da premier bet： Perhaps it was the loss of 23 overs to poor weather on the thirdnight. Perhaps it was the lack of a really good quality spinner. Orperhaps they were just unlucky
da supremo： George Dobell at Wantage Road23-Jul-2011
ScorecardPerhaps it was the loss of 23 overs to poor weather on the thirdnight. Perhaps it was the lack of a really good quality spinner. Orperhaps they were just unlucky; certainly several edges flewtantalisingly close to fielders. But, in the end, Derbyshire had to content themselves with a draw at Northants.The visitors were the better side for a large portion ofthe game, but were unable to finish off a home side that bat deep andfight hard. It was, in many ways, an excellent advert for the benefitsof two division, four-day cricket. The days when sides simply rolledover and died when the pressure mounts are, largely, gone.These are exciting times for Derbyshire. Perhaps, in terms of apromotion challenge, this will prove a year too soon. But they have adeveloping squad of young players – Dan Redfern and Tom Knight areamong the talented youngsters who missed this game – and will surelyonly improve in years to come. The prospect of Mark Turner and MarkFootitt bowling in tandem is mouth-watering. Derbyshire have not beenblessed with such pace bowlers for many years.John Morris is a man with many positive qualities. He has an excellenteye for talent and assembled a gifted squad at Derbyshire. Perhaps,however, he was not the most sympathetic man-manager. His replacement,Kark Krikken, a fellow who shows a bit more carrot and a little lessstick, may well prove better at nurturing the developing team.They have some challenges. Greg Smith and Tim Groenewald are both thesubject of multiple 28-day approaches from other counties andDerbyshire may face an uphill struggle to persuade the high-qualityrole-model cricketer to join them for next season. Paul Collingwoodremains the target; Rob Key, whatever the rumour-mill may suggest, isnot.Earlier in the day, Derbyshire thrashed 97 in 14 overs to set-up theirdeclaration. Whiteley, who looks a fine prospect, scored his final 35runs from just 10 balls, with both he and Smith registering selflesshalf-centuries. It left Northants requiring a most unlikely 358 to winin a minimum of 80 overs.Any chance they had of achieving that was ended by another excellentspell from Turner. His extra pace accounted for both openers before hehad conceded a run which meant that, including his spell that endedthe first innings, he had taken five wickets for no runs in 24 balls.For those who last saw him ball in the CB40 final, it was a remarkableimprovement. Rob White briefly lifted hopes of a run-chase as he plundered 18 offone over but, when he was run out after attempting an insane single,the draw was Northants best hope. Jon Clare accounted for Rob Newton,with a full ball, and Mal Loye, with one that bounced more thanexpected, but O’Brien and Hall ensured there was to be no collapse.Hall, who passed 50 with two successive sixes, occasionally liveddangerously, but the edges either flew through vacant fourth slip, orbounced just in front of the cordon.”It was a bridge too far,” Krikken said afterwards. “But I’m proud ofthe way we’ve played. Turner and Whiteley stuck their hand up in thisgame and we can take great confidence from the way we’ve played. But of course I’m disappointed. If we’d have won we’d have put ourselves right in the mix. But I don’t want us to get ahead of ourselves. We just need to take it ball-by-ball and match-by-match andwe’ll do fine. “We’ve given them a chance to play with freedom. We have a great teamspirit and all the guys are enjoying their team-mates’ success.”In the end, it wasn’t such a bad match for Northants, either. Theystopped the rot after the Championship defeat to Essex and the horridrun of T20 form and showed some character as Niall O’Biren and AndrewHall added an unbroken 106 for the sixth wicket to make the matchsafe.They still remain well-placed in the promotion race. They lead thetable by 18 points, though Middlesex have a game in hand. Moreimportantly, the lead over third-placed Glamorgan is 20 points.In the longer-term, their efforts must be to retain the services ofpromising players such as Jack Brooks. Brooks, who has been one of thebest seamers on the circuit this season, is the subject of interestfrom five other counties, with Yorkshire, Warwickshire and Kent amongthem.Many a young man can have their head turned by the offer of big moneyand the chance to play at a big club. But Brooks is a level-headed fellow. He’s enjoying his cricket at Northants, he’s enjoying the responsibility he has been given and he’senjoying the company of his team-mates. It would be a bit of asurprise if he left.
