Members return a boost for Hughes

Alex Hughes says Derbyshire’s returning Members will give the side even more motivation, as they prepare to face Durham at The Incora County Ground.

After suffering heavy defeats in each of their last two games, Derbyshire require a positive result against the high-flying visitors.

Derbyshire Members will be in the ground for the first time since 2019, with their last visit coinciding with the last home win in Derby, a dominant performance against Sussex to close out the season.

The current squad are hoping to replicate that showing against Durham this week, and Hughes believes the return of supporters will give them a boost in their bid to bounce back.

“Hopefully we can put on a real show for the Members coming back,” he said.

“We haven’t been playing our best cricket, hopefully they will give us a bit of a buzz to turn that round. We’re facing a side in really good form, I thought they would be there or there abouts at the start of the season, and they’ve shown how good they are.

“It was quite an even game at Emirates Riverside, so we aren’t afraid of them by any means, we’re just buzzing to play in front of a crown again to be honest.

“We might not be the biggest club, but we’ve got a very loyal fanbase. It’ll be nice to catch up with some familiar faces.

“One of the best things about being a professional cricketer is to be able to interact with our fans, to make them happy and proud of us when we put that shirt on.”

The Cricket Derbyshire Academy in partnership with the University of Derby graduate passed 5,000 runs for the club in the defeat to Essex, making him the 23rd player to reach the milestone and take 100 all formats wickets for Derbyshire.

Having last year become the club’s all-time leading T20 wicket-taker, and hitting the winnings runs to take Derbyshire to a first Finals Day in 2019, Hughes is pleased to have written his name into the history books, but is hoping to add plenty more to his record, starting with the game against Durham.

“It’s pretty cool just to have played so long,” he added.

“I’ve been pretty fortunate to play for Derbyshire for a while now and it’s just been a really good journey. Hopefully there’s plenty more runs and wickets to come.”

Secure priority entry with 2021 Membership.

Membership is the best value way to follow Derbyshire as we celebrate the historic 150th anniversary of our first match, with a host of other Member Exclusives included too.

Club Membership for the 2021 season is on sale now, priced at just £199. Members to have priority entry and all Memberships backed by our new guarantees.