Demolition Derby make their point as Finn Foots it North

London Leprechaun reports on a uninspired day by Middlesex enlivened by a points battle, people watching and including a short travel guide to Derby and some of its local businesses. 

The walk from my hotel to the County ground is distinctly uninspiring, going past the railway line, a printing works being knocked down, a bus depot  apparently with a fragile roof and an industrial estate alongside the A52 before taking you across a huge roundabout.  Let’s hope Middlesex feel rather more stimulated than that walk makes me feel!  Maybe they need to take inspiration from the stand sponsored by the East Midland’s Demolition company and have a demolition Derby!

It’s one of those days that can’t decide if it sunny or cloudy; warm or cool.  And under cloudy skies the day started very well, with smart catches getting rid of Burgoyne and Higginbottom in the first two overs.  Just one wicket and fifteen overs left for maximum bowling points – Derby still below 300.  But Madsen was going on and on in an unruffled way, and Groenewald was in an aggressive mood. Thanks to a mix of daring and lucky shots and some less than clever bowling, Derby not only got to 300 quickly but suddenly it looked like 350 was on and our bowling point was in serious doubt. And the overrate was slipping. It was Derbyshire who were indulging in their own demolition Derby of our bowling.

By the 110^th over, Groenewald had raced to forty plus, they needed just four runs for 350 and that elusive wicket was, well elusive.  Four unthreatening balls in the over yielded the four runs Derby needed, before Rayner got Groenewald to edge to Simpson and the three points were celebrated mightily, including in the stand that had virtually been taken over by Middlesex supporters.

Unfortunately that was not the end of it.  Madsen and Footit decided fun was the way to go, and helped by some wayward bowling, reverse sweeps, pulls over the wicket keepers head and a few flying edges got the score to 385 in just the next four overs before Footit edged a comfortable catch into Rayner’s huge hands. Madsen left gets a standing ovation from the whole ground Rightly so. A real captain’s innings.

 This left not just a big score to try and overcome but an uncomfortable half an hour before lunch. Robson looked comfortable against bowling that for a large part he did not have to play. He eased to his 1000 Championship runs and had scored all of our runs before edging to slip in the last over before lunch. Things did not get better when Denly, after one sweet drive miscued straight to Chanderpaul who had only just moved to a short cover. At 25-2 things did not look good!

 Derby and Footit in particular, then started bowling a line that meant the batsmen hardly had to play the ball. Was this a deliberate ploy to tempt the batsmen? But on the whole, both Morgan and Voges kept themselves restrained and gradually the score got moving and Middlesex began to look steadier. Steady enough to start indulging in Finn watching – he was spotted mid afternoon – on the phone of course.  

And to notice Giles Clarke had arrived.  For why we did not know but I want to talk to him to tell him that Counties should not be allowed to sign any new players towards the back end of the season. Cue checking scores from other games to see how Yorkshire, Somerset and Essex new signings are doing. None of them great, which is sort of pleasing, but Giles Clarke does not come near us. 

 Meanwhile both Voges and Morgan are dropped by Richard Johnson (the one who plays for Derbyshire). The Richard Johnson who played for us is strolling round the boundary with Richard Scott maybe reliving his ten wickets here nearly twenty years ago.

 Then as things are beginning to look nice and stable Morgan is out cutting hard to point where the wonderfully named sub Callum Roderick takes a decent catch.  A promising innings ended carelessly. But Dexter is calm on his birthday, Voges is looking untroubled in the main and we reach a very late tea in reasonable shape.

 Post tea session is not good. Dexter is out playing on to Footit and Simpson could have been out first ball.  We need someone to stay with Voges and allow him to play a Madsen style innings.  Except that he is then out to the first lbw of the match and when Berg seems to leave a straight one alone, Higginbottom has three wicket and Middlesex have hit rock bottom (thanks to Kev for that long distance pun.)

 We are struggling for anything now in this game – even a bonus point. Rayner and Simpson at least have seen us close to 200 with a mix of some classy shots, a few edges and lots of oohs and aahs from Derby who got steadily noisier as the day went on. But there is a huge amount of work to do tomorrow if we are too get anywhere near Derby and get much more of this match. Some demolition of the Derby bowling is needed pronto.