The 22-year old has impressed this year with his performances for Derbyshire’s second team, which was the catalyst for a call-up to the senior side.
He finished with figures of 1-69 on the first day against Sussex at Hove in the Division One match.
He also had the honour of taking the first wicket of the day when Chris Nash was caught by Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Higginbottom went on to bowl 15 overs during the first innings as Sussex were skittled for 314.
He then added another wicket in Sussex’s second innings, this time at a loss of 24 runs from 11 overs.
Sandwiched between those two bowling stints, Higginbottom made nine runs with the bat in hand, before being bowled out by Australian Steve Magoffin.
Derbyshire went on to record a nine-wicket win for their first victory of the campaign and one which boosts their hopes of fighting off an immediate relegation.
Afterwards, Derbyshire skipper Wayne Madsen praised Higginbottom and his fellow youngsters after five academy players starred in the first success of the season.
He said: “The younger guys have put their hands up and really performed well.
“It has been a tough year but we have stuck to our guns and they (young players) have kept us motivated.”