Arthur proud of squad's effort after Sussex draw

Head of Cricket, Mickey Arthur, praised the effort and belief of the Derbyshire squad, after their nail-biting draw with Sussex. 

Set 380 to win with less than 60 overs to be bowled, victory always looked a long shot for the visitors, but a century from Leus du Plooy, 73 in just 54 balls from Haider Ali and 49 from Wayne Madsen saw Derbyshire fall just 19 runs short on a day when more than 500 runs were scored between the two sides.

The game was full of individual milestones, with George Scrimshaw and Alex Thomson each taking their first five-wicket hauls for the Club, while Brooke Guest reached three figures for the first time this season. Wayne Madsen moved into second place on the list of all-formats run-scorers for Derbyshire, behind only Kim Barnett.

Derbyshire conceded 150 runs before lunch on Day One, and had to fight their way back into the game and earn the chance to win it, something that Arthur says needs to be avoided in future, but the Head of Cricket was delighted with the spirit shown at Hove.

“I thought we’d be chasing 350-360 but when Leus [du Plooy] and Wayne Madsen came in a tea and we still needed 270 in 36 overs they thought we could win,” he said.

“We took it awfully close and Leus played a remarkable innings. He keeps progressing, some of the knocks he has played this season have been incredible and today he was sublime.

“But we’ve got to put our days together properly. It took us two-and-a-half days to grind ourselves into the game because of the first session of the match when their openers scored 250. Those are things I will keep challenging our boys on all the time.”

8 for £80 – the flexible bundle to suit you!

Enjoy any eight days of LV= County Championship or One-Day Cup cricket with our new 8 for £80 bundle, designed to suit your schedule.

The 8 for £80 bundle means you can tailor the Derbyshire fixtures to your schedule, so you can visit The Incora County Ground when it suits you.

Juniors can attend all LV= County Championship fixtures until the end of the 2023 season for FREE, meaning you can introduce your youngsters to county cricket for less this summer!