Lancashire end winless run by beating Derbyshire
George Balderson ended Lancashire's red-ball drought when he bowled them to a crushing 261-run victory over Derbyshire in their County Championship match at Chesterfield.The all-rounder took 4-54 and eight wickets overall in the match as the Red Rose finally celebrated a first championship victory of the season.Derbyshire were dismissed for 251 shortly after lunch to end their unbeaten start in Division Two.Set an improbable 513, skipper Wayne Madsen made an unbeaten 95 and Brooke Guest 46, but once the fourth-wicket pair were parted, the hosts collapsed with Tom Bailey taking the last two wickets to finish with 3-39.
The grey clouds over Queen's Park suggested the conditions were good for the bowlers, especially Jimmy Anderson, and although the bat was beaten, Derbyshire survived the first hour in relative comfort.Madsen eased Anderson to the cover boundary on his way to his second fifty of the match, which came off 86 balls, and when the former England fast bowler failed to take a wicket in his opening four-over spell, Derbyshire had achieved their first objective of the morning.With Anderson out of the attack, Madsen and Guest kept the scoreboard ticking over without taking any risks and the stand was worth 127 in 18 overs when Lancashire finally broke through.The decision to bring on Chris Green at the Lake End was rewarded when Guest tried to shovel the off-spinner through mid-wicket, missed, and was lbw.That would have come as a relief to Lancashire, who might have been starting to get a little anxious, but they were soon celebrating again.Martin Andersson had top scored in the first innings but this time he got a good ball from Balderson that straightened to take his off-stump for just three.The morning got even better for the visitors when Anuj Dal (13), who has figured in several Derbyshire rearguard actions, tried to whip Green off his legs and was bowled.When Balderson again found just enough seam movement to bowl Zak Chappell for a duck, Madsen was in danger of being stranded and he saw another wicket fall in the last over of the session.Ben Aitchison (two) edged Balderson low to second slip, where Green took a good catch, which meant Derbyshire had lost 5-33 in 11 overs.Madsen went into lunch unbeaten on 78, his eighth 50 in 15 innings this season, and it was now a question of whether he could convert that into three figures.He was denied by Bailey with the new ball, who accounted for Blair Tickner (two) and Jack Morley for nought, with Anderson taking the catch at third slip, which sparked Lancashire's long-awaited celebrations.
ECB Reporters' Network supported by Rothesay
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
a few seconds ago
- The Independent
Viktor Gyokeres signs five-year deal with Arsenal as lengthy transfer saga comes to an end
Arsenal have completed the signing of Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting, for a final fee of €63m (£55m) with a further €10m to potentially be paid in add-ons (totalling £64m). The 27-year-old has signed a five-year contract. The purchase marks the end of an 18-month hunt for a number-nine from Arsenal, who have been insistent on signing a goalscorer for the 'here and now'. Gyokeres' arrival also marks the end of a hard period of negotiations with Sporting, who were insistent on more achievable add-ons. At one point, the deal dragged on and stalled over a potential add-on of €5m. Sporting's relationship with the player's camp ended with tension, such was Gyokeres' desire to push for a move to Arsenal. Mikel Arteta has been struck by the Swedish international's levels of self-motivation, which was one of many reasons the club ultimately went for Gyokeres over options such as Ollie Watkins, Goncalo Ramos and - above all - Leipzig 's Benjamin Sesko. The signing is an indicator of sporting director Andrea Berta's new influence in the club, as he was a big backer of Gyokeres. Arsenal had previously put a lot of work into the 22-year-old Sesko, but Berta felt Leipzig's €80m price was far too high for a forward whose primary attraction was his future ceiling. Gyokeres is already in his prime, having scored 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting over the last two seasons. He has even outscored Alexander Isak for Sweden of late, hitting 12 in his last 17 appearances. Arteta and the Arsenal analytics staff were similarly convinced, for a forward who they hope can deliver a first league title in 22 years.
The Independent
a few seconds ago
- The Independent
Inside Arsenal's move for Viktor Gyokeres - and why he will change the title race
When Arsenal finally accelerated plans to get a striker this summer, they had one fixed line. That was not to go above £65m. Such a figure might make it sound like they weren't that serious about a striker - and there have been some questions about the exact level of the talented Viktor Gyokeres - but then this wasn't quite about getting the striker anymore. It was about options, and having enough to finally win the title. This is the defining trait of Arsenal's summer so far, which is that Mikel Arteta is determined to address the key flaws of last season. Having claimed 89 points in 2023-24, Arsenal fell away because they didn't have enough depth, with overuse ultimately leading to fitness issues, and not enough forward options. Their benches at the end of the season were often strikingly thin, resulting in the attack becoming overly dependent on Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka. That in turn made Arsenal easier to predict, which only accentuated their problems. So, Arteta has already brought in more bodies, which is why Cristhian Mosquera and Noni Madueke have signed. They alleviate pressure in terms of wear. Next is the pressure he wants to exert on opposition. It isn't exactly a new point to say Arsenal haven't been the overwhelming all-angle attacking force they were over 2022-23 and in the 2023-24 run-in, which opposition coaches genuinely used to marvel at. The aberration is really because Arteta generally used the same core players throughout those periods, which was never going to be sustainable. That's also why there may be some other value in signing a £65m-level forward, if they can't get an absolute £150m guarantee like Alexander Isak, with the Newcastle star now pushing for a move after the Gunners settled on Gyokeres. The manager obviously doesn't want to discard Kai Havertz. Arteta loves him. If that surprises some of the German's detractors, it is because Havertz's understanding of the manager's pressing system is up there with anyone else in the squad. He gets it. That is why Arteta has balked at buying other forwards in the past. It's not just about goals. It's about how integrated the pressing triggers are. If one goes wrong, it all breaks