Gloucestershire v Derbyshire preview

Both Amrit Basra and Yusuf Bin Naeem have been recalled to the Derbyshire squad for the game that starts tomorrow against Gloucestershire, at Bristol. 

It's fair to say Amrit will be tired tonight, as he was playing in Birmingham today for the second eleven and scored a magnificent 170,  before heading off on a hundred-mile drive at the close of play.

My personal preference would be for both of them to play, although that seems unlikely. Nye Donald has been brought back from Rotterdam (I can guarantee never writing that sentence before) and is likely to take a place in the side, replacing Caleb Jewell, while there is no place in the squad for Anuj Dal, which creates an opportunity for one of them. I think it likely that Mickey Arthur will go for both spinners, because this is the most likely pitch on the circuit to support them. 

Both Naeem and Basra are capable of bowling a few overs if needed and Derbyshire are likely to field the following eleven tomorrow:

Came, Donald, Montgomery, Madsen, Andersson, Guest, Naeem/Basra, Aitchison, Randell, Morley, Bashir (Potts in 13)

I don't think Wayne Madsen will be rested, especially since he is captain, so my guess would be Nick Potts and either Basra or Naeem missing out. 

Gloucestershire Head Coach Mark Alleyne has made one change to his squad for the match, with Aman Rao rotated out and Will Williams returning.

There is also the prospect of a Bristol debut for Sai Kishore, with the Indian spinner included in the squad.

Cameron Bancroft (C), Daaryoush Ahmed, James Bracey, Tommy Boorman, Miles Hammond, James Hayes, Sai Kishore, Mitchell Killeen, JT Langridge, Ed Middleton, Joe Phillips, Ollie Price, Matt Taylor & Will Williams.

This is a game that Derbyshire really should win. Then again, we should have done the same at Derby, when the visitors eased to victory by 10 wickets after Williams and Brookes added 191 for the ninth wicket in their only innings. It was an early example of Derbyshire losing control of matches and there have been plenty of others to follow over the course of the summer. 

The home side, to their credit, have been offering opportunity to young players as the season has progressed. It hasn't helped their points tally, but I applaud the rationale that mighty oaks might grow from these acorns. 

The weather forecast suggests a couple of days being affected by rain. That being the case, I am going to predict a draw, which would be immensely frustrating from a Derbyshire perspective. 

We will see. What do you think?

Finally, in that second team game, Derbyshire made 411-7 on the fairly small Edgbaston Nursery Ground. 

Basra had 21 fours and 5 sixes in his 170, with good support coming from Joe Hawkins (43), Mitch Wagstaff (42) and Niall McHale, Zak Chappell and Feroze Khushi, who all registered 30s.

Scorecard and video clips here