SECOND XI REPORT: Blatherwick blast gives Lancashire advantage against Derbyshire
A late evening five wicket burst by Jack Blatherwick has given Lancashire the advantage after the first day of this Second Eleven Championship match at Duffield with hosts Derbyshire trailing by 188 runs with five first innings wickets remaining.
The hosts finished the day on 77 for five after half centuries by George Bell and Arav Shetty had earlier steered Lancashire to a total of 265 with Daryn Dupavillon taking an impressive five for 51.
Paceman Dupavillon bowled Harry Singh for 2 in the third over but an excellent partnership of 77 between Bell and Kesh Fonseka was followed by a good 54-run alliance between Bell and George Lavelle that took Lancashire to 137 for two just after lunch.
Fonseka hit 6 fours before falling to seamer Amrit Basra for 37 while Lavelle twice hit left arm spinner Aum Patel for six in making 28.
Bell, who reached his fifty from 74 balls, had driven and cut to good effect until bowled for 66 by Dupavillon who found enough movement in the pitch to trouble the batters with a sensational third spell of four overs of 4 for 1 early in the afternoon.
The South African bowled both Joe Moores second ball – offering no shot – and Blatherwick fourth ball, with Lavelle caught at second slip in-between those dismissals to have Lancashire suddenly struggling on 146 for six.
Tom Bailey drove seamer Manraj Johal to Harry Moore at mid-on for 13 while skipper Charlie Barnard was run out for 13 after hesitating over a quick single before a 59-run partnership between Shetty and Mitch Stanley took the Red Rose to a first batting point.
Stanley made 21 before slicing a drive off Patel to cover and the spinner wrapped up the innings by trapping Harry Birkman lbw for 4.
That left Shetty stranded on a splendid unbeaten 67 off 82 balls, the top score of the innings, that included a six over midwicket off spinner Joe Hawkins to go with 6 fours.
Derbyshire initially made quick progress with left handed opener Mitch Wagstaff putting away anything short or offline as he hit 6 fours in reaching 26.
But Blatherwick then took four wickets in ten balls, enticing Will Tarrant to chase a wide delivery that he nicked behind for 2 before Wagstaff carelessly pulled a half tracker to Barnard at mid-on in the same over.
In his next over Blatherwick produced two cracking deliveries that nipped back, the first hitting the top of off stump to send back Yousaf Bin Naeem first ball and the second trapping Amrit Basra lbw for 4 four balls later to leave Derbyshire 35 for four.
Blatherwick (five for 36) completed his second five-wicket haul in the competition when home skipper Alex Thomson pulled into the hands of Moores at midwicket for 10.
Bradshaw’s Cian Dickinson (15 not out) and Southport’s Jack Carney (16 not out) safely negotiated the remaining ten overs with Derbyshire 77 for five at the close.
TEAMS
Lancashire: Charlie Barnard (capt), Harry Singh, Kesh Fonseka, George Bell (wkt), George Lavelle, Joe Moores, Jack Blatherwick, Arav Shetty, Tom Bailey, Mitch Stanley, Louis Backhouse, Harry Birkman.
Derbyshire: Mitchell Wagstaff, Will Tarrant, Cian Dickinson, Yousaf Bin Naeem, Amrit Basra, Alex Thomson (capt), Jack Carney (wkt), Joe Hawkins, Harry Moore, Aum Patel, Manraj Johal, Daryn Dupavillon.