Derbyshire name a 14-man squad for the Vitality Blast opener against Yorkshire Vikings at Queen’s Park this Saturday.
Billy Godleman scored an unbeaten 71 at Chesterfield to beat Yorkshire last season, and he will be looking to replicate that form when he opens the batting with Luis Reece, while Wayne Madsen and Leus du Plooy are set to line up in the middle-order.
Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Alex Hughes offer further all-rounder options, while Matt Critchley and Mark Watt lead the spin attack.
Darren Stevens could make his Derbyshire debut, while Logan van Beek takes the ball in his first full Twenty20 appearance for the club, alongside fellow seamer, Ravi Rampaul.
1. Billy Godleman
10. Luis Reece
77. Wayne Madsen
27. Tom Lace
76. Leus du Plooy
18. Alex Hughes
20. Matt Critchley
3. Darren Stevens
33. Fynn Hudson-Prentice
16. Harvey Hosein
37. Logan van Beek
14. Ravi Rampaul
51. Mark Watt
11. Daryn Smit
Yorkshire Vikings will be hoping to improve on last year’s Vitality Blast campaign, which saw them fail to progress beyond the North group.
The addition of West Indies wicketkeeper-batsman, Nicholas Pooran will have boosted the white-rose side, while they boast a strong batting lineup containing the likes of Adam Lyth, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, David Willey and Gary Ballance.
With the ball, Duanne Olivier and Willey have the potential to do damage, while Dom Bess offers another dimension with leg spin.
New-signing, Darren Stevens can’t wait to get started as Derbyshire prepare to face Yorkshire at a sold-out Queen’s Park.
Stevens has joined the club on-loan from Kent for the duration of the Vitality Blast, with the all-rounder named in the squad for Derbyshire’s opening fixture against Yorkshire.
He is excited to get the T20 campaign underway, and hopes to take inspiration from Derbyshire’s previous results at Queen’s Park.
He said: “I am extremely excited, hopefully Matt Critchley can hit a few more sixes and take down Tim Bresnan in the final over again.
“It is a beautiful ground, and I am just really excited about getting started. I am really pleased to be signing here for the campaign. Twenty20 is electric. It is short and sweet, crowds come in and it is all about boundaries, dot balls and wickets.
“As players, we want to play in front of the big crowds and put on good performances for them.”
Follow the action ball-by-ball on the Derbyshire County Cricket Club website with our interactive Match Centre.
Improved for the 2019 season, the centre will include a full scorecard, ball-by-ball updates and clips of all the key moments.
Click HERE to access the page during play.
Unfortunately, the club will be unable to live stream the fixture.
Vitality Blast is back this month! Tickets for all six matches in Derby on sale now, including the big clash against Notts Outlaws on Friday 26 July. Buy online or call 01332 388 101.
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