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Match facts

February 26, 2015
Start time 11.00am local (2200 GMT, previous day)

Big picture

There is a remarkable similarity in the route Afghanistan and Scotland have taken in this tournament so far. They registered big wins against each other in the two games they played in the UAE this January. Both won a game against their fellow Associate in the warm-up stage while losing to the established opposition. Both went on to lose their first two matches in the group stage, Afghanistan succumbing to a heavy defeat against Bangladesh before stretching Sri Lanka in their second game and Scotland taking seven wickets against New Zealand in defence of a small total before losing heavily against England.The two games where both came closest to registering their respective maiden World Cup wins were played at the University Oval in Dunedin. So it will be in Dunedin where the similarities will end. One of them will not only achieve a first, they will also move up from the bottom of the table and keep that faint chance of making it through to the knockouts a possibility.The pitch at the University Oval is marked as flat, but it has aided the seamers from both sides; Iain Wardlaw and Josh Davey picked up three New Zealand wickets each while Hamid Hassan collected three against Sri Lanka. So it could come down to which team’s batting is able to counter the seamers better. On paper, Scotland have more solidity through the order while Afghanistan’s is in the middle, and Scotland have broken the back of it recently – in January this year, they bowled Afghanistan out in 18.3 overs in an ODI in the UAE.Understated and quiet, Scotland will know this is their chance to score a point over players who have leapfrogged them long ago to become the poster boys of Associate cricket. However, that Scotland have played two World Cups in the past to Afghanistan’s two matches is of little bearing. Both teams start on an even keel.

Form guide

Afghanistan LLWLL(last five matches, most recent first)
Scotland LLWLL

In the spotlight

Dawlat Zadran was left out from Afghanistan’s opening game against Bangladesh but the way he started against Sri Lanka – striking first ball – showed he has been itching to get into action. Dawlat has pace to rattle most batsmen but it’s the swing that Sri Lanka found tough to handle. He may have taken only one wicket, but he set the tone of the game in his first spell. Another of those spells could fire up the whole bowling attack again.Majid Haq‘s offspin is slow. Very slow. Tossing up deliveries at less than 80kph, he messed with England’s batsmen’s instincts by giving them too much time. Moeen Ali hit a century but could only toe-end a slog to deep midwicket. Others waited reluctantly in the crease. Afghanistan’s batsmen like to hit out and it would be interesting to see the approach they take.

Teams news

Shafiqullah to replace injured Mirwais

Wicketkeeper-batsman Shafiqullah will replace the injured Mirwais Ashraf in the Afghanistan squad, after the latter picked up a side strain. The ICC’s event technical committee approved the change after Mirwais suffered the injury during Afghanistan’s match against Sri Lanka.
Shafiqullah last played an ODI for Afghanistan in December 2014 and had been named as one of the standbys when the World Cup squad was picked in December.

Mirwais Ashraf has been ruled out after the injury which forced him off the field against Sri Lanka, even though he was able to return later. Aftab Alam, who played the opening match against Bangladesh, could return to replace him. There remains debate over the opening pair and the absence of Usman Ghani.Afghanistan (probable) 1 Javed Ahmadi, 2 Nawroz Mangal, 3 Asghar Stanikzai, 4 Samiullah Shenwari, 5 Mohammad Nabi (capt), 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Afsar Zazai (wk) 8 Aftab Alam, 9 Dawlat Zadran, 10 Hamid Hassan, 11 Shapoor ZadranEven though Scotland’s fifth bowler leaked runs against England, they might not tinker with the current XI. That would mean Matt Machan, Richie Berrington and Kyle Coetzer will again be required to share 10 overs between them.Scotland (probable) 1 Kyle Coetzer, 2 Calum McLeod, 3 Freddie Coleman, 4 Matt Machan, 5 Preston Mommsen (capt), 6 Richie Berrington, 7 Mathew Cross (wk), 8 Josh Davey, 9 Alasdair Evans, 10 Majid Haq, 11 Iain Wardlaw

Pitch and conditions

The morning start and and a high of around 16 degrees point to bowl-first conditions and that’s what has happened in the previous two matches. However, the pitch does offer batsmen chance to score if the sun is out.

