Alex Hughes confident Derbyshire can shine in T20 Blast

Derbyshire all-rounder Alex Hughes (PHOTO BY: Paul Thomas/Getty Images)

All-rounder Alex Hughes believes Derbyshire have the ability to progress and compete at the business end of this year’s Vitality Blast Twenty20 competition.

The 27 year-old was the club’s leading wicket-taker in last year’s campaign with 17, a Derbyshire record-levelling tally, at an average of 19.05 and with best figures of 4-42.

Hughes says he can’t wait to get back in front of the big home crowds, with the competition getting under way against Yorkshire Vikings at Queen’s Park, Chesterfield on Saturday, July 20, in what is expected to be a third-straight sell-out.

He said: “The T20 competition is a good opportunity to showcase your skills, so it’s always exciting. We’ve had good crowds at Derby in the last few years, and we’ve played some really good cricket at times so, hopefully, we can push for a quarter-final spot and see what happens from there.

“It is always the aim to make it to the knockout stages and Finals Day, but we know there are a lot of tough games, so you can’t take anything for granted.

“What we have got to do is show up and perform how we know we can. If we are able to do that, we know we’ll give ourselves a chance in the competition of getting to the pinnacle, which is Finals Day.”