Derbyshire look to move forward
08.05.26, 11:47 Updated 08.05.26, 11:47 3 Minute Read
Paul Fisher
If you ask most Derbyshire’s members and supporters, they wouldn’t agree that Derbyshire have moved forward at all this season, at best, it would appear, they have plateaued. Only Gloucestershire (who Derbyshire lost to) are below them in the table in a season where Arthur’s men were tipped to be competing with favourites, Lancashire and Durham.
Derbyshire host Northamptonshire at the Central Co-op County Ground on the back of three successive losses, two of them away from home, the latest at Canterbury against Kent, who were bottom of the table before they played Derbyshire, as were Gloucestershire. They will be delighted to be playing a side in the top two, or not.
While the Falcons will be bruised and hurt from the defeats recently, they will be pleased to be back home and give the fans an opportunity to see Rory Haydon, who took 10 wickets at Canterbury and give some hope to the supporters that he could be one for the now and also for the future.
Both sides drew their encounters last season both in Derby and at Northampton and Derbyshire would take a draw, I’m sure, against a side with an unbeaten start to the season. Northamptonshire’s only win came last time out against Worcestershire, but they have draws against Middlesex, Kent and Lancashire, which shows they can be a tough nut to break.
Northamptonshire have the country’s leading wicket-taker in Ben Sanderson, who with 25 dismissals to his name, is more than James Anderson. As for the batting, Northants have James Sales, Nathan McSweeney and Ricardo Vasconcelos each have two centuries to their names this campaign.
Nick Potts and Mitch Wagstaff have been added to the squad, although it’s likely that Arthur will go with the same XI as the previous game. Derbyshire would like more runs from their overseas batter in Caleb Jewell, who is averaging around 16 this campaign. They are again without their overseas bowler in Muhammed Abbas, who is on international duty with Pakistan.
Derbyshire squad: Wayne Madsen (captain), Harry Came, Martin Andersson, Luis Reece, Nye Donald (wk), Shoaib Bashir, Ben Aitchison, Jack Morley, Matthew Montgomery, Mitch Wagstaff, Caleb Jewell, Nick Potts, Brooke Guest (wk), Zak Chappell, Rory Haydon.
Play gets under way at the Central Co-op County Ground at 11am.
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Paul Fisher My name is Paul Fisher, I'm a freelance writer, broadcaster and commentator. I have been in the media industry since 2010 and have worked for a variety of companies including BBC Local Radio, Spotlight Sports Group, bet365, plus many others.
