Pre-Match Pack: Lancashire

Derbyshire return to match action at The Incora County Ground in a two-day friendly against Lancashire, starting on Thursday (12pm start). 

Head of Cricket, Mickey Arthur, will see his side take to the field for the first time, as they step up their pre-season preparations against the Division One side, with a squad of 14 aiming to get vital time in the middle.

Billy Godleman will continue as red ball captain this season, and he will be looking to lead from the front against Lancashire, with Derbyshire set to bowl on Day One and bat on Day Two.

Leus du Plooy will be aiming to bring his good form from his stint in South Africa with South Western Districts back to Derbyshire. The batter scored 525 runs in just nine CSA Four-Day Franchise series innings, including one century and three half centuries.

While Derbyshire await the arrival of Suranga Lakmal for the first game of the LV= County Championship season, it will be down to the likes of Sam Conners and  Ben Aitchison to make an impact with the new ball in pre-season.

Derbyshire Squad: 

1. Billy Godleman
4. Harry Came
76. Leus du Plooy
77. Wayne Madsen
29. Brooke Guest
18. Alex Hughes
65. Anuj Dal
21. Mattie McKiernan
15. Alex Thomson
59. Sam Conners
11. Ben Aitchison
13. Dustin Melton
9. George Scrimshaw
26. Nick Potts

Injury News

The friendly against Lancashire comes too soon for Luis Reece and Michael Cohen, while Tom Wood is also unavailable for selection. Reece underwent shoulder and knee surgery during the off season, while Cohen continues his recovery from a stress fracture picked up last season.

The players are working closely with the Club’s Medical Team to bring them up to speed as quickly, effectively and safely as possible.

With overseas players Lakmal and Shan Masood yet to arrive, Mickey Arthur has a squad of 14 who will all feature in the two-day game.

Pre-Match Talk

Head of Cricket, Mickey Arthur, is looking forward to seeing his Derbyshire squad in match action for the first time, when they take on Lancashire in a two-day friendly, starting on Thursday (12pm).

After an intense week of training at Desert Springs in Spain, Derbyshire have begun outdoor work at The Incora County Ground, ahead of their three-game pre-season fixture schedule.

The game against Lancashire is the first of two home games, with the second against Nottinghamshire beginning on Tuesday 29 March, before the squad travel to The Parks to face Oxford UCCE in a three-day game, starting on Saturday 2 April.

Arthur is pleased with what he’s seen from the players so far and says the focus for this week’s game will be getting crucial time in the middle.

“The guys are batting so well at the moment, I’m just looking forward to seeing them against other opposition,” he added.

“This game will be all about our players getting time in the middle and getting a bit of form. The key thing we’ve emphasised over the winter is getting in, focus on those first 20 balls to get your balance right, make good decisions and commit to their defence and attack.

“We’ve got a vey good pre-season period, there’s seven days of cricket between now and our first game of the season at Lord’s and players will get ample opportunities.

“Even though I got here late, this has been the longest build-up I’ve had in 12 years. Normally, I’ve had seven to ten days to get ready for an international series and then you’re underway. So it has allowed us time to do a lot of technical work and get the guys into the best possible shape for the start of the season.

“These pre-season games we play give the squad a big chance to put their hands up for selection. Any good high-performance squad works very well when people are pushing each other for places. We want that good competition because it creates good results.”

How to follow

Derbyshire’s friendly against Lancashire will be covered live on the club website, through our improved Match Centre, delivered in partnership with Purpose Media.

Replays put you at the heart of the action, while 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.

The Club will also be carrying out testing to its free-to-access Live Streaming service and we kindly ask supporters to bear with us during these crucial tests ahead of the new season.

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