Derbyshire v Kent preview

It is the last game of the season at the Incora County Ground over the next four days and Dave Houghton's last in charge of cricket at the club on home soil.

I will see only tomorrow's play, then we are off on a trip to beautiful Berwick-on-Tweed for the week. I will put a new link for each day's play, to which you can append comments and I will round it all up when I can.

Dustin Melton is back in the squad tomorrow and I would think is likely to play after boeking well in the second team. Logic suggests that if the wicket is like the one for the Leicestershire game we will play two spinners, so from the named thirteen I expect Sam Conners to miss out this time, so they can have another look at Ed Moulton, then come back in for the last game at Hove. 

The other place is likely between Harry Came and Tom Wood. Might the latter get one more chance to impress, much as Anuj Dal did last week, or has that boat sailed? The problem is that Came hasn't been getting many runs either, so it may come down to gut feeling. The likely side is:

Godleman, Came/Wood, du Plooy, Madsen, Critchley, Guest, Dal, Thomson, Aitchison, Melton, Moulton/Conners

Having said all that, I am unsure where we will go with Wood, Moulton and others out of contract. Logically no one should be signed now by a Head of Cricket who won't be here next season, so for a few players in the squad, a state of limbo kicks in now.

Kent will be aiming for their third straight win, but there is no Darren Stevens in their squad, nor is there a return for Hamidullah Qadri, who hasn't had much cricket since his move south.

They will be led by Sam Billings and have the following squad :

Billings, Bell-Drummond, Cox, Crawley, Gilchrist, Leaning, Logan, O'Riordan, Podmore, Quinn, Robinson, Singh, Stewart.

It will be a tough battle but I am going for another draw here, a moribund end of season wicket perhaps the only winner. 

We will see tomorrow.