Billy Godleman says that a patient game plan was key to Derbyshire’s Specsavers County Championship victory over Leicestershire.
Godleman’s side wrapped up a hard-fought 65-run victory with six wickets before lunch on Day Four at the Fischer County Ground.
Having been dismissed for 139 in the first innings, Derbyshire managed to keep Leicestershire to under 200 runs in both innings with a combination of tight bowling and good fielding helping them to restrict the hosts.
Tony Palladino took seven wickets in the match, while Luis Reece, Logan van Beek and Ravi Rampaul all struck more than once in the win.
Godleman was pleased that his bowlers resisted the urge to look too hard for wickets, instead taking a patient approach to dismiss the hosts.
He said: “I think the feeling sometimes, when you are playing on a wicket that offers some assistance to the bowlers, is that you have to take two wickets every over. Therefore, the bowlers can go searching and the ball can go to the boundary, so it can be hard to build pressure.
“We outlined and stuck to brilliantly in this game, putting the ball in an area that made it difficult for the opposition to score, build pressure and wickets will come as a result. That was the pattern of the game.
“Everybody has contributed, and they have their strengths against different types of batsmen, left or right-handers, aggressive batsmen or more defensive players.
“We have slightly taller bowlers, quicker bowlers and a left-armer. So we have a balanced and experienced attack. It is just about trusting our gut feeling on the day, and using the conditions when appropriate.
“We were very clear that the game plan was to make sure that we built pressure with patient bowling and some energy and good skill in the field. We knew that if we played the long game and took the game long, we would have a good chance of winning and thankfully we did.”
The victory means that Derbyshire have won two of their opening four games, and Godleman says that it is pleasing to see the side playing the kind of cricket that they are.
He added: “It is only four games, but the brand, style and game plan of cricket that we are building on here, the boys have very much taken to.
“It is tough on the bowlers, physically, and it can be difficult for the batters, but that is why we have the privilege of being professionals, everybody wants to play in a team that is winning and to be part of something that is bigger than our overall performance.”
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