Derbyshire name a 14-man squad for the away trip to face Leicestershire Foxes in the Vitality Blast on Friday 27 July; 6.30pm start.
The Falcons will be aiming to secure back-to-back Vitality Blast wins after a 31-run victory over Northants Steelbacks in front of the Sky cameras last Thursday.
Calum MacLeod hit 104 off just 61 balls, taking him to 233 runs in the competition, whilst Alex Hughes claimed career-best figures of 4-42.
In a brief switch back to red ball, Derbyshire beat the same county by 39 runs at Queen’s Park, during which Matt Critchley returned match figures of 10-194 and the 21-year-old all-rounder will be hoping to continue that form at Leicester.
Wayne Madsen leads the averages for the Falcons with the bat, having scored 166 runs at an average of 55 and a top-score of 76 not out.
Lockie Ferguson has nine wickets, including best figures of 4-26 at an impressive average of 15.11, and he is set to spearhead the pace attack, alongside fellow internationals Hardus Viljoen and Ravi Rampaul.
Luis Reece remains absent through a metatarsal injury suffered at the end of May, whilst fast bowlers Will Davis, Alfie Gleadall and James Taylor all miss out through injuries.
26. Ben Slater
1. Billy Godleman
20. Matt Critchley
6. Calum MacLeod
77. Wayne Madsen
18. Alex Hughes
14. Gary Wilson
65. Anuj Dal
21. Matt McKiernan
47. Wahab Riaz
7. Hardus Viljoen
69. Lockie Ferguson
50. Safyaan Sharif
41. Ravi Rampaul
Leicestershire Foxes have won three and lost three of the six matches, leaving them fifth in the Vitality Blast North Group.
The explosive Ben Raine will be one to watch with both bat and ball following a blistering start to the Vitality Blast campaign. He hit 113 off 46 balls in the victory over Birmingham Bears to become the second fastest Englishman to a century in T20 cricket.
With eight wickets at an average a shade under 30, the 26-year-old is also enjoying a good start with the ball and is likely to open the bowling for the Foxes.
Neil Dexter and Cameron Delport have both scored over 150 runs in their six matches and Ned Eckersley is also set to feature in the middle order after returning from a finger injury.
Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi and Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Abbas are the overseas options for the Foxes and both have claimed six wickets so far in the competition.
Foxes Squad: To be announced.
Gary Wilson believes his Derbyshire Falcons side can take great confidence into the Vitality Blast match away to Leicestershire Foxes, following back-to-back victories over Northamptonshire.
Derbyshire earned back-to-back wins over Northamptonshire, first in the Vitality Blast at Wantage Road, before the Club’s young spinners took seven wickets on Day Four to give Derbyshire a 39-run win in the Specsavers County Championship at Chesterfield.
32-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Gary Wilson now wants his Falcons side to take momentum and confidence into the away trip to Leicester.
“We’ve backed it up now with a couple of wins in a row and it’s been a good couple of games for us. Hopefully we can carry that confidence into the Leicestershire match.”
Wilson added: “We always look at the opposition, but what we did at Northampton was look at our own game.
“We played really well with the bat up front, then defending our total with the ball. So we’ll look after our own house and make sure that’s in order and hopefully we can get the result.”
Vitality Blast is back! Derbyshire Falcons host seven Twenty20 games this July and August. Purchase your tickets in advance and save from £4. Buy online or call 01332 388 101.
[twentyticket]
