Pre-Match Pack: Worcestershire (H)

Derbyshire have named a 14-player squad for the opening LV= County Championship fixture against Worcestershire at The Incora County Ground, starting on Thursday. 

Leus du Plooy begins his reign as Club Captain at home, while Pakistan opener, Haider Ali, could be in-line for a Derbyshire debut after arriving in the country over the weekend.

Wayne Madsen finished as the County Championship’s leading run-scorer in 2022 and the evergreen batter will be targeting another season at the top of the charts, although the likes of Billy Godleman, Luis Reece and Brooke Guest will be hoping to challenge him.

Winter recruits, Matt Lamb and Zak Chappell, are named in the squad, while Suranga Lakmal could make his first appearance since May of last season after recovering from an elbow injury.

Derbyshire Squad:

1. Billy Godleman
12. Haider Ali
10. Luis Reece
4. Harry Came
29. Brooke Guest (wk)
77. Wayne Madsen
76. Leus du Plooy (c)
7. Matt Lamb
65. Anuj Dal
32. Zak Chappell
51. Mark Watt
59. Sam Conners
11. Ben Aitchison
82. Suranga Lakmal

The Opposition

Worcestershire go into the 2023 season under the tutelage of new Head Coach, Alan Richardson, with the New Road outfit hoping to challenge for promotion in Division Two. 

While the departure of Ed Barnard to Warwickshire could prove to be a blow across all formats, the arrival of batter Adam Hose from Edgbaston and return of Pakistan star, Azhar Ali, could provide ample replacement runs.

Captain Brett D’Oliveira will provide quality with bat and ball, while the experienced Joe Leach leads a seam attack containing the likes Dillon Pennington and Josh Tongue.

Pre-Match Talk

Club Captain, Leus du Plooy, says he’s eager for Derbyshire to kick on and show their quality this season, after a positive 2022 campaign.

Last season, du Plooy was one of six players to pass 1,000 runs across all formats, while Derbyshire enjoyed a Club-record number of wins in the Vitality Blast and remained in contention for promotion until the final two weeks of the LV= County Championship.

As he embarks on his first season as Club Captain, du Plooy has echoed the thoughts of Head of Cricket, Mickey Arthur, that promotion to Division One is the objective this season and the left-hand batter believes Derbyshire have the quality to challenge anyone.

Click the video above to watch the full interview. 

How to follow

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

Our Match Centre includes Live Streaming, in-play live 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.