Pre-Match Pack: Northants Steelbacks

Derbyshire have named an 14-man squad for their Vitality Blast fixture against Northants Steelbacks at The Incora County Ground (7pm start). 

Leus du Plooy (92) and Harry Came (56) scored half-centuries in the defeat to Lancashire Lightning on Tuesday, and they will  be looking to replicate that big hitting tonight, with Billy Godleman and Luis Reece making up the top order.

All-rounders Matt Critchley and Fynn Hudson-Prentice have combined for nine wickets and 179 runs so far, they will be key figures with bat and ball, along with Alex Thomson and Mattie McKiernan.

With six wickets at 21.83, Logan van Beek leads the wicket-taking chart for the Falcons, with Sam Conners, Michael Cohen, George Scrimshaw and Conor McKerr all options to share the new ball.

Tom Wood has suffered a back spasm and will miss this game, while Ben Aitchison is also out with a minor rib injury.

Alex Hughes (side strain with associated costal cartilage injury) and Wayne Madsen (hamstring) remain longer-term absentees, Dustin Melton (heel) and Nick Potts (ankle impingement) also remain sidelined.

Derbyshire Squad: 

1. Billy Godleman (C)
10. Luis Reece
76. Leus du Plooy
20. Matt Critchley
4. Harry Came
29. Brooke Guest
33. Fynn Hudson-Prentice
8. Michael Cohen
15. Alex Thomson
21. Mattie McKiernan
37. Logan van Beek
59. Sam Conners
9. George Scrimshaw
3. Conor McKerr

Pre-Match Talk

Leus du Plooy admits Derbyshire’s results so far have not been good enough, but the batsman is keen to remain positive about their chances in the Vitality Blast. 

The Falcons have started off with one win from their opening four matches, with Tuesday night’s defeat to Lancashire Lightning coming after the visitors chased down 197 with ten balls to spare.

That came after du Plooy smashed 92, while also putting on a brilliant century stand with Harry Came (56), at The Incora County Ground, after a disappointing start to Derbyshire’s innings.

Having played a key role in the side that reached Finals Day in 2019, du Plooy says those who played need to draw on that experience now, and remain positive that they can pick up some wins in the remaining games.

“The results have been disappointing, but we can be positive, because two years ago we didn’t get off to the best start and the guys will be aware of that,” he said.

“We have a very young bowling attack, so it’s not a surprise, but hopefully they can take a lot from the last few came and keep developing.

“We need to understand that there’s a lot of cricket to come, take it game by game and improve where we can. That’s all that we can control and we need to make sure that we nail that.”

How to follow

You can follow Derbyshire’s Vitality Blast fixture against Northants Steelbacks on the club website through our improved Match Centre.

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