Stats and trivia

• Scotland played their first World Cup appearance in 1999. Afghanistan cricket was affiliated with the ICC two years later
• Edinburgh is Dùn Èideann (or Dunedin) in gaelic so it is clear which side will feel at home
• Josh Davey’s 6 for 28 against Afghanistan this January are the best bowling figures in ODIs among Associates
• Majid Haq is the leading Scotland wicket-taker with 59 wickets. Hamid Hassan has 51 – the most by an Afghanistan bowler

Quotes

“It’s very important for us, especially because both sides are Associate members. Hopefully we beat Scotland strongly, so we looking forward.”
“We’ve played a lot of cricket against them in recent times, and we know that they do have good ammunition in their pace attack. We expect them to use their skills.”

Legspinner Fawad Ahmed and veteran batsman Adam Voges have both been included in Australia’s squads for the upcoming Ashes tour and the two-Test series in the West Indies that precedes it. Peter Nevill has been confirmed as the backup wicketkeeper to Brad Haddin, while there was no room for Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner or Joe Burns.Shaun Marsh was preferred to fellow Test incumbent Burns and joins his brother Mitchell Marsh in the 17-man Ashes squad. Peter Siddle was named in the group after being dropped from the Test side during the summer and he is expected to feature in the Tests in the Caribbean, with Ryan Harris staying home for the birth of his first child and joining the touring party for the Ashes.Fast bowler James Pattinson was deemed unavailable for the West Indies tour after suffering an injury to his left hamstring during the Sheffield Shield final, and he will be assessed by medical staff over the coming weeks. Pattinson’s breaking down in the Shield final did not prevent Victoria’s win, which came thanks in large part to Fawad’s eight-wicket haul in the first innings.As an asylum seeker from Pakistan, Fawad’s Australian citizenship was rushed through in 2013 to have him available for the Ashes but he was not chosen for that tour, and had to settle for debuts in ODI and Twenty20 international cricket. However, his legspin has bewitched batsmen all over Australia this summer and he topped the Shield tally with 48 victims at 24.85.The selectors have also included the leading run scorer this season. Voges plundered 1358 runs at 104.46 in the Shield this summer to make himself almost impossible to ignore, and his experience will make him a valuable member of the squad. Voges was first part of a Test squad when he was called up during the 2006-07 Ashes in Australia, but nearly a decade later still does not have a baggy green.Nevill’s selection as the backup wicketkeeper ahead of Matthew Wade, who was chosen for the 2013 Ashes, comes after a summer in which he piled up 764 Shield runs at 76.40, including a career-best 235 not out against Tasmania in Hobart last month. Nevill toured the West Indies in 2012 when Brad Haddin flew home for personal reasons, but is yet to debut for Australia in any format.”Basically the white ball’s been put down and we’re into red ball cricket,” National Selector Rod Marsh said. “We’re not playing it at home, and obviously we’ve been a powerhouse at home in recent series, but we haven’t done that well overseas and it’s time we got that right. We’ve hopefully picked sides that will be very, very good overseas and we hope to win both the series in the West Indies and we’d be delighted if we won the Ashes – that would be a fair 12 months I reckon.”Fawad Ahmed has been named in Australia’s Test squad•Getty Images

