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India Women created history at the MCG on Friday, where their ten-wicket win resulted in their first series victory over Australia Women in any format

The Report by Brydon Coverdale29-Jan-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:06

Anjum: India were always ahead of the par score

India Women created history at the MCG on Friday, where their ten-wicket win resulted in their first bilateral series victory over Australia Women in any format. In a rain-affected T20 contest the Australians reached 8 for 125 from 18 overs, led by captain Meg Lanning with 49, but they failed to take a wicket during the chase and India reached their revised target of 66 with five balls of their allotted 10 overs remaining.India’s bowling was tight and their work in the field was outstanding after Mithali Raj won the toss and sent Australia in. Jhulan Goswami set things off on a fine note by bowling Grace Harris in the first over of the match and she picked up a second wicket when Beth Mooney lofted over the cover fielder Anuja Patil, who ran back with the flight to complete a brilliant catch that left Australia at 2 for 28.Patil’s sharp fielding again came to the fore when she snapped up the ball at short mid-on and threw down the stumps at the non-striker’s end to find Ellyse Perry short attempting a quick single, and Australia were 3 for 33. While Lanning was at the crease Australia still had hope of a competitive score, though, and her 70-run partnership with Jess Jonassen steadied the innings.But the match arguably turned on a piece of great fortune for India when Jonassen drove straight back down the pitch and the ball clipped the fingers of the bowler, Harmanpreet Kaur, and ricocheted back onto the stumps to have Lanning run out for 49 off 39 balls. Jonassen (27) slog-swept a catch to deep midwicket in the same over.The Australians struggled to find the boundary in their remaining overs and the left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad proved hard to get away, and picked up two wickets in an over. India made a fine start to their chase through Raj and Smriti Mandhana and when rain arrived in the eighth over of the chase they were ahead of the D/L target on 0 for 52.The rain eventually relented but only to allow a further 2.1 overs with India needing a further 14 runs on the re-adjusted D/L score. Raj and Mandhana cruised to victory with five balls to spare, Raj finishing on 37 from 32 balls and Mandhana on 22 off 24. India had an unassailable 2-0 lead with one match still to play.

Graeme White took four wickets as Northamptonshire saw off
Gloucestershire to claim their first home win in the Friends Life t20
in almost three years.

28-Jun-2013
ScorecardGraeme White, on loan from Notts, took 4 for 14•PA Photos

Graeme White took four wickets as Northamptonshire saw off
Gloucestershire to claim their first home win in the Friends Life t20
in almost three years.After the weather saw the match reduced to 12 overs-a-side, Northants
batted well in making 124 for 4 with Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer
top-scoring by smashing 39 off 25 balls.Gloucestershire never looked like reaching their target as they collapsed to 83
for 9 with Nottinghamshire loanee Graeme White taking a brilliant 4 for 14
from three overs with Muhammad Azharullah claiming 2 for 23.This was the hosts’ first victory in this competition at Wantage Road since
they defeated Lancashire in July 2010 and it gets this year’s campaign off to a
flyer.Several rain delays meant proceedings eventually began at 8:10pm after the
visitors won the toss and chose to field. Dan Christian then dismissed Richard Levi for 2 in the second over when he chased a wide delivery and was taken by wicketkeeper
Gareth Roderick.Coetzer departed when he chipped Benny Howell to Gloucester captain Michael
Klinger at extra cover before the same bowler castled Cameron White after he had
clubbed 28 off 20 balls. Alex Wakely bludgeoned 36 off only 19 deliveries before
smashing David Payne to Ian Cockbain at long-off with the last ball of the
innings.Chasing 125, Gloucestershire lost Hamish Marshall from the second ball when
he got a leading edge from David Willey to Cameron White at midwicket before Chris Dent dragged Azharullah on to his stumps. The visitors then lost two wickets in consecutive balls in the eighth over, bowled by Graeme White, when Christian picked out Willey at long on. Klinger was taken at long-off by Matthew Spriegel after plundering 27 as the
game slipped away from the Gladiators.Five wickets then tumbled for just three runs as Howell was superbly run
out by Willey at long-on before White caught and bowled Alex Gidman with the very next ball. White then bowled James Fuller before Azharullah repeated the dose
to Cockbain and Gareth Roderick in the penultimate over to compound the
visitors’ misery.

