Hughes happy to take on captaincy challenge

Alex Hughes says he’s enjoying the chance to captain Derbyshire in the Royal London Cup, as he aims to help the young side compete and improve over the remaining four fixtures. 

The washout against Glamorgan earned Derbyshire a first List A point of the season, with the injury-hit squad enduring a tough time in the opening three games against Leicestershire, Somerset and Warwickshire.

With four games to go, chances of qualifying for the knockout stages look unlikely, while fresh additions to the injury list include captain Billy Godleman, fast bowler Michael Cohen and experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Harvey Hosein.

Godleman will miss the remainder of the tournament after suffering a quad injury, the second time he’s been sidelined this campaign after he missed red ball games against Nottinghamshire and Durham earlier in the year, while he also recently took a break from first team cricket after a difficult run of form in the Vitality Blast.

He returned to the side with a century in the Royal London Cup against Leicestershire, and played in the defeat to Somerset, but will now not be in action until the second phase of  the LV= County Championship. Hughes himself has only just come back from a side strain, which kept him out for two months.

The all-rounder admits he would rather have the club captain on the field, but is hoping to lead the side to some victories before the competition is over, as well as helping Derbyshire’s promising crop of young players to show the talent they possess.

“It’s in unfortunate circumstances because Billy has picked up another injury in a short space of time, which is frustrating for himself and us as a team,” Hughes told BBC Radio Derby.

“He’s a massive part of the team, but I do like having the chance to captain. It’s not something I aspire to do, but I don’t mind doing it, I like putting a stamp of my personality on the game and trying to win.

“I feel like I’m right back into the game, even though I’ve been out for a couple of months with injury, I feel like it’s been a pretty seamless transition back into playing.

“The group of lads is really good, we’ve got a lot of young lads, so it’s about gaining that experience and trying to become a better team and realise our potential. At times, we lack a bit of confidence about just how good we can be as players and I think what we’re trying to do now is push the ceiling a bit more.”

Watch Derbyshire in the Royal London Cup!

50-over cricket returns to Derbyshire this month, with tickets on sale now for all home games, including the local derby against Nottinghamshire at The Incora County Ground and the fixture against Yorkshire Vikings at Queen’s Park, Chesterfield.