Derbyshire Falcons continue their NatWest T20 Blast campaign with a trip to the Fischer County Ground, Grace Road, to face Leicestershire Foxes on Friday 8 July 6.30pm start.
The Falcons have named a 13-man squad for the fixture that will be the first time the two East Midlands rivals have faced up under floodights at Leicester.
Having produced a superb all-round bowling performance to blow away the Foxes in the fixture between the two sides at Derby earlier this year, the Falcons will head to Grace Road looking to complete the double over their local rivals.
Confidence in the camp is high after an impressive win over Worcestershire Rapids last time out, when Derbyshire chased down their second highest target in the format’s history with Wayne Madsen continuing his superb form to finish 59 not out.
Click HERE for an interview with Matt Critchley previewing Friday’s clash.
The Foxes, meanwhile, welcome South Africa batsman Farhaan Behardien into their squad for the first time and are hoping he will provide a boost to a side that currently sits bottom of the North Division
72. Hamish Rutherford
3. Wes Durston
22. Chesney Hughes
4. Neil Broom
77. Wayne Madsen
26. Ben Slater
57. Shiv Thakor
5. Jimmy Neesham
18. Alex Hughes
20. Matt Critchley
16. Harvey Hosein
8. Tom Milnes
7. Andy Carter
Leicestershire Elite Performance Director Andrew McDonald is hoping that the introduction of Farhaan Behardien to his Foxes line-up will improve their on-field fortunes after a mixed NatWest T20 Blast so far.
The Foxes have won just twice in the format so far this term but have been narrowly edged out in a number of their five defeats.
McDonald is hoping a busy upcoming period, including five Twenty20 fixtures in under 10 days, will be just the tonic as they attempt to get back on track as they search for their fourth crown in T20 cricket.
He said: “Farhaan is a quality player, we’ve seen him be very effective at international level and in the IPL, and he’s a great addition.
“We have five T20 games in a row now, and of course we’d have liked to be better placed going into them, but just because we’re up against it as things stand right now, it doesn’t mean we can’t go on a run and squeeze into the top four.
“We probably need to win five of our last six, but once you get a bit of momentum in this format you can go on a run, and we believe if we can get on to the front foot on Friday having a lot of games in a short period can work in our favour.”
Leicestershire squad: Mark Pettini, Mark Cosgrove, Cameron Delport, Farhaan Behardien, Kevin O’Brien, Paul Horton, Lewis Hill, Michael Burgess, Luke Wells, Neil Dexter, Ben Raine, Clint McKay, Rob Taylor, Jiagr Naik
Click HERE to keep up-to-date with the game via our new Matchday LIVE page, sponsored by Showcase Cinemas de Lux.
You can also follow live updates on Twitter (@DerbyshireCCC) by using #LEIvDER, plus updates will be available on Facebook throughout the match.
Supporters can also listen to live ball-by-ball commentary with BBC Radio Derby online HERE.
Supporters can save 20% by purchasing their NatWest T20 Blast matchday tickets in advance of the day of the game. Buy online, over the phone by calling 01332 388 101 or in person at The 3aaa County Ground.
Yorkshire Vikings – Sun 10 July – BUY
Lancashire Lightning – Wed 13 July – BUY
Worcestershire Rapids – Fri 22 July – BUY