Australia’s cricketers will have “significant concerns” if they are asked to play one-day internationals against Pakistan in the extreme heat of the UAE in August

Brydon Coverdale21-Jun-2012Australia’s cricketers will have “significant concerns” if they are asked to play one-day internationals against Pakistan in the extreme heat of the UAE in August. The format and location of the series has not been officially confirmed, but the UAE is believed to be Pakistan’s favoured venue and the PCB director for international operations, Intikhab Alam, said last week three ODIs and three Twenty20s were likely to be played.But August is one of the hottest months in the UAE; in Dubai, for example, the average daily high temperature during the month is 41.3C. International cricket has never been played in the country in June, July, August or September, and while the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) is open to the idea of its players being asked to play Twenty20s, because the matches could start later and avoid the daytime heat, 50-over games are the major worry.”How wise is it to be going to a region that you know is going to get up to 45-plus at that time of year?” Paul Marsh, the ACA chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo. “That’s extreme heat. It’s also very humid. It’s of significant concern for us at the moment. The health and safety of the players needs to be at the forefront of any decision that is made.”The PCB was believed to have abandoned their plans for a Twenty20-only series, which would have mitigated the weather issue, but Marsh said his understanding was that permission was still being sought from the ICC to stage a six-match T20 series. According to ICC rules, the maximum length of a bilateral T20 series is three games, and while national boards can make proposals for longer series they cannot be played without ICC approval.”The common-sense approach would be that six Twenty20s is going to be better than three of each because of the weather conditions,” Marsh said. “We would rather see them play six Twenty20s if they have to play in the UAE because they could start later and it takes less time. But we have to wait and see what the ICC says.”If the decision is they can’t play six Twenty20s then you’re faced with the question of what do you do? I’m not an expert on heat but we’ll look at it from an occupational health and safety perspective. We have concerns about the health and safety of our players if they were to have to play 50-over games in those conditions.”A possible starting time of 5pm or 5.30pm has been floated for any ODIs played during the series, which would mean the matches could finish after midnight. However, Marsh said the ACA’s preference remained for the series to be composed entirely of T20s.”Five o’clock is still going to be pretty warm,” he said. “At least with a T20 you could start it at eight or nine o’clock and finish at 11 or midnight and then you’d be getting out of the heat of the day. A three-hour game versus an eight-hour game is obviously the issue.”Cricket Australia also has concerns about the weather in the UAE during August. James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said last week that if the UAE was confirmed as Pakistan’s preferred venue the boards would need to do everything possible to reduce the players’ exposure to the extreme heat.”It’s a time of year when it is very hot and humid in the UAE,” Sutherland said last Friday. “It will be hot for our players and it will be hot for their players. We would expect both countries would have concerns about that and would be doing everything they can to minimise that effect.”

Wahab Riaz, debuting for Kent, and Sam Northeast shared an unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 66 in 26 balls to help Kent win their first Friends Life t20 victory with a six-wicket win over Glamorgan

