The bulk of the latest round of Specsavers County Championship matches begin on Friday but there is one which gets underway on Thursday and for Derbyshire and Leicestershire it is a Division Two match which is must win if they are to retain any competitive element to their four day seasons.
Both sides go into the match at Derby looking for their first win of the Championship campaign and when you add the derby element into the match we should get a competitive four days in the sunshine.
Derbyshire
It really has been a rotten start to the campaign for Derbyshire which probably annoys people involved at the club especially after the changes that were made in the winter. A new coach, captain and set of players will have been expected to hit the ground running much better than they have done so the pressure is now on them.
Derbyshire’s batting is under the microscope heading into this match after they were skittled twice last week in their emphatic defeat to Worcestershire. With injuries to their bowling as well it is hard to see why Derbyshire barely have a point from their opening three matches and why they need a win here.
Leicestershire
Although Leicestershire haven’t won a match in four day cricket this season they have put up a couple of creditable efforts in their two most recent matches and there are signs that an elusive win might not be far away. Leicestershire have had a couple of injuries which haven’t helped their cause thus far.
Leicestershire have suddenly found their groove with the bat. They have put up back to back scores in excess of 400 in the first innings and if they can continue to do that then with their bowlers starting to come back they should pick up. That will be a relief after they suffered a point deduction earlier in the season.
Team News
Hardus Viljoen remains on the sidelines with an injury which will be a real blow to Derbyshire. He was going to be a focal part of their attack this season. Gary Wilson has returned from international duty.
Leicestershire have Ben Raine back this week which will bolster their bowling options and give them much more batting depth than they have had in recent weeks. Colin Ackermann is fit now too.
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Betting
Derbyshire have been awful in four day cricket so far this season and I’m not entirely convinced things are going to improve here. If you look at their set up it appears they are showing more of an emphasis on the one day game this season and their four day performances have shown that.
I don’t think that is the case with Leicestershire though. They are a solid looking outfit who could easily have had a couple of wins had time not run out on them in their last two matches. There will be no weather issues this week though so their bowling combined with their batting depth should have them in a good position to pick up their first Championship win of the season here.
Tips
PUSH – Back Leicestershire to beat Derbyshire for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Ladbrokes
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