Match Reports

Derbyshire v Gloucestershire

Day 4

Billy Godleman staged a one-man road block to halt Gloucestershire’s victory charge and steer Derbyshire to a draw on the final day of the LV County championship Division Two match at Derby.

The opener dug in for 320 minutes to score an unbeaten 64 from 228 balls after Derbyshire’s hopes of chasing down a target of 302 from a minimum of 80 overs were dashed by three wickets from David Payne which reduced the home side to 63 for 4.

Derbyshire went into the last hour with only three wickets intact but Tony Palladino joined Godleman to survive 15 overs as the home side reached safety at 189 for 8.

After all of day three had been lost, it was clear some negotiations were needed if there was to be a positive result and Derbyshire’s declaration on their overnight total of 77 for 2 showed both sides were prepared to open the game up.

Gloucestershire increased a lead of 252 with Chris Dent and Will Tavare adding 49 in 14 overs before the day’s second declaration but Derbyshire were knocked back from the start by an excellent opening spell from David Payne.

Running in from the City End, Payne struck with his second ball which trapped Ben Slater lbw and Derbyshire lost Chesney Hughes five overs later when he got a leading edge to cover trying to work Craig Miles through midwicket.

When Tillakaratne Dilshan played over a full length ball from Payne, Derbyshire were 35 for 3 and Gloucestershire’s hopes climbed again in the fifth over after lunch when Scott Elstone cut Payne to point.

But Thakor and acting captain Godleman played sensibly through the rest of the afternoon to take their side to 118 for 4 at tea which left Derbyshire to score another 184 from 33 overs.

More realistically Gloucestershire needed six more wickets and they got one of them seven overs into the final session when Thakor went back to Jack Taylor and was lbw.

It was now a question of whether Derbyshire could hold out but they lost another wicket five overs later when Harvey Hosein was bowled by a full length ball from Liam Norwell.

After Matt Critchley edged a drive into his stumps, Gloucestershire went into the last hour needing three more wickets from 16 overs but Godleman was the one they wanted and he stood resolutely in their path as he completed his fifty after four-and-a-half hours in the middle.

Palladino also played his part, batting for 55 minutes until he played on to Taylor but although Gloucestershire claimed the new ball for the last over, they could not remove Godleman who faced 194 dot balls to earn his side an eight point draw.

Gloucestershire captain Geraint Jones said: “We took some early wickets and there was only one team pushing for the win but full credit to my boys because right to the end we gave it everything we could.”

Day 3

Derbyshire’s ground staff were cleared of any blame after the third day of the LV County Championship Division Two match between Derbyshire and Gloucestershire was abandoned without a ball bowled.

High winds on Monday night had torn a section of the covers allowing water to saturate a small area where the bowlers feet land and make it too dangerous for the game to resume.

Umpires Tim Robinson and Steve Garrett hoped the area would dry out in the sun and wind but after a fourth inspection at 3.15pm, they decided it was still unfit for play

Both Derbyshire and Gloucestershire backed the decision to call the game off for the day and the teams will now hope for decent weather on Wednesday to try and force a result.

Derbyshire’s Elite Performance Director Graeme Welch said: “There was a severe weather warning issued for overnight on Monday and when we got to the ground this morning,  it wasn’t fit for play.

“We had a similar problem at Cardiff earlier in the season and that was on a smaller area. This one is where the bowlers feet are landing and, put it this way, if my bowlers had been due to run in I wouldn’t have wanted them to bowl on that, it’s quite dangerous.”

Gloucestershire Head Coach Richard Dawson agreed with Welch’s assessment. “It’s one of those situations where it’s no one’s fault, there was howling wind and rain and you can’t do anything about it. The covers had got blown about with the power of the wind and the footholds were just mud.

“There was nothing the ground staff could have done, they tried their best today so hats off to them but that’s the English weather, who would have thought it was June!”

Gloucestershire were in a good position to put Derbyshire under pressure and Dawson added:  “It’s frustrating because I think we’ve bowled well and it would have been interesting if we could have got a full day in but we will have a crack and see if we can get a victory tomorrow.“

The match situation is that Derbyshire are still 252 runs behind on 77 for 2 in reply to Gloucestershire’s first innings 329.

Day 2

Jack Taylor lit up an otherwise cheerless day with his maiden first-class century to give Gloucestershire the upper hand over Derbyshire in the LV County Championship Division Two match at Derby.

