IF only Derbyshire could find a way of getting Alex Lees out, they might just beat Yorkshire one day.
Then again, it is going to take much more than that on the evidence of another humbling defeat for the Falcons at the hands of their neighbours from the north at a packed Queen's Park yesterday.
Derbyshire, whose inadequate 127-6 was knocked off in 14 overs at Headingley earlier this season, were beaten by 59 runs when they were bowled out for 124 by the Vikings yesterday.
It was Lees who was the key again for Yorkshire and if he could play against Derbyshire every week, the 21-year-old batsman would be set for a career average to make Don Bradman look like a hapless tail-ender.
This is only the third time he has faced them and his unbeaten Championship 275 on this ground last year, plus his 61 not out at Headingley in the t20 and this 67 not out means he has scored 403 runs without being dismissed.
Lees gave his side the mid-innings momentum they needed to surge to a 183-4 total which was at least 20 more than Derbyshire would have looked to hold them to when they won the toss and put their opponents in.
This was the same wicket that proved slow and a turner against Leicestershire the previous week and the Falcons were hoping that by the time Yorkshire had become tuned to it, they could have taken an early grip on the game.
It was not to be but how might the game have changed if the one chance Lees gave them had been taken?
He was on one at the time and the Falcons had just seen the back of the dangerous Aussie Aaron Finch, caught off the leading edge for 10 at 43-1 in the sixth over.
In the next over, Lees launched David Wainwright towards long off but Alex Hughes did not judge the flight quickly enough and was off-balance as the ball went through his hands on the boundary for six.
The next ball disappeared over the pavilion and Lees was away, making his runs off 44 balls with four fours and three sixes as Kane Williamson (41), Andrew Gale (34) and Tim Bresnan (16 not out) helped Yorkshire to a target that was always going to be a testing one.
With wickets in hand, the Vikings added 68 runs in the last five overs.
Though Gareth Cross gave the Derbyshire reply an early burst, they could not keep up with that pace and tailed off meekly, losing five wickets for 18 in six overs at around the same stage of their innings as Lees had been inflicting most of his damage in Yorkshire's.
Nine of their wickets fell to spin. At least the Derbyshire theory about how the slow bowlers would have a big say in this contest was proved right in the end.
The Falcons' reply was not helped by losing Wes Durston to the second ball but Cross, lifted by his 48 against Northamptonshire on Friday, came out swinging and hit his side's first 33 runs.
If Cross could have still been there for Derbyshire at the midway stage, they would definitely have been in the game but he fell in the fifth, caught at deep midwicket for 37, which was made off 19 balls with four fours and three sixes.
That was 46-2 and as the Falcons looked for someone else to pick up where Cross had left off, they found only a 20 from Marcus North, a late 27 from Tom Knight with three more big sixes and an unbeaten 20 from Wainwright.
That was a pity for many in the 4,159 crowd, especially after the Falcons had played such a big part in a thoroughly entertaining match at Northampton a couple of days earlier, but is too typical of how this t20 campaign has been for Derbyshire this season.
meklid@derbytelegraph.co.uk
