Leus du Plooy guards in opposition to defeat as Gloucestershire flip tables
Derbyshire 251 for 9 dec (Came 108) and 166 for five (du Plooy 61*) drew with Gloucestershire 383 (Charlesworth 87, Taylor 57*, Gohar 53, Hammond 50)
Derbyshire captain Leus du Plooy steered his facet to security with an unbeaten half-century on the ultimate day of the LV=Insurance County Championship match in opposition to Gloucestershire at Derby.
Gloucestershire have been in with an opportunity of victory when Derbyshire slipped to twenty-eight for 3 however du Plooy’s 61 off 77 balls guided Derbyshire to 166 for five to safe the draw.
The guests claimed their first batting factors of the season earlier than being bowled out for 383, a lead of 132, with Ben Charlesworth, Zafar Gohar and Matt Taylor scoring fifties. Gohar and Taylor shared a ninth-wicket stand of 99, a Gloucestershire report in opposition to Derbyshire, to arrange the prospect of a tense finale however du Plooy stood agency.
Any late drama regarded unlikely initially when Gloucestershire’s foremost goal was to safe batting factors. Charlesworth was additionally eying a maiden first-class century and, with Tom Price, carried his facet to inside 5 runs of 250 when Derbyshire broke the partnership.
Price had already been dropped twice, at brief midwicket off Suranga Lakmal and a caught-and-bowled probability to Alex Thomson, earlier than he went for an enormous swing on the offspinner and miscued to cowl.
The pair had placed on 63 from 129 balls and Charlesworth, who had handed his earlier finest rating of 77 not out, secured the primary level when he minimize Henry Brookes over the slips for 4. Charlesworth was then caught behind off a brief ball from Brookes and Marchant de Lange’s makes an attempt to hit the ball out of the Incora County Ground resulted in a damaged bat earlier than he edged Lakmal to second slip
But that was the house facet’s final success for 18 overs as Taylor and Gohar eclipsed Gloucestershire’s highest ninth-wicket stand in opposition to Derbyshire of 95 by Mark Hardinges and Carl Greenidge at Derby in 2007.
Taylor drove Luis Reece for six to deliver up 300 and dispatched Brookes for one more most on his method to a 60-ball fifty. Gohar drove Lakmal for six to succeed in his fifty from 65 balls and set the brand new ninth-wicket report earlier than he skied the Sri Lankan to mid-off.
The innings ended within the subsequent over however Gloucestershire now had a large enough lead and sufficient overs left to place the house facet below stress. Any probability of the sport meandering quietly to a conclusion vanished when Derbyshire misplaced three wickets within the area of 17 balls with the arrears nonetheless in three figures.
Harry Came held his staff collectively within the first innings however this time he lasted solely 5 overs earlier than he acquired an edge onto his pad and was caught at gully.
Price struck within the subsequent over with a full size ball that hit Haider Ali in entrance and alarm bells have been ringing when Wayne Madsen went with out scoring. The veteran had his off stump knocked again by a ball from Price that straightened to go away Derbyshire in bother.
Du Plooy determined to be constructive from the outset, dancing down the pitch to drive Taylor for six over long-off, however he was near being run out simply earlier than tea, which was taken with Derbyshire 64 behind with 40 overs remaining.
Brooke Guest stayed along with his skipper for 13 overs earlier than pulling Ajeet Singh Dale to midwicket the over after du Plooy was dropped on 33 by Miles Hammond at slip off Gohar.
Mitch Wagstaff, in his second first-class innings, shared a stand of 43 from 70 balls though Gohar thought he had him caught and bowled on 7 just for the umpires to rule the ball had not fairly carried. Wagstaff confronted 48 balls earlier than he fell slicing Gohar however Derbyshire have been now in entrance and Luis Reece joined du Plooy to lastly shut the door on Gloucestershire.