Marsh explained that Voges’ sheer weight of runs had pushed him ahead of Joe Burns, who played the last two Tests of the home summer but will now travel with Australia A to India, where he has never played before, to gain experience with an eye towards 2016 and series away to Sri Lanka and India.”He had a magnificent Shield season, absolutely no doubt about that,” Marsh said of Voges. “I looked at him on four or five occasions, maybe more, this year. and I thought ‘I don’t know how anyone is going to get this bloke out’. He was that dominant, but it wasn’t only the fact he made 1300-odd runs, it was the way he made them. It was as good as any Sheffield Shield batting I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen some good stuff.”Pure weight of runs, and the way in which he got those runs [put Voges ahead of Burns]. You could just see Test player written all over him. Mark Waugh saw him bat, Trevor Hohns saw him bat, I saw him bat, all the state coaches, all the state talent managers. Everyone said the same thing – surely we can’t all be wrong.”It’ worked out quite nicely for Joe in a lot of ways in as much as he will be going to India, where he’s never played cricket, he’ll have two four-day matches and five one-day matches in India, and I reckon that will be very good for his overall development as a batsman.”Although none of the inclusions were especially surprising, it was notable that neither Faulkner nor Maxwell made the squad after both playing key roles in Australia’s recent World Cup triumph. Ashton Agar was also considered a possible candidate for the second spinning position, but Fawad’s credentials this summer were too strong.”Forty-eight wickets is a pretty good season, and it wasn’t only the fact he got 48 wickets, it was the way he bowled,” Marsh said. “He bowled beautifully all summer and him being a legspinner as opposed to a finger spinner probably also gave him a slight advantage because, believe it or not, Australia’s always looking for legspinners. We have a proud history of legspinning in this country, and we want that to continue.”He doesn’t bowl too much rubbish, and he creates a lot of pressure. He’s able to have men around the bat in most instances and he keeps asking the batsmen questions. That’s what most good spinners do, you need to be able to remain on as a legspinners. It is all very well ripping the ball, but if you bowl two full tosses, two long hops, it’s very hard for the captain to keep you on. He maintains good economy and he asks many questions of both left and right-handed batsmen.”Cricket Australia has also named its list of 19 contracted players for the 2015-16 season, with Siddle the notable exclusion from last year despite being named in the Test squads. Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh and Pat Cummins have all joined the list from outside the contract list named this time last year for the 2014-15 season.George Bailey retained his contract despite effectively being viewed as an ODI-only player, and being dropped from the side during the recent World Cup. Clarke’s retirement from one-day cricket could pave the way for Bailey to return as a regular member of the team when they next convene for a series later this year.Australia A squads have also been named for a series of four-day and one-day games in India throughout July, with Usman Khawaja named to captain the team in both formats alongside Matthew Wade as his deputy.Test squad Michael Clarke (capt), Steven Smith (vice-capt), Fawad Ahmed, Brad Haddin, Josh Hazlewood, Ryan Harris (Ashes only), Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Peter Nevill, Chris Rogers, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Adam Voges, David Warner, Shane Watson.Contract list George Bailey, Michael Clarke, Pat Cummins, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Chris Rogers, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Shane Watson.Australia A four-day squad Usman Khawaja (capt), Matthew Wade (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Andrew Fekete, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Steve O’Keefe, Gurinder Sandhu, Marcus Stoinis.Australia A one-day squad Usman Khawaja (capt), Matthew Wade (vice-capt), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Cameron Boyce, Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Callum Ferguson, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Gurinder Sandhu, Adam Zampa.

Chennai Super Kings 134 for 3 (Du Plessis 55, Raina 41) beat Kings XI Punjab 130 for 7 (Axar 32, Negi 2-25, Ashwin 1-14) by seven wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFaf du Plessis hit five fours and a six for his 55•BCCI

Kings XI Punjab’s final match followed the narrative of much of their season, as their underwhelming 130 for 7 in Mohali was reeled in with seven wickets and 20 balls to spare by Chennai Super Kings. Six of the seven bowlers Super Kings used picked up wickets, with left-arm spinner Pawan Negi taking two. They sealed their position at the top of the table, and are assured a place in the first qualifier. Faf du Plessis hit 55 from 41 balls to lead the largely straightforward chase. Suresh Raina stayed unbeaten on 41 at the finish, with a 16-ball 25 from MS Dhoni hastening the end.Kings XI began brightly enough, as Wriddhiman Saha – the star of their Wednesday win over Royal Challengers Bangalore – hit a four in Negi’s first over, then rocked back to launch Ishwar Pandey into the stands beyond square leg soon after. Expecting more aggression, Negi looped the second ball of his second over up outside off stump, and drew the false shot. Saha had attempted to thrash the ball over the off side, but managed only to lob it to cover, to collect 15 from 12.Ashish Nehra then struck with his first ball, pushing one across George Bailey who sent a nick through to the wicketkeeper . The wickets just kept tumbling thereafter. Manan Vohra top-edged a cut shot to third man to leave his side 35 for 3 in the sixth over. Gurkeerat Singh Mann hoped to attack his side out of the mire, when he advanced to R Ashwin immediately after cutting him behind point for four in the ninth over, but the bowler anticipated the batsman’s advance. Ashwin slowed up the ball, pitched short, and spun it past Gurkeerat’s thigh pad, for Dhoni to complete a simple stumping.Glen Maxwell was out playing around a straightforward delivery from Ravindra Jadeja. David Miller was caught superbly on the legside outfield when he had nearly bludgeoned the cover off the ball. Nothing Kings XI’s top order did seemed to result in a meaningful partnership. There was no clear theme to their downfall on a batting-friendly surface, save perhaps for several batsmen’s scrambled approach after a tough season.Rishi Dhawan and Axar Patel put on the innings’ longest stand – a 44-run effort that pushed the team above 120. But even with the 14-run 19th over off Dwayne Bravo, the hosts did not appear to have made enough.Michael Hussey, playing his first game of the season, and Brendon McCullum, playing his last, were each dismissed inside two overs to raise the crowd’s hopes of an upset. But du Plessis and Raina coasted through the early and middle overs, attacking only the wayward deliveries to stay in touch with the modest required rate. Du Plessis’ running six over long on and pull shot past deep midwicket off Axar in the 12th over was as violent as his innings got.He was bowled making room to hit through the off side with victory in sight, but Dhoni waltzed in and quickly secured the two points. He hit two sixes off Anureet Singh, then all but finished the game with a glide to third man.

