Chaotic end at Derby as umpires confused over run-chase guidelines

Derbyshire 350 for 7 dec (du Plooy 94, Madsen 67, Haider 54, Mulder 5-67) and 0 for 0, drew with Leicestershire 122 (Brookes 6-20) and 281 (Hill 63, Handscomb 62, Patel 58)

Chris Wright rescued Leicestershire and denied Derbyshire a primary victory of the season earlier than the LV=Insurance County Championship match at Derby led to farce.

When Leicestershire have been bowled out for 281, a lead of 53, there have been solely three overs left and with two to be taken off for the break between innings, that will have left Derbyshire solely six balls to attain the runs.

But confusion over the principles left the umpires and groups believing there have been three overs to bowl and a 20-minute delay adopted earlier than the sport ended with Colin Ackermann racing via an over to keep away from Leicestershire dropping some extent for a gradual over charge.

Derbyshire’s head of cricket Mickey Arthur stated: “The umpires miscalculated the amount of overs. They said we had three left and it turned out we had one left.

“We thought we had 18 balls there and we have been going to provide it a full crack however it was a bit more durable off six!

“I think they were calculating just to make sure they’d got it right and obviously it was right that there was only one left.”

Leicestershire’s head coach Paul Nixon stated: “We were ringing the ECB from about eight overs left to get clarity on proceedings.

“We all the time thought it was the over you are in plus two which can be taken off. The ECB make plenty of rule adjustments for the higher of the sport yearly and I did not hear of that one.

“Peter Such, the match referee, had been speaking to the umpires out there, they were a little bit grey on the matter and wanted to make sure they had absolute clarity.

“We simply needed to unravel it, we do not all know every part, there’s plenty of guidelines these guys should know and the good factor is that they have been calm when the stress was on and made the suitable selections.”

Wright’s unbeaten 49 from 112 balls steered Leicestershire to safety, sharing an eighth wicket stand of 81 from 130 balls with Peter Handscomb who scored 62.

When they came together, Derbyshire were heading for victory after the visitors collapsed in the afternoon, slipping to 181 for 7 at tea, still 47 behind.

But the lower order dug in to deny the home side a first win of the season and preserve Leicestershire’s unbeaten start.

Any late drama looked unlikely after Rishi Patel, 58, and Lewis Hill, 63, shared a second wicket stand of 113 from 198 balls.

But the momentum shifted when Patel was dismissed in the second over of the afternoon session, playing at a ball from Sam Conners that moved away before Hill edged Luis Reece to slip.

When Ackermann drove back a return catch in Reece’s next over, the force was very much with Derbyshire although Leicestershire had two Test match batters at the crease in Wiaan Mulder and Handscombe.

The pair dug in for 14 overs but Mulder, who has failed to get past 11 this season, played on trying to cut Watt after facing 49 balls for seven.

England allrounder Rehan Ahmed had scored a thrilling century at Derby in the final match of 2022 to save the game but his reckless dismissal pushed Leicestershire closer to defeat.

Ahmed charged down the pitch to drive Watt into a different postcode, missed by some distance, and was bowled.

At least Tom Scriven was beaten by a good ball from Conners which came back with the arm to knock out his middle stump on the stroke of tea.

If Derbyshire thought they had broken Leicestershire’s resistance, Handscomb and Wright made them think again by wiping out the arrears with a mixture of determined defence and selective aggression.

They added 81 and faced 130 balls before Conners struck with the second new ball when he tempted Handscomb into a drive which Wayne Madsen held at second slip.

Michael Finan and Wright survived one other 31 balls till Henry Brookes bowled Finan with one which stored low however Josh Hull stayed with Wright lengthy sufficient to make sure Leicestershire have been secure earlier than the sport descended into chaos.