Derbyshire v Surrey Day 3

Wayne White took 4 wickets in the match

I have to make an admission here.

I left this game with an hour to go before tea, once the Surrey lead had reached 275, as there was no way that we were going to score such a total. Instead, I opted to pop into the delightful Belper Meadows ground to watch the second team.

Shiv Thakor got a hundred, Alex Hughes did the same (and was still batting beautifully when I left) while Tom Knight's bat sounded like the finest piece of willow on the circuit as he was immediately timing the ball well, with Derbyshire 350-5 against Durham.

What did I miss? A shambles. No other word for it. Bowled out in little more than a session by an attack that was made to look much better than it was by a spineless piece of batting. I wasn't there, but that wasn't even a first-choice Surrey attack. I can take losing, but not in a manner that smacks of defeatism.

The chairman apologised on Twitter tonight and I don't blame him. He and the off-field team have spent a lot of time and energy in bringing in players, attracting sponsors and trying to build a team that is fit for purpose in a vibrant and improving ground. Things are improving, slowly but surely, but we keep shooting ourselves in the foot with a twelve-gauge shotgun.

The first hour today was great cricket. We bowled good lines and there was barely a shot in anger. Yet Surrey saw it out and the runs gradually came. There were two or three strong shouts for catches behind, yet the umpire's finger stayed firmly in his pocket and Surrey reached lunch with only two wickets lost in the crucial morning.

The early afternoon session was critical. Footitt ran in and bowled very quickly, could have had more than the wicket he got and gave it everything. Yet at the other end, I think largely with an eye on another slow over rate, Wes Durston bowled tight, but a long way from dangerous, off spin. We needed wickets and Surrey were able to mount their score with relative ease.

They finally made 315, of which 61 - yes, SIXTY-ONE - were extras. If we were a good batting side I would struggle to excuse that, but we are not. We are, indeed, some way removed from that right now.

There is a crisis of confidence among the batting and it makes for painful viewing. Individually we have some good players in there, but in the last two to three weeks we have lurched from one crisis to another with our attempts with the bat.

Any hopes of promotion are well and truly over now. We must play for respectability and need a far better effort than this to get even that modest aspiration under our belts.

Supporters are hurting tonight and I know exactly why because I am.

This was poor. Shockingly poor.

Match summary

Surrey 239 and 315Derbyshire 207 and 125

Surrey won by 222 runs