Hawkins signs deal until end of August

Derbyshire Pathway prospect, Joe Hawkins, has signed a contract with the Club until the end of August.

The Derbyshire Under 18s captain featured for the Young Lions Invitational XI for fixtures against both India and England Under 19s last month, impressing with bat and ball across the two games. He was also recently called up for the second Test between England Under 19s and India.

He will be available for the entire Metro Bank One-Day Cup, as well as tomorrow’s Rothesay County Championship fixture at Northampton.

Hawkins, 18, ended the Second XI T20 competition with four wickets from five appearances and a miserly economy of just 5.10, while his sole Second XI Championship appearance this season garnered two wickets and one half-century.

Head of Cricket, Mickey Arthur, said: “Joe has impressed through our age groups and has taken brilliantly to Second XI cricket, so the next step in his development is to be in first team squads and pushing for a place to test himself at senior level.

“Our pathway is consistently producing exciting talents and we want to bring those players into the first team environment, to give them the best possible chance of succeeding in professional cricket with Derbyshire.”