down. Arteta feels it's pointless if that system is disrupted, which is really the source of so many goals. Arsenal did get 91 in 38 league games across 2023-24 with Havertz fit. This signing is designed to complement Havertz. Arteta won't have to overly lean on him. There'll be another option, offering more tactical solutions for different challenges. That is one of the driving ideas behind Arteta's entire approach after all: tactical variety, to the point that Arsenal are very difficult to prepare for. One of the reasons he has had an almost mocked fixation on midfielders is because - a classic disciple of the Basque/Spanish school - he wants infinite possible configurations in the brain centre of the team. It's why he was so insistent on a player as tactically astute as Martin Zubimendi. The same, belatedly, applies to the attack. There are big plans for Max Dowman, who can play as a 10 or out wide, and is already performing like a first-teamer in training. Senior players are marvelling at his football brain and how quickly he executes what he is told. If Arteta can then add Eberechi Eze or another winger to Madueke and Gyokeres, he doesn't just have more bodies and crucial back-up for Saka, he has multiple angles of attack. Arsenal could come at you from anywhere. That would be quite a shift. The Gyokeres signing also signals a shift in another way. It emphasises the new power of sporting director Andrea Berta. That can be divined in how abruptly Arsenal changed plans. The club had been working on Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko for 18 months before Berta arrived. The Slovenian's agent had been at the club several times. Arsenal had spoken to his camp about how he'd fit with the team, even how he'd settle in London. Sesko initially resisted moving last summer because of how impressed he was by the 5-0 win over Chelsea in April 2024, particularly by Havertz. Sesko felt he needed more time to develop to properly make an impact. Arsenal were content with this, and thought they had an agreement with Leipzig that he would move this summer. The club still looked at other options, naturally, and Gyokeres was an obvious choice given his goals for Sporting CP. Arsenal's analytics staff had Gyokeres and Sesko at the same level right now - albeit with one caveat. While this was probably Gyokeres' ceiling, at 27, Sesko had the potential to go much higher. They could be talking about a future Isak. The staff were close to unanimous in going for Sesko, although Berta had some reservations. He wondered whether a £65m basic price was too much, and kept suggesting Gyokeres, as well as Ollie Watkins and Goncalo Ramos as alternatives. A more classic school of the sporting director, Berta is said to still value relationships and eyewitness assessment more than analytics. So, once Leipzig started dragging negotiations, Berta pushed to switch. The decision is all the more striking since it would have been much more in keeping with the modern Arsenal way to go for the future, rather than the now. Things have changed. That isn't to say Sesko is a guarantee, and even the current staff think he is rough around the edges. What's more, they are all convinced by Gyokeres' quality. They think he brings a lot that Arsenal didn't previously have, as well as a great attitude. There are still some red flags. No English club, not even promoted sides, took the gamble when he was leaving Coventry City in 2023. This summer, Arsenal didn't have that much competition. Some of the latter is because clubs had some technical reservations and feel he takes too long to get a shot off. Some is because most of his goals have come in the Portuguese league, and that at one of the big three. Such records don't generally have much translation to the Premier League, as has been witnessed with Darwin Nunez. Whereas only one player has enjoyed 20-goal seasons in both the Portuguese league and Premier League, Jimmy Hasselbaink, four have managed it from the Bundesliga. That isn't to say it should be the rule. Bruno Fernandes has proven that. While some have concerns that a club as supreme in recruitment as Brighton let Gyokeres go, that was more down to his level of development in 2021 and the fact that there wasn't yet a clear pathway for him. They did want Gyokeres to sign a new contract, and felt he had huge potential. They weren't yet completely convinced by him but 'weren't unconvinced,' one source at the Seagulls maintains. Tony Bloom was still disappointed to lose him, because his data was good. Staff also liked his attitude and saw a huge ambition. The data from Portugal is now even better, but the question remains over how much can be translated. Gyokeres, for his part, is super-driven to make this happen in England. The general view among the game's more respected recruitment staff is also that, at a total of £64m (€73.5m) - £55.3m (€63.5m) up front, with £8.7m (€10m) in add-ons - in a market where strikers are at a premium, it's worth the signing. That also raises the other big question about this. One reason that Arsenal have such a fixed line is because the Kroenkes are insistent on financial sustainability, and don't want to ever be running close to the edge on PSR. It means the club go harder in negotiations, and have to be that bit more calculated in the market. They have had to make the budget stretch. That can frustrate Arteta, and the greater cost could be proven if Liverpool's anticipated €80m expenditure on Hugo Ekitike again makes the difference... or they really do end up going all out for Isak. What might the Arsenal manager be thinking then? That might well shift things in another way.
Reuters
a minute ago
- Reuters
Gill and Rahul steady India after early wobble to frustrate England
MANCHESTER, England, July 26 (Reuters) - A superb 174-run partnership between India captain Shubman Gill and KL Rahul frustrated a previously dominant England on day four of the fourth test, narrowing the hosts lead to 137 runs. Chris Woakes took two wickets in two balls in the first over of India's second innings to leave them reeling on 0-2 before lunch, after captain Ben Stokes' first century in two years fired England to 669, their fifth highest total in test history. Gill and Rahul survived to return for the afternoon session and steadied the ship to end the day on 174-2, despite England continuing to create chances. The top scorers in this series settled in as the day wore on and piled on the runs, without being overly troubled. Gill will resume on Sunday unbeaten on 78, with Rahul 13 from his century. Stokes, who took five wickets in India's first innings, elected not to bowl after retiring hurt with cramp when batting on Friday. India's battling recovery takes the fourth test to a tantalising final day, with England holding a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
