The Custom Solar Chesterfield Festival of Cricket, in association with Chesterfield Borough Council is back this Sunday 3 July with six days of action-packed cricket in store at Queen’s Park.
The festival, running from Sunday 3 July to Sunday 10 July, features two NatWest T20 Blast fixtures with a Specsavers County Championship match between the two T20 Blast clashes.
The Falcons face Northants Steelbacks on Sunday 3 July to mark the start of the week-long Festival, before facing the same opposition in a four-day fixture beginning the following day – Monday 4 July.
The traditional Twenty20 fixture versus neighbours Yorkshire Vikings is once again the closing event to the Festival, with a capacity crowd expected in Queen’s Park on Sunday 10 July.
“The Chesterfield Festival is always one of the highlights of the summer and we are looking forward to another fantastic week of cricket.” – Simon Storey, Chief Executive.
Location: Boythorpe Avenue, Chesterfield
Established: 1898
Capacity: 4,500
End names: Lake End, Pavilion End
Home team: Derbyshire
Highest First Class Score at Queen’s Park: 662 by Yorkshire vs Derbyshire in 1898
Highest Falcons Individual Twenty20 total: 89 by Wes Durston vs Leicestershire in 2014
Best Twenty20 Bowling Figures: 4-25 by Albie Morkel vs Yorkshire in 2013
Northants Steelbacks
Sunday 3 July – NatWest T20 Blast
The Falcons welcome the current North Group leaders Northants Steelbacks to the picturesque Queen’s Park ground to open the 2016 Custom Solar Chesterfield Festival of Cricket.
John Sadler’s side will have to look out for big hitting trio Richard Levi, Josh Cobb and wicketkeeper batsman Ben Duckett at the top of the visitors’ order.
The Steelbacks also pose a threat with the ball, with experienced campaigners Rory Kleinveldt and Azharullah sure to bowl four overs apiece, in addition to the spin of Graeme White and Cobb.
Northamptonshire
Monday 4 July – Thursday 7 July – Specsavers County Championship
Like their hosts, Northamptonshire are yet to taste victory in a red-ball fixture in 2016, having drawn seven and won one of their eight fixtures to date.
The standout performer for them in all formats, but especially four-day cricket, has been Ben Duckett. The 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman sits in second place in the scoring charts for the division, having amassed 718 runs in eight matches.
The next highest scorer for the county in the format is Adam Rossington with 430 and Jake Libby in third on 293 runs, who has now returned to Nottinghamshire after his loan spell.
Ben Sanderson, Rory Kleinveldt and Azahrullah are the only Northamptonshire bowlers to have achieved double-figures in terms of wicket-taking so far this campaign, but they can call upon the experience and guile of Monty Panesar who recently returned to the club.
Yorkshire Vikings
Sunday 10 July – NatWest T20 Blast
The Falcons face a Yorkshire squad boasting a plethora of international talent including New Zealand Captain Kane Williamson, plus England internationals Tim Bresnan and Adam Lyth.
The visitors, however, will be without their England quintet of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid and David Willey due to their international commitments.
Spinner Azeem Rafiq recently returned to the county, and took three wickets versus the Falcons at Headingley inhis second debut for Yorkshire. He also has previous at Queen’s Park, having taken 3-26 in the Vikings’ 2014 success on the ground.
