Derbyshire have named a 14-man squad for the return to Specsavers County Championship cricket, away to Durham on Saturday 9 June; 11am start.
Derbyshire switch back to red ball cricket after an improved Royal London One-Day Cup campaign saw the Falcons finish fifth in the North Group, with four wins and four defeats.
Disappointed to miss out on the knockout stages in the final group game, Billy Godleman’s men now look to take form from four List A wins into the return to Specsavers County Championship cricket, a format in which they started brightly at the beginning of the season.
Derbyshire are currently fourth in Division Two, with 46 points from their first four matches, after one win, one defeat and two draws.
Godleman and fellow opener Ben Slater have been in fine form at the top of the order so far this summer. They recorded three opening partnerships of 100 or more, as well as one over 50, in the eight Royal London One-Day Cup matches.
With Luis Reece unavailable through injury, Godleman is set for a return to the top of the order to join Slater, who is averaging 48.42 in the competition so far.
Wayne Madsen is Derbyshire’s leading run-scorer with 364 and he is set to continue in the middle order, alongside Alex Hughes and Matt Critchley.
Harvey Hosein comes into the squad to provide a further batting and wicketkeeping option, as Gary Wilson joins Ireland for a T20 Tri-Series against Scotland and the Netherlands.
Duanne Olivier and Hardus Viljoen are set to lead the pace attack, alongside the experienced duo of Ravi Rampaul and Tony Palladino.
1. Billy Godleman
26. Ben Slater
77. Wayne Madsen
18. Alex Hughes
19. Callum Brodrick
20. Matt Critchley
16. Harvey Hosein
11. Daryn Smit
7. Hardus Viljoen
28. Tony Palladino
41. Ravi Rampaul
74. Duanne Olivier
75. Hamidullah Qadri
17. Alfie Gleadall
Durham sit seventh in Specsavers County Championship Division Two, nine points behind Derbyshire in fourth.
Tom Latham’s men finished bottom of the Royal London One-Day Cup North Group table with four points, but will look to bounce back in red ball cricket following the break for the List A tournament.
Paul Collingwood misses out through injury, so Cameron Steel will re-take the reins and look to continue his form which has seen him score 117 runs at an average of 39.
When the sides met at The 3aaa County Ground in mid-May, Derbyshire battled on the final day to secure a draw with nine wickets down.
But the main man with the ball that day, Mark Wood (6-46) will be unavailable due to selection for England’s One-Day International series against Australia.
Durham Squad: Cameron Steel (c), Tom Latham, Will Smith, Graham Clark, Gareth Harte, Michael Jones, Ryan Davies (wk), Liam Trevaskis, Nathan Rimmington, Josh Coughlin, Chris Rushworth, Matt Salisbury, Gavin Main
Billy Godleman wants his Derbyshire side to reflect on their Royal London One-Day Cup campaign and focus on their skills ahead of a block of red ball cricket.
He said: “It’s important we use our reflection time wisely to make sure we improve as individuals and overall as a Club. Human nature means we’ll be reflecting on what should have been, but I am a big believer in trying to stay as level as possible.
“We have no option but to play the next day of cricket and they come thick and fast as a professional cricketer. We’ll recover, travel, then get ready for a game against Durham on Saturday.
“We’ve been playing good cricket in the Championship before we broke for this competition. We’ve got experience with bat and ball and we will be leaning on that in the next few days.
“We’ll break this down into the next block of three games and highlight our skills and tactics, to make sure we give ourselves the chance to play good cricket.”
Luis Reece will miss the trip to Durham with injury, whilst Gary Wilson is on international duty with Ireland, and Godleman hopes younger members of the squad can step up and prove their skills.
He said: “It’s what we all dream of and aspired to be as young cricketers. Whoever gets that opportunity will be thrilled and I’m sure they’ll be looking forward to it.
“It’s a good opportunity for their development, but also an opportunity for us to see their skills and see how they’re doing.”
Vitality Blast is back! Derbyshire Falcons host seven Twenty20 games this July and August. Purchase your tickets in advance and save from £4. Buy online or call 01332 388 101.
[twentyticket]
