Stand-in Captain Billy Godleman says it is a huge honour to captain Derbyshire ahead of the visit of Gloucestershire in the LV= County Championship, starting on Sunday.
The 26-year-old batsman captained the county for the first time against Lancashire at Southport last time out, and is set to lead Derbyshire at The 3aaa County Ground this week.
Godleman, has enjoyed a good start in the four-day format in 2015, averaging 42.83 from six innings, in which he has made three half-centuries.
He also signed a one-year contract extension at the start of the month, and says he is delighted to have the opportunity to captain Derbyshire in the absence of the injured Club Captain Wayne Madsen.
“It was a great honour to be invited to be Captain for the last game against Lancashire,” said Godleman.
“It’s a real privilege to be asked to lead the team by Graeme Welch, a man and a coach I have the utmost respect for.
“To lead and captain my friends is fantastic for me personally, and I feel really fortunate to have the opportunity to do so.
“This club means a great deal to my heart, cricket is a great passion of mine and I feel very blessed to play cricket for a career. To be able to captain Derbyshire means an awful lot to me.”
Derbyshire take on Gloucestershire this week having returned from Bristol victorious from the reverse fixture at the end of April.
And Godleman insists the team will be suitably prepared in their quest to register their first home win in the LV= County Championship this season.
“Winning cricket matches is a long process in itself, what we have to do is to break games down into smaller sections, taking each session and each day as it comes.
“We need to make sure we have clear plans, we are up against some good players. We need to ensure we have that awareness and make sure that we are prepared for four days of cricket.
“We beat Gloucestershire at Bristol a month ago, we have taken information from that game. We have learned a lot and also from the matches we have played since.
“A win at any stage of the season is massive, we always do all we can to win any game of cricket for Derbyshire and the Gloucestershire game will be treated just the same.”
