Date-stamped : 02 Aug95 - 14:30 NWT Quarter Finals: Derbyshire v Warwickshire Derby, 1 August 1995 Mean Munton reaps reward for quality - Geoffrey Dean Warwicks (290-6) bt Derbyshire (174) by 116 runs WARWICKSHIRE moved inexorably towards their third successive NatWest final with an imposing performance, totally out-playing Derbyshire, whose batting was a major disappointment. Once Der- byshire had slipped to 29 for three in the 13th over, their task was always going to be a Herculean one. Although Allan Donald mopped up the tail to finish with five for 41, Tim Munton deservedly won the Man-of-the-Match award from John Lever for a top-class opening spell of 12-6-13-1 on a flat pitch. He did not bowl a single bad ball, and the only boundary he con- ceded came in his last over when the in-form Colin Wells played a quality shot, working a straight one wide of mid-on. Derbyshire, whose target was not impossible given the excellence of the pitch, did not help themselves, for the first three wick- ets all fell to indifferent shots. Although there should be some sympathy for Adrian Rollins in that he had to keep wicket from the eighth over of the Warwickshire innings after Karl Krikken had dislocated a finger, his shot when he played on to Donald was an indeterminate one. Chris Adams, too, got himself out with a flash outside off stump and left, thumping his thigh in anger at his stroke. But he had been pinned down for two overs by Munton, who had effectively frustrated him out. While Daryll Cullinan was in, there was still hope for Derbyshire but a lazy drive at a Dermot Reeve half-volley resulted in a straight-forward catch for Trevor Penney at backward point. The Zimbabwean took a much harder one later, one-handed above his head at midwicket, to remove the dangerous Wells, and when Kim Barnett was fifth out at 113, the contest was all but over. Do- minic Cork, batting with a runner due to cramp, struck a couple of big blows, but even he knew the game was up. Warwickshire`s innings had begun sedately against some excellent new-ball bowling. Devon Malcolm had Neil Smith caught behind in the first over, and Phillip DeFreitas was so tight at the other end that Warwickshire scored only 17 for one from their first 10 overs. DeFreitas`s impressive figures in his first spell were 7- 4-11-0. To loud applause from the 6,000 crowd, Cork came into the attack after 15 overs at 40 for one To loud applause from the 6,000 crowd, Cork came into the attack after 15 overs at 40 for one. To the surprise of no-one, he took a wicket with the second ball, persuading Dominic Ostler to at- tempt to pull a ball that was not quite short enough for the shot. He was caught off the splice at mid-on. Warwickshire were not well placed at this stage, but there fol- lowed what proved a match-winning partnership. Dougie Brown, the free-scoring Scottish all-rounder, must take much credit, for he came in at No 4 and made 58 off just 61 balls in a stand of 98 in 19 overs with Nick Knight. Brown began with a beautifully timed flick off Cork to the midwicket boundary before hitting Wells majestically on the up for four over mid-off. Cork was then pulled for four, but in at- tempting to lift Barnett`s leg-spin over the top, Brown was caught at long-on. Knight, whose 71 took 117 balls, kept up the momentum that Brown had created, hitting a six and the last of his five fours in one Barnett over that cost 16. But in the next, he was run out by a direct hit from Adams, whereupon Derbyshire clawed their way back into the game by conceding only 33 runs between the 42nd and 50th overs. DeFrei- tas bowled another good spell at this point. In the last 10 overs, however, 83 runs were scored. Roger Twose, whose 77-ball fifty included a single four, worked the ball around skilfully and Penney clobbered it to all parts, even com- ing down the pitch to Malcolm to hit him disdainfully for four over extra cover. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)