11-Jun-2011
ScorecardWahab Riaz, debuting for Kent, and Sam Northeast shared an unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 66 in 26 balls to help Kent win their first Friends Life t20 victory with a six-wicket win over Glamorgan.After being put in to bat, Glamorgan appeared in control of the contest after posting a more than competitive 154 for five in their 20 overs on a slow Cardiff pitch. Kent looked in some difficulty at 59 for two at the halfway stage, which left them needing 96 off the final 10 overs. But Riaz (32), the Pakistan seamer, and Northeast (33) held their nerve to win the game with two balls to spare.Glamorgan had got off to a rattling start with skipper Alviro Petersen, who was awarded his Glamorgan cap in the interval, and Mark Cosgrove scoring 56 from the opening six overs. Cosgrove looked in prime form as he struck Azhar Mahmood for 15 off the third over of the innings including a six over long-off. Cosgrove followed that up by stroking a straight six off Charl Langeveldt before hitting Riaz for two boundaries in his first over.But Kent fought back well to slow Glamorgan’s run rate, which was helped when Cosgrove was dismissed for 47 from 31 balls after being caught by Robert Key at extra cover off Adam Ball.Glamorgan found themselves struggling for runs against the slower Kent bowlers on a tough pitch. It was left to Petersen, who scored 65 from 56 balls, to try to bat through the innings which he nearly did until he was bowled in the final over.At the start of their reply Kent’s openers Rob Key and Joe Denly found runs hard to come by, making just 37 runs in the opening six overs. And Glamorgan appeared to be heading for their second win when the spinners Robert Croft, who went for just 21 from his four overs, and Dean Cosker tried to strangle the Kent run rate.There were signs that Kent were not going to give up when Darren Stevens hit two sixes off Cosker. When Stevens was caught at long-on off Croft, Kent were reduced to 89 for four in the 15th over.But Riaz was sent up the order and immediately had an impact by taking sixes off Croft and Will Owen. Kent were left with 33 to get off the final three overs but kept their focus as Riaz struck the winning runs.

Andy Flower’s stated determination to rest his key players in a bid to avoid burn-out ahead of this winter’s Ashes and World Cup became apparent when the squad for next week’s first Test against Bangladesh at Lord’s was unveiled on Sunday morning

Cricinfo staff22-May-2010Andy Flower’s stated determination to rest his key players in a bid to avoid burn-out ahead of this winter’s Ashes and World Cup became apparent when the squad for next week’s first Test against Bangladesh at Lord’s was unveiled on Sunday morning. Stuart Broad, the fast bowler with an integral role in all three forms of the game, has been given a break from the front line, while Paul Collingwood – the man who last week lifted the World Twenty20 trophy in Barbados – also gets a rest in order to begin rehabilitation on a long-term shoulder injury.”We were all delighted and extremely proud of the way the Twenty20 squad performed at the ICC World Twenty20; their success is testament to a great deal of hard work,” said national selector Geoff Miller. “The focus now shifts back to the longer form of the game and we look forward to the first npower Test against Bangladesh. We believe we’ve selected an exciting squad and, with Paul Collingwood and Stuart Broad taking no part in this series, the opportunity arises for a number of younger players to make a mark at Test level.”One of those players is Eoin Morgan, who should make his Test debut for England next week after being included in the squad. Morgan, the rising star of England’s limited-overs sides, is a player whose temperament would appear, from his ice-cool approach to one-day run-chases, to be perfectly suited to the cauldron of Test cricket. His first-class record, though, implies a player who hasn’t yet transferred his talents to the long-form game, and he has been a virtual stranger to Championship cricket for the past 12 months. His performances in the Tests will thus be an important marker in his development.”Eoin Morgan has impressed everyone since his inclusion in England’s one-day squad and he now has the opportunity to play a role in the Test team,” explained Miller. “He has always held ambitions of playing across all forms of the game and we believe he has earned his place in this Test squad.”With Andrew Strauss returning to lead the side for the first time since the tour of South Africa in January, and James Anderson also back in the reckoning having sat on the sidelines during the Caribbean tour, England have been presented with a range of options against a Bangladesh side that, to judge from their ineffectual efforts against the Lions in Derby this week, are unlikely to prove the same sort of obstacle that they were in their own conditions in Dhaka and Chittagong in March.Middlesex’s Steven Finn, who made his debut on that tour, also comes in to the side and could play as a third seamer. Finn has been in impressive early-season form with his county, cashing in with 14 wickets in his first Championship outing of the season against Worcestershire. His development came on in leaps and bounds following his last-minute call-up to Bangladesh, and his height and pace could prove essential in Australia this winter.”We were encouraged by Steven Finn’s Test debut in Bangladesh during the winter and he has had a fine start to the domestic season for Middlesex,” said Miller. “He is aware of what is involved at the international level and, along with Ajmal Shahzad, who has also made a bright start to the county season after touring Bangladesh over the winter, offers us a great deal of depth in the bowling ranks.”Eoin Morgan will get a chance to take his limited-overs form into the Test arena•AFP

