Head of Cricket, Dave Houghton, says Billy Godleman will return to the side for the Royal London Cup, after taking a break from first team cricket.
Godleman, who has scored more than 9,000 runs for Derbyshire, struggled with the bat throughout the LV= County Championship and Vitality Blast, leading him to step away from playing duties, with Matt Critchley captaining the side during the interim period.
With Critchley one of three Derbyshire players to be selected for The Hundred, alongside Leus du Plooy and Luis Reece, the likes of Tom Wood, Brooke Guest and Harry Came will be determined to take their opportunities in the white ball game, while the experience of Godleman, Alex Hughes, Harvey Hosein and the returning Ravi Rampaul will be crucial on and off the field.
The club captain is set to return for the start of the 50-over competition, in which he was the leading run-scorer in 2019 with 521 runs and three centuries, and Houghton is excited to see a rejuvenated Godleman leading a hungry squad.
“Billy took time out of the game, to get a little bit of energy and get fired up for the second-part of the season,” Houghton said.
“His form wasn’t particularly good and he needed a break. I’m delighted to say he’s in good spirits and raring to go, so I expect him in for practice, and he will be set for the first game against Leicestershire.
“Everybody goes through phases where your form eludes you, you’ve got to work hard to get it back. Billy is in a good space and he knows he’s a good player across all three formats, the stats will tell you that 50-over cricket is his best format and it will be great to have him back.
“Our batting in the red ball games has not been good, we have batted better at times in the T20 competition, so hopefully we can have a good Royal London Cup with the bat.
“Billy is the club leader. Matt Critchley has stood up in his absence and has done really well as captain, but there’s no doubt that Billy is the leader of this group of players.”
Watch Derbyshire in the Royal London Cup!
50-over cricket returns to Derbyshire this month, with tickets on sale now for all home games, including the local derby against Nottinghamshire at The Incora County Ground and the fixture against Yorkshire Vikings at Queen’s Park, Chesterfield.
