T20 Blast 2022 | NOR vs DBS | Match Preview, Prediction, Probable XI, CREX XI

The 52nd match of the T20 Blast 2022 will see Northamptonshire square up against Derbyshire in the North Group at County Ground in Northampton.

Northamptonshire is back to Wantage Road, hosting Derbyshire in their next fixture of the T20 Blast after winning their last away game at the Riverside in Durham. Northants’ spinner Graeme White took a double wicket maiden, restricting the hosts to just 154 in the first innings. A brilliant knock of 61 from Chris Lynn guided the Steelbacks to a four-wicket win, their third of this season. 

Chris Lynn returned to his groove and scored his third half-century in the last four innings. He has been in great form, batting at the top and scoring an unbeaten century in his previous outing at the County Ground. 

Northants had a poor start to the season but have looked very good since then with three wins and a very closely contested defeat against Lancashire last week. As a result, they are sitting at the third position in the North Group and would look to go up the ladder with another win at home.

On the other side, Derbyshire suffered a heavy defeat last time around, having lost the East Midlands derby as Alex Hales 33-ball 91 to take Nottinghamshire home by seven wickets at the Incora County Ground. As a result, they have won only two games in the first five fixtures so far and are slotted at 7th position in the North Group.

However, their next trip to Wantage Road might turn their fate towards them going forward in this tournament. They have won four games in comparison to Northants’ three in the latter's home ground. In the last five games between these two teams, Derbyshire got the better of Northampton County four times. 

Having scored the most runs for Derbyshire so far, Leus du Plooy will be looking to build on the recent positive performances with the bat. He also played a significant role behind Derbyshire’s last win over Northants, scoring an unbeaten 48. 

Coach Mickey Arthur will be hoping for a better performance from his bowlers as the Falcons eye their third win of the season. 

Match Details:

Match: Northamptonshire vs Derbyshire, Match 52

Venue: County Ground, Northampton

Date & Time: June 7th at 11:00 PM IST

Live Streaming: FanCode and ECB website.

Pitch Report: The Wantage Road in Northampton has produced two high scoring games at the beginning of the tournament. Both the games were won by the team batting first. However, it does look like a pitch where the team batting second can chase. Anything below 185 should be easily chasable. The average first inning score on this wicket should be around 200. Northampton managed to go past 220 in both the games they played here. 

Head-To-Head

Matches played: 17

Northamptonshire Won: 7

Derbyshire Won: 6

Squads:

Northamptonshire: Chris Lynn, Ben Curran, Saif Zaib, Josh Cobb (c), Rob Keogh, Lewis McManus (wk), Tom Taylor, Graeme White, Ben Sanderson, Freddie Heldreich, Alex Russell, James Sales, Brandon Glover, Jimmy Neesham

Derbyshire: Shan Masood (c), Luis Reece, Harry Came, Leus du Plooy, Wayne Madsen, Brooke Guest (wk), Mattie McKiernan, Anuj Dal, Alex Hughes, Alex Thomson, Hayden Kerr, Sam Conners, Mark Watt, George Scrimshaw

Probable Playing XI:

Northamptonshire: Chris Lynn, Ben Curran, Saif Zaib, Josh Cobb (c), Rob Keogh, Jimmy Neesham, Lewis McManus (wk), Tom Taylor, Graeme White, Ben Sanderson, Freddie Heldreich

Derbyshire: Shan Masood (c), Luis Reece, Leus du Plooy, Wayne Madsen, Harry Came, Brooke Guest (wk), Hayden Kerr, Mattie McKiernan, Sam Conners, Mark Watt, George Scrimshaw

CREX XI Suggestion:

Wicket-Keeper: Lewis McManus

Batters: Chris Lynn, Ben Curran, Shan Masood, Wayne Madsen

All-Rounders: Jimmy Neesham, Luis Reece, Leus du Plooy

Bowlers: Hayden Kerr, Graeme White, Ben Sanderson

Captain: Chris Lynn

Vice-Captain: Jimmy Neesham