Graeme Welch says Derbyshire will be stronger as a team this summer, ahead of the season opener against Gloucestershire starting on Sunday.
The county have strengthened both the batting and bowling line-ups this summer with the signings of Andy Carter, Tom Milnes, Neil Broom and Hamish Rutherford for 2016.
And with the younger players now a year older and more experienced, Welch is quietly confident that performances will improve on the field.
Elite Performance Director, Welch said: “In the last two years we maybe looked a bit inexperienced with people batting two or three places too high, but that top order looks like it has a lot of runs in it now.
“Wes (Durston) is our front-line spinner this year and will bat at six or seven. He got 25 wickets last year and we’re covered in a lot more areas.
“I feel quietly confident this season. We look to have more of a competitive edge and I think the way we play our cricket will be a little more steely.”
Despite the departure of Mark Footitt during the winter, Welch also has plenty of bowling options ahead of the opening Specsavers County Championship fixture at Bristol.
He added: “Last year we just chucked the ball to Footy all the time and I think the rest of the bowlers got into a negative mindset that he will get all the wickets and we’ll just bowl dot balls.
“So we’ve had a lot of bowler’s meetings about it being a unit. The young lads like Ben Cotton, Tom Taylor and Shiv Thakor were very inexperienced last year so we’ve challenged them to make more wickets up this time.
“We will be looking to rotate because it’s a long season so the bowlers will be fresher and a lot more ready to go when they are called upon.
“The younger lads are two years more experienced, Andy Carter has got something to prove, Ben Cotton is coming through so I’m not really too worried.”
Derbyshire CCC Membership for 2016 is on sale. Purchase online at derbyshireccc.com, in person at The 3aaa County Ground or by calling 0871 350 1870.
[membershipbuttons]
