At the ripe old age of 25, Dustin Melton is set to be the senior member of Derbyshire's seam attack tomorrow against Yorkshire at Headingley.
Michael Cohen (22) and Ben Aitchison (21) look like being the other members of the seam attack, with support from Matt Critchley, who was 24 this week. Alex Hughes will doubtless pitch in with a few overs and ruin the age demographic, almost paternal at the age of 28.
There is no Luis Reece, who is rested for this one, so Tom Wood will likely open in his first first-class appearance since 2016. It is well-deserved, though I am sure that he would have preferred more match action than he has had this summer ahead of his return.
Nevertheless, Tom has an opportunity to show what he can do against the team that is our closest rival in the group. Nils Priestley is also in the squad and I suspect that the final place will come down to a choice between he and Anuj Dal. The latter may edge it by virtue of being another seam option, but the talented Priestley, at 19, would be an intriguing pick as an aggressive batsman of some talent, also capable of a few overs.
Tomorrow's attack could be sponsored by Farley's, with the eleven, bar for Messrs Godleman and Madsen having a very youthful look. It is great and I applaud Dave Houghton for rotating his squad and offering opportunity to young talent.
That squad:
Godleman, Wood, Madsen, du Plooy, Critchley, Hughes, Hosein, Dal, Priestley, Conners, Cohen, Aitchison, Melton.
There is a Yorkshire return for England man David Willey, while former Derbyshire player Duanne Olivier will make up the other half of a potent new ball pairing.There is a similar youthful look to the home side, although they will hope for runs from the experienced top three of Lyth, Kohler-Cadmore and Bairstow.
Their fourteen-man squad:
Lyth, Kohler-Cadmore, Bairstow, Brook, Malan, Hill, Leech, Patterson, Shutt, Tattersall, Thompson, Warner, Willey, Olivier.
It will be a tough test for us, but we have a good record against Yorkshire of late and will fear no one in present form.
I look forward to reporting on the events of the first day, later tomorrow.
Go well, lads.
Such a great feeling looking ahead to Yorkshire and beyond. Not known such optimism for many a year.
ReplyDeleteLet's just enjoy the moment.
Thanks again, Peakfan. You are a legend
Thanks Silenius, that's very kind mate. Things are looking good for the future!
DeleteReally don’t understand the policy rest and rotation in what is a short season if Derbyshire are serious about wanting to win this trophy they should be fielding the strongest possible team ( does winning this trophy equate to winning the county championship?)
ReplyDeleteHi Ranger, no it doesn't. It is a one off trophy and while we want to win it, the T20 is fast approaching when a small squad will be playing 3 intense games a week.
DeleteI don't know if we know our strongest team to be honest. It is a strong squad and Reece, who has opened batting and bowling, needed a breather. The only real change is likely Aitchison and Cohen for Barnes and Conners, with Wood playing as an outright opening bat instead of Reece.
So with Palladino and Rampaul missing, there's not much in it, for me.
It underlines how important Luis is though, when you are without his all round skills.
These lads will do well though and give their best. And we need to see what Tom Wood is capable of
I think we need to be mindful that for a lot of our squad these games will have been the first meaningful cricket they've played for almost a year and they've also not had anything like a normal pre season to reach peak fitness. Rotation is a necessity.
DeleteBeen a brilliant start, better than anyone imagined. Get a result against a strong Tyke side and the tongues will be wagging about 'little' Derbyshire.
ReplyDeletePs great to have cricket, all be it in empty grounds,but I commented here in May I was pretty certain there would be none at all. Never been so glad to be proven wrong.
Dave
Wirral
Reece has a slight injury so not rested as such.
ReplyDeleteI think it is one that in other circumstances he might have played through, but there's a lot of cricket coming up and he is hugely important to the side.
DeleteOpportunity is presented for others, so will be interesting!
I see Australia are now using the county ground when they come over in Sept. Surely we are receiving a substantial amount of money for hosting these teams as there cant be too many other options for these touring teams to stay? Will be interesting to find out in next years accounts!
ReplyDeleteLittle kolpakshire more like!
ReplyDeleteThere's always one, and always anonymous...
DeleteLook around the counties and there are worse offenders than Derbyshire. Kolpaks will be unable to play next year.
Of those you are presumably referring to, Madsen is English qualified for years, du Plooy and Cohen can continue to play on their passports. Melton will have been UK resident for 5 years next year.
Might be worth checking your facts, before having a sneaky dig...
Hi Anonymous whoever you may be. As Peakfan says please let us know who you are and stop having a sneaky dig. Have a look for a start at how many players Notts have signed from other counties.
Deletehttps://youtu.be/DeuOa-hj9Vw
ReplyDeleteLink to the live stream available to all.
If struggling with that link, go to
ReplyDeletehttps://www.tapatalk.com/groups/whiteroseforum/bob-willis-trophy-yorkshire-vs-derbyshire-at-headi-t12358.html
And click the 'stream' link
Excellent live stream from Headingley. Nice to see unbiased coverage with replays of boundaries, wickets and near misses. Unlike the coverage from Trent Bridge and Grace Road. Intriguing days cricket so far, great battle between bat and ball. I think our inexperienced attack has really stuck to the task.
ReplyDelete