Derbyshire Falcons face reigning Vitality Blast champions Worcestershire Rapids at The Pattonair County Ground this evening (7pm start).
The Falcons have won two of their last three games, with a 55-run victory over Yorkshire on Sunday their sixth in-a-row over the Vikings in Twenty20.
Wayne Madsen and Leus du Plooy struck half-centuries in the win, and they will continue in a top order that also includes captain Billy Godleman and Luis Reece.
Logan van Beek calimed career-best figures of 4-17 at Headingley, while Ravi Rampaul has now taken 13 wickets in the competition at an average of 13.92.
Boyd Rankin, Alex Hughes, Fynn Hudson-Prentice, Matt Critchley, Darren Stevens and Anuj Dal are all options with the ball, while wicketkeeper-batsman Daryn Smit has also been named in the 14-man squad.
1. Billy Godleman
10. Luis Reece
77. Wayne Madsen
27. Tom Lace
76. Leus du Plooy
18. Alex Hughes
20. Matt Critchley
3. Darren Stevens
65. Anuj Dal
11. Daryn Smit
33. Fynn Hudson-Prentice
37. Logan van Beek
14. Ravi Rampaul
30. Boyd Rankin
Having won the Vitality Blast last year, Worcestershire Rapids are currently third in the north group after winning four of their opening eight fixtures.
Riki Wessels is the only Worcestershire batsman to have struck more than 200 runs in this year’s competition. The opener has managed 208 at an average of 34.67, while former Derbyshire man Martin Guptill has scored 187 runs, including a high-score of 86 not out.
No Worcestershire has made it into double-figures for wickets yet, although Wayne Parnell and Patrick Brown lead the way with nine wickets apiece.
Leus du Plooy hopes that the Falcons can take momentum from their win over Yorkshire into the rest of the Vitality Blast.
Having scored 257 runs at an average of 42.83, du Plooy is Derbyshire’s highest run-scorer in the competition this season, and he made his third half-century in seven matches on Sunday.
The Falcons have now won two of their last three games, and du Plooy wants their latest victory to spur them on for the remainder of the competition, starting with the Rapids tonight.
“The vibe after a win is one hundred times better, it just shows how important it is to stay level-headed, and hopefully now we can get a few wins under our belt.
“I think that it is still very closely contested, everyone is beating everyone. You can easily find yourself second and then drop to fifth, just as you can be sixth or seventh and end up taking third.
“The latter-part of this competition is crucial, the depth of teams is going to be tested and fatigue will come into play heavily.
“It always helps when you win, but I have been really impressed by our home support so far, they have been awesome to play in front of and hopefully they can put us in good stead moving forward.”
Follow the action ball-by-ball on the Derbyshire County Cricket Club website with our interactive Match Centre.
Improved for the 2019 season, the centre will include a full scorecard, ball-by-ball updates and clips of all the key moments.
Click HERE to access the page during play.
Vitality Blast is back! Derbyshire host a hat-trick of Twenty20 matches at The Pattonair County Ground in August. Buy in advance to save. Call 01332 388 101 or buy online.
[twentyticket]
