Queen's Park roundsmen beat the odds to produce great Festival pitch

Groundsmen Ian Astle and Tim Nicholls produced the Queen's Park ground in superb condition for a memorable BRM Solicitors Festival.

It began with what Chesterfield Cricket Club chairman Nigel Mallender called "a phenomenonal game".

That classic LV= County Championship clash between Derbyshire and Yorkshire was followed on Sunday by a sell-out crowd of about 5,000 watching one of Derbyshire's best displays in 21 seasons of T20 cricket.

The excitement of the two matches and the electric atmosphere they generated made it a special week of cricket.

But, until the middle of last month, Astle and Nicholls looked to be facing an almost impossible task. The seemingly-incessant Spring downpours left the famous ground looking and feeling more like a swamp than an elite sporting venue.

Wellingtons were more appropriate than cricket boots on huge areas near the Lake End and in front of the Pavilion. The low point was when the four-day Second XI match between Derbyshire and Lancashire, scheduled for May 8-11, was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

At that stage Astle and Nicholls feared the Festival could be in doubt. But the weather turned and the duo worked a minor miracle.

The outfield was immaculate and the pitch produced a compelling Championship game which swung to and fro in thrilling fashion

It gave some help to the pace bowlers, rewarded batsmen for positive stroke-play and, towards the end, offered turn for the spinners.

Early on, Yorkshire looked sure to win inside two days. But Derbyshire staged a stunning fightback and, at one stage on the fourth morning, were favourites before the visitors edged home by three wickets.

Mallender was full of praise for Astle and Nicholls, saying: "Ian has produced a fantastic pitch - and our ground and outfield, thanks to Tim, look amazing.

"They have worked so hard to produce a pitch and ground of which the Club and the town can be proud.

"Players from both sides and officials could not have spoken more highly about the Queen’s Park pitch."

The Vitality Blast T20 clash between the two sides provided a thrilling spectacle with the packed crowd erupting in euphoria over the flurry of six-hitting at the end of the Derbyshire innings.

There were long queues at the ice-cream vans and plenty of youngsters holding aloft '4' and '6' cards before chants of "Derbyshire, Derbyshire," rang out as Yorkshire's batting crumbled.

A mighty roar greeted each wicket as Derbyshire closed in on their crushing 144-run victory.

Mallender said: "Queen's Park was absolutely buzzing. The attraction of our ground has been shown yet again. We've had Gloucestershire members here and some from Middlesex who came last year to watch their team play. They enjoyed it so much they came back to watch this time and stayed the week.

"It's been fantastic. Now we can't wait for next year."