All-rounder Matt Critchley says he’s delighted to sign his first professional deal with Derbyshire and believes there are big things to come from the squad.
Critchley broke into the first-team at the start of the 2015 campaign, making his debut in May before hitting his maiden first class century, 137 not out, versus Northamptonshire a week later at Derby.
The young leg-spinner went on to feature in six first-class matches for Derbyshire in 2015, scoring 246 runs at an average of 41 and claiming four wickets, in addition to a further seven appearances in the Royal London One-Day Cup.
“Being a professional cricketer is something I have always wanted to do,” Critchley said. “I used to watch my dad play local club cricket and that inspired me to get involved.
“This contract is a dream come true and hopefully the start of a long career at Derbyshire. I have had to work very hard to get to this but I know there is a still a lot of hard work to come.
“There are a lot of young lads in the squad so there is a lot of potential in this squad and we will look to achieve big things.”
#CONTRACT: @mattcritchley96 signs first professional deal #WeAreDerbyshire #P2bD http://t.co/uAaSVFCI26 pic.twitter.com/23YfI5HVlT
— Derbyshire CCC (@DerbyshireCCC) October 2, 2015
Critchley added: “I love working with Graeme [Welch] and also Ant [Botha] as well. With being a spinner, having Ant is a big plus for me.
“I try to learn as much as possible from them because they both had such long and successful careers in the game. Anything I can learn from them and put into practice will only benefit me and the team.
“Getting 137 not out on my second first-class appearance probably did surpass all my expectations; it was not something I expected to do.
“I enjoy batting but nobody in the team really knew how well I could bat so now I am just looking to score as many runs for the team as I can. It was a truly unbelievable experience and hopefully I can replicate that innings many times as well as finding more success with the ball.”
“I spoke with Graeme before signing the deal,” Critchley continued. “We spoke about how I am young now and have the chance to learn and improve quickly. I want to try and learn as much as I can this winter so I start playing a main role next year.
“It’s just about trying to gain experience from wherever I can. I can speak to experienced members of the squad and try to improve my game as much as I can. I want to become an established part of the attack.”
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