Derbyshire CCC Match Preview - 5/9/21

The Running Foxes travel to the Incora County Ground to take on Derbyshire CCC as both clubs search for their first win of the 2021 LV= County Championship Division Three campaign.

Both teams head into the clash on the back of defeats with Leicestershire having lost inside three days against the visiting Kent CCC, and Derbyshire losing away at Middlesex CCC on the final day.

The Season So Far

Derbyshire came bottom of Group One in the LV= Insurance County Championship with 72 points (0 wins, 5 draws, 5 defeats), 39 points behind the Running Foxes in Group Two. Subsequently, this placed them along with us in Division Three, where they currently sit bottom having accumulated 13.5 points at the time of writing, one point below Leicestershire.

In their opening match of Division Three, Derbyshire picked up four points in a loss to Middlesex. They conceded a first-innings lead of 77 to their hosts at Lord’s, and were unable to chase 334 in their second innings to lose by 112 runs.

Leicestershire also fell to defeat in their opener in Division Three, going down by a similar margin to Kent. Despite lower-order resistance from Ben Mike (70) and Ed Barnes (70) in particular, we were unable to chase 385 for victory in our second innings to start off our Division Three campaign with a disappointing defeat. 

Last Time We Met

The two teams last met in the Bob Willis Trophy last season at the Uptonsteel County Ground, with our visitors recording a nine-wicket victory. Batting first, the Running Foxes could manage just 199 with Harry Dearden top-scoring with 70, and Dustin Melton (4-22) doing the main damage for our Midlands rivals. 

In response, a ton from Wayne Madsen and three separate fifties saw Derbyshire accumulate an imposing 408 all out, giving them a lead of 209 runs. No Leicestershire player passed fifty in our second innings, as we managed just 220 all out (Matt Critchley 6-73), giving Derbyshire a target of only 12 runs to win their second innings - they knocked this off for just one wicket lost.

The Running Foxes

Ed Barnes is rapidly developing into an all-rounder for Leicestershire backing up his 22 not out in the first innings against Kent with an unbeaten 70 in the second innings. He’s also hit 83 not out in our draw against Somerset several matches ago in the red ball format, and the Yorkshireman actually tops the batting averages for our domestic players in red ball cricket this season. With the ball, Barnes has also taken 14 wickets at a shade over 35 in what is becoming a real breakthrough season for our winter recruit.

As our attack leader, Chris Wright has had a superb red ball season with the 36-year-old having as good a campaign as he has ever done for Leicestershire. He’s taken 35 wickets - 11 more than the highest wicket taker for our opposition - at an average of just 23.51. Stunning numbers indeed for our senior pace bowler.

Finally, Callum Parkinson is our leading red ball wicket-taker this year with 41 wickets, showing that he’s far more than just a white-ball spinner. This ranks him equal seventh for wicket-takers across the entire County Championship and he’s also just one wicket behind Simon Harmer as the top wicket-taker for spinners. Parkinson leads Sussex’s Jack Carson by six wickets as the leading domestic spinner wicket-taker.

Opposition Players to Watch

Matt Critchley has had a superb red-ball season so far, scoring 784 runs at an average of 41.26, and taking 23 wickets with his leg spin. His talents should be well known to Foxes fans, after that 6-73 last season against us and his match-winning innings with the bat in the T20 Blast.

2021 has been a real breakthrough season for Ben Aitchison, with the Lancashire-born 22-year-old making a real name for himself in red ball cricket. He’s produced a career-best 6-28, and taken 23 wickets at a cost of just 21.34 runs per wicket.  Also impressive is his 2.72 runs per over economy rate, making him a real threat for our opposition.

Also impressing with the red ball in hand is another 22-year-old pacer, Sam Conners. The former England Under-19 bowler has been excellent for our visitors this season so far, being their leading wicket-taker, with 24 wickets at a cost of 25.62 runs per wicket. The Running Foxes batters will need to be on their game against these three Derbyshire bowlers in particular.

Leicestershire CCC Squad

Head Coach Paul Nixon names a 14-man squad for the short trip to Derbyshire.

Captain Colin Ackermann will miss the LV=County Championship match against Derbyshire because of a one match suspension.

The umpires reported Chris Wright’s conduct during Leicestershire’s LV=Insurance County Championship match against Kent on 1 September 2021. The matter was considered by the Match Referee, Alec Swann, who determined that the offence was at Level 1 of the ECB Directives: 1(c) “ showing dissent at an umpire’s decision by word or action.

Colin Ackermann was captain of Leicestershire CCC in that match. Bearing in mind the CDC decision on 2 August 2021, Colin Ackermann will be suspended for the LV County Championship match against Derbyshire CCC on 5-8 September 2021.

Leicestershire CCC from 14: Hassan Azad, Ed Barnes, Will Davis, Sam Evans, Lewis Hill, Louis Kimber, Ben Mike, Callum Parkinson (C), Rishi Patel, George Rhodes, Abi Sakande, Scott Steel, Harry Swindells (wk), Chris Wright