ScorecardFile photo: Deandra Dottin hit nine fours during her unbeaten 84•WICB Media/Ashley Allen

Deandra Dottin’s unbeaten 113-ball 84 helped West Indies women beat Sri Lanka women by five wickets in the first ODI in Colombo. Chasing 150, West Indies were rocked early as they were 41 for 4 in the 11th over, but a 70-run fifth-wicket partnership between Dottin and Merissa Aguilleira(30) put the game in West Indies’ grasp. It was followed by an unbroken 42-run stand between Dottin and Stacy-Ann King(18) which finished the match off. Eshani Lokusuriyage, who was appointed captain after an injury to Chamari Atapattu, picked up two wickets in one over but bowled only three overs.After choosing to bat, Sri Lanka got off to a solid start as Prasadani Weerakkody (42) and Lasanthi Madushani (23) put up a 70-run opening stand in 122 balls. However, their innings went downhill from there as they were soon reduced to 109 for 7, the next highest contributor being Sripali Weerakkody with 24. Hayley Matthews took three wickets and Anisa Mohammed finished with figures of 10-2-15-2. Sri Lanka’s innings also included four run-outs.

ScorecardFile Photo – Ed Joyce’s 231 was Ireland’s highest individual first class score•PA Photos

Ireland needed just four balls to wrap up a convincing innings and 26-run win over UAE in their ICC Intercontinental Cup clash in Dublin. UAE resumed play at an over night score of 251 for 9 and managed to add just two runs before Mohammed Naveed was dismissed by Craig Young, who ended with match figures of 1 for 110.Ed Joyce was adjudged the player of the match for his 232-ball 231, Ireland’s highest individual first class score.Ireland collect the 20 maximum points available to join Namibia at the top of the table. Ireland will face Namibia in the next round of the competition later in the year.

