Two wins, and we're not bottom!

After a rather lacklustre day yesterday where we both failed to seize the initiative with bat and ball, today, and this afternoon in particular Surrey came back steadily and managed to snatch the win by 42 runs as the final 10 overs approached.

With Linley out of the attack completely and Andre Nel suffering late yesterday with a hamstring problem, in a particularly ironic twist Chris Tremlett was left as our last frontline bowler standing - he finished the day with 4-94, not outstanding figures by any stretch, but enough to win the game.

But not before Wayne Madsen completed an excellent match with a hundred to match his one from the first innings, though he'll be disappointed to have been dismissed when he was, with him at the crease a Derbyshire victory looked likely.  He and Gary Park put on a stubborn partnership of 150 but thereafter no Derbyshire batsman was really able to get set.

25 and 33 overs from Nel and Tremlett respectively is an impressive effort, particularly if Nel was carrying an injury and although Batty's return of 1-99 on a fourth day pitch is disappointing, there are things to be pleased about from this game.

It wasn't the best batting or bowling performance we'll see but we still won, and we're now third from bottom in the table, we'll be getting nosebleeds soon.  I fear the consequences of the injury to Linley might lead Adams and RHB away from a four man attack in the future, but in reality what we were missing in the last day and a half was a front line spinner.

The main positive from today is the the side knuckled down, and in general I think they are becoming a more 'together' unit, the win today will only have helped that.  With so many players out injured (Linley, Dernbach, Meaker, Jordan, Brown) we've done a cracking job to pull off the win, even if it was against fellow proppers-up of the table (remember what Derbyshire did to us earlier in the season?!).

Given the impact this game has had on the squad though I do worry about our prospects for tomorrow night's game with Somerset, yet another reason (as if another was required) against crow-barring a Championship fixture in between Twenty20 matches.  Anyway, lets focus on the positives, we won, which means we've won as many games this season as we did in the two previous seasons combined.  The team is surely now on an upward curve, and long may that continue!