Gary Wilson has added Hamidullah Qadri to an otherwise unchanged squad to face Lancashire Lightning in the NatWest T20 Blast fixture at Emirates Old Trafford on Sunday 16 July; 2.30pm start.
The Falcons take a 15-man squad to Lancashire on the back of two wins in the competition so far, over reigning champions Northants Steelbacks and a strong Yorkshire Vikings side.
The three-run win over Yorkshire in front of a sold-out crowd in Chesterfield will give the Falcons confidence heading into their third match and Captain Wilson has only made one addition to the travelling group.
Off spinner Qadri comes in and provides a further spin option alongside Imran Tahir, Matt Critchley and Wayne Madsen. The 16-year-old impressed on his first-class debut against Glamorgan, returning match figures of 6-76, but is yet to make an appearance in the NatWest T20 Blast.
Tahir has made a strong start to the competition and his figures of 3-18 from four overs against Yorkshire turned the game in Derbyshire’s favour. Madsen provides an all-round option, a handy off spin bowler in the powerplay and an expansive batsman in the middle order.
Ben Slater and Billy Godleman are likely to continue at the top of the order, with Luis Reece set to come in at three and complete the line up of left-handers.
Matt Henry and Hardus Viljoen are the main components of a strong seam attack. The New Zealand international closed out the final over victory against Yorkshire, whilst Viljoen returned figures of 3-28 against the Steelbacks.
1. Billy Godleman
10. Luis Reece
26. Ben Slater
77. Wayne Madsen
18. Alex Hughes
9. Gary Wilson
Callum Brodrick
11. Daryn Smit
20. Matt Critchley
21. Matt Henry
7. Hardus Viljoen
15. Tom Taylor
36. Ben Cotton
75. Hamidullah Qadri
99. Imran Tahir
Lancashire Lightning have three points from their opening three games, having won, tied and lost. Last time out they drew a thrilling Roses clash with Yorkshire and have named an unchanged squad for the Falcons’ visit.
Liam Livingstone’s firepower will be a threat at the top of the order after the 23-year-old hit 247 runs at a strike rate over 140 in last year’s competition. He has a top-score this campaign of 48 off 34 deliveries in the defeat to Leicestershire Foxes.
Jos Buttler is likely to keep wicket and slot into the middle order, alongside Dane Vilas and Ryan McLaren. All three are vastly experienced in the format, with Buttler striking at over 147, Vilas averaging 32 and McLaren proving both quick runs and wickets.
Tom Bailey and Junaid Khan will provide further pace bowling options alongside McLaren, whilst Steven Croft is likely to open the bowling in the powerplay overs.
Slow left-arm orthodox bowler Stephen Parry has played over 100 domestic Twenty20 matches and taken 115 wickets at an average under 25.
Lightning Squad: Steven Croft (C), Tom Bailey, Jos Buttler (wk), Karl Brown, Jordan Clark, Kyle Jarvis, Rob Jones, Junaid Khan, Danny Lamb, Arron Lilley, Liam Livingstone, Ryan McLaren, Matthew Parkinson, Stephen Parry, Dane Vilas
Derbyshire Falcons began the NatWest T20 Blast campaign with back-to-back wins, but Twenty20 Specialist Coach John Wright still feels there is room for improvement.
Wright said: “It’s a nice start but we can still play better. At the start of the competition if you win your first two games you will be very happy, but I still feel we can play better and that’s what we intend to do.
“The crowd get really involved in T20 cricket and to them it’s a fun game. But for the players they want to go out there and win and they’re really competitive.
“The great thing about T20 is that competitiveness and if you play well you can beat any side.”
NatWest T20 Blast is back this July and August. Save £4 by purchasing your matchday tickets in advance. While further discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. Buy online today to secure your place and save.
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