ScorecardTom Abell helped Somerset begin their big chase strongly•Getty Images

Mid-June is arguably too soon to write off a team’s prospects for the season. Nevertheless, the final morning of Somerset’s tussle with Nottinghamshire at Taunton looks set to be a seminal one for the county.Pick off the remaining 127 runs required for victory, having been set a daunting fourth-innings chase of 401 against Nottinghamshire, and the confidence of such an achievement could course through the veins of a beleaguered team. But trip up, having at one stage been cruising on 197 for 1, and it would surely count as the most crushing of their five defeats in seven games this season.Somerset’s fightback was set in motion by their bowlers who, since shipping 300 runs in claiming their first three wickets of the match fought back with spirit to claim 17 wickets for 300 more in 65 subsequent overs. But at 274 for 5, with Jim Allenby and Peter Trego already at the crease, it will be down to those bowlers plus Michael Bates, the wicketkeeper, to haul them over the line.”It’s been an intriguing day’s cricket,” Matthew Maynard, Somerset’s director of cricket, said. “I think we played some excellent cricket today. The old bowling attack have done themselves proud. We did brilliantly to get ourselves into this position and, at the end of the day, we are still in a position where if we can get a couple of partnerships together and see off the new ball, it’s going to be a very tight finish tomorrow.”But a late collapse of 4 for 46 runs in 13 overs left Maynard conceding that Nottinghamshire had reclaimed the initiative going into the final day. “We’ve lost clusters of two or three wickets, where in the past we would have lost four or five,” he said. “I always try and look at the positive side of it. It would have been nice to have lost one fewer wicket in the evening session. That extra wicket just puts us behind in the game.”For all the spirit they showed on a testing day, however, Somerset’s composure proved about as robust as the surface tension on a millpond. For as long as Marcus Trescothick and Tom Abell were in harness, adding 129 for the first wicket with their contrasting but complimentary styles, the size of their chase caused barely a ripple of alarm.Even Trescothick’s departure, caught and bowled by a diving Samit Patel for 65, failed to create the sort of splash it might have done in his pomp five years ago. But the loss of Abell, 17 overs later was another thing entirely. For 307 deliveries, spanning two innings, 148 runs and scarcely a false stroke in six and a half hours of crease occupation, Abell had been a model of technical excellence and restraint, with confident footwork, a composure way beyond his 21 years, and with a sniper’s eye for a scoring opportunity.”He’s got a fantastic temperament and a natural ability, and that’s what distinguishes a lot of real, top players,” Maynard said. “He’s got that in abundance. To bat all the way through one innings and go out there again, for an hour short of three full days on the pitch, it’s a terrific achievement.” But, on 72, Abell succumbed to virtually his first false stroke of the match, a loose drive at Will Gidman to be caught at a very precisely positioned Steven Mullaney at straight mid-off, and the effect was like plunging a tombstone into Somerset’s troubled waters.One over later, James Hildreth, who became the first man to 1000 first-class runs this season in the first innings, chased a wide half-volley to hole out to the same combination for 4, and Somerset lost their third wicket in the space of five overs when Tom Cooper swung wildly to Patel at mid-on to hand a first wicket of the innings – and eighth of the match – to the debutant offspinner, Matthew Carter.Somerset’s reaction to their sudden predicament was not dissimilar to England’s new-found attitude to one-day cricket. Swing hard, swing fast, and slurp up the target before before drowning in the sheer weight of runs.Johann Myburgh proved a qualified success in this approach, thumping eight fours and a six in making 56 from 89 balls before he too fell to Carter via a brilliant, instinctive grab from Mullaney at slip after Wessels had parried the initial edge. But Tom Cooper was less successful. He completed a miserable match with a slogged duck to mid-on.By the close, Allenby and Trego had restored their team’s fragile hopes with a hard-earned 31-run stand for the sixth wicket, although Trego was lucky to receive a life on 9 when Brendan Taylor at slip missed a sharp edge off Ben Hilfenhaus.”Once you’re in it’s a nice wicket to bat on but it’s hard to get in at times,” Maynard said. “We’ve had some good partnerships with the bat, which is key, we need to try and build a couple more tomorrow.” Somerset’s season may depend on it.

Lasith Malinga has stepped down as Sri Lanka’s T20 captain ahead of the World T20 in India, but will remain part of the squad. Angelo Mathews will lead the team in his place. The team is hopeful Malinga can be available for their first match on March 17, though that is dependent on his recovery over the next week.Sri Lanka’s new selection committee have also made two other changes to their squad for the World T20, on the day the team is due to depart to India; Lahiru Thirimanne and Suranga Lakmal have been brought in to replace Jeffrey Vandersay and Niroshan Dickwella.Malinga had offered to step down as captain after concerns had grown over his slow recovery from a knee injury. He had handed Sri Lanka Cricket a letter voicing reservations about continuing as captain, as he could no longer guarantee participation in Sri Lanka’s full campaign. The overuse injury to his left knee had kept him out of competitive cricket for three months. Though he returned to play one Asia Cup match, he has been sidelined for almost two weeks since.

