BEAT THE DUKE: WITH ROB DORSETT

With the second round of Beat the Duke ending in a 2-2 draw, First Eleven Scorer Roger 'The Duke' Marshall has sharpened his pencil, and hopefully his mind, to try to piece together some accurate predictions and claim his first win of the season.

Ahead of each round of fixtures, he will be pitched against a Nottinghamshire illuminary in a prediction challenge. You can join in by tweeting your predictions with the hashtag #beattheduke with prizes on offer for competitors and champion tipsters.

This week Nottinghamshire travel to Derbyshire with both sides looking for their first win whilst Durham look to bounce back after a crushing defeat at the hands of Warwickshire when they host Yorkshire. Close rivals Surrey and Sussex face each other in a game which sees Chris Jordan and Rory Hamilton-Brown return to their former club. Finally, Somerset look to get their first win when they host Warwickshire, with the reigning champions looking to continue their good form. 

The Challenger- Rob Dorsett

Famed for his unusual on-air sign-off (more details here), Rob is the most intrepid of the regional rovers featured on Sky Sports News. His deadline day efforts have seen him spend untold hours in the car parks of premiership training grounds in pursuit of an illusive exclusive. His high point at Trent Bridge came in 2010 when he was disptached by his editor to film a two minute humour piece about pancake day. His opening gambit to the Nottinghamshire press office was "I need some help filming an idea that every football club in the region has turned down." We were happy to oblige and this is him returning the favour.

The Challenger’s Predictions

Derbyshire v Nottinghamshire

I will have to go with a Nottinghamshire win as I believe that with Stuart Broad back the Notts attack will be too strong for Derbyshire, even with Chanderpaul in their ranks. I also think that after a poor display in the first game Notts’ batsmen will come good.

Durham v Yorkshire

Yorkshire are back where they belong but don’t have the money to match the bigger clubs. Durham have the experience of winning the title a few years back and with Paul Collingwood at the helm it leads me to believe that Durham will come away from this game successful.

Surrey v Sussex

You can’t really look past Surrey for this one. With arguably one of the best ever captains in Graeme Smith pulling the strings Surrey are in a very good position. Sussex will struggle to handle Surrey who I believe are serious Championship contenders especially with the acquisition of Ricky Ponting for a few months during the summer.

Somerset v Warwickshire

Even after the loss of Ashley Giles to the England set up it has been a seamless change into the hands of Dougie Brown. Somerset have struggled to get going in the Championship so far and it isn’t going to get any easier for them when they face the reigning champions. That is why I will go for an away win. 

The Duke’s Predictions

Derbyshire v Nottinghamshire

I will agree with Rob on this as Derbyshire’s batting has been unreliable so far this season. With Broad back in the mix Notts should be too strong for the Derbyshire batsmen. Notts win.

Durham v Yorkshire

This one is hard to predict. Yorkshire have their test players back but still both teams will be light on batting. The weather might intervene up in the North but I am going to put my faith in Durham even after they have let me down twice before.

Surrey v Sussex

The pitch at Surrey will favour the batsman just like it did when Somerset visited last week in a high scoring draw. This leads me to believe a draw is on the cards even though Sussex will be strengthened with the inclusion of Matt Prior. 

Somerset v Warwickshire

I will disagree with Rob here as I believe Somerset will edge this. The pitch will be good at Taunton but they have worked hard over the last few years to produce result pitches. If Marcus Trescothick and Alviro Petersen fire Somerset could set a big score. Somerset win. 

The score for last week was The Duke 2- 2 Peter Wynne-Thomas.

Tweet us your predictions to @TrentBridge using the hashtag #BeatTheDuke