Derbyshire players Hardus Viljoen, Ben Slater, Alex Hughes, Luis Reece, Matt Critchley and Neil Broom are all playing cricket abroad this winter. We catch up to see how they are getting on.
Fast bowler Viljoen, who signed a three-year deal with Derbyshire last week, has been in action for Highveld Lions in the Cricket South Africa T20 Challenge competition.
The paceman has enjoyed a standout campaign and is currently the tournaments leading wicket taker with 18 wickets at an average of 16, including best figures of 3-16.
His good recent domestic form has seen him reach the top of the South African Cricketer’s Association’s domestic MVP rankings, which he has been number one for the last three weeks.
As part of the ECB’s men’s International Pathway, leg-spinner Matt Critchley was awarded an Overseas Placement in Australia and is playing for Randwick-Petersham Cricket Club in the New South Wales Premier League.
Matt recently featuring against UNSW hitting 37 off 45 balls which included five fours and contributed bowling figures of 1-19 before being narrowly defeated.
New Zealand bound Broom has so far, amassed 354 runs in five matches in the four-day competition, at an average of 56, making him the fifth-highest run-scorer in the competition.
The Volts most recent fixture, against Wellington, ended in a draw after rain put paid to play on day three. Broom hit 24 in the first innings.
Alex Hughes and Ben Slater are currently out in Australia playing for Kingston Hawthorn’s first team.
Hughes recently hit an unbeaten 54 off 36 balls against Monash Tigers in the Victorian Premier Cricket league which included eight fours.
Slater, meanwhile, has hit 368 runs for his new side, including one century, whilst Hughes has taken 11 wickets in his 11 appearances to date.
All-rounder Reece is featuring for Gosnells Cricket Club in the First Grade of cricket in the Western Australia Cricket Association this winter.
He recently appeared in the Premier T20 against South Perth where he claimed figures of 2-24, this followed on from his five-wicket haul against Scarborough recently.
In total Reece has taken 19 wickets, 17 of them in First-Grade and two in Premier T20, scoring 148 runs during his time with the club.
Join your county cricket club today. The Club has reduced its price and simplified its categories to offer one single Club Membership at only £139, if purchased before 1 February Early Bird deadline.
