This is Derbyshire --
DERBYSHIRE must have had worse days in the LV County Championship – it's just not easy to recall one.
They started it in good shape to press an advantage against Durham at the Riverside and finished it as near to completely out of contention as makes no difference.
The reason behind that was that Derbyshire were bowled out for a pitiful 113 in their first innings and only a bit of devil-may-care batting from the two at the bottom of the batting order saved them from the ignominious position of giving Durham the option of enforcing the follow-on.
How on earth does that happen when you have bowled the opposition out for 253?
Durham had no such problems cashing in on their new-found position of strength and a stand of 168 for the second wicket between Scott Borthwick and Keaton Jennings sent them on their way to 208-2 at the close and a lead of 348.
Game over.
Durham did bowl well in the morning, with Chris Rushworth leading the way in a solid exhibition of accurate seam bowling, aided by a little swing, and the contrast with the success Derbyshire had in the afternoon was inescapable, though it would be harsh to point the finger at the bowlers.
They were back out on the hottest day of the year far earlier than they were entitled to feel they would. They should have had their feet up on the balcony but the batsmen badly let them down.
This was a day for the Derbyshire batsmen to get their collective heads down, graft to parity and beyond and make Durham toil in the heat and they failed completely to get to grips with the task.
Both overnight batsmen were out in the first eight balls of the day – Richard Johnson losing his off stump to Rushworth and Wayne Madsen chasing a Callum Thorp ball down the leg side to give wicketkeeper Phil Mustard a simple catch.
That was 21-3 and four indeterminate prods plus a flashing drive to gully later, it was 69-8. It was an absolute horror show.
To be talking at lunch about whether or not Durham would enforce the follow-on was unthinkable at the start of play. It emerged later the home side would probably not have sent Derbyshire back in for a second go but that was taken out of their hands.
David Wainwright rode his luck at times but was to finish his side's top scorer on 18 not out and, after the interval, Tim Groenewald and Mark Footitt quite sensibly decided they were within their rights to chance their arm.
Groenewald hit 17 before he skied a cut and was caught at cover, then Footitt strode in to nudge, uppercut and drive the first four balls he faced for boundaries before he was bowled by the fifth.
That gave Rushworth final figures of 6-64 and that may be the final action of the match for the burly right-armer if Graham Onions is left out by England today. Rushworth is the man Durham nominated to make way for Onions' possible return.
For Derbyshire, that could be out of the frying pan and into the fire when they come to bat again but, by that time, they may not have a great deal more than respectability to play for.
Groenewald took a wicket in the fourth over when Mark Stoneman was lbw without playing a shot at 22-1 but Borthwick and Jennings took over and ground a rapidly wearying seam attack into the dust.
Finally, Borthwick was lbw to Redfern for 117 but Jennings moved past 50 for the second time in the match and, at 65 not out, is in a great position to make it to three figures this time.
Durham hold all the aces now. Whether or not Onions enters the equation, it is only a matter of time for Derbyshire. Reported by This is 12 hours ago.
DERBYSHIRE must have had worse days in the LV County Championship – it's just not easy to recall one.
They started it in good shape to press an advantage against Durham at the Riverside and finished it as near to completely out of contention as makes no difference.
The reason behind that was that Derbyshire were bowled out for a pitiful 113 in their first innings and only a bit of devil-may-care batting from the two at the bottom of the batting order saved them from the ignominious position of giving Durham the option of enforcing the follow-on.
How on earth does that happen when you have bowled the opposition out for 253?
Durham had no such problems cashing in on their new-found position of strength and a stand of 168 for the second wicket between Scott Borthwick and Keaton Jennings sent them on their way to 208-2 at the close and a lead of 348.
Game over.
Durham did bowl well in the morning, with Chris Rushworth leading the way in a solid exhibition of accurate seam bowling, aided by a little swing, and the contrast with the success Derbyshire had in the afternoon was inescapable, though it would be harsh to point the finger at the bowlers.
They were back out on the hottest day of the year far earlier than they were entitled to feel they would. They should have had their feet up on the balcony but the batsmen badly let them down.
This was a day for the Derbyshire batsmen to get their collective heads down, graft to parity and beyond and make Durham toil in the heat and they failed completely to get to grips with the task.
Both overnight batsmen were out in the first eight balls of the day – Richard Johnson losing his off stump to Rushworth and Wayne Madsen chasing a Callum Thorp ball down the leg side to give wicketkeeper Phil Mustard a simple catch.
That was 21-3 and four indeterminate prods plus a flashing drive to gully later, it was 69-8. It was an absolute horror show.
To be talking at lunch about whether or not Durham would enforce the follow-on was unthinkable at the start of play. It emerged later the home side would probably not have sent Derbyshire back in for a second go but that was taken out of their hands.
David Wainwright rode his luck at times but was to finish his side's top scorer on 18 not out and, after the interval, Tim Groenewald and Mark Footitt quite sensibly decided they were within their rights to chance their arm.
Groenewald hit 17 before he skied a cut and was caught at cover, then Footitt strode in to nudge, uppercut and drive the first four balls he faced for boundaries before he was bowled by the fifth.
That gave Rushworth final figures of 6-64 and that may be the final action of the match for the burly right-armer if Graham Onions is left out by England today. Rushworth is the man Durham nominated to make way for Onions' possible return.
For Derbyshire, that could be out of the frying pan and into the fire when they come to bat again but, by that time, they may not have a great deal more than respectability to play for.
Groenewald took a wicket in the fourth over when Mark Stoneman was lbw without playing a shot at 22-1 but Borthwick and Jennings took over and ground a rapidly wearying seam attack into the dust.
Finally, Borthwick was lbw to Redfern for 117 but Jennings moved past 50 for the second time in the match and, at 65 not out, is in a great position to make it to three figures this time.
Durham hold all the aces now. Whether or not Onions enters the equation, it is only a matter of time for Derbyshire. Reported by This is 12 hours ago.