Derbyshire County Cricket Club
 | |
| One-day name: | Derbyshire Falcons |
|---|---|
| Captain: | Billy Godleman |
| Coach: |
Director of Cricket Kim Barnett t20 John Wright |
| Overseas player(s): |
Imran Tahir Jeevan Mendis |
| Founded: | 1870 |
| Home ground: | County Ground, Derby |
| Capacity: | 4,999 |
| First-class debut: |
Lancashire in 1871 at Old Trafford |
| Championship wins: | 1 |
| Championship Division Two wins: | 1 |
| Pro40 wins: | 1 |
| FP Trophy wins: | 1 |
| Twenty20 Cup wins: | 0 |
| B&H Cup wins: | 1 |
| Official website: |
www |
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Derbyshire. Its limited overs team is called the Derbyshire Falcons in reference to the famous peregrine falcon which nests on the Derby Cathedral (it was previously called the Derbyshire Scorpions until 2005 and the Phantoms until 2010).[1] Founded in 1870, the club is classified by substantial sources as holding important match status from its first match in 1871 until 1887. Because of poor performances and lack of fixtures in some seasons, Derbyshire then lost its important status for seven seasons until it was invited into the County Championship in 1895.[2][3] Derbyshire is classified as an official first-class team from 1895 by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the County Championship clubs;[4] classified as a List A team since the beginning of limited overs cricket in 1963;[5] and classified as a senior Twenty20 team since 2003.[6]
The club is based at the County Cricket Ground, previously known as the Racecourse Ground, in the city of Derby. In 2006, for the first time in eight years, County Cricket returned to Queen's Park, Chesterfield with a County Championship game against Worcester and a One Day League game against Surrey. Other first-class cricket grounds used in the past have included Buxton, Saltergate in Chesterfield, Heanor, Ilkeston, Blackwell, Abbeydale Park in Sheffield, Wirksworth and Burton upon Trent (3 grounds), which is actually in Staffordshire. One-day contests have been played at Darley Dale, Repton School, Trent College, Leek, Staffordshire and Knypersley (also in Staffordshire).
History
Earliest cricket in Derbyshire
Cricket may not have reached Derbyshire until the 18th century. The earliest reference to cricket in the county is a match in September 1757 between Wirksworth and Sheffield Cricket Club at Brampton Moor, near Chesterfield.
Origin of club
The formation of Derbyshire County Cricket Club took place on 4 November 1870 at a meeting in the Guildhall, Derby. The Earl of Chesterfield who had played for and against all England was the first President, G. H. Strutt was Vice-President and Walter Boden, who had campaigned for the club's foundation for three years, was secretary. When Chesterfield died the following year, William Jervis became president.[7]
Derbyshire's opening season was 1871 when the club played its initial important match versus Lancashire at Old Trafford Cricket Ground on 26 and 27 May 1871 and joined the (then unofficial) County Championship.
Club history
Although the club had some good results in its early seasons, it struggled for the most part and before the 1888 season, following a run of disastrous results, Derbyshire was demoted from first-class status, which was then based on the number of matches against other teams of similar standing. Derbyshire recovered first-class status in 1894 and rejoined the County Championship in 1895.
Although the county then had a quite strong team due to the bowling of George Davidson, Joseph Hulme and George Porter and the batting and wicketkeeping of William Storer, William Chatterton and Bagshaw, within three years they had hit rock-bottom, going through 1897 without a win due to their best bowlers losing their powers.
From this point up to 1925, Derbyshire were perennially among the weakest counties, losing every single match in 1920 despite the efforts of Sam Cadman and Arthur Morton, persevering professionals. From 1926, the nucleus of a good team emerged around some doughty batting from Denis Smith, Stan Worthington and George Pope. Pope's bowling and that of his brother Alf, leg spinner Tom Mitchell and seam bowler Bill Copson took the team to their one and so far only Championship victory in 1936. They won 13 of their 28 matches outright and five on first innings. Worthington, Les Townsend, Smith and Alderman all passed 1,000 runs and Copson and Mitchell took over 100 wickets, with Alf Pope taking 94. Charlie Elliott, who later became a test umpire and selector, was another member of this team which was captained by AW Richardson.
There have been more downs than ups in post-war years. Though runs came regularly from Arnold Hamer and less consistently from the West Indian Laurie Johnson and captain Donald Carr, the batting remained the weak point right up to the beginning of covered pitches in the 1980s. However, a series of seam bowlers served England as well as Derbyshire. The list began with Copson and continued with Cliff Gladwin, Les Jackson, Harold Rhodes, Alan Ward, Mike Hendrick and, most recently Devon Malcolm and Dominic Cork. Spin was in short supply apart from the steady work of Edwin Smith and the under-rated allrounder Geoff Miller, the current National selector of the England team and noted after-dinner speaker.
The signing of Eddie Barlow, the famous South African, in 1976 and the lengthy period under the captaincy of Kim Barnett, starting in 1983, meant the side were rarely uncompetitive.
