78, Ed Pollock & John Copperfield vs Durham, Co Durham (career record)
6th: 56*, Luis Reece & Matt Critchley vs Leicestershire, Leicester (career record)
7th: 91, Ed Pollock & Logan van Beek vs Lancashire, Manchester (career record)
8th: 44, Luis Reece & Logan van Beek vs Yorkshire, Leeds (career record)
9th: 23, Logan van Beek & Chris Bannister vs Yorkshire, Leeds (career record)
10th: 31, Hamidullah Qadri & Chris Bannister vs Yorkshire, Leeds

Summary
Another terrible limited overs campaign, although I must take part of the blame as I personally don't believe my signings were good enough this year. Davies underperformed massively, resulting in him being dropped midway through the group stage, and Harmer had almost no effect on proceedings; he was another to sit out the majority of the tournament. Copperfield played nicely throughout, averaging highly and contributing often, but any other general contributors were usually because of one standout innings rather than consistent performances. The bowling was very poor, with only van Beek taking wickets in double figures. Rampaul was injured throughout and so we were significantly weakened, but players such as Harmer and Critchley failed to step up. There are certainly some players with their heads on the metaphorical chopping block as we progress throughout the season.

[MateGaming]

14th May 2020: Derbyshire vs Essex
Essex won the toss and elected to bat first.

Wells is injured so Pollock makes his First Class debut for Derbyshire. Rampaul also returns.

XI: Billy Godleman*, Luis Reece, Wayne Madsen, John Copperfield, Ed Pollock, Alex Hughes, Daryn Smit+, Logan van Beek, Chris Bannister, Simon Harmer, Ravi Rampaul

Essex 1st: 264 (86.1 overs - Browne 73, Lawrence 49; van Beek 6-58)
Derbyshire 1st: 312 (116.5 overs - Harmer 86, Copperfield 55; Snater 4-71)
Essex 2nd: 217 (96.1 overs - Lawrence 104*; van Beek 6-55)
Derbyshire 2nd: 171-6 (63.2 overs - Copperfield 47, Pollock 37*)

Derbyshire won by 4 wickets
Points: Derbyshire 21, Essex 5
MOTM: Logan van Beek (Derbyshire)

We pick up our first Championship win of the season on our return after a disastrous One Day Cup. We bowled well on a good pitch to dismiss them, and then put a decent total on the board, thanks to Harmer's vital 86 after coming in late on Day 1 as a nightwatchman. Copperfield also hit a half-century to give us a lead, before van Beek was again fantastic with the ball; impossibly, he seems to be bowling even better than last season! We made a bit of a meal of chasing the target down but got there in the end to leave us fifth on 28 points.

[MateGaming]

20th May 2020: Derbyshire vs Gloucestershire
Derbyshire won the toss and elected to bat first.

Hughes and Rampaul make way for Hardwick and Qadri after both struggling vs Essex.

XI: Luis Reece, Billy Godleman*, Wayne Madsen, John Copperfield, Ed Pollock, Kevin Hardwick, Daryn Smit+, Logan van Beek, Chris Bannister, Simon Harmer, Hamidullah Qadri

Derbyshire 1st: 297 (103 overs - Madsen 126*, Godleman 78; Brown 5-77)
Gloucestershire 1st: 442 (111.5 overs - Roderick 142, Dent 72, J Taylor 65; van Beek 5-130)
Derbyshire 2nd: 304 (107.2 overs - Reece 121, Bannister 50; Worrall 3-70)
Gloucestershire 2nd: 163-6 (33.5 overs - van Buuren 73*, Hammond 58; Qadri 2-29)

Gloucestershire won by 4 wickets
Points: Derbyshire 5, Gloucestershire 24
MOTM: Gareth Roderick (Gloucestershire)

One of the most frustrating games I have possibly ever played. After being in a commanding position at 169-1, we threw it away in the first innings when we needed to take advantage of the good batting conditions. We then inexplicably allowed Gloucestershire to score at nearly four an over despite passing the bat multiple times, with van Beek once again provided with no support from anyone else. We batted marginally better second time around, but after conceding a massive first innings lead we were never really in the game and Gloucs raced home. We remain in fifth, although Glamorgan and Essex are likely to overtake us once they have played their games in hand.

[MateGaming]

3rd June 2020: Essex vs Derbyshire
Derbyshire won the toss and elected to bat first.

Wells returns to full fitness and replaces Hardwick. Qadri also misses out in place of Rampaul, on a pitch that is not expected to turn much.

