Graeme Welch has named an unchanged squad for the Specsavers County Championship fixture versus Kent at The 3aaa County Ground, starting on Sunday.
Derbyshire enter the match on the back of five successive draws to start the new campaign after drawing their last outing against Essex.
Chesney Hughes continued his good start to the season hitting an unbeaten 66 to take his tally to 569 runs in 2016, at an average of 113. He is currently the leading run scorer across both divisions in the County Championship.
Hamish Rutherford also enjoyed a good match last time out, hitting 49 and 68, while Cricket Derbyshire Academy in partnership with the University of Derby graduates Tom Taylor and Ben Cotton retain their places in the squad.
Elite Performance Director, Graeme Welch said: “There is evidence of people coming into form. Things are moving forward.
“Hamish Rutherford has struggled a little bit this season but we’ve seen glimpses of him returning to form, and obviously Chesney Hughes has played well.
“We need to score more runs in the first innings. We seem to be losing wickets in clusters quite a lot, but it is one of those things – we’ve identified it and now need to do something about it.”
1. Billy Godleman (Captain)
22. Chesney Hughes
72. Hamish Rutherford
77. Wayne Madsen
4. Neil Broom
57. Shiv Thakor
20. Matthew Critchley
23. Tom Poynton
8. Tom Milnes
28. Tony Palladino
36. Ben Cotton
15. Tom Taylor
Kent have enjoyed a good start to the new Specsavers County Championship campaign and currently sit second in Division Two. They have drawn four and won fixture, a 10-wicket victory over Glamorgan at Canterbury.
Opener Daniel Bell-Drummond has been in fine form and top Kent’s run scoring charts with 414 runs at an average of 82, including one century and three fifties in seven innings.
Matt Coles returns from suspension, while Alex Blake and James Tredwell also return to the squad as Darren Stevens (knee) and Adam Riley (side) are unavailable.
Kent squad: Sam Northeast, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Tom Latham, Joe Denly, Sean Dickson, Alex Blake, Adam Rouse, Calum Haggett, Matt Coles, James Tredwell, Mitchell Claydon, Matt Hunn, Ivan Thomas.
Can’t make it to The 3aaa County Ground? Click HERE to keep up to date with the game via our new Matchday LIVE, sponsored by Showcase Cinemas de Lux.
You can also follow live updates on Twitter (@DerbyshireCCC) by using the #DERvKEN hashtag, plus regular updates will be available on Facebook throughout the match.
Supporters can also listen to live ball-by-ball commentary with BBC Radio Derby online HERE.
Derbyshire Falcons host their opening home NatWest T20 Blast fixture vs Leicestershire Foxes on Friday 3 June. Buy your tickets in advance to secure your seat and save 20%.
Leicestershire Foxes – Friday 3 June – BUY NOW
Birmingham Bears – Friday 17 June – BUY NOW
Notts Outlaws – Friday 24 June – BUY NOW
Northants Steelbacks – Sunday 3 July – BUY NOW
Yorkshire Vikings – Sunday 10 July – BUY NOW
Lancashire Lightning – Wednesday 13 July – BUY NOW
Worcestershire Rapids – Friday 22 July – BUY NOW
