I just had quite a great National League game with Derbyshire!
By now, Derbyshire are the best team in the game. We won all four Championships last season, and failed to qualify for the finalst of the T20 finals thise season due to a horrendous batting performance in the quarter-final. But we are on top of both tables and in the finals of the Challenge Trophy, so things are good.
For this game against Yorkshire, I decide to rest Abdul Razzak and Kevin Dean, and played my two Last Season youths Philip Jansen and Kevin Hampton, both fine RFM bowlers (Hampton as even been picked for England, although didn't play a game for them, and he doesn't make my first XI yet!). Norman Castle is this season's youth batsmen and already has a fifty and a 100 in OD cricket, and is replacing the out of form Marcus North. Malcolm Harrison (England Contracted RFM bowler who can bat a bit) and James Ford (RF allrounder, fine batsman and handy bowler) both are regulars in the squad by now after being promoted a couple of seasons ago. Afridi is skipper.
I bat first, and my top order crumbles to Hugh Binden (Re-Gen in the first season) and company in overcast conditions to a meagre 148. Only Denly and Harrison put up any resistance.
In turn, I let Jansen take the new ball alongside Harrison, and things start well. Hampton bowls tightly and picks up key wickets too, and Ford bowls a very impressive spell and a good 2 over second spell. A match we should have lost got dragged on into the final over, with them needing 6 to win and Binden and Lawson batting. Both can bat a bit, but it illustrates the deep tail Yorkshire had at the time.
Afridi has one over left in his spell after I've bowled out everyone else. So no suprises who takes the final over. I set my own custom fields, and set replays to every ball, and go ball by ball...
Well, what happened next, I think it is best you see the screenies...