XI: Luis Reece, Billy Godleman*, Luke Wells, Wayne Madsen, John Copperfield, Ed Pollock, Daryn Smit+, Logan van Beek, Chris Bannister, Simon Harmer, Ravi Rampaul

Derbyshire 1st: 286 (101.3 overs - Godleman 135, Wells 51; Coles 6-83)
Essex 1st: 380 (90.2 overs - Burton 79, Wheater 54; van Beek 3-81, Harmer 3-82)
Derbyshire 2nd: 234 (99.1 overs - Reece 98*; Porter 5-69)
Essex 2nd: 144-6 (29.4 overs - Bopara 53; Bannister 2-40)

Essex won by 4 wickets
Points: Essex 23, Derbyshire 5
MOTM: Matt Coles (Essex)

Another poor performance; we once again threw away a good position through a middle/lower order collapse, before again leaking runs - Rampaul the main culprit again. Reece aside, we then batted poorly in the second innings, leaving the opener stranded on 98. Despite being reduced to 48-4, Essex recovered and secured an easy win, leaving us bottom of the table.

[MateGaming]

10th June 2020: Lancashire vs Derbyshire
Derbyshire won the toss and elected to bat first.

Rampaul makes way for Hardwick after yet another abysmal performance from the West Indian.

XI: Luis Reece, Billy Godleman*, Luke Wells, Wayne Madsen, John Copperfield, Ed Pollock, Kevin Hardwick, Daryn Smit+, Logan van Beek, Chris Bannister, Simon Harmer

Derbyshire 1st: 194 (67.1 overs - Pollock 73; Coad 5-37)
Lancashire 1st: 215 (56.1 overs - Guest 46, Vilas 40; Bannister 5-66, van Beek 3-82)
Derbyshire 2nd: 297 (114.2 overs - Smit 76, van Beek 55; Bailey 5-72)
Lancashire 2nd: 260 (80.3 overs - Guest 104, Jones 73; van Beek 6-62)

Derbyshire won by 16 runs
Points: Lancashire 4, Derbyshire 19
MOTM: Ed Pollock (Derbyshire)

An absolute thriller! The decision to bat first was a tough one in tricky conditions, though we tried to make use of the short period of time when the sun would be out. Unfortunately, our batsmen didn't get the message and crumbled to 194 all out. However, our bowling was much better and Bannister also recorded his maiden First Class five-wicket haul. We batted better second time around, the eighth-wicket partnership of 124 between Smit and van Beek proving to be match-winning. From 172-1, Lancashire slipped to 260 all out, courtesy of brilliance once again from van Beek, as we snatched victory from the jaws of defeat!

[MateGaming]

24th June 2020: Glamorgan vs Derbyshire
Glamorgan won the toss and elected to bat first.

With Reece returning from a shock England call-up, having scored a total of 12 runs across both innings in a Test Match against the West Indies, we make just one change from the side that beat Lancashire: Critchley replaces Hardwick.

XI: Luis Reece, Billy Godleman*, Luke Wells, Wayne Madsen, John Copperfield, Ed Pollock, Daryn Smit+, Matt Critchley, Logan van Beek, Chris Bannister, Simon Harmer

Glamorgan 1st: 228 (56.1 overs - Ingram 88, Root 57; Critchley 4-27, van Beek 4-57)
Derbyshire 1st: 422 (154.2 overs - Godleman 87, Reece 84, Copperfield 69, Madsen 66; Williams 4-105)
Glamorgan 2nd: 372 (85.3 overs - Patel 145, Ingram 86, Root 74*; van Beek 4-99, Critchley 3-72)
Derbyshire 2nd: 181-4 (75.3 overs - Pollock 77*, Madsen 44*; vd Gugten 4-43)

Derbyshire won by 6 wickets
Points: Glamorgan 2, Derbyshire 21
MOTM: Logan van Beek (Derbyshire)

Another impressive win, against a strong Glamorgan side. We bowled well first innings, Critchley's four wickets coming somewhat as a surprise. Godleman and Reece then put on 180 for the first wicket, putting us in an excellent position, before contributions from the middle order gave us a huge first innings lead. Howver, Patel and Ingram put on a massive partnership of 152 at more than a run a ball, to swing the momentum in Glamorgan's favour. However, once that partnership was broken, we took regular wickets and set ourselves an achievable target, which we eventually chased down late on Day 4, to move us up to sixth in the table, overtaking the Welsh county.

[MateGaming]

30th June 2020: Derbyshire vs Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire won the toss and elected to bat first.

Davies returns to the XI for the first time in around two months as he finally found some form in the 2nd XI. Smit is the player to miss out in his place.

