Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 2005 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for one hundred and thirty-five years. They reached the semi-final in the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy. In the County Championship, they finished ninth in the second division and in the National League, they finished sixth in the second division. They were eliminated at group level in the North section of the Twenty20 Cup.
Derbyshire played 17 first class games in 2005, winning one, drawing eight and losing eight. In 21 List A matches, they won eleven, lost eight, tied one and had one no-result, while nine Twenty20 matches resulted in four wins, four losses and one no-result.
Matches
First Class
Championship table
totesport League
Friends Provident Trophy
Other List A matches
Twenty20 Cup
Match details
April
Five games were played in April, and Derbyshire failed to win any of them – though one ended in a no-result and two in draws. Derbyshire began the season by picking up only 3 points in the opening Championship fixture whilst being defeated by Worcestershire, and rain then destroyed their first Sunday League match. They then went to the Parks to play the Oxford students – only to see the students take a confident first innings lead, although Jonathan Moss was able to score a century in the second innings and draw the game. Derbyshire then went to Hove in Sussex and lost by two runs in the Sunday League, before drawing with Northamptonshire in the County Championship.
County Championship: Derbyshire v Worcestershire (13–16 April) Worcestershire (21pts) beat Derbyshire (3pts) by 10 wickets
At Derby, Worcestershire won the toss and chose to bat. Stephen Moore was run out early for 19. He held his pose, showing off his defensive shot during an appeal for leg before wicket, as Jonathan Moss came in on the blind side and threw the ball at the stumps. The other opener, Stephen Peters, stayed around though, and made 55. Once Moore was out, Peters was joined by Graeme Hick, who was given lives on 8 and 57, and made 80 off 119 balls before finally being lbw for 80 off one that kept low. Vikram Solanki then went for a duck, but Worcestershire still made 305 for 6 at the close.
Worcestershire kept batting on the second day, before declaring after winning their fourth bonus point on 350 for 9. Derbyshire's batting saw no-one pass 30 as their first innings ended on 135 all out, 215 behind. Matthew Mason, who took two wickets with a bowling analysis of 10–6–6–2, Alamgir Sheriyar and David Wigley, who took three each, were the main contributors with ball in hand for Worcester. The follow-on was enforced, and Derbyshire were 10 for 0 when stumps were drawn on day two.
Only 74 overs were bowled on the third day, with rain ending play at tea. Michael di Venuto put up the Derbyshire resistance, scoring 111 in an innings that included 12 fours and one six before finally being stumped off Gareth Batty. Steve Stubbings played the anchor role, and had made only 33 when the first wicket fell for 150. Batty bowled unchanged for a 32 over spell as Sheriyar and Wigley tried, and failed, to get di Venuto. Once he was gone, there was a flurry of wickets to 175 for 4. At close Derbyshire were within sight of a draw, being 11 runs behind with six wickets remaining.
Gareth Batty increased his second innings tally to 5 for 87 to dismiss Derbyshire early on the fourth day, as Stubbings' innings ended with just 10 added to the previous day's score for a total of 58. By the time they were all out for 285, Derbyshire had set a target of just 71 in 68 overs. It took them only 14 as Peters and Moore won the match for them by 10 wickets. It was an easy victory for Worcestershire in the end, helped by Derbyshire dropping six catches along the way. Worcester coach Tom Moody said, "We haven't got our overseas players here but this was a good example of the depth of our squad. To have a successful season, you need players who can come in and stand up and be counted and they've done that. The game proved that catches win matches with Derbyshire dropping six while Worcestershire hardly missed an opportunity. We were let off the hook a bit in the first innings with some dropped chances but our catching was exceptional, particularly with the conditions being so cold. I think the cold weather was the hardest thing for Gareth [Batty] because it's difficult for a spinner to get his hands warm and grip the ball." (Cricinfo scorecard)
National League: Derbyshire v Kent (17 April) Match abandoned – Derbyshire (2pts), Kent (2pts)