Derbyshire’s County Championship group stage fixtures have been released, with Billy Godleman’s side set to return to Chesterfield’s Festival of Cricket in July.
The 2021 first-class season will be split into two parts, with the group placings after ten games determining which division a side is in for their remaining four matches, with the top two teams in Division One competing in a final for the Bob Willis Trophy.
The competition begins on Thursday 8 April, with Derbyshire facing Warwickshire, and continues for eight solid weeks prior to the start of the Vitality Blast in June.
The eagerly anticipated return of cricket to The Incora County Ground comes on Thursday 15 April, when Derbyshire play host to Worcestershire.
Derbyshire will enjoy a duo of blockbuster Group One encounters against local rivals Nottinghamshire as the East Midlands rivalry restarts in Derby on Thursday 29 April, with old scores to be settled after Fynn Hudson-Prentice starred in a record-breaking win at Trent Bridge in 2020.
Another annual highlight of the cricket calendar begins on Sunday 11 July as the Chesterfield Festival of Cricket gets underway with the visit of reigning champions Essex to the north of the county.
Following on from the hugely popular Tourist Fixture against Australia in 2019, Derbyshire will once again test themselves against international opposition, as India A travel to The Incora County Ground for a four-day first-class game, starting on Sunday 27 June.
Head of Cricket, Dave Houghton, said: “Our guys performed really well in 2020, and they all have a year of experience behind them now, so hopefully we can go out there and give these teams a test.
“We have a really tough group, with teams like Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire and the champions, Essex, so it will be a challenge, but we’re up for the fight.
“When you play against the best sides, it shows you the standard that you aspire to get to. You can also learn a lot from what they do, but I expect us to be a challenge for any side.”
Derbyshire Fixtures
Warwickshire (A)
8-11 April • Edgbaston
Worcestershire 9 (H)
15-18 April • The Incora County Ground, Derby
Durham (A)
22-25 April • Emirates Riverside
Nottinghamshire (H)
29 April – 2 May • The Incora County Ground, Derby
Essex (A)
13-16 May • CloudFM County Ground
Durham (H)
20-23 May • The Incora County Ground, Derby
Worcestershire (A)
27-30 May • New Road
Warwickshire (H)
3-6 June • The Incora County Ground, Derby
Nottinghamshire (A)
4-7 July • Trent Bridge
Essex (H)
11-14 July • Queen’s Park, Chesterfield
Derbyshire County Cricket Club supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 180 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.
