Derbyshire announce friendlies

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Derbyshire will complete their pre-season with a one-day game versus Yorkshire and a two-day contest against Warwickshire

Derbyshire will follow their tour to Barbados with two pre-season games at home before their first competitive match, against Northamptonshire in the LV= County Championship from April 5.

Head coach Karl Krikken’s side will play a one-day fixture versus Yorkshire on March 31 followed by a two-day contest against Warwickshire from April 1, both at the County Ground. Start times are to be confirmed but both are expected to be daytime fixtures. Supporters are welcome and entry is free.

Those games will be an opportunity for seamer Ali Evans to impress, having today been given a pre-season trial.

The 22-year-old Scotland international was the club’s leading wicket-taker in the Second XI Championship last season, with 31 scalps in six matches, and will join the squad for training later this week.

“It’s a great opportunity for me and I’m really looking forward to it,” Evans said. “I will be dropped in at the deep end and it’s going to be hard work. But chances like this don’t often come along.

“I enjoyed every minute of it last season from April right through to the end of the season. There is a very good bunch of guys at the club who took me in and made it a very enjoyable experience.

“Coming down from an associate nation, last season was an eye-opener in terms of the volume of good standard cricket. It helped me kick on because you have to wake up every day and perform at a higher level than you are used to. It was a challenge I enjoyed and I’m looking forward to the next one that comes along.”

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