Despite his important role in the World Twenty20 triumph, Broad’s omission could probably be justified on the grounds of form alone. Of all England’s seamers, he was the one who struggled the most to make headway on Bangladesh’s flat surfaces, and his once-promising batting has gone backwards to such an extent that Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann have both leapt ahead of him in the allrounder stakes.A break could be just the thing to rejuvenate him, and as Miller explained: “There’s a need for Stuart to undertake an intensive strengthening programme ahead of an arduous summer and a busy winter and the next three weeks have been identified as the ideal period for this programme.”Collingwood, however, presents a trickier case to the England management, not least because, as a trophy-winning captain, he is suddenly something of a drawcard for arguably the first time in his career. Furthermore, as a player who has spent most of his Test career with question-marks over his place in the side, he is unlikely to take kindly to the notion of being rested when he is in arguably the best Test form of his career.Flower, however, is nothing if not a pragmatist, and he knows that Collingwood’s dour grit will be invaluable in both the Ashes and the 2011 World Cup this winter, but only if his body is capable of taking the strain of two high-intensity campaigns. For several seasons, he has been dogged by a shoulder problem that is likely to require surgery at some stage in the near future, and though questions will be raised as to why, in that case, he was allowed to play for Delhi in the IPL, the new trophy in the ECB’s cabinet might go some way towards answering that.Bresnan’s big-hearted efforts in Bangladesh were backed up by a display of unexpected nous and talent in the World Twenty20, and he is sure to get a chance to lead the line in a home international, and present his credentials as a long-term Test No. 7. Collingwood’s absence also gives Jonathan Trott an opportunity to prove he’s recovered from the crisis of confidence that gripped him in South Africa.England squad: Andrew Strauss (capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Alastair Cook, Steven Finn, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior (w/k), Ajmal Shahzad, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott.

Australia A lost eight wickets for 24 runs and were eventually bowled out for 72

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Aug-2024India A picked up their first win of their tour of Australia, with a massive 171-run victory in their third one-dayer, in Mackay on Sunday. Legspinner Priya Mishra, playing her first match of the tour, led with a five-wicket haul to bowl Australia A out for 72. Australia, however, won the series 2-1, and had clinched the T20s 3-0.Asked to bat first, India A posted 243 for 9 following Tejal Hasabnis’ 50, Raghvi Bist’s 53 and handy contributions from Sajeevan Sajana and captain Minnu Mani down the order. At 43 for 3, Hasabnis and Bist put on a crucial 104-run stand for the fourth wicket to lift India A to a competitive total. Both hit seven fours each in their innings. For Australia A, fast bowler Maitlan Brown struck three times while Nicola Hancock and offspinner Charli Knott got two wickets each.Australia A’s chase got off to a poor start with fast bowler S Yashasri knocking out opener Knott for a 12-ball 11 in the fourth over. Captain Tahlia McGrath fell in the following over to Meghna Singh when she rattled her stumps. Mishra then weaved a web around the batters to knock them out inside 100.The 20-year-old got a wicket off her first delivery, bowling out Maddy Darke for 22. From 48 for 2, Australia lost their next eight wickets for 24 runs inside 23 overs with Mishra dismissing wicketkeeper Nicole Faltum, Tess Flintoff, Kate Peterson and Hancock. Mishra returned figures of 5 for 14 in her five overs.McGrath conceded that Mishra had some tricks that Australia A weren’t ready for. “Not the way we wanted to finish off the white-ball series,” she said after the game. “Coming in, we were talking about being clinical and walking away 6-0, so pretty disappointed with that. Fresh wicket today, we thought it probably turned a little bit more for the spinners than it did for the first two ODIs.”India batted really well and at one stage we were looking on track for sort of that 300 mark. So we were happy with the way we pulled them back, but yeah, just didn’t show up with the bat. Take nothing away from India, they bowled really well. Quicks up front and then that new leggie [Mishra] had some tricks that we probably weren’t prepared for.”Both sides will meet for the last time in this tour for an unofficial Test from August 22.

