It was a dank, dark, chilly Mancunian sort of day in Deventer on Tuesday, and much of the cricket was appropriately dour. But the conclusion produced by Derbyshire and the Netherlands was as thrilling as anyone could have wished, and the tie which resulted – only the third in Dutch international history – was a fitting outcome.

Once again, as in last week’s match against Middlesex, Peter Borren lost the toss and found his side put in in conditions which were ideal for the seamers.

There was plenty of lateral movement for Steffan Jones and Tim Groenewald, and although Eric Szwarczynski and Wesley Barresi gave the Orange Lions a decent, steady start, when Greg Smith removed Szwarczynski, and Jon Clare dismissed first Tom Cooper and then Michael Swart two balls later, the Dutch were on 45 for three and much of the hard early work had been undone.

Even worse, Smith had Barresi caught behind by skipper Luke Sutton – the second of his three catches – with the total on 59, and then Wilfred Diepeveen fell to a remarkable return catch by Garry Park to make it 70 for five. The spectre of another painfully low total was haunting Het Schootsveld.

Tom de Grooth and Peter Borren got the total up to 98, but Sutton was switching his seamers around very effectively, and apart from the occasional wide they were generally maintaining a tight line and making life difficult for the batsmen.

Borren departed, another victim of the Smith-Sutton combination; enter Mudassar Bukhari, with just eight and a half overs left and the total still two short of the hundred.

And not for the first time this season, Bukhari responded with a splendidly-judged onslaught on the bowling, to such good effect that he and De Grooth added 49 for the seventh wicket from only 29 deliveries. De Grooth was eventually run out for 25, but Bukhari continued to harass the Derbyshire bowlers, making 41 in 28 balls, with eight boundaries, before finally holing out to Groenewald off the bowling of Jones.

His efforts had enabled the Orange Lions to reach 163 for nine, 20 or so short of a reasonable score, but still a much better total than had seemed likely half an hour earlier, and one that could, with some disciplined bowling and fielding, be defended.

Smith was the most successful of the Derbyshire bowlers with three for 39, while there were two wickets apiece for Jones and Clare. Remarkably, although he had off-spinner Azeem Rafiq in his side, at no point did Sutton give him the ball.

Shane Mott gave his side a dream start when the visitors replied, bowling Chesney Hughes with the final ball of his opening over, and when he went on to remove first Wes Durston and then Smith in a seven-over spell in which he conceded only 22 runs, Derbyshire were struggling in their turn on 52 for three.

Bukhari had been a little more wayward at the other end, but Borren struck a crucial blow by removing Australian international Usman Khawaja, well caught by Barresi standing up, with the total on 62.

Wayne Madsen and Garry Park built a solid little stand for the fifth wicket, but when Bukhari returned to the attack Madsen, on 20, edged his first delivery hard and high to Borren at slip, and the Dutch skipper clung onto the catch.

The Dutch bowlers were exploiting the conditions just as effectively as their opponents had, Borren bowling six overs for 19, Pieter Seelaar producing a fine eight-over spell in which he bowled Sutton with a magnificent delivery and conceded just 26 runs, and Tom Heggelman giving solid testimony to his hard work over the winter, bowling six excellent overs at a cost of 27.

Garry Park, however, was holding the Derbyshire innings together, and even when Michael Swart came on to remove first Clare and then Azeem Rafiq, it seemed that he was the key.

With two overs left and 15 needed, Mott returned to the attack, and Park edged his initial full toss straight to Seelaar in a fine third man position. He had made 38 from 72 balls, but his departure swung the game back the Netherlands’ way.

Jones and Groenewald took seven from the rest of Mott’s over, so eight were needed from Bukhari’s last. And again Bukhari responded, keeping the ball full and denying the Derbyshire batsmen the boundary which would have swung the balance in their favour.

Five from the first five deliveries, so Jones needed three from the final ball. It was full again, and driven to Borren racing in from long on. They scrambled a second, and Borren’s return was not quite accurate enough to beat Jones’s desperate dive.

So in the end the honours were even, and the Dutch fell just short of the home win which has so far eluded them in the CB 40 competition. Yet they could be thoroughly proud of the way they had defended a low total, and of the fighting qualities they once again displayed.