Derbyshire Falcons vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks Tips, Predictions and Bet Builder

Derbyshire Falcons face Northamptonshire Steelbacks in Wednesday's T20 Blast North Group clash in Derby and the visitors should be in confident mood.

Northamptonshire won a high-scoring opener against Yorkshire, posting 237-4 at Headingley, before new-ball stars David Willey (3-20) and Ben Sanderson (4-15) set up Sunday's home victory over Leicestershire.

Samit Patel's Derbyshire lost to Leicestershire in their first game of the season and they are outsiders to defeat the Steelbacks on Wednesday evening.

Derbyshire Falcons vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks Tips Summary

Market	Tip	Odds
Match Result	Northamptonshire Steelbacks	4/6
Best Bet	Matthew Breetzke to be Northamptonshire Steelbacks Top Batter	5/2
Bet Builder	Northamptonshire Steelbacks to win, Aneurin Donald to score 1+ six, Pat Brown to take 1+ wicket	15/4

Key Match Stats

• Derbyshire Falcons have lost three of their last four T20 Blast matches

• Aneurin Donald hit 23 sixes in 10 Blast innings last season – nine more than any other Derbyshire batsman

• The team batting second has won nine of the last 10 Blast meetings between these sides

• Northamptonshire took nine wickets in the Powerplay overs in their first two games this season

• The Steelbacks hit 17 sixes in their opening victory over Yorkshire

Derbyshire Falcons vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks Prediction

Best Bet: Matthew Breetzke to be Northamptonshire Steelbacks Top Batter @ 5/2

Matthew Breetzke played a key role in Northamptonshire's run to the T20 Blast quarter-finals last season, scoring 460 runs at a strike-rate of 154 per 100 balls.

The opener's highest score of the campaign came in the corresponding fixture against Derbyshire at the County Ground, where he smashed 94 off 54 balls in a rain-affected defeat.

Breetzke enjoyed a superb start to his South Africa ODI career in February, scoring 150 and 83 in his first two games against Pakistan, and he can punish Derbyshire's bowlers again.

James Milton explains:

Matthew Breetzke dominated Northamptonshire's Blast runscoring last summer and the South Africa international looks primed for a big score after starting his 2025 campaign with 36 off just 16 balls against Yorkshire.

Derbyshire Falcons vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks Bet Builder Tip

• Northamptonshire Steelbacks to win

• Aneurin Donald to score 1+ six

• Pat Brown to take 1+ wicket

  
  Pays 15/4

Northamptonshire Steelbacks have caught the eye with bat and ball in their wins over Yorkshire and Leicestershire and they can complete the hat-trick against Derbyshire.

A couple of Derbyshire players are worth supporting in the Bet Builder too. Aneurin Donald hit eight sixes from just 26 balls in this fixture in 2024 and the aggressive opener should clear the ropes on Wednesday.

Fast bowler Pat Brown is capable of bouncing back from a harrowing outing against Leicestershire with at least one wicket, having claimed 22 scalps in 13 Blast games last season.

Learn more about how Bet Builders work in our Bet Builder guide.

James Milton adds:

A Northamptonshire victory is the first leg of this Bet Builder as the Steelbacks look a solid all-round unit under former Australia coach Darren Lehmann. Opener Aneurin Donald and paceman Pat Brown were two of Derbyshire's best players in last summer's Blast and they should make an impact for the hosts.

Read more cricket betting tips and predictions on site.

Tactics, Form and Team News

Surviving the first over will be crucial for Derbyshire's top-order batsmen as Northamptonshire reduced Yorkshire to 9-3 in just five balls at Headingley last week.

Steelbacks captain David Willey took two wickets in the first four deliveries of Leicestershire's innings on Sunday so Derbyshire's batting depth may well be tested again.

Number six Martin Andersson slammed an unbeaten 70 against the Foxes in their opening game, sharing a sixth-wicket stand of 76 with the experienced Ross Whiteley.

Debutant spinner Mohammad Ghazanfar conceded 16 runs in the first over against Leicestershire but he came back strongly after the Powerplay, taking 2-13 in his next three overs. 

Expected Derbyshire Falcons lineup: 1 Caleb Jewell, 2 Aneurin Donald (wk), 3 David Lloyd, 4 Wayne Madsen, 5 Samit Patel (c), 6 Martin Andersson, 7 Ross Whiteley, 8 Zak Chappell, 9 Pat Brown, 10 Nick Potts, 11 Mohammad Ghazanfar.

Northamptonshire arrive in Derby in good spirits after winning their first two games although the likely absence of Justin Broad is a blow to the balance of their side.

The young all-rounder top-scored with 67 off 32 balls against Yorkshire but missed Sunday's win over Leicestershire, meaning Willey moved up to bat at number three.

Former England medium-pacer Ravi Bopara remains capable of stifling opposition batsmen in the middle overs of the innings. 

He has conceded only 20 runs in four overs this season and had combined figures of 2-31 from six overs in last summer's Blast matches against Derbyshire.

Expected Northamptonshire Steelbacks lineup: 1 Ricardo Vasconcelos, 2 Matthew Breetzke, 3 David Willey (c), 4 Ravi Bopara, 5 Saif Zaib, 6 George Bartlett, 7 Lewis McManus (wk), 8 Luke Procter, 9 George Scrimshaw, 10 Ben Sanderson, 11 Lloyd Pope.

View the full market and more odds for Derbyshire Falcons vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks on site.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.