He hit a boundary off every delivery to steer Netherlands to a miraculous win

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-20230.1, Holder to van Beek, FOUR runs
What a start for Netherlands! Low full toss fired into off stump from around the wicket. Van Beek sits deep in his crease, gets enough power on his shot and shovels it through deep midwicket for four!0.2, Holder to van Beek, SIX runs
Clears the fence comfortably! Another low full toss outside off stump. Van Beek sits back to give himself enough leverage and absolutely clatters it over the long-on fence!0.3, Holder to van Beek, FOUR runs
Four more! Short and wide outside off stump. Van Beek hops up onto his toes, gets on top of the bounce and smears it past deep midwicket. 14 off the over already!0.4, Holder to van Beek, SIX runs
Clean as a whistle! Right in the slot outside off stump. Van Beek plants his front foot, swings through the line and wallops it over the wide-long-on fence. Such clean ball striking, under such pressure – wow!Looks like the ball has taken so much of a pounding that it needs to be replaced0.5, Holder to van Beek, SIX runs
That is into the trees! Watch that ball sail! Another slot ball outside off stump and van Beek now seems to have gotten into the bowler’s head. Another free swing and it goes miles over the deep-midwicket fence!0.6, Holder to van Beek, FOUR runs
Four to end the Super Over! Short and outside off stump. The ball seems to be ballooning over the batter’s head until… van Beek leaps into the air like a salmon and mousses it past deep midwicket!Phew, 30 runs came off that over. Holder, who has bowled so many overs under pressure, just could not handle van Beek. Edwards did not even have to face a ball and the West Indies will need something truly special to get past the line now.

The tournament will begin on March 26 and run until the end of May

Nagraj Gollapudi24-Feb-2022IPL 2022 will begin on March 26 with the final set to be played on May 29. The schedule was drawn up on Thursday by the IPL Governing Council, who also decided that the league phase of the tournament would be restricted to just two cities: Mumbai and Pune. Four venues – the Wankhede Stadium and Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, the DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, and the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Gahunje, in the outskirts of Pune – will host the league phase featuring 70 matches.As for the playoffs, which will feature four matches, the IPL has decided to keep its venue options open for now. A final decision on that, the Governing Council decided, would be taken later based on the Covid-19 pandemic situation in India in April-May.The Governing Council also decided to keep open the option of allowing crowds to attend the matches, subject to permission from the Maharashtra government.ESPNcricinfo has learned that the IPL will finalise and share the tournament schedule by the first week of March. The IPL this time will be a 10-team tournament with the addition of two new franchises – Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans – last October. At a meeting on January 22, all 10 franchises had unanimously backed the IPL’s first option of conducting the tournament in India.The franchises had also favoured limiting the tournament to just one venue – Mumbai – after the debacle in the 2021 season, which had to be postponed at the halfway stage when the second wave of Covid-19 that was sweeping across India breached the IPL bubble. In an internal review, the IPL concluded that teams travelling between multiple cities had been one cause for positive cases within teams in the first half of the 2021 edition. The tournament resumed in September-October, with the second leg played in the UAE – which had staged the entirety of IPL 2020.As for the format during the league phase, it could not be confirmed whether the IPL will follow the 2011 concept, the first time the tournament featured 10 teams. In the 2011 edition, the 10 teams were split into two loose groups, and the tournament comprised 70 league matches and four play-off games, with all the teams ranked in one composite league table. During the league phase, every team played the same number of league matches, which was 14.Each team played the other four in their group both home and away (eight matches), four of the teams in the other group once each (four matches, either home or away), and the remaining team in the other group twice, both home and away. A random draw decided the composition of the groups as well as who played whom across the groups once and twice.Women’s T20 Challenge likely to return
The Governing Council also backed the idea of bringing back the Women’s T20 Challenge, which last took place in 2020. The format is likely to be same as in the 2020 edition, in which three teams – Supernovas, Velocity and Trailblazers – played a total of four matches including the final. The Women’s T20 Challenge usually takes place during the IPL’s playoffs week. No firm decision has yet been taken on whether the women’s tournament will take place at a separate venue – as in 2020 – from the IPL play-offs.Having begun as a tournament to provide exposure to Indian women players as well as unearthing untapped talent – an example being the India batter Shafali Verma – the T20 challenge has grown significantly. In 2020 the BCCI said the T20 Challenge was “financially independent”, with Jio appointed as the first-ever title sponsor. Despite being played in Sharjah and away from the IPL playoff venues, the 2020 edition of the tournament attracted record viewership.The tournament will still have to wait before it expands to become a fully fledged Women’s IPL, however, with BCCI president Sourav Ganguly saying recently that the board was at the level of “formulation” to launch it in 2023.

