Derbyshire D40 squad are National D40 Pursuit Champions

The Derbyshire D40 squad have made history by winning the National D40 pursuit league for the first time!

Sunday 17th August saw Derbyshire travel to Collingham & District CC to take on Surrey in the National D40 Pursuit League final.

Derbyshire lost the toss and were asked to field. Paul Allen led the bowling attack with three wickets, Jack Murfin, Liam Byrne and Chamath Wickramachchi took two a-piece, and Scott Matthews took one. Surrey set a target of 150 for Derbyshire to chase in their 40 overs. 

Derbyshire got off to a steady start, with Jack Murfin (18) and Gary Hickinbotham (24) leading the chase. A small flurry of wickets meant the pressure was on, a quick 11(5) from Paul Allen and contributions for Baily Ward (10) and Yuvi Patel (22), Mick Hopkins (18*) and Chamath Wichramachchi (7*) had an unbeaten 33 run partnership to win the game. The grit and determination they showed was incredible, securing a nail-biting two-wicket win. 

Congratulations to Surrey for making the final, being fantastic opponents and giving us a great game. 

Season Summary

The D40 squad won all six league games to reach the final: 

Cheshire- DCF D40 won by 8 wickets. 

Warwickshire- DCF D40 won by 183 runs.  

Lancashire- DCF D40 won by 10 wickets. 

Cheshire- DCF D40 won by 221 runs.   

Warwickshire- DCF D40 won by 7 wickets.  

Yorkshire- DCF D40 won by 133 runs.  

Semi final vs Middlesex- DCF won by 13 runs.  

Final vs Surrey- DCF won by 2 wickets  

The solid top order of Jack Murfin, Gary Hickinbotham and Jack Starr gave many of the matches successful starts; and some middle order runs by Scott Matthews, Yuvi Patel and Mick Hopkins have proved valuable in tough spots!  

Chamath Wickramachchi, Paul Allen, Jack Murfin and Huw Gamble have been destructive opening bowlers, with Jack Starr, Yuvi Patel, Liam Byrne bowling very tidy middle overs.  We have a group of younger players working their way up the ranks, showing that the future of the D40 cricket in Derbyshire is very bright indeed.   

Coaches spotlight:

D40 coaching staff, Paul Allen is also on the coaching team for the Pan Disability England Squad, as well has being the head coach for the Disability Premier League Team, The Pirates. Having Paul as part of our coaching staff has been a privilege, the experiences he brings are inspirational to all and having a role model like him for the team has been invaluable. He has brought a professional atmosphere to the side and has shown high standards of conduct, an environment that has allowed himself and others to flourish.  

S9 Regional

The S9 regional have fought valiantly this season, with some very good performances.  Unfortunately, due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances, we only had 3 fixtures this season: 

Staffordshire-DCF S9 lost by 148 runs  

Gloucestershire- DCF S9 won by 3 wickets  

Staffordshire-DCF S9 lost by 9 wickets  

Co-captains Graham Norris and Devsi Odedra have led the team with experience, and a vision for the future. We are at the start of our new learning journey, and we are proud of all our players for their commitment and teamwork. George Rowland, Graham Norris and Dallas Davis have had some good scores with the bat, and bowling wickets have been shared by most of the squad!  

S9 Challenge

The S9 challenge team had three games: two wins and a loss. They continue to play friendly cricket, providing a safe and fun environment for all to enjoy cricket.  

There have been good individual performances throughout with fantastic teamwork on show. The players are truly a credit to themselves, playing cricket in the right spirit.  

We look forward to taking all we have learned from our first season and refining our approach for the future. Learning opportunities have been presented to us this year, and we strive to evolve and grow.

If you think you might be eligible to play disability cricket, please contact our disability development officer on bella.hopcraft@dcfcricket.com for more information.