Dismal Derbyshire plummet to the bottom
by Alan Rowley, 4th September 2001

Another dismal Derbyshire performance saw them plummet to the bottom of the table despite being at the top at the end of May.

Batting first nearly always has its advantages in these day/night affairs, and Neil Fairbrother made full use of the daylight as he scored 78 from 98 balls. Good knocks from Graham Lloyd (36 not out), Warren Hegg (29) and John Crawley (28) set Lancashire up for a total of 210 for 6 from their 45 overs. Tom Lungley had a fine spell of 3 for 43 which earned him the Sting In The Tail man of the match award.

Derbyshire started well with Steve Stubbings and Matt Dowman hitting 49 off 11 overs for the first wicket. After Stubbings fell leg before to Kyle Hogg for 17, wickets fell steadily.

Chris Bassano was brilliantly run out by Mike Smethurst, Matt Dowman was caught behind for a well-earned 41 and newcomer Steve Selwood was run out by Chris Schofield. Nathan Dumelow batted well for 33, but the tail offered little resistance as Schofield ripped through to finish with figures of 5 for 31, his best ever limited overs figures.

Derbyshire meet Lancashire again in the final match of the season at the County Ground on September 16th.