Derbyshire trio handed summer contracts for 2015 campaign

Cricket Derbyshire Academy products Will Davis, Adam Wheatcroft and Harry White have been awarded deals for the 2015 season.

Pace bowler Davis, who captained the academy side in 2014, has been a regular for the second string this summer. He was named academy player of the year and earned a call-up to the England development programme.

Fellow graduate Wheatcroft has also featured for the seconds this year while White, a left-arm paceman, has earned his first deal with the club after training with the first team during 2014.

The club’s system of summer and incremental contracts has already played an integral role in the development of eight members of the current full-time professional squad. Scott Elstone, Alex Hughes, Chesney Hughes, Tom Knight, Tom Poynton, Ben Slater, Ben Cotton, Tom Taylor and Greg Cork all came through the ranks in this way.

Elite performance director Graeme Welch said: “We’ve got a nucleus of young talent that we can develop over the next two or three years so the Derbyshire public can really identify with their team.

“We’ve seen this year the likes of Ben Cotton, Tom Taylor and Harvey Hosein break into the first team, and there’s no reason why any of these lads can’t do the same.

“They’ve got a chance now to train in an elite cricketing environment under our specialist coaching staff. I’m looking forward to seeing how they respond. Hopefully they’ll grab every opportunity.”

Summer contracts are not full-time professional contracts. They are usually combined with education and/or employment but provide an opportunity for young players to show what they can do.