Leicestershire 574
Derbyshire 167 {Lloyd 54, Donald 45) and 224-6 (Madsen 59*, Thomson 46*)
Derbyshire trail by 183 runs
Given the weather forecast for tomorrow, Derbyshire may escape from this game with a draw. Yet even the most partisan supporter would struggle to say that they deserved it.
After chasing leather for five sessions, they lost four wickets last night and a further twelve today. Let us not forget that this is against Leicestershire, more specifically a largely second choice attack in the absence, through injury, of their first choice bowlers. On the same pitch, lest we forget.
The visitors bowled better lines and waited for Derbyshire's batters to make mistakes, which many of them did, some bizarrely. The second innings dismissal of David Lloyd was a standout, ducking under what he must have thought a beamer. Yet after an innings of fine stroke play, the dismissal of Nye Donald in the first innings was a shocker, a shot from the village coaching manual. So too, after batting well in the first innings, Nuj Dal being strangled down the leg side.
These are not bad players and we must remember that to be playing at this level you have to be very talented. Yet whether the performance of the last two days is down to coaching or a lack of application, it is very disappointing for supporters.
I am not ready to give up on the season and for me the crux of the matter is how Mickey Arthur handles this, publicly and privately and how the players respond. There have been decent individual performances, but a lack of game awareness - it doesn't look like there will be much play tomorrow - is worrying.
It looked like the game could indeed conclude today, when Derbyshire slipped to 144-6 in their second innings, but a battling partnership between Wayne Madsen and Alex Thomson took us through to the close without further loss. Both batted well and showed, again, there are no demons in this pitch.
A draw from this game doesn't really reflect the way in which we have been completely outplayed by a side that one would struggle to call outstanding.
This has to become the nadir of the season and we use the 'display' as a catalyst for improvement. Even as someone frequently seen as a beacon of positivity, I struggle to see anything more than bottom of the table on the basis of the past three days.
I maintain that one-day cricket will be our strength this year, but we have to put on a better display than this in the longer form of the game.
I hope they can show me the other side of their collective games in the weeks ahead.
Postscript - Daryn Dupavillon took 5-20 in the South African T20 today. Hopefully he brings that form with him...