Derbyshire travel to near neighbours Leicestershire for their fifth game in the Metro Bank One Day Cup, the 62nd meeting in one day cricket between the two sides but the first in this form of the game since 2021.
Heritage Officer David Griffin previews the fixture.
Honours have been largely even over the years, Derbyshire winning 27 and Leicestershire 29 with five matches succumbing to the weather.
Derbyshire first encountered Leicestershire in a 40-over match at Leicester when the home side won by six runs in the fledgling Player’s County League in 1969 (the competition would be renamed The John Player League from 1970).
Echoing the majority of limited overs scores of the day and ones which would prevail for a further decade, Leicestershire made 161-9 off their 40 overs before Derbyshire replied with 155-7. Four runs per over was considered a good run rate; in fact, during that 1969 season, in the 12 matches in which Derbyshire faced a full allocation of 40 overs, their average innings total was 151. By way of contrast, Derbyshire’s average T20 innings total is over 150.
Despite winning only seven of their first 24 clashes, Derbyshire put together a splendid winning run of eight matches between 1987 and 1992.
Derbyshire’s highest innings total of 298-7 (60 overs) came in a dramatic NatWest Trophy semi-final at Leicester in 1998 which they won by just three runs, although their highest 50 overs total of 278 all out at Leicester in 1996 saw them slip to a four run defeat.
Leicestershire’s highest innings total of 312 for eight at Leicester in 2019 turned out to be insufficient as Derbyshire scored 266 in only 39 overs, winning under the Duckworth Lewis ruling.
These matches have generally been played at the headquarters grounds of Derby and Leicester, but Burton-on-Trent, Chesterfield, Knypersley and Long Eaton have also hosted.
Derbyshire batsmen have scored six hundreds against Leicestershire; Dean Jones, Michael Di Venuto, Chris Rogers, Wayne Madsen all making one apiece with Billy Godleman scoring two.
There have been 14 century partnerships, none higher than the 133 runs added by Ant Botha and James Pipe for the sixth wicket at Leicester in 2007, while Kim Barnett (five) featured in the most century partnerships for Derbyshire.
Three bowlers have taken five wickets in an innings; Ian Buxton (five for 19) at Leicester in 1972, Kevin Dean (five for 45) at Derby in 2005 and Mark Footitt (five for 59) at Leicester in 2014.
Iain Anderson, Barnett, and Colin Wells are the only outfielders to take three catches in a List A match against Leicestershire.
For Leicestershire, there have been seven one day hundreds, three of them by David Gower including the highest of 156 in a NatWest Trophy game at Leicester in 1984.
With the ball, Jim Allenby, former Derbyshire player and coach Adrian Pierson and Winston Benjamin all took five wickets in an innings with Benjamin’s five for 32 at Derby in 1992 being the best figures.
50-over cricket at the height of summer!
The Metro Bank One-Day Cup is back for the school holidays, with plenty of Falcons action still to come!
After an East Midlands Derby victory against Notts Outlaws, we still have two huge fixtures at The Central Co-op County Ground, with the Tap Takeover fixture against Surrey, with Shiny Brewery, and the Community Fixture against Essex.