International captains voice concerns about players’ mental welfare under lockdown

George Dobell19-Oct-2020Eoin Morgan and Jason Holder have warned that it is “untenable” to expect players to continue to spend extended periods in lockdown as part of cricket’s response to Covid-19.Morgan, the captain of England’s white-balls teams, and Holder, West Indies’ Test captain, are both currently in the UAE for the IPL and have endured long spells in bio-secure bubbles in order to fulfil their obligations as international and franchise players.While both acknowledged their fortune in being able to pursue their careers at a time others were losing their jobs, they did warn that the impact on players’ mental health would result in more of them pulling out of tours as “extreme burnout” became an issue.ALSO READ: England expect South Africa tour go-ahead after quarantine agreement is reachedAnd talking as part of a Chance to Shine event aimed at raising funds for the charity’s Street programme, Morgan called upon spectators not to look down on anyone who felt the need to step away from the game, suggesting living in lockdown was “one of the more challenging times” he had experienced in the sport.”We managed to fulfil all of our international fixtures for the summer,” Morgan said. “That was an unbelievable achievement for the teams that came across and the commitment the ECB showed. The level of dedication from staff involved was extraordinary. We’re extremely fortunate enough to be back playing.”But to keep that level of bubble for a 12-month period, or 10 of the 12 months that we normally travel, I think is untenable. I don’t think it’s possible. I actually think it’s probably one of the more challenging times for anybody involved in the cricket industry.”As a team, we’ve accepted that guys will come in and out of the bubble as they feel it’s affecting their mental health. Their health is a priority. So I do think we’ll see more players pull out of tours. That’s just the reality of things. And I don’t think people should look down on it: they shouldn’t feel like they’re not doing their job or not committing to their country.”You can you can drill a player both mentally and physically. And it can cause extreme burnout, which nobody wants to see.”Lockdown for us in the UK was primarily focused on physical wellbeing, but maybe that was to the detriment of mental wellbeing. We actually want to be at the forefront of making it acceptable for people to say: ‘You know what, I need to spend time with my family now. I’m going to take this tour off.’ And then they step away for a month, just because of the extraordinary circumstances.”It was an assessment accepted by Holder. As captain of the West Indies side that toured England this summer, he led the first international team that resumed sport after the outbreak of Covid-19. But to do so, he endured weeks in partial quarantine and admitted that he was struggling with the prospect of endless months of more lockdown to come.”It’s been demanding,” Holder agreed. “It has been challenging. I’m blessed to be still working. There are lots of people in the world not working because of Covid and we’re still given the opportunity to entertain people and do something we really love. But something needs to be thought of in order to just try to free up things a little bit more for the players’ mental health.”I had two months in [the bubble] England. Then I was home literally for two days before I went to Trinidad [for the CPL] for a month-and-a-half. Then I spent four or five days at home in Barbados before I got a call to come over. So you’re back into isolation.”And if you look at scheduling, it doesn’t get any easier. It’s literally going from bubble to bubble. Some places are accepting families and some aren’t. So it makes it harder to be away from your family and your loved ones. I haven’t seen Barbados properly in about five months and I don’t know when I’ll get back there.”Since 2005, Chance to Shine has given over five-million children the chance to play cricket. It costs nearly £6m a year to run the scheme. Donations can be made at chancetoshine.org/donate

Hosts win by five wickets on back of Godleman’s unbeaten on 70 and Watt’s 4-19 at Chesterfield

