Pre-Match Pack: Sussex

Derbyshire have named a 13-man squad for their home LV= County Championship fixture against Sussex at The Incora County Ground, starting tomorrow (11am). 

Shan Masood scored a half-century in each innings during the opening game of the season against Middlesex, and he will be looking to once again lay the foundation’s for Derbyshire’s top-order on his home debut.

Seamers Suranga Lakmal, Sam Conners and Anuj Dal all claimed wickets at Lord’s, while Pathway graduate, Nick Potts, could be in-line for his first-class debut this week.

Derbyshire Squad: 

1. Billy Godleman
94. Shan Masood
10. Luis Reece
4. Harry Came
76. Leus du Plooy
77. Wayne Madsen
29. Brooke Guest
15. Alex Thomson
65. Anuj Dal
18. Alex Hughes
82: Suranga Lakmal
59. Sam Conners
26. Nick Potts

Injury News

George Scrimshaw is showing continued improvements with rehab from his side strain, while seamer Ryan Sidebottom is still in the early stages of his hamstring recover, after developing the injury in the opening gam at Lord’s.

Ben Aitchison (spinal bone injury) remain out, as does Tom Wood, who continues his recovery from injury.

Pre-Match Talk

Head of Cricket, Mickey Arthur, praised the spirit of the Derbyshire squad after their draw against Middlesex at Lord’s. 

After losing Ryan Sidebottom to injury early on Day One, Derbyshire’s bowlers picked up the overs admirably, with the debuting Suranga Lakmal partnering with seamers Anuj Dal and Sam Conners, while spinner Alex Thomson took five wickets in the match.

Having been set 356 to win from 88 overs on the final day, Shan Masood (62) and Wayne Madsen (54) were the top-scorers for Derbyshire in the second innings, but three quick wickets after tea saw Leus du Plooy and Dal bat resolutely to guide Arthur’s side to 12 points in his first competitive game in charge.

Having endured batting struggles throughout the 2021 season, Derbyshire’s totals of 304 and 255-5 were a positive start to the season, and Arthur praised the squad for their staunch resistance at Lord’s.

“It was quite nicely set up at teatime, then bang, bang. If we had carried on, we seriously would have had a go at it, which would have made for an entertaining finish,” he told BBC Radio Derby.

“Once we lost those wickets, we had to battle out the draw. I’m so proud of the character shown in that dressing room – we lost a man really early in the piece, but showed a lot of resilience and discipline in our cricket.

“In the evolution of a team, you’ve got to become hard to beat before you become a winning team and we certainly showed that today. To do that, you have to be resolute and tenacious, you have to trust everything that’s going on around you with your teammates.”

How to follow

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

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

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.

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