The clash between Derbyshire and Yorkshire will be their 67th scheduled meeting in limited overs matches since they first met at Bramall Lane in 1969, in the newly-formed Players County League.
Heritage Officer, David Griffin, looks at the statistical background to the game.
Yorkshire have had much the better of their clashes with 38 victories to Derbyshire’s 18, with 9 matches affected by weather and recorded as either ‘No Result’ or ‘Abandoned’. One game resulted in a tie.
The two sides have often met at Chesterfield when Derbyshire was the home county, limited overs games between these two sides only arrived at Derby in 1981, and, after a further match in 1982, it would not return to the south of the county for another 15 years.
One of the more remarkable fixtures between the two teams took place at Chesterfield in 1991 – when two matches took place on the same day in the Refuge Assurance League.
Yorkshire made 57-1 off 10 overs when heavy rain meant that play was suspended. By the time that the rain had subsided and the ground prepared for play, the umpires decided that the game should start anew, and a brand new 10 overs match began. Derbyshire made a creditable 105-5 from their allocation, with Yorkshire winning by 3 wickets with just one delivery to spare. Little wonder that Duckworth Lewis arrived soon afterwards.
One of only eight tied matches involving Derbyshire took place against Yorkshire under floodlights and live on television at Derby in 2008 when 18-year-old Dan Redfern made a fine, undefeated 57 as Derbyshire scored 213-6 to equal the score of their visitors in a NatWest Pro40 group game.
The highest profile match between the two sides was just their second encounter, when they met at Lord’s in the 1969 Gillette Cup Final. Derbyshire succumbed to a hugely talented and experienced Yorkshire side containing six England Test cricketers, but had done well to reach the final with four very good victories en route.
It was a pity that long-serving Derbyshire players like Peter Gibbs, Derek Morgan, Alan Ward, Ian Buxton, Mike Page, Bob Taylor and Harold Rhodes could not collect a winner’s medal at Lord’s (although Taylor subsequently would in 1981).
Derbyshire’s most comprehensive win took place at Chesterfield in 1986, when Michael Holding and Ole Mortensen combined to take 6-34 from 16 overs as the visitors totaled 132-9. Kim Barnett and Alan Hill made short work of the run chase to win with overs to spare by 10 wickets.
Four Derbyshire batsmen have recorded centuries in these games; Chris Adams, Martin Guptill, Kim Barnett and Chris Taylor, while Colin Tunnicliffe (5-24) is the only bowler to take five wickets in an innings.
Derbyshire’s last victory was in 2012, at Chesterfield, when Richard Johnson made 79 and Alex Hughes an undefeated 37 to take their side to victory against a Yorkshire team containing Andrew Gale, Phil Jacques, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Gary Balance, Adil Rashid and Mitchell Starc.
A rare and unusual event took place when the sides clashed in the totesport League at Scarborough on 28th August 2005. As Derbyshire’s match-winning 6th wicket pair of Graeme Welch and Ant Botha were adding a century partnership, the England Test team was straining for victory at Trent Bridge against Australia.
The match at Scarborough was still ongoing when the final runs were struck in Nottingham to give England a decisive 2-1 series lead – and almost as one, the 10,000-strong Bank Holiday crowd at Scarborough stood and applauded the winning runs which they had only heard about on their radios. Play was halted by the umpires for several minutes whilst the frenzy died down.
Supporters can save 20% by purchasing their Royal London One-Day Cup matchday tickets in advance of the day of the game. Buy online, over the phone by calling 01332 388 101 or in person at The 3aaa County Ground.
Warwickshire – Wednesday 10 May – BUY
Worcestershire – Tuesday 16 May – BUY
