Foxes lose t20 opener

Date: Wednesday 02 June 2010

Leicestershire Foxes lost the Friends Provident t20 opener to Derbyshire Falcons despite the best efforts of Andrew McDonald with the bat.

McDonald made a 50-ball 67 as the Foxes went after 166 to win but despite being 38-1 after four overs, the team lost by eleven runs as the Falcons held their nerve.

Derbyshire had earlier made 165-5 from their allocation, which was extremely good going considering they were 27-1 from seven overs after being inserted.

The fine opening work was carried out by Matthew Hoggard and Harry Gurney. Gurney did an outstanding job in restricting the Falcons to just seven runs from his first three overs - he ended with 1-18 from four - and Hoggard was also economical in conceding just 21 from his four.

However, Derbyshire injected impetus when the pair came off and the Foxes couldn't stem the flow once that all-important momentum had been gained.

That left a target that was testing but gettable and although the Foxes got ahead of the rate, losing three wickets within five overs and a fourth in the eight made the chase harder work than it should have been.

McDonald and Paul Nixon (24 from 23) did their best to keep victory hopes alive with a bright 43-run partnership but the Falcons always had their runs safely on the board and their wicket-taking knack proved decisive.

Although Leicestershire were not behind on the over comparison until the end of the 17th over, Derbyshire had ended well. County were never out of it but only ever ahead of the required rate for the innings in the powerplay overs.

Earlier in the day, Hoggard won the toss on his t20 debut and elected to field first. It was a perfect evening for the start of the Friends Provident t20 competition; the sun was shining and there was a healthy crowd enjoying the summer conditions.

It was certainly better than yesterday's miserable Championship washout against Middlesex and the Foxes also gave t20 bows to Will Jefferson, James Benning and McDonald while Brad Hodge made a welcome return to Grace Road.

After the first powerplay, County were very much in the driving seat as Derbyshire struggled to 23 without loss.

Chesney Hughes had scored the majority of those runs by finding the boundary on three occasions while his new teammate Loots Bosman took time to adjust to the new conditions he was embracing.

Bosman is the Falcons' second overseas player and only recently arrived in the country. He usually trailblazes from word go but the bowlers did a fine job in keeping the lid on him in the opening exchanges.

Hoggard put in a good first over with the only boundary coming off Hughes' inside edge and Gurney then sent down a maiden first up. It was a fine beginning from the Foxes and that scrooge-like approach continued.

Hughes cut for four in the third but there was just a wide off Gurney's second over as he continued to bowl exceptionally well. The West Indian drove for four in the sixth as he launched into an off side drive but Gurney's opening three overs had gone for just seven runs.

The Foxes had really turned the screw but Bosman is renowned for his hitting and something was going to have to give at some stage.

Initially the Foxes benefitted from the run drought. McDonald and Sam Cliff came on first change and the Australian made the first breakthrough.

He had Hughes nicely caught by Nixon - who was dinning the gloves for the first time this season - and the Falcons were 27-1 after seven.

However, that wicket did not allow the Foxes to maintain control. In fact the dismissal of their most free-scoring player to that point triggered a reaction and Derbyshire started to impose themselves on proceedings; they went on to add 138 from the remianing 13 overs.

Bosman - who got up to 39 from 37 balls after a difficult start - and captain Greg Smith (30 from 21) got the ball rolling with a 47-run stand in just 4.1 overs.

The key to the batsmen's success was not allowing either spinner to settle. The usually economical Claude Henderson and Hodge went for 46 runs from five overs in the middle period and that put pressure on the Foxes.

The powerful South African twice hit for six in the long on and also struck three fours and it was a relief when Hodge bowled his fellow overseas player in the eleventh over.

That left the score on 73-2 but Smith and Robin Peterson (29 from 20) shared 49 in just 4.5 overs to keep the momentum going. They played some crafty improvised strokes off the slow bowlers - the reverse sweep and lofted drive was in evidence - and also attacked the seamers.

Peterson found the boundary four times in his stay until he holed out to the long on boundary and Hoggard took the catch off the bowling of Cliff.

Still, Smith - who hit two straight maximums - Wes Durston, Chris Rogers and John Sadler continued to be aggressive as Derbyshire finished with gusto.