Paul Edwards20-Jul-2019
Yorkshire’s David Willey runs in to bowl to Billy Godleman. The ball is speared down leg side and races away for five wides. On the instant a deep-throated cheer comes up from most of the supporters who ring Queen’s Park. Chesterfield’s festival, once threatened, always cherished, has ended in a five-wicket victory for the home side over one of their traditional rivals.The atmosphere is festal; the air, almost tropical earlier in the day, has freshened towards evening. A jazz band will play in the beer tent later and you can be assured plenty of ale will be supped to celebrate Derbyshire beginning their Vitality Blast campaign with a win. Godleman, whose unbeaten 70 has anchored his side’s innings, is applauded back to the pavilion. Home supporters are grateful their side had five balls to spare. English cricket has had enough of ties.Visiting supporters rightly bemoan the absence of Matthew Fisher who has had to leave the field in the third over of Derbyshire’s innings with a dislocated right shoulder. Fisher’s left-arm pace bowling might have made 164 an even more competitive total. As it is, Yorkshire have had to bowl 11 overs of spin, not necessarily a problem on a used pitch, but a limitation on Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s options. None of which worries the children who are playing games on other used wickets or the supporters enjoying the sun and wondering if Dominic Cork’s arrival as T20 coach will help their side reach their first T20 Finals Day.Yet Cork is not the first man to be interviewed when the players emerge from the pavilion and nor does Godleman win the man of the match award. That honour falls to Mark Watt, a 22-year-old slow left-armer from Edinburgh, whose four wickets for 19 runs ensured Yorkshire’s array of T20 hitters never launched an uninhibited assault on the shorter boundaries around the tree-lined ground.”Meet George Stephenson” suggested one flyer outside the restaurant at Queen’s Park this lunchtime. “Meet a medieval surgeon,” urged another as the custodians of Chesterfield’s museum placed even greater faith in the power of time travel or the credulousness of the town’s tourists. We will never know how many of the five-and-a-half thousand souls who crammed into one of England most famous outgrounds took the tourist board up on their offers. But to judge from the folk queueing up for the post-match signing session quite a few people were interested in meeting Watt.One could see their point. Victories over Yorkshire are treasured occasions in these parts and Watt’s wickets on his Derbyshire debut did more than anything to set up his side’s triumph. Nor were Watt’s victims death-over donations. Brought into the attack in the sixth over from the Pavilion End, he removed Willey, Harry Brook, Gary Ballance and Nicholas Pooran to leave Yorkshire on 77 for 6 after 11.3 overs of their innings.At that point Watt’s accuracy and subtle changes of length and pace looked to have done enough to ensure his team would be chasing a low total. Ballance, bowled when reverse-sweeping, and Pooran, hitting the seventh ball of his Yorkshire career straight to long-off, had given him all the assistance he needed.But the visitors were rescued by Jordan Thompson, whose maiden first-team fifty included five crowd-scattering sixes. Thompson put on 66 in less than seven overs with Jonny Tattersall before he skied Logan van Beek to wicketkeeper Daryn Smit in the penultimate over. Tattersall’s canny 39 off 31 balls and Fisher’s big six in the final over saw Yorkshire to 164, a plainly defendable total on a used pitch. Fisher’s day, however, was about to get very much worse when he dived to prevent a boundary and stood up clutching his shoulder.In time, of course, so did Yorkshire’s, although Dom Bess’s removal of Luis Reece and Wayne Madsen, both leg before wicket, kept the result in doubt. Yet at no point in Derbyshire’s innings did they lose control of their pursuit and scoring eight runs an over is a familiar task for batsmen as experienced as Godleman. Leus du Plooy helped when he got inside the line of Bess’s final over and whacked two sixes to the right of the Norway maple. Du Plooy was caught at short third man off Thompson for 30 but Matthew Critchley maintained the momentum towards what is Derbyshire’s fifth successive T20 win over Yorkshire.And maybe visiting supporters sporting their Leeds and Sheffield United shirts should not have been too surprised. Yorkshire have not won a T20 game at Chesterfield since 2014 and home fans clearly arrived ready to drink deeply whatever the outcome. Even the school bus was a bar. Well, it is the end of term.