XI: Luis Reece, Billy Godleman*, Luke Wells, Wayne Madsen, John Copperfield, Ed Pollock, Steven Davies+, Matt Critchley, Logan van Beek, Chris Bannister, Simon Harmer

Northamptonshire 1st: 522 (123.4 overs - Keogh 152, Curran 87, Levi 85, Cobb 78; Wells 3-36)
Derbyshire 1st: 426 (158.1 overs - Pollock 110, Madsen 88, Wells 53; Sanderson 4-119)
Northamptonshire 2nd: 188-6d (45.5 overs - Curran 86; van Beek 3-36, Bannister 3-62)
Derbyshire 2nd: 110-3 (57 overs - Reece 38*; Sanderson 3-33)

Match drawn
Points: Derbyshire 9, Northamptonshire 11
MOTM: Rob Keogh (Northamptonshire)

A hard-fought draw on an unresponsive and unhelpful pitch, though we didn't bowl especially well in the first innings. Despite that, Madsen and Pollock added 170 for the fifth wicket, helping us to avoid the follow-on and probably avoid a large defeat. After being set a target of approximately 270 in just over a session, we decided it wasn't worth the chase and therefore shut up shop. We are in fifth, level on points with the teams either side of us, and still only two points of eighth place.

[DaveRobbo]

Looks like you're starting to build up some momentum now. Hopefully keep the wins coming!

[MateGaming]

7th July 2020: Derbyshire vs Durham
Durham won the toss and elected to bat first.

Qadri replaces Critchley on a pitch that is expected to spin; Critchley has not offered enough control in recent matches.

XI: Luis Reece, Billy Godleman*, Luke Wells, Wayne Madsen, John Copperfield, Ed Pollock, Steven Davies+, Logan van Beek, Chris Bannister, Simon Harmer, Hamidullah Qadri

Durham 1st: 390 (106.2 overs - Richardson 99, Harte 93, Morley 81; Reece 3-80, Harmer 3-97)
Derbyshire 1st: 179 (68.1 overs - Salisbury 3-31, Weighell 3-32)
Derbyshire 2nd (f/o): 320 (94.5 overs - Copperfield 101, Pollock 53; Salisbury 6-100)
Durham 2nd: 111-4 (25.1 overs - van Beek 3-44)

Durham won by 6 wickets
Points: Derbyshire 3, Durham 23
MOTM: Matt Salisbury (Durham)

A poor performance. After losing the toss once again, we failed to put them under much pressure, before we capitulated with the bat. Our innings was better second time around, but by then we were well behind in the game and challenging them was always going to be unlikely. Despite an early wicket, a quick partnership put the game beyond reach and they eventually reached their target with plenty of time to spare, returning us to the bottom of the table, although we are level on points with the two teams directly above us.

[MateGaming]

Looks like you're starting to build up some momentum now. Hopefully keep the wins coming!

Things do seem to be improving slightly; hopefully the Durham game was just a fluke!
Having said that, I'm sure the t20s will remove all our momentum like last year

[MateGaming]

13th July 2020: Worcestershire vs Derbyshire
Worcestershire won the toss and elected to bat first.

18-year old fast-medium bowler Agnew has been promoted from the youth team and immediately makes his debut, replacing Harmer.

XI: Luis Reece, Billy Godleman*, Luke Wells, Wayne Madsen, John Copperfield, Ed Pollock, Steven Davies+, Logan van Beek, Chris Bannister, Justin Agnew, Hamidullah Qadri

Worcestershire 1st: 308 (90.2 overs - Fell 51; van Beek 5-72)
Derbyshire 1st: 217 (79.5 overs - Godleman 49rtd, Wells 48; Bolland 3-29)
Worcestershire 2nd: 254 (79.2 overs - Mitchell 77, Ferguson 72; van Beek 5-66, Bannister 4-77)
Derbyshire 2nd: 127 (51.5 overs - Leach 4-24, Pennington 4-28)

Worcestershire won by 218 runs
Points: Worcestershire 22, Derbyshire 4
MOTM: Logan van Beek (Derbyshire)

Another poor performance before the beginning of the Blast. We struggled to make regular inroads into their lineup with an inexperienced attack, before a poor performance with the bat after Godleman was forced to retire hurt. We then relied heavily on the two senior members of our attack, before completely collapsing with the bat and handing Worcestershire a mammoth win.

[MateGaming]

18th August 2020: Gloucestershire vs Derbyshire
Derbyshire won the toss and elected to bat first.

As we near the completion of the Vitality Blast, we have a Championship match wedged in between. Godleman has returned from his injury in time to take part, and Conners' impressive 2nd XI form is rewarded with a First Class debut for Derbyshire. van Beek has received a well-deserved New Zealand call-up to their Test side after another stunning season with Derbyshire.

