DERBYSHIRE have finalised the schedule for their pre-season tour to Barbados in the West Indies.

They will have at least five matches against high-quality opposition as part of their trip between March 15-25, preparing John Morris' side for the beginning of the new season on April 9.

Yorkshire, Lancashire and Essex have also been invited to the Caribbean island to take part in the series of games.

Derbyshire will have net practice on the 16th and begin their first competitive test the following day – a two-day fixture against Yorkshire.

This game will be played at the 3Ws Oval in the capital, Bridgetown.

Named in honour of the three Bajan greats of the post-War era, Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Everton Weekes, the ground is on the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies and was used for five warm-up matches for the 2007 World Cup.

Following a further day off for practice, the highlight of the tour will be a Twenty20 tournament at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, a ground rich in cricket history and hugely redeveloped for the World Cup.

The tournament will be played over the weekend of March 20-21 and, as well as the four English counties, will also include a University of the West Indies side and a Barbados Select.

Derbyshire are to play Essex in the second fixture of the opening day, with Yorkshire facing the University and Lancashire against Barbados.

The three opening-match winners and the best of the three losers will go through to the semi-finals at Kensington on day two. The grand final will be played under floodlights, with a 7pm start, local time.

The two who miss out on the semis will play off for fifth and sixth places at the 3Ws Oval.

A 40-over competition starts on the 22nd and Derbyshire are to take on Lancashire at Windward Park in the south-east of the island.

Yorkshire face Essex in the other semi-final and the two winners will meet in the final at the Kensington Oval on the following day.

The loser of Derbyshire's match against Lancashire will travel to the north of the island to play against the Barbados Select at Crab Hill, the home of the Mount Gay North Stars.

That will allow Derbyshire more time for net practice on their last full day on the island before they fly home on the evening of March 25.