Derbyshire seemed to have kept a fairly straightforward run chase under control and when Madsen was out after 11 overs we had 104 on the board.

Yet in the next four and a half overs we added only 28 runs. I was surprised, because on the dismissal of Madsen, a right hander, I expected Ali, another right hander to come in and keep the bowlers guessing and changing their lines.

Instead du Plooy came in and never got going, his 13 runs taking 15 balls. Having slept on it, but not with the benefit of hindsight, I do question why there was a need for him to travel all the way to Worsley and play in a second team game, just after he had scored 170. He is a good enough player to change formats easily and it would have made more sense for Mitch Wagstaff, who I understand was 12th man, to play in the team. It would also have meant the Derbyshire skipper wasn’t travelling the highways and byways of the country before another lengthy trip to Durham.

While acknowledging a job well done by the second team, perhaps the greater need was for a young player to experience a pressurised situation, rather than playing a high class one. In amateur circles, such a player would be called a ‘ringer’ and I can understand the frustration of those other teams.

I still argue that he was the only contentious selection, but it was unnecessary.

Ali batted well, but was starved of the strike over the last two overs and it cost us. He looked in fine form and while his presence in the middle order as a finisher is the right thing, greater game sense needs to be employed at the other end to give a man of his talent and power as much of the strike as possible.

Earlier I thought we bowled pretty well, the standout yet again being Zaman Khan, whose 4-21 represented high quality, professional bowling. The young Pakistan quick bowler is a class act and I enjoy watching him bowl. Chappell also did well and I enjoyed the change in strategy that we offered in the field, the bowling changes less obvious than recent games.

So it is back to Chesterfield on Sunday. One more run here tonight would have made the prospects for the weekend promising, but I think Derbyshire will look back on this with misgivings and regret.

I know I do. This side should chase down such a target, nine times in ten.