In the first season of the John Player League they ended fifteenth after winning five matches.
Derbyshire played 24 games in the County Championship, one match against Oxford University, and one against the touring New Zealanders.
Derbyshire reached the final of the Gillette Cup where they lost to Yorkshire.
This was the season in which the Sunday League was introduced and Derbyshire won five matches in the one-day games to finish fifteenth.
Peter Gibbs scored most runs overall although Michael Page was top scorer in the County Championship.