Match Preview: Lancashire (H)

With white ball cricket taking a three week break, Derbyshire face Lancashire in a four-day Championship match at Queen’s Park as part of the BRM Chesterfield Festival of Cricket.

Heritage Officer David Griffin previews the game.

These two sides last met at Chesterfield in 2025 when the visitors recorded a comprehensive 226 runs victory and although their most recent encounter – at Old Trafford in April – was a much closer affair, Derbyshire again finished on the losing side, by 29 runs.

This will be Derbyshire’s 422nd scheduled first class game at Queen’s Park, Chesterfield and their last win over Lancashire there was by an innings and 141 runs in 1961 when Les Jackson’s six for 15 on the opening day saw the visitors dismissed for 69. Derbyshire declared on 333 for six, Derek Morgan top-scoring with an unbeaten 68, before Peter Eyre’s five for 40 saw Lancashire crawl to 123 all out from 93.3 overs.

First class games between Derbyshire and Lancashire date back to 1871 when Derbyshire played their first match, one they won by an innings at Old Trafford.

The forthcoming fixture will be the 225th between the two counties and no county has provided the opposition more often for Derbyshire than Lancashire.

Generally, Lancashire have prospered more often than not, winning 103 of these games with 87 draws and Derbyshire victorious on a rather meagre 32 occasions.

Two matches, both at Buxton, in 1972 and 1980, were abandoned without any play.

Derbyshire’s last win against their north west neighbours was in 1997 when they won by an innings and 37 runs at Derby, largely thanks to the formidable pace attack of Cork, DeFreitas, Harris and Malcolm.

Derbyshire’s highest innings total of 577 all out at Old Trafford in 1896 included 274 with 37 fours by George Davidson and remains the highest individual score in the county’s history, although two players, Barnett and Peter Bowler have both scored more hundreds (four) against Lancashire than any other player.

Amongst the bowlers Bill Mycroft (11) and Cliff Gladwin (10) took five wickets in an innings most often, although Les Jackson’s nine for 60 at Manchester in 1952 are the best innings figures.

The most recent instance of a bowler taking five wickets in an innings came in the match at Derby in 2019 when Luis Reece took six for 58 in Lancashire’s first innings.

Davidson and Bill Copson both took hat tricks against Lancashire, at Derby and Burton-on-Trent, respectively.

Derbyshire’s record partnership against Lancashire is 321 for the second wicket in the second innings at Old Trafford in 1981 when John Wright and Peter Kirsten both scored hundreds.

For the visitors, aside from Gallian’s 312 in 1996, Johnny Tyldesley made two double hundreds, one each at Chesterfield and Old Trafford, while Graham Lloyd, Eddie Paynter – also at Old Trafford, and Ashwell Prince (at Southport) also made doubles.

With the ball, slow left armer Johnny Briggs recorded the best innings figures of nine for 29 at Derby in 1885 while the best match figures came from William McIntyre who took 15 for 47 at Derby in 1877.