Derbyshire v Nottinghamshire Vitality Blast preview

I have to admit that when I saw the tweet headline 'Fletcher is a Falcon' today, my first thought was that Derbyshire had somehow persuaded Nottinghamshire to loan us Luke Fletcher ahead of the Friday night East Midlands derby...

I must also confess not knowing much more than any of you about Cam Fletcher, the New Zealand wicket keeper bat who will play the remainder of the Vitality Blast, but his statistics are good and he seems to be a middle order finisher who can hit the ball a very long way. 

There is a nice article about him here

With Brooke Guest and Aneurin Donald already on the staff it seems unlikely we will see him with gloves on, but his ability to score quickly will be much appreciated. He batted at four for Glamorgan in a three-match stay last year and an average of 35 in the format is good going, so too a strike rate in the mid-130s.

While I have been critical of Mickey Arthur in his overseas recruitment so far, Fletcher seems absolutely the sort of player we should have had from the outset. Fair play in recognising this and doing something about it. 

The signing comes about because Blair Tickner and his wife are returning to New Zealand to continue her treatment for leukaemia. I have massive respect for Tickner in the way that he has gone about his work with a smile on his face and giving everything, when so much is going on in the background. No one could fault his effort and I am sure I speak on behalf of everyone in wishing the family the very best for the future and hopefully a full recovery.

Wayne Madsen and Nye Donald are both named in the 15-man squad for the game at home tomorrow against Nottinghamshire, as well as the fixture against Yorkshire at Headingley on Sunday. It will be a huge asset to have both of them back in the side alongside Fletcher, especially for those all important early overs. Sam Conners is in the squad too, after bowling well for the second team. 

Were I selecting the side I would go with this: 

Donald 

Lloyd

Madsen

Fletcher 

Patel

Guest

Whiteley 

Chappell

Wagstaff

Brown 

Dupavillon

Also in squad: Came, Reece, Conners, Dal.

Depending on the pitch, Reece or Conners could play instead of Wagstaff, but for me the above eleven gives us power from the outset, which we have so far missed.

As for our visitors, they look vulnerable if you can expose the middle order by getting Hales and Clarke early. The loss of Christian, Mullaney and of course Patel leaves less experience, which Derbyshire will hope to exploit.

They announced a squad of fourteen for the game against Worcestershire at Trent Bridge tonight and I suspect it will change little from this for tomorrow: 

Hales, Clarke, Haynes, Martindale, Harrison, James, Lister, Montgomery, Moores, Patterson-White, Pennington, Pettman, Stone, Young.

No Slater, Hameed or Fletcher, though Pennington and Stone could make for a lively opening pairing. 

If this Derbyshire side played to potential and plays the opposition on merit, rather than reputation and past form, we can win this game. I just want to see Derbyshire play with the foot down from the outset. Continue to bowl and field as we largely have done from the start of the competition, show no fear with the bat. There is talent in that side to hurt any opponents. 

Let's hope that we can do so tomorrow night.

Postscript: Nottinghamshire are currently hammering Worcestershire, although the latter to be fair have batted poorly.

Post postscript: they blew it. Wow...