Wed 02 Sep 2020
Seat Unique Riverside
Derbyshire Falcons
Durham Cricket
Twenty20 Head Coach Dominic Cork has named a 17-man Derbyshire squad for the Vitality Blast fixture against Durham at Emirates Riverside on Wednesday 2 September, starting at 6.30pm.
All 16 of the players named ahead of the Bank Holiday Weekend double-header retain their place, while Academy graduate Nils Priestley comes into the squad for the trip up north.
Top-order batsmen Billy Godleman, Luis Reece, Leus du Plooy and Tom Wood are named in the squad ahead of the crucial clash, while the club is assessing the fitness of Wayne Madsen, after he suffered an injury in the defeat to Lancashire Lightning on Monday.
Wicketkeepers Brooke Guest and Harvey Hosein are named, as are all-rounders Alex Hughes, Fynn Hudson-Prentice, Anuj Dal, Mattie McKiernan and Matt Critchley.
Ed Barnes claimed two wickets on his Vitality Blast debut, and he will be looking to make an impact with the ball alongside Sam Conners, Michael Cohen and Dustin Melton.
1. Billy Godleman
10. Luis Reece
24. Tom Wood
77. Wayne Madsen
76. Leus du Plooy
18. Alex Hughes
20. Matt Critchley
33. Fynn Hudson-Prentice
65. Anuj Dal
21. Mattie McKiernan
16. Harvey Hosein
29. Brooke Guest
53. Nils Priestley
8. Michael Cohen
62. Ed Barnes
59. Sam Conners
30. Dustin Melton
Durham sit bottom of the North Group, having suffered three defeats in as many Vitality Blast games so far.
A 27-run loss to Lancashire in the opening game was followed up with a six-wicket defeat to Notts Outlaws and a 30-run deficit to Leicestershire over the Bank Holiday Weekend.
Alex Lees has carried his exceptional red-ball form at the top of the order into the Vitality Blast, scoring 140 runs in three innings at an average of 46.67, including two half-centuries.
With the ball, Nathan Rimmington’s four wickets at and average of 29.50 tops the charts for Durham, while Matthew Potts has claimed three wickets at 34.66.
Billy Godleman is hoping that Derbyshire’s young bowling attack can continue to develop throughout the Vitality Blast.
A heavy defeat to Yorkshire Vikings was followed up by a narrow four-run loss to Lancashire Lightning over the weekend, with the likes of Sam Conners, Ed Barnes and Michael Cohen all getting their first taste of Vitality Blast cricket.
The Derbyshire captain admitted that it was disappointing to lose against Lancashire, but praised the visible improvement of the youngsters.
“There were stages where I thought we were the favourites to make the chase, so that was disappointing, but to contextualise, the young bowlers we have are bowling the demanding overs in this competition, and it’s a very specific skill set you need,” Godleman told BBC Radio Derby.
“Unfortunately, that doesn’t come overnight, but I was so proud of the boys for coming back out and doing better than the Yorkshire game, that’s all we can ask of the them, to learn and develop their skills.
Keep up with all the action on our new upgraded Match Centre.
Watch every ball LIVE with our free Live Stream service, as well as in-play clips, stats widgets and an interactive scorecard.
Vitality Blast is back! Derbyshire Falcons return to Twenty20. Follow every game live on our match centre at derbyshireccc.com. Derbyshire Falcons: Underestimated No More.