Each new batsman scored with a strike rate of above 150. Durston made 18 from 11 balls with two fours. Rogers an unbeaten 13 from 8 including an excellent lapped sweep that went for four and Sadler added five from just two balls.

McDonald returned to take Smith's wicket courtesy of a smart stumping and Gurney also came back to pick up a deserved success by claiming Durston. Nevertheless, the batsmen had done well in the closing stages.

It meant the Falcons were able to add 33 from the last three overs and set the Foxes a target that was much higher than they would have wanted to chase after such a good start.

Still, it was well within reach if someone could bat through and others played around the selected anchor. Although McDonald achieved that first objective, the loss of key wickets early in the piece meant it was an uphill task.

Hodge was first to go for five after pulling Tom Lungley straight down Durston's throat at deep backward square leg. The initial reaction was to say 'good shot' aloud but he timed the ball so well that it found the fielder perfectly from the visitors' perspective.

McDonald immediately looked the part with a couple of nice tickles off the pads and a belting drive through cover. A pull also raced away and when Jacques du Toit picked up a massive six over mid-wicket, the Foxes looked as though they'd recovered from the loss of key man Hodge.

Indeed the score was an excellent 38-1 after four to leave a much better looking target of 118 from 16 but the fifth over was a disastrous one as two wickets went.

du Toit was yorked by Steffan Jones after an entertaining nine-ball 15 and Jefferson was run out for the second time in as many innings without scoring.

Jefferson hit into the cover region, called and set off but McDonald wasn't interested. Although Jefferson got to the other end and halfway back by the time the bails had been taken off at his end, it was an unnecessary risk and he had to depart with the score on 41-3.

It was certainly a double whammy but McDonald and Benning took the attack to the bowlers.

Benning deposited off-spinner Durston for four and six but took on one shot too many against the off-spinner. Like Hodge, he picked out deep backward square and the Foxes were four down within the opening eight overs.

The rate wasn't a problem; 64 off 8 demonstrated that. But the team could not afford any further loss and the Falcons took advantage of the necessary period of consolidation by bowling their spinners in tandem.

Peterson was tough to get away and Durston also recovered composure after Benning's aggressiveness against him. In total, their seven overs came at a cost of 48 runs - and 15 of the 26 runs Peterson conceded came off his last.

That was when Nixon had got his eye in and assessed proceedings. A huge six over long on and a fine reverse sweep for four got the board moving again and at 103-4 after 13 overs, the Foxes had got themselves into a winnable position with the partnership building.

The key over was the 14th as Tim Groenewald went for just four runs. That put the pressure back on the batsmen and that demonstrated the advantage of batting first; it only takes one good, tight over to wrestle control back when you're chasing more than eight an over from word go.

Still, it also only takes one good batting over to swing the pendulum and that is the beauty of t20. In this instance, that good bowling over had the desired effect.

With 59 needed off six, the batters had to go some. Unfortunately, the 35-ball stand ended on 43. The pair had to continue to be aggressive and Nixon fell on the reverse sweep when caning Smith staright to Peterson at conventional backward point.

That was a huge wicket from Derbyshire's persepective and they had opened an end up just at the worst time for the Foxes.

James Taylor had no time to get himself in but McDonald was still going great guns. A lofted four over mid-wicket was a handsome stroke and a cut for four bought up an excellent 37-ball fifty.

He had struck seven fours in the process and his eight came immediately after with another exquisitely executed cut shot.

Taylor was busy alongside him but lost his wicket in an unfortunate manner. The batsman got down to sweep and was bowled off his pads and with the score on 131-6 at the end of the 17th, all eyes were now on McDonald.

Henderson was yorked by Jones and with just five coming off the third-last, 30 were now required from the last two.

Captain Hoggard had not given up and a great shot over mid-wicket for six kept victory hopes alive. Eighteen were needed off the last and McDonald needed to reproduce Mike Hussey's heroics against Pakistan in the t20 World Cup if the Foxes were to get home.

After getting four runs from the first three balls, he fell after a brave effort in getting his side home. Rogers took a comfortable catch at long on off Jones - who finished with fine figures of 3-20 from his allocation - and the game was up.

* Picture courtesy of Peter Short; www.designandpublish.co.uk