Durham Match Thread 2019

[captaincolly]

Just noticed Pringle is in neither the team at Derby nor at Raby Castle nor of any mention of injury

Seems odd that he played both home and away on the preseason games only to disappear.
Reece who was bowling last night took 11 wickets in 6 games last year but perhaps ominously for us 7 were in one innings v Glamorgan!
Although he might not get the chance to add to his tally if their main bowlers strike early.

[captaincolly]

Cricinfo report mentions helpful bowling conditions & pitch with Derbyshire's choice to bat first a surprising one.
In that case it's a good job Lees lost the toss he shouldn't have had in the first place...unless he thinks the pitch is going to get worse! I dread to think how few runs we'll score if it does.
I wonder if all the theories about reading pitches and conditions are overrated? Colly was as experienced and highly regarded a captain as you get and yet he seemed to make some howlers at the toss and now the home captain here seems to have got it wrong.
Although I suppose the correct decision can seem like the wrong one if your batsmen/bowlers don't perform well.

[captaincolly]

A solid start followed by Salisbury and Lees being dismissed. 83/5!

[captaincolly]

And according to Martin Emmerson Less was lbw to a ball that kept low. Sounds ominous.

[captaincolly]

106/6 with Trevaskis in ahead of Raine?!

[westoelad]

106/6 with Trevaskis in ahead of Raine?!

Yes but given that Smith, Richardson and Poytner shouldn't be in the 1st choice team, Harte was out to a brilliant catch and Lees to a grubber perhaps it's not that discouraging.
The fact that Salisbury can last longer than the 1st 3 mentioned tells it all.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Slow going.

[captaincolly]

Slow going.

Clatter of wickets. 1 left and still almost 40 behind so it's going to take a monumental bowling effort. Barring any unlikely last wicket heroics I think we need to bowl Derbyshire out for no more than 120. Wouldn't back this makeshift lineup to chase more than 150 and even that might be beyond them!

[Arthur Crabtree]

Wicket for Salisbury. Handy lead in a low scoring game though.

[captaincolly]

Wicket for Salisbury. Handy lead in a low scoring game though.

Yes. Looks like a losing start now!

[captaincolly]

The batting was expected to struggle but Derbyshire now scoring quite freely which definitely was not in the script.
I thought this fixture might be a handy one to start with given the absentees - wrong again!

[captaincolly]

Tom Lace two runs short of a career best!

[Durhamfootman]

I see the hardly any wickets at 50's bowler picked up a 5 fer... which I imagine will have been a career best

not like us to gift career bests to the opposition

[captaincolly]

I see the hardly any wickets at 50's bowler picked up a 5 fer... which I imagine will have been a career best

not like us to gift career bests to the opposition

2nd best career stats - and only the second 5 wicket haul for him. He took 7 in an innings against Glamorgan last year.

First game of the season ( and maybe we will pull of an unlikely win ) and with a second choice top 3 other than Lees so can't make any rash judgements but I just think that middle order will collapse on a regular basis. It was woeful when Colly was scoring 1000 runs a season and when he had a poor final year the rest of them were even worse than usual. And it hasn't been strengthened, Raine a useful 7/8 but not a frontline batsman - although he probably is in this squad.

[captaincolly]

I see the hardly any wickets at 50's bowler picked up a 5 fer... which I imagine will have been a career best

not like us to gift career bests to the opposition

A half century for Lace and it's a career best ! If they're going to have problems bowling out sides like Derbyshire it does not bode well. Or maybe the pitch has flattened out and they'll have no trouble chasing down whatever target is set. What could possibly go wrong?