Kent v Derbyshire preview

Shiv Thakor is back in the Derbyshire 13 for their game against Kent at Canterbury, starting tomorrow.

The following squad has travelled:

Billy Godleman
Hamish Rutherford
Chesney Hughes
Wayne Madsen
Neil Broom
Shiv Thakor
Ben Slater
Tom Poynton
Rob Hemmings
Tony Palladino
Matt Critchley
Ben Cotton
Will Davis

If I was selecting the side on current form, the two to miss out would be Chesney Hughes and Rob Hemmings. Rob let no one down on debut, but there are stronger claims, while Chesney's recent form has been sketchy and Ben Slater, to be honest, is more deserving of a place. I'd open with Bill and Ben, then have Hamish at first drop.

As for the home side, they have yet to announce a team but having beaten us at Derby will hope to complete the double. I still think they bat better than they bowl, but we will need to up our game to get anything from this.

We can do though and, last night apart, we have played well in the last month. Let's not forget that we'd have likely beaten Worcestershire given four days of cricket.

I think, given a decent forecast, we can get the win points here.

Your thoughts are, as always, appreciated!