An academy product of Derbyshire, Alex Hughes, is an useful middle-order batsman who can also chip in with his medium-pace bowling. Hughes started his cricket career at Straffordshire where he was a teammate with Kim Barnett, Derbyshire's Director of cricket. Hughes was praised for his attacking style of cricket and was also noted for his captaincy abilities - which came to fruition during his time in Derbyshire - when he captained the county in nine limited overs matches - as a stand-in for the injured Wes Durston.

Having been brought up through the ranks in Derbyshire, Hughes made his Twenty20 debut in 2011 and then had to wait for a couple of seasons to make his first-class debut, which eventually came in 2013. His career however kick-started in right earnest in 2015 when he made the first of his five career first-class hundreds, an attacking century against Northamptonshire. This helped him acquire a fresh two-year contract with the club in 2016.