T20 Blast quarter-finals: Derbyshire 'dare to dream' of glory - Mickey Arthur

Head of cricket Mickey Arthur says Derbyshire are "daring to dream" of a maiden T20 Blast title as they prepare to face Somerset in the quarter-finals.

The Falcons travel to Taunton on Saturday for what is just their fifth knockout game in 19 years of domestic T20 cricket in England.

Already Derbyshire have won nine matches in the competition this season, a record for the side.

"It's about keeping the guys confident," Arthur said.

"What we keep saying to the guys in the dressing room is to 'dare to dream'.

"We have come off some good results and we have played so good cricket."

The words 'dare to dream' have become a mantra at Derbyshire since the arrival of South African Arthur, who left the job as Sri Lanka head coach last November to take over at the Incora County Ground.

The team he took charge of in the East Midlands was one that finished bottom in their One-Day Cup group, second bottom of their group in the T20 Blast and only avoided finishing bottom of Division Three of the County Championship with a final-match win against Sussex.

Under Arthur this season, they have won 12 matches in all competitions, and a win at Taunton on Saturday would see them double the amount of victories they managed over the course of the entire 2021 season.

Derbyshire have enjoyed their best season in T20 cricket in 2022, with nine wins from 14 matches

"When I arrived at the club, they had come off a particularly poor year last year," Arthur told BBC East Midlands Today.

"It was about building confidence, it was about making guys believe in their own abilities, it was about making guys the best they can be.

"'Dare to dream' is something we started off at the start of our campaign - let's dream for bigger things, why shouldn't we? Yes, we take it one game at a time, but let's as a collective dream for bigger things."

Derbyshire finished third in the Northern Group to reach the quarter-final for just the fourth time since domestic T20 cricket was introduced in 2003.

Victory against Somerset would see them advance to the last four and Finals Day at Edgbaston for just the second time, having first got there in 2019.

Derbyshire will have to do so without this season's leading scorer, their T20 skipper Shan Masood, who is away on international duty with Pakistan, replaced by Australian Hilton Cartwright.

"We believe on our day we are good enough to beat anybody and we have shown that through the season so far," Arthur said.

"They are a hell of a team down there and it will take a massive effort from us, but we believe. It's about confidence, building the boys up.

"We have to make sure they all bring their best games to make sure we continue to dare to dream."