Derbyshire Falcons head into their final home Vitality Blast north group fixture still in the hunt for a place in the quarter-finals.
Currently sixth, after picking up five points from their last four fixtures, the Falcons will be aiming to move back into the top-four by doing the double over Northants.
Captain Billy Godleman, Luis Reece, Wayne Madsen and Leus du Plooy have all scored more than 200 runs in the competition this season, with the four making up a settled top order.
Alex Hughes scored the winning runs when Derbyshire beat Northants earlier this month, and he is named in the squad again alongside Matt Critchley, Fynn Hudson-Prentice, Darren Stevens and Daryn Smit.
Ravi Rampaul has claimed 16 wickets at an average 15.75. He will continue with the ball along with Logan van Beek, while Boyd Rankin has also been named in the squad.
1. Billy Godleman
10. Luis Reece
77. Wayne Madsen
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
After ten matches, Northants Steelbacks are eighth in the table with two wins to their name.
Adam Rossington (157) and Alex Wakely (155) are the only two Northants batsmen to have passed 150 runs in this year’s competition, both averaging more than 25.
Ben Sanderson leads the way with the ball, having claimed ten wickets at an average of 17.60, while Graeme White and Faheem Ashraf both have seven wickets to their name.
Derbyshire captain Billy Godleman is looking forward to Derbyshire’s return to Vitality Blast cricket with the visit of Northants Steelbacks.
Sitting just one point outside the top-four qualification places, Godleman’s side have shown promise in the format so far, with standout performances from the likes of Leus du Plooy and Logan van Beek
Coming into the fixture after a brief switch to red ball cricket, Derbyshire will be aiming to replicate the form which has seen them make it six-successive wins over Yorkshire and also claim victory over the Steelbacks in front of the TV cameras.
“We are really excited about Friday,” said Godleman.
“We got into T20 mode and have been playing some really good stuff in that format, so hopefully we can use home advantage on Friday and put ourselves in a position to go to Grace Road with something on the line.
“It wasn’t a good performance against Leicestershire, but that happens and on the whole we’ve played well in the competition in a very tough North Group.
“I do believe if we keep playing that way over the next three games then we have a good chance of winning two, if not three of them.
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.
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