It will be a different story when these two sides meet again here on Wednesday in the final of the unheralded Twenty20 Floodlit Cup, a competition between four of the five counties who own permanent illuminations that has passed under the radar of even the most assiduous followers of the county game.
But it has not passed under the radar of the Essex boys and girls. A crowd of almost 4,000 watched the Eagles beat Sussex at the end of August and 2,270 advance tickets have been sold for Wednesday’s final, which, like the semis, will be played over two legs home and away. The football mimicry stretches further, to the use of extra time (overs) if the tie finishes one match all.
The suggestion that there are more than enough different county competitions does not concern David East, the Essex chief executive. “This is our Elton John concert,” he said, referring to the way that certain counties, like Durham, Worcestershire and Somerset, have raised serious money this year.
The competition has been sanctioned by the ECB, whose concerns about the proliferation of extra-curricular tournaments are outweighed by the realisation that counties who do not host internationals have to find ways to make money. East believes that the floodlit competition could make a “significant six-figure contribution to our bottom line”, dwarfing the £15,000 purse that county championship promotion brings.
Essex are on the threshold of the first division despite the absence of a regular strike bowler. Nine bowlers have taken 10 or more championship wickets but until yesterday no one had taken more than 28. That meagre tally was overhauled by Tim Phillips, a slow left-armer who is enjoying a new lease of life.
Advertisement
This was comfortably his best day in senior cricket and his maiden first-class five-wicket haul. Like a number of Essex cricketers before him, he is a product of Felsted School and Durham University. He played for England in the Under-19 World Cup of 2000, but his career since has been dogged by injury, most significantly a knee ligament injury that kept him out of the entire 2003 season.
He did not make another first-team appearance until 2005, when he was also named the country’s leading 2nd XI player.
At 107 for one at lunch, Derbyshire were comfortable, their own slim promotion hopes still in the balance. But 20 minutes before tea, they had been bundled out for 184. It was a two-paced pitch that turned from the off and it required careful rather than carefree batting. In their defence, they were missing two key players in Michael di Venuto, their leading run-scorer, and Graeme Welch, the allrounder and heartbeat of this re-emerging county.
Phillips came on in the 26th over for a five-over spell and then returned later with Derbyshire on 143 for two. He was devastating, taking five for 25 in eight overs. He bowled well, turning it and flighting it but, in truth, he was helped by some awful shots. Greg Smith and Luke Goodard were both caught behind trying to cut. Jake Needham was also caught by James Foster, very sharply down the leg-side. The key wicket was Hassan Adnan, who top-scored with 60 before lobbing a return catch off a leading edge.
At the other end, Andy Bichel, the tireless Queenslander, had found the reverse-swing groove, slanting the old ball skilfully across Travis Birt, his fellow Aussie, who was duly caught behind for 24 just as he began to look dangerous. He finished the innings off with a beautiful slow yorker to embarrass Steffan Jones.
Advertisement
Phillips chose a great time to find his form and not just because Essex have first-division aspirations. Danish Kaneria, the Pakistani leg-spinner, is already signed up for a return to Chelmsford next year so first-team slots for the slow men are at a premium. Middlebrook, the off-spinner, has been the regular choice since joining Essex from Yorkshire in 2002 but Phillips is staking a claim. He is a useful left-handed bat. Middlebrook turned the ball too yesterday and he might have the edge over Phillips as a complement to Kaneria because he spins the ball into the right-hander while the Pakistani turns it predominantly the other way.
Essex’s response to Derbyshire’s paltry total could not have been more emphatic, Varun Chopra and Mark Pettini putting on 111 for the first wicket before the close. Derbyshire suffered two-fold: dropping Chopra on 27 and not having quite enough spin quality to exploit the pitch.
The only blot on a good day for Essex was their nearest rival Worcestershire’s victory over Leicestershire, a result which left victory over Derbyshire a necessity for Essex. You would not bet against it.
John Stern is editor of The Wisden Cricketer