Pre-Match Pack: Nottinghamshire

Derbyshire have named a 12-man squad for their LV= County Championship fixture against Nottinghamshire, starting tomorrow (11am). 

Matt Critchley will continue with captaincy duties while Billy Godleman takes a break from first team cricket. He will lead a side hit by injuries, but Derbyshire will be boosted by the return of fast bowler Ben Aitchison.

Having enjoyed their time with the bat during the Vitality Blast so far, Luis Reece and Leus du Plooy will be aiming to find form in the red ball format, before the second phase of the first-class competition.

Fynn Hudson-Prentice starred in the win at Trent Bridge last year, and he continues in the squad, alongside Alex Thomson and Michael Cohen, who are fresh from agreeing new deals with the Club.

Derbyshire Squad: 

10. Luis Reece
4. Harry Came
24. Tom Wood
29. Brooke Guest
76. Leus du Plooy
20. Matt Critchley (C)
16. Harvey Hosein
33. Fynn Hudson-Prentice
15. Alex Thomson
11. Ben Aitchison
8. Michael Cohen
9. George Scrimshaw

Bite-sized Stats

These two local rivals have been playing each other almost since Derbyshire were formed in 1871. Their first encounter, and just Derbyshire’s 11th first class match, was at Trent Bridge in 1875, the hosts winning by 93 runs.

In all, there have been 206 scheduled games between the two counties, although 4 were abandoned without a ball bowled; Derbyshire have won 45, Nottinghamshire 67, with 90 draws.

Derbyshire’s last win at Nottingham was in 2020 when they recorded a memorable and record-breaking triumph, successfully chasing an inter-county record of 365 runs to win by three wickets thanks largely to an unbeaten 91 by Fynn Hudson-Prentice.

Click HERE to read the full stats preview.

Pre-Match Talk

Head of Cricket, Dave Houghton, says Derbyshire still have an opportunity to progress in the LV= County Championship, even though they will likely have to settle for a place in the third group.

With two red ball games left before the competition’s second phase, Derbyshire are aiming to build momentum against a rejuvenated Nottinghamshire and reigning champions Essex.

With a bottom two finish probable in Group One, Derbyshire will play their final four first-class games of the season in the third division, comprised of the fifth and sixth-placed sides from each group.

Houghton admits the season has not gone as he and the squad would have hoped, but the Head of Cricket is keen to stress that the opportunity to compete and progress is one Derbyshire intend to grab with both hands.

“We’ve got two tough sides still to play, it’s going to be challenging, but it’s a challenge we’re up for,” he said.

“It’s not all doom and gloom yet, in 2019 we finished seventh in Division Two, which is effectively 15th in the country. If we go into the third group in this year’s competition and finish first or second, we will be 13th or 14th in the country, and that to me is actually progress.

“There’s a lot of work to be done, and we’re not writing anything off yet. We want to finish this season much stronger than we started it.”

How to follow

Derbyshire’s LV= County Championship fixture against Warwickshire will be Live Streamed on the club website, using the host venue’s feed, through our improved Match Centre.

Clips and updates will also be provides via our social media channels, so make sure you’re following us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, so you never miss a moment of the action.