By Niall Hickman
Alastair Maiden admits it was a frustrating night for his Durham Second XI as they lost to Derbyshire in the SET final, but insists the season as a whole has been one of marked progress.
Second XI coach Maiden watched from the dressing room as this side lost their run chase against Derbyshire on Thursday evening at the Emirates Durham ICG. Set 248 to win in 50 overs, Durham fell just 10 runs short of the target, losing in the final in front of their own supporters.
But Maiden was not despondent over the display, as Durham came within a whisker of winning.
He told www.durhamccc.co.uk “In terms of performances this season we have done really well and when you look back on it now you can see we have done some exceptional stuff in the league, reached one cup semi-final and another final, so all in all you have to take everything into consideration and say it has been very good. There has been a lot of progression in this team and we have a lot to be proud about. The fact that we came up a little bit short in the final is, of course, disappointing, but the players have to dust themselves down, accept that the better team won on the day and look at the season as a whole.
“We cannot let a defeat spoil what has been a really good campaign in which a lot of players have developed, in terms of their cricketing ability.
“When the loss hurts most is straight after the finish when they are celebrating in their changing room, with the music blaring out and we are not. That obviously hurts. But cricket is a learning process and they have to take what happened on the pitch and try to turn it into a positive. I think it also shows that the higher up you go in cricket, the more you have to keep a cool head, while still performing. That is what all the players have to learn – and they are learning it.”
Durham restricted their opponents to 247-8 in their 50 overs, which Maiden said was “about a par score on that pitch.”
Several Durham batsmen threatened to take their side over the finishing line, but none managed to achieve the really dominant score that would have clinched the game.
Maiden said: “Truth be known, I think we have batted better this season, but their bowling was very tight and although our batsmen got in with 20s, 30s and 40s, none of them got the kind of total which would have won the match. Again, that is a learning process.
“We have to congratulate ourselves on getting to the final, accept we were second best in the final by a pretty small margin and move on.”
Durham beat Nottinghamshire, Northants, Lancashire and Somerset on the way to the final and have enjoyed a tremendous season under Maiden.
He said: “I wouldn’t want to pick out individuals but the effort and determination a lot of the players have put in has been very apparent. They have achieved a lot this season and we have to concentrate on that, rather than the defeat in the final against Derbyshire.”