Derbyshire great, John Wright, has been appointed Club President

The former New Zealand Test batsman, who scored more than 9,000 runs across all formats for his country, is widely regarded as one of Derbyshire’s finest ever players.

Between 1977 and 1988, Wright scored a total of 10,638 first-class runs and 4,331 List A runs, including 31 centuries and a top-score of 190.

An experienced coach at domestic and international level, Wright became Derbyshire’s Specialist Twenty20 Coach in 2017 and led the side to their first Vitality Blast quarter-final in more than a decade.

Wright succeeds Harold Rhodes, whom the club would like to thank for his contribution over the past year, which has extended to watching Derbyshire at home and away, as well as attending a number of club events.

Chairman, Ian Morgan said: “John is one of the greatest batsmen to ever play for Derbyshire, scoring more than 14,000 runs for the club.

“Even when his playing days ended, John kept a close relationship with the club and enjoyed success in his return as a coach. His contribution and commitment to the Club over many years has been immense and I am delighted that he has accepted the role of Club President in this our 150th year.”

Wright added: “I hold Derbyshire very close to my heart and I am honoured to serve as Club President.

“I enjoyed so many great times here as a player and as a coach, and I wish the current squad the very best as they continue to make great progress on the field.”

 

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ECB announces further delay to the professional cricket season

• Professional cricket will not be played in England and Wales until at least July 1.
• Nine rounds of fixtures will be lost in the County Championship season, but blocks for red-ball cricket and white-ball cricket will be held in a revised schedule.
• The Vitality Blast will be pushed as late in the season as possible to give it the best opportunity of being staged. All matches previously scheduled in June will be moved later in the season.
• International cricket, featuring England men’s and women’s teams, will look to be scheduled from July until the end of September.
• An additional Board meeting will be scheduled next Wednesday on The Hundred, following a request to dedicate a further session to the competition.

The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have today extended the postponement of professional cricket until at least 1 July due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision, which extends the current 28 May suspension, will result in a revised schedule, with both traditional four-day and short-format cricket planned towards the end of the summer.

The Vitality Blast, in which Derbyshire reached a maiden Finals Day last year, will be put back as late in the season as possible, to give it the best opportunity of being staged.

The season remains subject to ongoing advice from government and health experts, and continued consultation with all broadcast partners to determine the optimum way to fulfil fixtures both domestically and internationally.

Chief Executive of Derbyshire County Cricket Club, Ryan Duckett, said:

“The ECB have taken extensive guidance when making this decision and made it clear that the safety of the wider society must come before sport and cricket will return once it is safe to do so.

“Across the game, all counties are working with the ECB to reduce the impact of coronavirus on the season and to maximise whatever cricket we are able to host.

“While it is bitterly disappointing to lose nine rounds of County Championship cricket, it is not safe to stage cricket at this time and should we be able to do so later in the season, we must prioritise the most profitable formats in order to protect the future of the whole of county cricket.

“I would like to thank our Members – who joined us for a first virtual Members’ Forum last week – for their support of the club’s plans to mitigate against these unprecedented circumstances.

“I would also like to thank our supporters, sponsors and stakeholders for their understanding, and we hope to be able to welcome them back to The Incora County Ground later this summer.”

Derbyshire County Cricket Club will continue to communicate all updates to its Members and supporters via derbyshireccc.com.