Pre-Match Pack: Sussex

Derbyshire have named a 14-man squad for the LV= County Championship fixture against Sussex at The 1st Central County Ground, starting tomorrow (10.30am). 

Anuj Dal continued his fine form with the bat against Kent, scoring an unbeaten half-century in the second innings, and the all-rounder is part of a Derbyshire squad looking to end a difficult campaign on a high.

Mattie McKiernan and Alex Hughes return to the squad, while fast bowler Sam Conners will undergo a late fitness test at Hove, after picking up an ankle injury last week.

George Scrimshaw will miss the final game of the season through a side injury, while wicketkeeper-batsman Harvey Hosein (concussion) and Mikey Cohen (back) remain sidelined.

Derbyshire Squad: 

1. Billy Godleman
24. Tom Wood
4. Harry Came
76. Leus du Plooy
77. Wayne Madsen
20. Matt Critchley
18. Alex Hughes
29. Brooke Guest
65. Anuj Dal
15. Alex Thomson
21. Mattie McKiernan
11. Ben Aitchison
13. Dustin Melton
23. Ed Moulton

Bite-sized Stats

This will be the 140th scheduled game between Derbyshire and Sussex dating back to 1880 when the two sides first met in a drawn fixture at Derby.

They have been fairly evenly-matched over the subsequent 140 years, Derbyshire winning 41 games, Sussex 46, with 50 draws, Additionally, two games were abandoned without a ball being bowled – both at Chesterfield – in 1932 and 1938.

Derbyshire’s captain, Billy Godleman has registered two hundreds against Sussex, 122 at Hove in 2018 and 106 at Derby in 2019.

Derbyshire’s record partnership against Sussex is 274 for the first wicket between Luis Reece (184) and Godleman at Derby in 2019, although their highest at Hove is the 160 added for the fifth wicket by Laurie Johnson and Derek Morgan in 1964.

Click HERE to read the full stats preview.

Pre-Match Talk

Billy Godleman says Derbyshire will be doing all they can to pick up a victory at Hove in their final LV= County Championship fixture of the season against Sussex. 

Having ended their home campaign with a heavy defeat to Kent, Derbyshire face Sussex still chasing their first red ball win, while their opponents next week currently sit bottom of Division Three.

Derbyshire have often started games strongly with the ball this season, Durham (A)  and Middlesex (A) being prime examples, but have so far failed to turn that momentum into a winning position, something Godleman wants to put right in the team’s final outing of 2021.

“We’ll be doing everything we can to start the game well at Hove,”

“If you start a game well, you always give yourselves a chance to win it, and everybody is desperate to win a game of first-class cricket. Looking too far ahead isn’t always helpful, so we’re focussing on getting a good start.

“Whether we’re batting or bowling, it would be nice to have a solid start, because then we can use that to push on for the win further down the line.”

How to follow

Derbyshire’s LV= County Championship fixture against Sussex will be Live Streamed on the club website, through our improved Match Centre, delivered in partnership with Purpose Media.

Our Match Centre also includes in-play scorecards, ball by ball commentary, clips and statistics, everything you need to stay up-to-date, no matter where you’re following from!

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.