Derbyshire were crowned LV= County Championship Division Two champions in 2012 after securing a 6-wicket victory over Hampshire on the final day of the season at the County Ground, as Karl Krikken's side won promotion after securing more wins over the course of the season than Yorkshire who also finished the campaign on 194 points.
After the conclusion of the 2013 season, Derbyshire announced a new Elite Cricket Performance model in the next phase of the Club’s quest for sustainable on-field success across all three domestic competitions, combined with the desire to produce England cricketers. Former Derbyshire bowler Graeme Welch [8] was appointed the new Elite Cricket Performance Director in January 2014.
Ground history
This following table gives details of every venue at which Derbyshire have hosted a first-class, List A or Twenty20 match:
Players
Current squad
- No. denotes the player's squad number, as worn on the back of their shirt.
-
denotes players with international caps. - * denotes a player who has been awarded a county cap.
| No. | Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting Style | Bowling Style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batsmen | ||||||
| 1 | Billy Godleman |  England | 11 February 1989 | Left-handed | Right arm leg break | Captain (First-class) |
| 4 | Neil Broom |  New Zealand | 20 November 1984 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | UK Passport |
| 26 | Ben Slater | England | 26 August 1991 | Left-handed | Right arm slow | |
| 57 | Shiv Thakor | England | 22 October 1993 | Right-handed | Right arm medium | |
| 77 | Wayne Madsen* |  South Africa | 2 January 1984 | Right-handed | Right arm off break | UK Passport[9] |
| — | Luis Reece | England | 4 August 1990 | Left-handed | Left arm medium | |
| — | Thomas Wood | England | 11 May 1994 | Right-handed | Right arm medium | |
| All-rounders | ||||||
| 14 | Greg Cork | England | 29 September 1994 | Right-handed | Left arm medium-fast | |
| 18 | Alex Hughes | England | 29 September 1991 | Right-handed | Right arm medium | |
| 20 | Matthew Critchley | England | 13 August 1996 | Right-handed | Right arm leg break | |
| 24 | Rob Hemmings | England | 28 February 1996 | Right-handed | Right arm medium | |
| — | Charlie MacDonell | England | 23 February 1995 | Right-handed | Right arm fast-medium | |
| — | Jeevan Mendis |  Sri Lanka | 15 January 1983 | Left-handed | Left arm leg break | Overseas player |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| 16 | Harvey Hosein | England | 12 August 1996 | Right-handed | — | |
| — | Gary Wilson |  Ireland | 5 February 1986 | Right-handed | — | Vice captain |
| Bowlers | ||||||
| 8 | Tom Milnes | England | 6 October 1992 | Right-handed | Right arm fast-medium | |
| 15 | Tom Taylor | England | 21 December 1994 | Right-handed | Right arm medium-fast | |
| 28 | Tony Palladino* | England | 29 June 1983 | Right-handed | Right arm medium | Player/Coach |
| 36 | Ben Cotton | England | 13 September 1993 | Right-handed | Right arm fast-medium | |
| 44 | Will Davis | England | 6 March 1996 | Right-handed | Right arm fast-medium | |
| — | Imran Tahir | South Africa | 28 March 1979 | Right-handed | Right arm leg break | Overseas player |
Honours
- County Championship: 1
- 1936
- County Championship Division Two: 1
- Sunday/Pro 40/National League: 1
- Gillette/NatWest/C&G/Friends Provident Trophy: 1
- Benson & Hedges Cup: 1
Records
|
Most first-class runs for Derbyshire
|
Most first-class wickets for Derbyshire
|
Derbyshire recorded their highest ever score, 801 for eight declared, against Somerset at Taunton in 2007. Their score beat their previous highest ever score, of 707 for 7 declared also against Somerset also at Taunton in 2005. Simon Katich scored 221, Ian Harvey 153, Ant Botha 101 and James Pipe 106. Derbyshire broke the record despite losing Phil Weston and Chris Taylor to Andy Caddick in the first over without a run on the board.
References
- ↑ "Derbyshire to take on Falcons title". ECB website. 18 August 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
- ↑ ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709 – 1863. Nottingham: ACS.
- ↑ ACS (1982). A Guide to First-Class Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles. Nottingham: ACS.
- ↑ Birley, p. 145.
- ↑ "List A events played by Derbyshire". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ↑ "Twenty20 events played by Derbyshire". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ↑ Ric Sissons The Players 1988
- ↑ "Start of a new era as Derbyshire attract Welch". Derbyshire County Cricket Club. 2014-01-07. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
- ↑ "Madsen appointed Derbyshire captain". ESPN. ESPNcricinfo. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
- ↑
- ↑
Further reading
- H S Altham, A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914), George Allen & Unwin, 1962
- Derek Birley, A Social History of English Cricket, Aurum, 1999
- Rowland Bowen, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
- Roy Webber, The Playfair Book of Cricket Records, Playfair Books, 1951
- Playfair Cricket Annual – various editions
- Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – various editions