Andy Carter says the Derbyshire squad won’t fear anybody as they look to extend their good run of white-ball form going into two matches with Warwickshire this week.
The Falcons travel to Edgbaston on Wednesday 15 June for a Royal London One-Day Cup clash before hosting the Birmingham Bears in the NatWest T20 Blast at Derby on Friday 17 June, having been defeated just in their seven limited-over fixtures so far.
27-year-old paceman Carter has been in wicket-taking form so far, taking four wickets in three NatWest T20 Blast fixtures, before claiming 2-38 and 3-59 in the 50-over wins over Worcestershire and Durham respectively.
Carter is now seeking to continue his wicket-taking exploits and insists the prospect of possibly facing England Ashes winners Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott twice over the next few days in not something that will be daunting for a youthful Falcons squad.
“We’re not going to fear anybody,” he said. “If you are going to go into a game fearing people you’ve lost the battle already.
“All we can concentrate on is doing our stuff well, keep picking up points and keep beating teams. We’ll see where we are at the end of it.
“If we go to Warwickshire and force a win there we are in a really good place then. With the rain about all week, some people are going to get rained off and other people are going to get a game in but be on the rough side of the toss and not get the result they want.”
Derbyshire suffered two washouts within three days over the weekend – first, the Twenty20 versus Notts Outlaws at Trent Bridge on Friday was abandoned without a ball being bowled, before only a single over was bowled in the one-day clash versus Yorkshire Vikings at Chesterfield on Sunday.
“It is very frustrating to have games rained off but it’s not weakened our position – it’s strengthened it,” Carter added.
“It’s another point in the bag. In this competition, if you’re a team at the top you want to keep picking up points over the teams below, so then you get further ahead all the time.”
Carter arrived at The 3aaa County Ground with a substantial reputation in white-ball cricket, and is pleased to have begun his Falcons career in strong fashion.
He said: “I haven’t exceeded my career stats, I’ve just bowled to them. What I average in white-ball cricket at the moment is what I average in my career.
“I just do as well as I can. I can’t do anything funky. I don’t bowl slower balls and stuff like that. All I do is bowl a hard length, bowl a bouncer and bowl a yorker.
“We’ve got lads up there who have got some ridiculous skills but it’s knowing when to use them. I don’t think you know that until you’ve played a lot of matches, then you know what to go to at the right point.
“I try to keep it as simple as I can and back what I can do. I back my strengths to overpower their strengths, that’s the way I go about it. It’s worked reasonably well.
“Twenty20 is one of those games where you have got to stay level because on any given day the opposition can get hold of you.
“That’s the nature of the game. You can’t get too beaten up if somebody whacks you over the top or get too high if you are getting wickets all the time.”
The Falcons face the Bears in the NatWest T20 Blast this Friday 17 June at The 3aaa County Ground and supporters can book their tickets in advance and save 20%.
Birmingham Bears – Fri 17 June – BUY
Notts Outlaws – Fri 24 June – BUY
Northants Steelbacks – Sun 3 July – BUY
Yorkshire Vikings – Sun 10 July – BUY
Lancashire Lightning – Wed 13 July – BUY
Worcestershire Rapids – Fri 22 July – BUY
