County Championship Preview | Gloucestershire v Derbyshire
8 September 2023
Gloucestershire face Derbyshire in the Club’s penultimate County Championship match and final home encounter of 2023.
A win for the Shire would see them leapfrog the visitors into sixth place in the Division Two table with fifth-placed Sussex not out of reach ahead of the final match of the season at the end of September.
Reigning World Champions England play their final World Cup warm-up match against Ireland in Bristol on Tuesday 26 September.
Your 13-player Gloucestershire squad to face Derbyshire:
13-man squad: Graeme van Buuren*, James Bracey, Ben Charlesworth, Luke Charlesworth, Chris Dent, Zafar Gohar, Dom Goodman, Miles Hammond, Ed Middleton, Joe Phillips, Ollie Price, Josh Shaw, Matt Taylor.
Last time out
Gloucestershire fell short against Leicestershire in the last round of fixtures, losing by eight wickets to the East Midlands side.
On a tricky batting surface, neither side achieved a score above 212 as the game finished inside three days.
Josh Shaw spearheaded a zealous Gloucestershire attack that featured Zaman Akhter, Dom Goodman and Luke Charlesworth. Charlesworth took three wickets on debut, the first of which saw brother Ben take the catch at first slip.
Our opponents
Derbyshire are without a win in Division Two this season, but seven draws suggest they are hard to beat.
Two of their four defeats have come away from home, including last time out against Yorkshire when a century and five wickets in the match for Matthew Revis saw the Leeds-based side win by 277 runs.
Captain Leus de Plooy will be desperate to end his Derbyshire career on a high after agreeing a deal to join Middlesex on a four-year-deal at the end of the season.
Last meeting
Play did not begin until 14:00 on day two when the sides met earlier this season as rain washed out a significant chunk of the scheduled overs.
When the match eventually started, Matt Taylor starred with the ball for Glos taking three wickets in his first appearance of 2023.
Ben Charlesworth then anchored the Gloucestershire response. His 87 ensured Gloucestershire achieved a first-innings lead of 132.
Despite having Derbyshire 28/3 on the final day, Glos could not force a result given the time lost earlier in the game.
How to watch
Gloucestershire face Derbyshire in the County Championship beginning on Sunday 10 September at 10:30am at the Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol.
The game can be watched live in the Glos Cricket Match Centre. Coverage begins at 10:20.
