For Dan Birch cricket runs in the family. His father spent 16 years with Nottinghamshire, playing over 250 games from 1973 to 1988, and Dan was on the books at Trent Bridge as a schoolboy. He spent eight years playing in the Derbyshire Premier League and eventually things started to happen for him in 2006 when he played at second-team level for Kent. Two half-centuries on his debut, as well as a century against the MCC Young Cricketers in a 50-over match, earned him a one-year contract at Derbyshire and he immediately repaid their faith by scoring 130 against Cambridge UCCE at Fenners in the season opener.

He is a tall left-handed batsman who stands still at the crease and regards himself as an entertainer saying: "I'm an aggressive, big-hitting batsman" so it is no surprise that his first few outings have been in Derbyshire's one-day matches. He hit 95 on his Championship debut against Gloucestershire when he was given the chance to open. Despite missing the end of the campaign through injury - Birch showed enough glimpses of his explosive potential at the top of the order to merit a new deal.

Alan Curr October 2007

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• Saqlain takes five but Hampshire hold on (May 17, 2008)
  
• Croft and Harris defy Nottinghamshire (Jun 5, 2007)

Apr 30, 2007 Daniel Birch, 2007 player portrait © Getty Images

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