The Specsavers County Championship makes it’s way to Queen’s Park Chesterfield on Monday July 4 as Derbyshire face off against Northamptonshire at The Custom Solar Festival of Cricket.
The two sides are separated by just three points in the table, but John Sadler’s side have started to find some form in the format of late.
Derbyshire have found some momentum taking two draws, against Worcestershire and most recently Kent, they could have been well deserved wins.
To get the win against Northamptonshire, Sadler’s in form Championship side will have to in turn keep an in form batsman quiet, in the guise of Ben Duckett…
21-year-old Duckett is firing on all cylinders for Northamptonshire this season and has put together the third highest run total, 718, in Division Two of the Specsavers County Championship, only trailing Ed Joyce and Derbyshire’s Wayne Madsen.
In his last two Championship matches the wicket-keeper turned opener has had innings of 72 (Sussex) and 33 and 189 against Essex, and has been finding the boundary with staggering regularity, his 104 fours is ranked second across both Divisions and is only 14 shy of his 2015 total.
Despite his form with the bat, the wicket-keeper/batsman has only one dismissal from behind the wicket this season, Northants utilising three players, Duckett, Adam Rossington (11) and David Murphy (8) with the gloves.
The 21-year-old won the T20 cup in his debut season in 2013. Duckett started 2015 in the Northants Second XI after being dropped and ended the season as one of six batsmen with five first-class centuries in a dramatic turn around season.
The former England U19 Captain finished the 2015 campaign scoring a total of 851 runs coming off the back of difficult off season in which he played in Australia.
Duckets turn around in fortune in 2015 coincided with a car crash, just two days before coming of age against Lancashire where he hit 134 runs in 151 balls.
Northants head coach David Ripley: “He’s just taken a bit of time to really grasp what he wants and what’s required to be a professional cricketer.
“Now that penny’s dropped. I think he’s right up there in terms of young players to watch. He’s got a lot going for him.”
