Fast bowler Ben Cotton is looking forward to the return of red-ball cricket as Derbyshire take on Leicestershire in the LV= County Championship at Grace Road today; 11am start.
Cotton has been a key component in both the NatWest T20 Blast and the Royal London One-Day Cup this season, and returned to the four-day side for the victory at Northamptonshire last time out following a month out of action with a side-strain injury.
Cotton claimed five wickets in the match in a seven-wicket victory at Wantage Road, before featuring heavily for Derbyshire in 50-over cricket over the last fortnight.
The 21-year-old graduate of the Cricket Derbyshire Academy – in partnership with the University of Derby is looking forward to the trip to Grace Road as Derbyshire look for a strong finish to their LV= County Championship campaign.
“It’s nice to get back to red ball cricket, we’ve been doing fairly well with the white ball and hopefully we can adapt and do well in the four-day game,” said Cotton.
“It was a good victory against Northants to win in three days, we showed an aggressive mind-set and hopefully we can do a similar job this week against Leicestershire.
“We have to be wary of a bit of complacency, they have got a few decent players. Mark Cosgrove can score quickly, we have to be aware of certain situations and hopefully we can perform well over the four days.”
Cotton added that he is enjoying playing such a key role in the Derbyshire attack in all competitions.
“It is great to be given an opportunity to show what I can do, if you put a couple of decent performances in when playing in the Second XI then a first team opportunity won’t be far away.
“I have not changed my approach to bowling that much, I have just tried to bowl a tight line whenever I can and build some pressure and be relentless with it.
“I worked really hard over the winter to get myself fit and as soon as we entered the new year we focused more on bowling. I think I have improved since last season and I feel confident bowling in all formats at the moment.
“Hopefully I can continue to contribute to the team and we can pick up some more wins over the rest of the season.”
Derbyshire take a trip to Durham on Monday 17 August before returning to The 3aaa County Ground for the final game of the group stages versus Worcestershire on Tuesday 18 August. Kids go FREE and Adults can save £4 on their admission by purchasing in advance.