Taylor made 120 from 139 balls to take Gloucestershire to 329 and Derbyshire closed day two on 77 for 2, 252 behind, when rain prevented any play after tea.

Mark Footitt took three of the four Gloucestershire wickets to fall to finish with 4 for 60 while Tom Taylor ended his namesake’s excellent innings to record figures of 4 for 89.

Michael Klinger had started the day seven short of a century but he fell to the sixth ball of the morning when he edged Footitt into the gloves of Harvey Hosein.

Craig Miles went in his next over, also caught behind as he tried to take his bat away from another rapid delivery to leave Gloucestershire on 255 for 8 but Taylor again counter-attacked well, driving Tony Palladino over the top to pass his previous highest score of 63 and then pulling the seamer for six.

After a brief interruption for bad light, Taylor and David Payne continued to frustrate Derbyshire with Taylor launching Tillakaratne Dilshan for six before the new ball was taken.

Taylor reached his hundred off 122 balls before another short stoppage for rain and the ninth wicket pair took their stand to 74 before Taylor sliced a drive to third man.

“It was important we got more than 300 and after Klinger was out it needed a mature innings,” Gloucestershire captain Geraint Jones said. “Jack batted in a mature way with controlled aggression.

“Credit to David Payne for sticking with him and also credit to the bowlers for bowling tightly throughout.”

Footitt had Liam Norwell caught behind in the next over following Taylor’s departure without scoring and batting became increasingly difficult when Derbyshire replied in gloomy conditions.

Even with the floodlights on, the umpires took the players off for a third time before Ben Slater was taken low down at second slip off Norwell for 17.

Chesney Hughes was missed by Geraint Jones at first slip on five but added only four before he edged a defensive push at Benny Howell and although Dilshan started by pulling Norwell for six, Godleman went 48 minutes without scoring a run.

Both were grateful to get to tea but the rain set in during the interval and it was no surprise when play was abandoned shortly before 5pm.

 

Day 1

Michael Klinger eased the painful memory of his last game at Derby by rescuing Gloucestershire on a rain-shortened opening day of the LV County Championship Division Two game against Derbyshire.

The 34-year-old Australian had his left arm broken by a ball from Mark Footitt in a one-day match at the 3aaa County Ground in August but he marked his first championship appearance of the season with an unbeaten 93 to steer Gloucestershire to 251 for 6 at the close.

Tom Taylor took 3 for 64 and Tony Palladino celebrated his 300th first-class wicket to reduce Gloucestershire to 159 for 6 but Jack Taylor made an unbeaten 58 in an unbroken stand of 92 with Klinger.

Mark Footitt quickly justified Derbyshire’s decision to put Gloucestershire in after play finally began just before 2pm  by claiming his 200th championship wicket when he deceived Chris Dent who was lbw offering no shot.

Will Tavare fell to a stunning one handed catch low down by Billy Godleman at square leg to give Taylor his first wicket but the young seamer could easily have had more as he repeatedly beat the bat in his first spell from the Racecourse End.

Derbyshire should have removed Klinger when he top-edged a pull on 21 but Palladino lost the ball in the sun as he ran in from long leg and the home side were made to pay for that as the Australian played with increasing confidence on his first championship appearance of the season.

He drove leg-spinner Matt Critchley back over his head for six to take Gloucestershire past 100 and drove him for another four but the rest of the top order fell away either side of tea.

Gareth Roderick miscued a pull at Palladino to deep square leg in the last over before the interval and Hamish Marshall was caught on the crease by Taylor in the second over of the final session.

Taylor was rewarded for maintaining a full length when he trapped Geraint Jones in front as Gloucestershire lost three wickets for only eight runs in 42 balls to slump to 119 for 5.

The fact that Klinger faced 19 balls after tea for the six runs he needed to get to 50 was an indication of how well Derbyshire bowled and Palladino reached his milestone by holding a return catch when Benny Howell checked a drive.

Derbyshire were well on top at that stage but Taylor counter-attacked impressively, driving and pulling Taylor for three fours in four balls, and taking 12 from a Footitt over.

Taylor reached 50 from 72 balls before stumps and then admitted: “I’d say it’s a pretty  even position. We’re quite happy where we’re at, but there’s still a bit in the pitch and we’ve got to get through the first half-an-hour in the morning and score as many runs as possible.”