Derbyshire claim six wickets on final day

Derbyshire: first innings: 163-2: Madsen (68*), Godleman (60). second innings: 70-1: du Plooy (46*), Reece (16*).
Lancashire: first innings: 89-1: Bohannon (37*), Conners (1-28). second innings: 143-6: Balderson (41*), Critchley (2-14).

Leus du Plooy’s top-scored with an unbeaten 46, before Derbyshire claimed six wickets on the final day of the two-day friendly against Lancashire at Chester Boughton Hall.

The batsman opened on the second day, and batted through all 30 overs to help Derbyshire to a total of 70-1, with Luis Reece and Matt Critchley also getting vital time in the middle, as the squad finalised their preparations for the 2020 season.

Defending 145 to win, Derbyshire stopped their opponents two runs short of victory, despite an unbeaten 41 from George Balderson, with Critchley (2-14), du Plooy (2-22), Ben Aitchison (1-7) and Sam Conners (1-3) all claiming wickets.

An overnight declaration from the hosts put Derbyshire back into bat, with du Plooy and Reece opening, leading by 74, and the pairing were able to add 39 runs before the latter was trapped lbw by Ed Moulton for  16.

Du Plooy continued, along with Critchley (7 not out), and helped the visitors to a total of 70-1 from their 30 overs, with a selection of powerful shots and piercing strokes.

The 46 not out was du Plooy’s second unbeaten score of the game, after posting 21 on Tuesday, and he wasn’t the only one to bring some of yesterday’s form into the final afternoon, as Conners struck to remove Rob Jones (0).

That wicket came after Aitchison had made the initial blow, having Alex Davies caught by du Plooy without troubling the scorers, his first wicket in Derbyshire colours.

Balderson and Croft led the fightback for Lancashire, adding 64 runs before tea to guide the hosts to 70-2 at the interval, still trailing the visitors by 75 runs in Chester.

After tea, Critchley made his mark as he bowled Croft for 39, before he had Tom Bailey (0) caught by Reece, while Balderson retired on 41 with the score on 88-3.

Du Plooy proved that he’s an asset with bat and ball, when he bowled Luke Wood for 10, before doubling his wickets tally with Liam Hurt caught behind for 28.

At the end of their 60 overs, Lancashire were 143-6, two runs short in their chase in what proved to be useful competitive action for both counties. The will now turn their attention to the opening fixtures of the Bob Willis Trophy, with Derbyshire travelling to Trent Bridge to face Nottinghamshire on Saturday.

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