Derbyshire are back on the road for their fifth game in the Royal London Cup, with a journey down the M1 to meet Northamptonshire, a side they’ve beaten in each of their last three meetings in this competition. Heritage Officer David Griffin previews the match and looks at the statistical highlights of the past.
Derbyshire’s recent record against Northamptonshire is good, having lost just one List A game in the last decade, at Northampton in 2016.
It’s impossible to write about one day clashes between these sides without mentioning two of the greatest moments in the county’s long history; the NatWest Trophy Final win at Lord’s in 1981, and the Benson and Hedges Cup semi-final win at Derby in 1993.
Much has been written about these two matches, not least by this writer, so suffice to say that as long as cricket is played in Derbyshire, the memories of those two wonderful occasions will always linger.
There have been 61 scheduled fixtures between the two counties, with Derbyshire winning 30, and Northamptonshire 17; seven matches were abandoned without a ball bowled, six ended in No Result, with one match tied.
The tie came in an AXA Equity and Law League match in 1995 after Northamptonshire had posted 200-6 in 40 overs at Wantage Road. When Derbyshire’s reply stood on 161-3, a win for the visitors seemed plain sailing; but when top-scorer Colin Wells (73) was bowled by the Indian international spinner Anil Kumble, it heralded a collapse which saw Derbyshire needing 14 runs off the last over. Number 10 batsman Paul Aldred hit a six before a bye off the last ball ensured a tie.
The NatWest Trophy Final win is often erroneously referred to as a tied match, when in fact the game was won by Derbyshire with the scores level having lost fewer wickets.
Derbyshire’s highest score against Northampton is 324-7 in a 60-overs NatWest Trophy game at Derby in 1997 when hundreds by Kim Barnett (111) and Chris Adams (101) plus a devastating 7-35 from Devon Malcolm resulted in a huge 144-run victory.
More recently, Derbyshire made 309-4 in the 6 wicket win at Derby in 2017, a match notable for a fine all-round performance by Shiv Thakor (130 and 3-39), and 95 from Billy Godleman.
Derbyshire’s batsmen have scored 13 List A hundreds against Northamptonshire, including Ben Slater’s unbeaten 148 at Northampton in 2016, the highest one day score for Derbyshire against another first class side.
For sheer magnificence, however, even Slater’s innings was overshadowed by the great Mohammad Azharuddin’s 111 not out at Northampton in 1994. In scorching hot conditions, the home side fielded three spinners against arguably the finest player of slow bowling in world cricket. The end result, just 2 fours but 8 sixes, was a breathtaking exhibition of batting from one of the best overseas players to play for Derbyshire.
Current captain, Billy Godleman is the only player to score two List A hundreds against Northamptonshire, 109 not out at Derby in 2015, and 125 not out at Northampton in 2018. He generally enjoys playing against Northamptonshire – in six List A innings against them he’s scored 476 runs averaging 119.
Unsurprisingly, Malcolm’s 7-35 at Derby in 1997 are the best bowling figures against Northamptonshire, although Phil Russell took 6-10 in eight overs at Buxton in 1976, and Colin Tunnicliffe took 5-24 at Derby in 1981.
The other bowler to take five wickets was Peter Kirsten, who rather surprisingly took 5-34 in a John Player League match at Trent College, Long Eaton in 1979. His five wickets came in 27 balls as Derbyshire won by 19 runs.
This game at Long Eaton exemplified the success of Sunday League cricket in that era; a match played on a beautiful outground in front of a large crowd, with numerous beer tents and 11 current or future Test cricketers on view.
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.
