International cricket hits County Ground

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Friday, August 15, 2008
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This is Derbyshire

GRAEME Smith leads his South Africans to the County Ground tomorrow at the start of a week of international cricket in the county.

Derby is to host the tourists' second match against England Lions (10.45am), with the first ending in a four-wicket victory for South Africa at Leicester yesterday.

Captain Smith (pictured right), having guided his country to their first Test series win in England for 43 years, is expected to play in a full-strength South Africa line-up for their final warm-up match before the Twenty20 international in Durham on Wednesday and the beginning of a five-match one-day international series two days later.

Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis should also take their places after being rested for the game at Leicester and the nippy Dale Steyn is back after missing the last two Tests with a broken thumb.

One-day specialists Albie Morkel, Justin Ontong, Herschelle Gibbs, Vernon Philander and Johan Botha have been added to the party for this leg of the tour.

The Lions team will be led by Ed Joyce, who has been Middlesex's captain in their current Championship match at Derby, and will also include Nottinghamshire's Samit Patel, who learned his trade in the Derbyshire Premier and County Leagues.

Patel made his debut for the Lions yesterday but seven others in the 12 – Sajid Mahmood, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Matt Prior, Owais Shah, Kabir Ali, Luke Wright and Darren Pattinson – have played either Test or ODI cricket for the full England side.

On Monday, England Women will take on South Africa in the final match of the NatWest Women's Series at Queen's Park in Chesterfield (10.45am).

England wrapped up the series even before yesterday's match at Shenley, which they won by six wickets, and the sides will be back at Queen's Park on Wednesday for the first of three NatWest Women's International Twenty20s (2.30pm).

Before the Twenty20, the England Learning Disability team will take on a Physical Disability Select XI in an exhibition match (10.30am).

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