Shropshire hand debut to Matt Higginbottom
Shropshire are tipping debutant Matt Higginbottom to earn himself another crack at the first-class county game.
The Cats start their Unicorns Championship campaign against Cheshire at Whitchurch on Sunday.
The 24-year-old right-arm fast medium bowler and left-handed batsman came through the Derbyshire youth system.
He played six first-class games in 2013 before being released in 2014, when he figured seven times for their seconds and twice in their T20 side.
And Shropshire coach Karl Krikken believes Higginbottom will seize his chance in the Minor Counties to regain a place in a County Championship side in the future.
Krikken said: "Derbyshire's academy has produced quite a few bowlers and unfortunately Ben got released, but he's good enough to play county cricket.
"Hopefully, this is the springboard to do that again and he will produce the goods for Shropshire and put himself in the shop window.
"He played under me at Derbyshire and he plays at Chesterfield.
"I feel he's a good opening bowler who has done really well in the Derbyshire League Division One and is a handy batsman as well. Hopefully he will do well for us.
"He's very similar to 'Sando' (Ben Sanderson) in that he swings the ball away and bowls at a decent pace."
Higgionbottom's first-class debut came for Leeds-Bradford MCCU in March 2012.
Shropshire are keen for the return of the three-day game, after five straight defeats in the one-day format.
In the Unicorns Knockout Trophy to Lincolnshire, Northumberland, Cheshire and Cumberland, and to Oxfordshire in the Unicorns T20 competition.
Krikken said: "Cheshire are a strong side but our best performances have been in the three-day game so hopefully we can recreate that.
"We haven't played the one-day game as well as we wanted but we have to look forwards and hopefully we do the business at Whitchurch."
Squad: James Ralph (Bridgnorth), Omar Ali (Cannock & Rugeley Hawks), Ross Aucott (Wolverhampton), Robbie Clarke (Oswestry), Simon Gregory (Bridgnorth), Matt Higginbottom (Chesterfield), Steve Leach (Shrewsbury), Ryan Lockley (Bridgnorth), Charlie Morris (Shrewsbury), Gurman Randhawa (Ossett), Ben Sanderson (Rotherham Town), Tom Weston (Bridgnorth).
