Derbyshire v Essex
LV= Insurance County Championship
Derby
Sunday 11 – Wednesday 14 July
11am start
Essex return to red-ball action when they meet Derbyshire at Derby in an LV= Insurance County Championship contest that commences on Sunday.
It is their 10th and final match in their qualifying group as they seek to finish with a top-two placing. That would secure a place in Division One for the remaining four matches of the season enabling them to challenge for the Championship title.
They are currently in fourth place with 118 points, 19 behind leaders Nottinghamshire and 13 adrift of second-place Warwickshire. Durham are third with 122 points. Elsewhere in this round of matches, Durham meet Notts and Worcestershire entertain Warwickshire.
With Anthony McGrath temporarily drafted into the England coaching set-up for the series with Pakistan, Assistant Head Coach & Bowling Coach Andre Nel takes charge of a squad that includes New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham.
The 30-year-old Kiwi, who was signed for the Vitality Blast competition, has agreed to extend his stay at Chelmsford and replaces Peter Siddle as one of the two Essex Overseas players.
Dan Lawrence misses the Derbyshire match having been called into the England squad for the Pakistan series.
Lawrence currently tops the Essex batting averages with 495 runs at an average of 55, although the most productive is Tom Westley with 573 runs at 44.07.
Chief wicket-takers for Essex are Simon Harmer with 38 wickets at an average of 25.78 and Sam Cook with 32 victims at 18.90.
Squad:
Hear from Nel:
Andre Nel takes charge of the side whilst Head Coach Anthony McGrath continues his temporary role with the England caching set-up.
Nel said: “We have to win but again, we have to take care of every session and if we do those things well, then we will put ourselves in a position to win the game.
“We can’t look too far ahead, we have to win and then see what happens elsewhere.”
The former South Africa international fast bowler reflected on his change of role within the Club, albeit only until McGrath’s return later this month.
“It’s different and it’s a crucial time of the season and for me, hopefully, it’s an opportunity for me to stand up and show what I can do,” he stated.
“I’m delighted for Mags, he really deserves his chance. I’ll never be like him, he’s a unique person, he’s brilliant but although I’ll do things my way, nothing will really change because he has set up a brilliant foundation for everyone to work on.
“All I’m doing is stepping in and hopefully do the best I can with the support of the players and other coaches.
“You never know with Essex and with this side, when it comes down to the crunch, they normally step up quite big, so hopefully we can do that.”
Injury/Absentees News:
Dan Lawrence will miss this match having been named in the England squad for the ODI series with Pakistan.
Opposition:
Derbyshire, who are destined to finish at the foot of the group in the qualifying stages, are still seeking their first win of the season in the competition.
They have 63 points for their 9 matches and face an Essex team looking to repeat their success earlier in the season when the teams clashed at Chelmsford.
That game in mid-May was particularly memorable because of a stunning performance by Simon Harmer who took 9/80 in Derbyshire’s first innings followed by 3/122 in their second. Essex had amassed 412-3 from 76 overs when they declared after Dan Lawrence had scored an unbeaten 152 supported by 106 from Tom Westley and half-centuries from openers Nick Browne and Alastair Cook. The visitors could only manage 146 in their first innings before posting 251 second time around to be beaten by an innings and 15 runs.
Despite a difficult season for Derbyshire, all-rounder Matt Critchley has impressed with 712 runs at 44.87 and 21 wickets at 38.42. Experienced Wayne Madsen has contributed 514 runs followed by wicket-keeper Harvey Hosein with 359 runs.
With the ball, pacemen Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Ben Aitchison have 21 and 20 wickets respectively to their credit to provide chief support to Critchley.
One to Watch:
Leg-spinner Matt Critchley is currently Derbyshire’s most successful player both with the bat and ball in what has been a difficult season for the Club.
Born in Preston, he moved away from his native Lancashire in search of more opportunities and as an 18-year-old, he became Derbyshire’s youngest centurion in just his second first-class game.
Now 24, he was the County’s Player of the Year last season and heads their batting and bowling charts this time around and recently took on the captaincy of their Vitality Blast side.
Head-to-Head:
The teams last met at Derby in the Couty Championship in 2016 when Essex recorded a comprehensive success winning by an innings and 62 runs. Nick Browne posted an unbeaten 229, Tom Westley scored 72, Ryan ten Doeschate 60 and debutant Paul Walter 47 as the visitors reached 530-9 before declaring.
Derbyshire were dismissed for 165 with Graham Napier claiming 4/28 and Walter 3/44. The hosts did put up more of a fight in their second innings with former Essex opener Billy Godleman scoring 100 out of 303 all out as Napier again proved chief wicket-taker with 4/56.
In the 182 Championship clashes thus far, Essex have secured 79 victories and 72 draws.
Potential Milestones:
Simon Harmer needs 7 more wickets to reach 300 first-class wickets for the Club.
Adam Wheater requires 5 more dismissals to reach 150 first-class dismissals for Essex. He currently has 133 catches and 12 stumpings.
Ryan ten Doeschate requires a further 159 runs to reach 10,000 first-class career runs for Essex.
How To Watch:
Our Live Stream service will be available across all four days of this game from 11am, which also includes player stats, scorecards and clips throughout the day. Access via the Essex Cricket Matchzone is available here.
