Dernbach missing for relegation battle

Due to being called up as cover for England's ODI's against New Zealand, Jade Dernbach is not included in a 13 man squad for the vital County Championship game against Derbyshire starting this afternoon.

Derby are the only team below us in the table and, like us, are still yet to pick up a victory, so this could well be the perfect time for us to get off the mark.

Here is the squad:

Gareth Batty (C)

Rory Burns

Arun Harinath

Ricky Ponting

Vikram Solanki

Zander de Bruyn

Steve Davies

Gary Wilson

Jon Lewis

Chris Tremlett

Tim Linley

Stuart Meaker
Gary Keedy

With Jason Roy occupying the opening role in the last couple of games with relatively low success, he has been left out, so it looks almost certain that it will be Harinath and Burns at the top. Harinath has done it several times before, and it is not too different to batting at number 3, considering our very low opening partnerships so far this season! I’m not sure where Ponting will bat, as he batted at 4 in his last few test matches and in the Sheffield Shield after being well-known as one of the great number 3’s, but perhaps Solanki will move up one to accommodate his arrival. Don’t expect miracles from him, but hopefully he can add some stability to the top order.

When it comes to Roy, I can’t see him getting in ahead of de Bruyn purely for the fact that de Bruyn can bowl. I’m sure that if Roy could bowl then he would be in the squad and ahead of Zander, but due to our lack of all-rounders, Zander will play. However, as I have said numerous times, I would bat him down at number 7 so that we can get the most out of Gary Wilson who will be itching to continue from how he started at the beginning of the season.

When it comes to the bowlers, Batty will of course play as the lone spinner, with Keedy missing out. Then there is a choice between 3 of Tremlett, Lewis, Meaker and Linley. Trem looks to have found some sort of form over the last two weeks, even if the opposition was Oxford and Scotland, and I think that Andy Flower would certainly be on the phone if he missed 3 LVCC games on the spin. The England trio of Meaker, Dernbach and Trem have yet to play in the same game so far this season, and it is a big blow that Jade can't play as he has been good so far this season. Even though Linley hasn’t bowled too badly, I think today is the right game to give Lewis a go in the side as he will be desperate to be given a chance and show that he still has what it takes.

As stated at the start of this blog, Derby have yet to pick up a win, and on paper our line up looks superior compared to theirs. However, we all know you don’t win games on paper, and the lads will have to be on top of their games against a side who will be scratching for the points as much as we will be.

The game gets under way at midday after the abandonment last night, and hopefully we can start the game on the right foot and claim a much needed victory.