Match Drawn.
Staffordshire won the toss and elected to bat first. They made a good start, and the 50 came up in the 12th over. Oliver Woodward then removed Spencer Grove for 46 when Sam Cliffe took the catch. His innings contained 10 boundaries as he added 90 for the 1st wicket with George Margetts. The Staffordshire 100 then came up in the 23rd over before Derbyshire took two quick wickets. Tom Moulton was bowled by Woodward for 6 before Margetts was caught by Aveen Dalugoda off the bowling of Rubaiyat Abrar for 47 to leave Staffordshire 118/3. These wickets pegged Staffordshire back after a good start, and they then reached the lunch interval on 127/3.
Staffordshire lost two quick wickets after lunch when Abrar trapped Amir Khan LBW for 17, before Amaan Tariq caught Joe Wright off the bowling of Woodward to give him his 3rd wicket as Staffordshire slipped to 154/5. Sam Atkinson and Jack Hammond added 45 before Hammond became Abrar’s 3rd victim when he was caught by Theo Brown for 20 as Staffordshire were 199/6. The final 4 wickets fell for just 12 runs in 5 overs as Staffordshire wasted their good start to be bowled all out for 211. Will James was the first of these, caught by Oscar Edwards off Awais Khan. Sam Atkinson followed for 34 when he was LBW to Abrar. Khan then collected Joe Walley and Tom Smith in a period of three balls to wrap up the innings.
Staffordshire had lost 7/84 after lunch as they struggled against the trio of Abrar (4/47), Woodward (3/55) and Khan (3/36) as they bowled Derbyshire back into the game after Staffordshire had the better of the morning session. Grove, Margetts and Atkinson all made starts, but they were unable to kick on, and Staffordshire will be disappointed to have only made 211 from the position they were in at lunch.
Staffordshire made an early breakthrough in the short period of play before tea when Walley bowled Dalugoda for 12. Derbyshire survived the remainder of the session without further alarm, reaching 30/1. Smith then bowled Sam Cliffe two balls after play resumed as Staffordshire made the perfect start to the session. Derbyshire added 36 more runs before Smith claimed his 2nd wicket when he bowled Blount for 27 to leave Derbyshire 66/3. A good partnership between Edwards and Brown was beginning to build before Moulton was introduced into the attack. He immediately removed Edwards when he had him caught by Margetts to end the 40-run partnership. Brown and Keerat Singh added another 37 before Reid Taylor bowled Singh for 21 as Staffordshire continued to chip away. Brown’s 46*, which has contained seven boundaries, guided Derbyshire to 162/5 at the close of play. They trail Staffordshire by 49 runs with 5 wickets in hand going into the final day of play.
Brown went to his 50 early on the second morning with his 8th boundary. He added another two boundaries before James Green had him caught by Margetts for a well-made 66, to leave Derbyshire 207/6. They went on to add 45 runs in the first 45 minutes of play as they looked to build a lead. Abrar went to his 50 from 60 balls with five 4s and one six before Derbyshire declared on 251/6, giving them a lead of 40 runs. Abrar finished unbeaten on 57. This left 83 overs remaining in the day for Staffordshire to either survive or set up a run chase.
Tariq trapped Grove LBW without scoring as Staffordshire lost an early wicket. Derbyshire could then make no further inroads, and Staffordshire reached 15/1 at lunch to trail by 25 runs with 9 wickets in hand. Margetts and Moulton then added 52 before Tariq took two quick wickets. Margetts was the first to depart when he nicked through to Brown for 24 before Khan fell to the same partnership 2 balls later to leave the score on 57/3. Moulton reached his 50 from 79 balls with nine 4s and a six, as he added 50 with Wright for the 4th wicket before Staffordshire lost two wickets in two overs shortly before the tea break. Wright was LBW to William Ball for 13 before Atkinson was caught and bowled by Abrar as they fell to 108/5. Moulton 66* and Hammond then took Staffordshire through to the interval with the score on 133/5. Staffordshire held a lead of 93 with 5 wickets in hand as 45 overs remained in the match.
Moulton and Hammond continued their partnership after tea, reaching 50 from 74 balls as Moulton moved towards three figures. He reached his 100 from 149 balls with sixteen 4s and two 6s in 169 minutes as the partnership continued to grow. Hammond reached his 50 with his 5th boundary from 83 balls before the 100 partnership came up. Ishaq Khan then dismissed Hammond for 54, ending the 111-run stand when he was caught by Dalugoda to leave 219/6. Moulton’s fine innings of 124 was then ended when Khan had him caught by Singh as the match moved towards a draw. Moulton finished with nineteen 4s and two 6s as he made sure that Staffordshire had no scares on the final afternoon. The players shook hands with 16 overs remaining, as there was no chance of a positive result. Tariq was the pick of the Derbyshire bowlers; he finished with 3/48 as they were unable to force a result on the final day.
