Notts legend Samit Patel's switch boosts Derbyshire Falcons’ T20 derby hopes

Patel has swapped sides after 22 years of service at Trent Bridge and Derbyshire all-rounder Luis Reece said: “A big part of our season is the T20 campaign and we have two particularly big fixtures with big crowds, notably the Notts Outlaws game here and the Yorkshire Vikings at Queen's Park.

“Against Notts we've been on the wrong end over the past couple of years.

“But you feel, with the recruitment, there may be a kind of shift this year, and we can hopefully get over the line in that fixture.

“It got to the point where we had to recruit one of their players to get us over the line!

“Samit is an international cricketer and plays all round the world in these franchise competitions. The way he is talking to blokes and just changing their perception on things is quite nice.

“I suppose it's exactly why we wanted him for that reason and he is filling the role perfectly.

“He's obviously still got a lot of passion and enthusiasm for it, which is brilliant.

“I know he's got franchise competitions knocking on the door for him but hopefully we can have him around as long as we possibly can. The lads keep picking his brain and I suppose are getting a bit more street smart with things.”

He added: “I think we owe Notts a home win. If you look back at the last few years, especially last year, we probably haven't started off well so we haven't probably given our fans the chance to get into the game properly.

“You look at the squad now and it seems every base is covered. We've got a couple of players in each spot which is exciting. Lads are starting to feel that healthy competition.

“We're doing the hard yards now so that when that fixture comes we can hopefully set the score right and perhaps give them a hiding like we have been on the receiving end in the last few years.

“So we are going to try to start the game on a positive note and try to get ourselves on the front foot to use the crowd as a 12th man. We've all seen it when the crowd here find their voice it's such a special place to be.”