Derbyshire v Durham T20 Blast preview

The Blast is here and after an underwhelming start to the summer, Derbyshire go into it on the back of two red ball wins, followed by a convincing victory over Cheshire in a warm-up match. 

I don't think the side for tomorrow night will show too many changes from that which did well against Cheshire on Wednesday. Akif Javed has arrived and will take his place in the side, but there is no news on the fitness of Zak Chappell. So in his absence, it might be that the final place is between Jack Morley and Nick Potts, as Derbyshire go with this side:

Donald, Andersson, Jewell, Madsen, Montgomery, Whiteley, Basra, Bin Naeem, Aitchison, Javed, Potts/Morley

There is a good vitality in that side and it should be a better fielding unit than in recent years. So much can happen in this form of the game and they can turn on a moment of brilliance in the field, which in turn puts pressure on an incoming batter. 

The side also bats deep with boundary clearers, but as I have written before, much will rest on the ability of the Derbyshire attack to limit opponents better than they managed last year. We cannot chase 200-plus on a regular basis and hope to progress.

Durham turn up at what is likely to be a red hot Central Co-op County Ground with a squad of fourteen, as follows:

Ackerman, Aldridge, Bedingham, Clark, Lees, Minto, Mustard, Parkinson, Potts, Raine, Rhodes, L Robinson, O Robinson, Sowter

Bedingham and Ackerman can take games away from opponents very quickly, so Mickey Arthur's side will hope to make early inroads when they bowl.

The result? I couldn't call this one and it depends on which team delivers their best game on the night.

It will make for fascinating viewing.

Postscript: no Zak Chappell in the late-announced squad, so I suspect the team will be as given above. Harry Came and Mitch Wagstaff are also in the squad