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Loye pleased with contract extensions

Friday 23rd October 2020
& News
Written by Stephen Martin
Photography by: Nigel Parker/Format94 Photography

Mal Loye is pleased by the contract extensions of Tom Wood, Mattie McKiernan and Nils Priestley, and is excited to see what they can produce next season.

All three players have committed their futures to Derbyshire until the end of the 2021 season, having been a part of the squad for the truncated 2020 campaign.

Wood and McKiernan featured in first-class and Twenty20 fixtures, while Academy graduate Priestley was named in multiple squads after signing his first contract with the club.

Assistant Coach (Batting Lead), Loye, has welcomed the news and is looking forward to seeing all three players continue their development in 2021.

“It’s a great opportunity for players in these uncertain times and it’s a credit to all three for persevering and earning another contract,” said Loye.

“You look at Tom Wood, it’s a bit of a fairy tale story. He got released by the club a few years ago, went out to Australia a couple of times to work on his fitness and skills. He fits in with the group and he did really well with his opportunities this year.

“Nils is a developing left-arm spinner and a powerful middle-order batsman, and to go throughout a whole year with only playing club cricket, no Second XI, and keep developing is a credit to him.

“We signed Mattie initially as white-ball player, but as a coaching group we also recognise him as a developing four-day player.

“That’s something we really worked with him on last winter, and he bought into that massively. He’s a player we have high hopes for in all formats of the game.”

Both Wood, 26, and Priestley, 20, have come through the club’s pathway, meaning that six of the current first team squad have graduated from the Academy.

Having seen the likes of Harvey Hosein and Sam Conners become key players, Loye is optimistic that more will follow in the future.

“There are one or two coming through the Academy right now, and that’s really exciting,” he added.

“We’ve had a pretty good record in recent times with players coming through and playing for the side, but the ultimate goal is for a player to come through and play for England. That’s something that, as a club, we’re striving to do.”

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