Sri Lanka’s squad for the World T20

Angelo Mathews (capt), Dushmantha Chameera, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Rangana Herath, Shehan Jayasuriya, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Thisara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake, Dasun Shanaka, Milinda Siriwardana, Suranga Lakmal
In: Lahiru Thirimanne, Suranga Lakmal
Out: Niroshan Dickwella, Jeffrey Vandersay

Thirimanne’s initial omission from the World T20 squad had caused a stir, as his limited-overs contributions had been good throughout 2015, despite very lean Test returns. Both Kumar Sangakkara and Aravinda de Silva had publicly supported Thirimanne following that omission, and, having now been installed as selectors on Monday night, have made Thirimanne a late addition to this World T20 squad.He has been in good domestic form, albeit in first-class cricket, having hit two centuries and a fifty in five innings over the span of a month. Last year, he averaged 43.05 across 24 ODI innings. He had also made significant contributions to Sri Lanka’s 2014 World T20 campaign – particularly in the semi-final against West Indies, where he top-scored with 44.”If you look at what the other teams are doing, they’ve got a batsman who gives stability and helps consolidate, at no.3,” new chief selector Aravinda de Silva said. “We wanted someone who could do that, and Thirimanne has been scoring runs at home.”Lakmal comes fresh from captaining his first-class side to victory in the Premier League Tournament. He had been injured for parts of the domestic season, but claimed 19 wickets in the last four rounds of four-day matches. His inclusion bolsters the seam-bowling contingent in this squad, which now features three frontline pacemen, as well as allrounders Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera and Dasun Shanaka.The ousted selection panel had picked wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella as a potential opening partner for Tillakaratne Dilshan. But with the team now having moved Dinesh Chandimal to the top of the order, Dickwella finds himself left out by the new selectors. Legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay was unused during the Asia Cup, where tracks generally favoured seam bowlers.The Sri Lanka team is scheduled to fly to India on Tuesday evening.

Perth is in the frame to hold the opening Test of summer for the first time in more than 20 years as Cricket Australia moves towards dual day/night Tests for 2016-17, one each against South Africa and Pakistan.Brisbane has hosted the first Test of the season every year since 1994, but ESPNcricinfo understands that the shunting of the Gabba match to the middle of the programme is a scenario CA has discussed with Queensland Cricket in order to allow for a day/night Test in Brisbane. A report in the has indicated an announcement to this effect may be imminent.Adelaide was always likely to host a floodlit third Test against South Africa following the standout success of the inaugural day/night match played against New Zealand last summer, but CA were left with a conundrum about how to make room for a second pink ball fixture against Pakistan. The PCB have confirmed their agreement to play a day/night Test following approval of the move by their cricket committee.The answer appears to be by swapping the Brisbane and Perth matches in the calendar. This allows the WACA Ground to host the opening South Africa match in a television friendly time slot for the eastern states before the Gabba greets the Pakistani touring side for the first match of their series ahead of the showpiece holiday fixtures over Christmas/New Year in Melbourne and Sydney. Brisbane has taken some pride in hosting the first Test, and is likely to do so again in 2017-18 during the next Ashes series.Hobart appears likely to host the second South Africa Test, granting Tasmania an opportunity for a higher profile five-day match and draw better crowds than witnessed the most recent two matches against West Indies last summer and Sri Lanka in 2012.South Africa had been slated to play four Tests against Australia next summer according to a bilateral agreement between the two countries, but the CA chief executive James Sutherland flagged some months ago that the board had decided against scheduling any more than six home Tests.

Derbyshire

Elite performance director: Graeme Welch
Captain: Billy Godleman (Championship), Wes Durston (limited-overs)
Last season

