Northamptonshire 156-8 (Gay 47, Zaman 3-26)
Derbyshire 160-4 (Came 43, du Plooy 40*, Madsen 35, Guest 16*)
Derbyshire won by six wickets
With three games in their group to go, Derbyshire ended tonight’s victory over Northamptonshire knowing that they had progress to the knockout stages once again within their grasp.
If they can replicate the efficiency shown against Yorkshire on Sunday and Northamptonshire tonight, they are perfectly capable of beating Lancashire. They then have two remaining games, at home to Leicestershire and then Worcestershire
Realistically they need to win them all, but the way they played tonight again suggested that they are capable of doing so.
Northamptonshire opted to bat and it was far from an easy wicket on which to score quickly. The new look, new strategy Derbyshire attack was keen, with Alex Thomson once again to the forefront with some canny off spin bowling in the Power play overs. He has kept a very tight line and length in the past two games and reaped the dividends, tonight removing the dangerous Vasconcelos in the first over.
The home side battled hard, but never really got away against some keen Derbyshire bowling. I thought we made very good use of the short ball tonight, with some excellent, unplayable bouncers from both Scrimshaw and Khan, while Chappell was again his usual wily self.
Khan continues to impress me. His skills for a bowler of such tender years are quite remarkable and he has done well in almost every game. I like that he bowls the one over at the top, then can pretty much finish at one end in that crucial death period. Three for 26 was a fine return tonight, including two wickets with magnificent yorkers. I hope we can retain his services for next season, because he is a serious talent who I love watching.
The Derbyshire reply was slow to get going and the dismissal of Reece was not unexpected. Ali struck a couple of powerful blows, but the running with Came was a source for concern at that stage of the innings.
When Ali was dismissed, Madsen was quickly into his stride and with Came starting to middle the ball, the run rate increased and victory looked more likely. Wayne was bowled by Willey, who did well for the home side, before Came holed out at mid on, trying to push the rate.
Which brought together the heroes of Sunday, du Plooy and Guest. How nice it is to report that we now have not just one finisher, but two. The skipper was once again wristy brilliance, one flip over the wicket keeper, that could have looked horrific had he missed it, ended up looking inspired. A straight six eased the pressure, not too long after Guest heaved Tye over mid wicket for one of the biggest sixes of the night.
45 were needed from 28 balls when they came together, but they needed only 23, Tom Taylor’s four wides sealing a professional win.
A closing word about Guest. He tends to go under the radar, because we expect him to be good. His wicket keeping maintains a high standard and he does a lot of work in keeping the field on its toes. His bustling presence with the bat at the end is reassuring and we are starting to look a proper side in this format.
Lancashire next. Win that one and we can really start to believe.
Yorkshire may yet face a points deduction, which should be announced next week and there is everything to play for at this stage.
Well done Derbyshire!
