Derbyshire Falcons have named a 14-man squad for the trip to Edgbaston to face Warwickshire in the opening Royal London One-Day Cup fixture of 2018, on Thursday 17 May.
Gary Wilson returns from international duty after a historic first men’s Test match for Ireland against Pakistan, where the wicketkeeper-batsman recorded an unbeaten 33 in the first innings.
Scotland international Safyaan Sharif is set to make his Derbyshire debut after signing for both white ball competitions this summer. The quick bowler finished the recent ICC World Cup Qualifier as the joint leading wicket-taker, with 17 at an average of 13.94.
Fast bowler Dan Wheeldon, meanwhile, has also been added to the squad after impressing for the Second XI against Warwickshire last week when he returned figures of 3-38 off 10 overs and hit 36 off 24 balls with the bat.
Duanne Olivier, who is currently the county’s leading wicket-taker this season with 16, will spearhead the attack alongside fellow internationals Hardus Viljoen and Ravi Rampaul.
Rampaul will be hoping to replicate the form he showed in last year’s competition where he took 18 wickets in nine matches at an average of 24 as Surrey reached the final at Lord’s.
1. Billy Godleman
26. Ben Slater
10. Luis Reece
77. Wayne Madsen
18. Alex Hughes
19. Callum Brodrick
20. Matt Critchley
14. Gary Wilson
11. Daryn Smit
7. Hardus Viljoen
41. Ravi Rampaul
74. Duanne Olivier
50. Safyaan Sharif
8. Dan Wheeldon
Derbyshire will face an in-form Warwickshire at Edgbaston after the hosts won their last three matches in the Specsavers County Championship.
The Bears saw off Northamptonshire in their most recent match, winning by six wickets to remain top of the Division Two table. They will hope to continue this momentum into the one-day competition and look to rekindle their title-winning form from two years ago.
The hosts are expected to field England Lions batsman Sam Hain, who is looking to build on an impressive campaign last summer which saw him finish as Warwickshire’s leading run scorer with 456 runs in eight matches.
Warwickshire will have veteran spin bowler Jeetan Patel at their disposal, who is their joint-leading wicket-taker this term with 16 to add to his 10 wickets in last year’s 50-over campaign.
Warwickshire Squad: Patel (c), Ambrose (wk), Barker, Bell, Brookes, Hain, Hose, Hannon-Dalby, Pollock, Poysden, Rhodes, Sibley, Stone, Thomason, Thomson, Trott.
Captain Billy Godleman has urged Derbyshire to reflect on last year’s win over Warwickshire as inspiration for their opening Royal London One-Day cup clash.
Derbyshire claimed a four-wicket victory over the Bears last May and Godleman believes his team can “ruffle a few feathers” over the course of the next three weeks.
He said: “We had a really good victory over them here last season and that will be fresh in our memory.
“It’s a new competition and we bring different skills and different variations with the resources we have and I’m confident we can ruffle a few feathers.”
The 29 year-old is also confident that Derbyshire are capable of a successful one-day campaign this summer.
Godleman added: “We have played some really good 50-over cricket in the past two or three years and we know that we’re a very dangerous team, capable of beating anyone on our day.
“In any competition, it is really important to start well and that will be our focus in the opening matches. It will determine our opportunity to progress and make a quarter or semi-final.”
Royal London One-Day Cup is back at The 3aaa County Ground! Derbyshire will host four 50-over fixtures in May and June. Buy your match tickets in advance & save.