In: Andy Carter (Nottinghamshire), Tom Milnes (Warwickshire), Neil Broom (UK passport)
Out: Mark Footitt (Surrey), Wayne White (Leicestershire), Jonathan Clare (released)
Overseas: Hamish Rutherford, James Neesham (T20)
2015 in a nutshell
The arrival of Graeme Welch as elite performance director encouraged much optimism last season, but Derbyshire rarely lived up to it. Mark Footitt was the outstanding bowler in Division Two of the Championship for the second successive season, but an inexperienced squad had little else to celebrate. Wayne Madsen and Billy Godleman, captains old and new, delivered with the bat, but Shiv Thakor disappointed.2016 prospects
How to replace Footitt, who has decamped to Surrey, is Derbyshire’s first challenge. Welch has raided his former club, Warwickshire, for Tom Milnes; Andy Carter – signed from Notts – has bags of ability but a poor fitness record; and Tom Taylor and Ben Cotton will look to continue their development. Hamish Rutherford can bring zip to the top order, and his fellow Kiwi Neil Broom has dusted off a dual passport at the age of 32. Youngsters such as Matt Critchley (see below) and Harvey Hosein, an excellent wicketkeeper who made a maiden first-class 50 last summer, should also progress. A Godleman captaincy – he has had his share of disciplinary problems – is intriguing.Key player
Derbyshire can probably assemble enough runs this season – particularly in the Championship – but replacing Footitt is a different matter. It would be a much easier task if Andy Carter stays fit. His wickets come well below 30, but he has managed only 29 first-class matches since his debut in 2009. A tall fast bowler, he is able to mix the short stuff and yorkers.Bright young thing
Matt Critchley was initially seen as a promising legspinner, but he made history when he became Derbyshire’s youngest first-class century maker with 137 against Northamptonshire last May. It was enough to bring him his first professional deal. Proof of developing legspin would also be enthusiastically received.ESPNcricinfo verdict
Derbyshire’s youngsters have the talent to kick on, but not enough to fill their impressive new media box or make a concerted challenge for honoursBet365 odds: Specsavers Championship, Div 2: 12/1; NatWest Blast 33/1; Royal London Cup 40/1

Essex

Coach: Chris Silverwood
Captain: Ryan ten Doeschate (Champ); Ravi Bopara (T20, 50)
Last season

In: Matthew Quinn (UK passport), Aaron Beard (academy), Ashar Zaidi (Sussex), Matt Dixon (UK passport)
Out: Reece Topley (Hampshire), Mark Pettini (Leicestershire), Monty Panesar, Greg Smith, Matt Salisbury, Saf Imtiaz (all released)
Overseas: Jesse Ryder, Adam Milne (T20), Wahab Riaz (T20)
2015 in a nutshell
The 2015 summer could prove to be a watershed in Essex cricket. Ronnie Irani’s appointment as cricket committee chairman brought with it impatience at Essex’s decade of near-misses in limited-overs cricket and contentment with using Division Two of the Championship as a breeding ground. Paul Grayson moved on as coach after two quarter-final defeats and his fellow Yorkshireman, Chris Silverwood, took over, bringing in a third Yorkie, Anthony McGrath as his assistant.2016 prospects
Essex must compete without Reece Topley whose impatience for Division One cricket, especially now he has graduated to England’s limited-overs sides, has seen him join Hampshire. They have responded by bringing in two fast bowlers with dual passports – Matthew Quinn, who has played for New Zealand A, and Western Australian Matt Dixon. Spin looks weak, with Ashar Zaidi, released by Sussex, carrying heavy responsibility. But Tom Westley and Nick Browne are two classy young batsmen, Dan Lawrence – the third-youngest century-maker in Championship history – is another exciting prospect and Ravi Bopara’s appointment as one-day captain will bring general delight.Key player
The suspicion that England have moved on from Ravi Bopara, at 30, will disappoint many who keep a fire burning for him through thick and thin. If Bopara can rise above that potential disappointment and bring his ebullience to bear for Essex, the final stage of his career can still be a long and successful one.Bright young thing
With Topley gone, and David Masters and Graham Napier coming to the end of long-serving careers, young Essex pace bowlers can make a name for themselves. Aaron Beard, 18, has yet to make his county debut and has had a couple of tough years with injuries, but anybody trusted to turn out for England as a sub fielder at 15 must have something going for them. He has a two-year contract and now needs the resolve and fortune to go with it.ESPNcricinfo verdict
Essex can make runs galore, and look bound to thrill again in one-day cricket, but to win their first trophy since 2008 they could need both their dual passport bowlers to fire.Bet365 odds: Specsavers Championship, Div 2 9/2; NatWest Blast 11/1; Royal London Cup 14/1Can Robert Croft inspired a Glamorgan resurgence?•Getty Images

Glamorgan