2021 County Championship – Derbyshire vs Durham Preview & Predictionc
THE FACTS
When is Derbyshire vs Durham taking place? Thursday 20th May, 2021 – 11:00 (UK)
Where is Derbyshire vs Durham taking place? The Incora County Ground, Derby
What is the expected weather for Derbyshire vs Durham? Rain is expected throughout day one and day two but day three is expected to be dry before more showers on day four.
Where can I get tickets for Derbyshire vs Durham? The County Championship will initially be played without spectators but it is worth checking each county’s official website for updates
What channel is Derbyshire vs Durham on? This match will not be televised live in the UK
Where can I stream Derbyshire vs Durham? Matches can be streamed live on the official websites of the First-Class Counties
THE PREDICTION
The home team come into this on the back of a thumping loss at Chelmsford last week as they went down by an innings and 15 runs against an impressive Essex side. The concession of 421 runs in just 76 overs with Essex’s five used batsman scoring 59, 58, 106, 152* and 12* will be cause for concern for a Derbyshire attack that had performed quite reasonably despite their winless start to the campaign. The issue prior to last week had been poor batting whereby they have scored over 300 in just one of their matches so far this season and been bowled out for less than 200 on four occasions. One bright spark for the county that has shifted its focus to white-ball performance in recent seasons would be the form of Matthew Critchley. The leg-spinning all-rounder is averaging around 60 with the bat and remains their leading wicket taker with 16 this season.
They come up against a Durham side that have been very impressive in the opening weeks of the campaign. The northerners have two wins, two draws and a defeat to their name so far but that does not necessarily do their performances justice. An opening day match against Notts saw them firmly on top before the game finished in a draw, a defeat to Essex in which they collapsed after bowling the champions out for 96 and taking a 163-run first-innings lead and another dominant performance against Derbyshire preceded their back-to-back wins in May. David Bedingham remains the leading run scorer in the country with 622 whilst openers Alex Lees and Will Young have both been in fine form. However, the latter will be meeting up with the New Zealand squad now and will be replaced by Australian international Cameron Bancroft. Their bowling attack led by Chris Rushworth, who became Durham’s all time first-class wicket taker last week, is supplemented by the pace and x-factor of Mark Wood and Brydon Carse to give them a well-balanced look as they look to re-establish themselves as one of the more successful counties in the country.
One side is in very good form and has played well throughout the campaign so far whilst the other, frankly, has not. Should the weather hold up, Durham will be confident of making it three wins on the bounce.
