Derbyshire Falcons have name an unchanged 14-man squad as they welcome Leicestershire Foxes to The 3aaa County Ground for our Kids Go Free fixture in the NatWest T20 Blast on Sunday 30 July; 2.30pm start.
The Falcons began a run of three home NatWest T20 Blast matches this week in Derby with a 35-run victory over Lancashire Lightning on Tuesday, before the game against reigning champions Northants Steelbacks was rained off and the week concludes with the visit of Leicestershire Foxes on Sunday; 2.30pm start.
Luis Reece will be looking to maintain the good form he showed earlier in the week, before the visit of the Steelbacks to The 3aaa County Ground was rained off with the teams taking a point each.
The Falcons batsman hit an unbeaten 97 in the 35-run victory over the Lightning. He is joined in the top-order by Wayne Madsen who is the competition’s second highest-run scorer with 306 runs at a strike rate of 162.
Imran Tahir leads a strong spin attack, which also includes Hamidullah Qadri, Matt Critchley and useful off-spin in the powerplay overs from Madsen. Tahir has now taken 200 Twenty20 wickets and has variations in spin and pace to trouble all batsmen.
Hardus Viljoen is the Falcons’ leading wicket-taker with nine, the South African paceman taking a wicket every 18 deliveries so far in the competition. Matt Henry returned figures of 3-37 against Lancashire and he is also set to feature in the pace bowling department.
The Falcons will be aiming to claim their fifth win in the competition.
1. Billy Godleman
10. Luis Reece
23. Tom Wood
77. Wayne Madsen
18. Alex Hughes
9. Gary Wilson
2. Callum Brodrick
11. Daryn Smit
20. Matt Critchley
21. Matt Henry
7. Hardus Viljoen
36. Ben Cotton
75. Hamidullah Qadri
99. Imran Tahir
Leicestershire Foxes won their first four matches in the NatWest T20 Blast and despite a dip in form, they still remain firmly in contention for a top-four spot in the North Group.
After a flying start in the competition, the Foxes stuttered slightly with back-to-back defeats to Northants Steelbacks and Birmingham Bears. A tough side, with experience throughout the lineup, the Foxes will be looking to return to form at The 3aaa County Ground.
Openers Cameron Delport and Luke Ronchi will be a threat at the top of the order. Delport has been striking at 120 in the NatWest T20 Blast and taking wickets at regular intervals, whilst Ronchi has hit the most number of sixes for the Foxes.
Clint McKay will be the main seam option and he is currently the Foxes’ leading wicket taker in the competition. Now 34, the experienced former Australia all-rounder has a Twenty20 bowling average in the low twenties.
Callum Parkinson has also impressed in this year’s competition and the slow left-arm bowler will be a challenge for the Derbyshire batsmen if he is allowed to find his rhythm.
Foxes Squad: To be announced.
Luis Reece hit an unbeaten 97 in the 35-run win over Lancashire Lightning, but with six games to go, he sees this as just the start for himself and the Falcons in their push for a knockout place.
“It’s nice to do it against the old boys but to come away with a win is fantastic after the week we’ve had,” said Reece. “It’s been a challenging week but we’ve come out and put in a quality performance.”
“I’ve felt in great nick all year but it’s been a bit disjointed for me with injury and illness so it’s nice to have a run of games and the freedom to go out and play the way I want to play T20 cricket.
“I’ve been lucky enough to get that opportunity and so far, so good , I’ve put in a couple of decent performances and I’m hoping this is just the start of things to come for both me and the team.”
He added: “We’re halfway through the tournament now and we’ve probably got half the amount of wins we need to qualify so this week is quite big for us.
“If we can get a couple of wins from these home games that will set us up quite nicely but we’ve got to keep improving because we know we can tighten up in a few areas.”
NatWest T20 Blast is back this July and August. Save £4 by purchasing your matchday tickets in advance. While further discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. Buy online today to secure your place and save.
[twentyticket]
