Harvey Hosein said Derbyshire’s ability to bat down the order was key in their opening-game draw with Warwickshire.
Having struggled with the bat early in both innings at Edgbaston, Warwickshire looked to be more likely to take victory prior to the final day. However, a brilliant 113-run stand between Hosein and Matt Critchley moved the visitors back into contention before snow forced a stalemate.
The 24-year-old praised Critchley, who struck a half-century each innings, and said that the strong batting depth within the side was crucial to earning 11 points from their first LV= County Championship fixture, even without the usual runs of Billy Godleman, Wayne Madsen and Leus du Plooy.
“I’ve been in these situations before, where I’ve been in overnight, and once you’ve done it a few times, you learn how to deal with it,” he said.
“It was just about making sure we remained switched on when it was time to play the game, so we took it one ball at a time and looked to build.
“When me and Critch got out there, we took it half-an-hour at a time, we knew that if we took it to 150-200 run lead, that would be something to bowl at. Once we had that lead, we were thinking that anything could happen in the evening session, so we went out there with the intent to take wickets.”
“I’ve always enjoyed batting with Critch, we’ve done it quite a bit over the years and we keep each other switched on and we enjoy each other’s company out there in the middle.
“Even though the top order didn’t fire like they usually would, the depth that we have in our batting is really good, so even if someone doesn’t make runs, another player usually can.”
Unlike many of his teammates, Hosein has recently played at The Incora™ County Ground, having struck an unbeaten 89 against Cardiff UCCE in a three-day friendly earlier this month.
The wicketkeeper-batsman was delighted with the quality of the pitch that he played on in Derby, and says having a disciplined mentality will be important when Derbyshire host Worcestershire, starting on Thursday 15 April.
“The wicket we played on for the Cardiff game is what I would describe as a ‘proper cricket wicket’,” he added.
“Every wicket is unique, so we will take a look on Wednesday and Thursday morning, but the lesson that I took from the Cardiff innings was to remain disciplined, whether you’re batting or bowling, as long as you do that, you should get the results.”
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