Rogers and Smith grind down County

Date: Wednesday 12 August 2009

Day Two Report: Leicestershire 177 (Taylor 45, Jones 4-43) trail Derbyshire 277-2 (Rogers 122*, Smith 74*) by 100 runs at Grace Road.

A grafted century from Derbyshire captain Chris Rogers formed the basis of another good day’s work for his side in the Championship game at Grace Road.

Rogers (122*) shared an unbroken stand of 146 with Greg Smith (74*) and the duo ensured Derbyshire closed with a healthy lead of 100 with eight wickets in the bag and two days left.

Smith added an injection of momentum to proceedings, and although County had kept things tight by conceding just 73 runs from the opening 29 overs of play after a delayed start, Derbyshire almost doubled their score in the final session.

It meant that Derbyshire closed on 277-2, and with play not having started until 2.30pm, the total represented another good day for the visitors.

When the players were able to get out on the field, AJ Harris and Nathan Buck each started with a maiden and caused the unbeaten overnight batsmen Rogers and Garry Park plenty of problems.

The duo were up for the fight though and settled back in at the crease. Park played nice drives through straight mid-wicket and mid-on as the pair took their stand past 50 and the score past 100 in quick succession.

Despite a steady start, the visiting batsmen were not having it all their own way. Rogers chipped a drive off Wayne White just short of Jigar Naik and Park survived a leg-before shout from Claude Henderson.

However, the Australian was still there, playing the anchor role and compiling a half-century based on accumulation rather than boundary hitting. That was shown in the statistics as his 50 came from 149 balls with three fours in the 47th over of the innings.

It was an uncharacteristically attritional knock from the usually free-scoring batsman, but the captain had seen wickets tumble on the first day due to a lack of patience and wasn't prepared to follow suit.

Park was more aggressive, and he struck a straight six off Henderson to move into the 40s. The positive intent was to prove his downfall though as the former Durham man played on to Naik attempting a sweep.

Smith was fortunate to survive first ball as Naik spun one past the outside edge shortly before tea, but he certainly wasn’t going to die wondering after the interval.

Although County had kept a lid on proceedings up to that point, the run rate increased after the break as both men took the attack to the bowlers.

After scoring just three boundaries in the first 62 overs, Rogers struck two through the offside in the 63rd.

Another drive raced to the ropes shortly after and with Smith also pulling four consecutive boundaries, the visitors were moving along swiftly and recorded their first bonus point.

Smith continued to find the boundary with regularity, scoring eight fours in a 73-ball half-century. Rogers was also upping the tempo, but his innings was formed around a tight gameplan which worked to perfection.

Never over-indulgent, the left-hander was happy to bide his time, pick up singles off the spinners with good scampering and put away the bad ball when the opportunity arose.

A well-run two bought up his hundred from 230 balls with seven fours, and he progressed to an unbeaten 122 by stumps.

He offered only one chance throughout, right at the death. Henderson, who had been County’s best bowler on display, found the outside edge but HD Ackerman couldn’t cling onto a sharp chance at slip.

Smith was still there with 74 not out from 112 deliveries, and his eleven boundaries in the final session helped the rate climb to 3.4 by stumps – it was only 2.32 when the second wicket fell.

It means County can expect another tough day at the office tomorrow, but they must not lose heart at the position they find themselves in.

Derbyshire’s display has been based around patience and high-discipline, and if County can match that in the field and with the bat second time around, there is no reason why something can’t be salvaged from the game.