XI: Luis Reece, Billy Godleman*, Luke Wells, Wayne Madsen, John Copperfield, Ed Pollock, Steven Davies+, Simon Harmer, Chris Bannister, Ravi Rampaul, Sam Conners

Derbyshire 1st: 371 (132 overs - Madsen 141, Davies 100; van Buuren 4-51)
Gloucestershire 1st: 503 (124.5 overs - Dent 127, Higgins 124, Roderick 103; Harmer 5-169)
Derbyshire 2nd: 172 (62 overs - Madsen 45, Copperfield 40)
Gloucestershire 2nd: 41-1 (6.3 overs)

Gloucestershire won by 9 wickets
Points: Gloucestershire 22, Derbyshire 4
MOTM: Graeme van Buuren (Gloucestershire)

Another disappointing result. We batted well first time around, mainly thanks to hundreds from Madsen and Davies; however, our bowling was poor and we allowed them to score far too quickly again, struggling without the experience of van Beek. This was followed by a disastrous second innings collapse, as we set Gloucestershire a measly target of only 41 to win, which they reached with ease. To add to our woes, Bannister also sustained an injury whilst batting which will keep him out of action for two weeks.

[MateGaming]

Vitality Blast Review:

Results:
20/07: Yorkshire beat Derbyshire by 5 wickets
23/07: Derbyshire beat Warwickshire by 9 runs
26/07: Nottinghamshire beat Derbyshire by 76 runs
28/07: Lancashire beat Derbyshire by 12 runs
31/07: Worcestershire beat Derbyshire by 56 runs
02/08: Northamptonshire beat Derbyshire by 7 wickets
09/08: Derbyshire beat Durham by 6 wickets
11/08: Derbyshire beat Yorkshire by 7 wickets
13/08: Worcestershire beat Derbyshire by 58 runs
15/08: Derbyshire beat Leicestershire by 6 wickets
16/08: Derbyshire beat Nottinghamshire by 3 wickets
23/07: Northamptonshire beat Derbyshire by 126 runs
25/08: Leicestershire beat Derbyshire by 34 runs
26/08: Lancashire beat Derbyshire by 8 wickets

Form: LWLLLLWWLWWLLL
Points: 10 / 28
Position: 8 / 9

Top Performers (Batting):
Ed Pollock: 14 innings, 297 runs @ 27.00, HS 73, 2x50, SR 118.8
Wayne Madsen: 14 innings, 247 runs @ 17.64, HS 63, 1x50, SR 122.9
Kevin Hardwick: 11 innings, 245 runs @ 30.63, HS 65, 2x50, SR 120.7
John Copperfield: 14 innings, 224 runs @ 18.67, HS 66*, 1x50, SR 107.2

Top Performers (Bowling):
Logan van Beek: 11 matches, 21 wickets @ 15.29, BB 3-20, economy 7.83, SR 11.7
Adam Milne: 14 matches, 20 wickets @ 21.00, BB 4-29, economy 7.78, SR 16.2
Ravi Rampaul: 14 matches, 14 wickets @ 26.14, BB 4-44, economy 7.52, SR 20.9
Matt Critchley: 14 matches, 12 wickets @ 33.25, BB 2-19, economy 7.69, SR 26.0

Season Records:
Highest Total: 175 vs Durham, Derby (career record)
Lowest Total: 84 vs Worcestershire, Worcester
Highest Innings: Ed Pollock, 73 vs Northamptonshire, Northampton
Best Bowling: Adam Milne, 4-29 vs Durham, Derby
Most Runs: Ed Pollock, 297 (career record)
Most Wickets: Logan van Beek, 21 (all-time record)

Partnerships:
1st: 39, Matt Critchley & Billy Godleman vs Lancashire, Manchester
2nd: 46, Wayne Madsen & Matt Critchley vs Yorkshire, Leeds (career record)
3rd: 57, John Copperfield & Wayne Madsen vs Durham, Derby
4th: 98*, Ed Pollock & John Copperfield vs Yorkshire, Leeds (career record)
5th: 103*, Kevin Hardwick & Ed Pollock vs Leicestershire, Derby (all-time record)
6th: 55, John Copperfield & Matt Critchley vs Lancashire, Derby (career record)
7th: 69, Kevin Hardwick & Logan van Beek vs Nottinghamshire, Nottingham (all-time record)
8th: 28*, Steven Davies & Adam Milne vs Lancashire, Derby
9th: 19, Chris Bannister & Adam Milne vs Nottinghamshire, Derby (career record)
10th: 11, Ravi Rampaul & Logan van Beek vs Lancashire, Derby (career record)

Summary:
Overall, we performed better than in this competition last year, though it wouldn't have taken much to do so in all honesty. Becoming increasingly frustrated, I opted to try and bowl first, utilising our strong attack to try and limit the oppositions' score, which worked on more than one occasion. However, our batting was generally poor throughout and there is still a lot of room for improvement.