Durham return to the East Midlands tomorrow [10:30am] when they travel to the Upton Steel County Ground to take on Leicestershire in the County Championship.
Following Durham’s draw at Derby last week, Durham are straight back on the M1 when they face the Foxes in their 12th red ball of the 2022 campaign.
Durham are bolstered by the return of Matthew Potts from England duty and David Bedingham who has recovered from the fractured finger he sustained against Middlesex in July.
Chris Rushworth drops out of the squad having picked up a side strain last week at Derbyshire while Stanley McAlindon has suffered a bone stress injury to his lower leg and is omitted from the squad.
Alex Lees remains with England for their series decider against South Africa at the Kia Oval and will not join up with the squad for this week’s fixture.
Durham picked up their 8th draw of the season at Derby on Thursday and remain in 6th place in the Division 2 table and face a Leicestershire side who are winless in the Championship this season sitting bottom of the table.
The club can also confirm that James Franklin has been given permission to leave Durham Cricket earlier than initially planned, following an opportunity arising overseas. Durham’s current coaching staff, led by Neil Killeen will resume coaching duties for the remainder of the season.
Squad v Leicestershire (12-15 September)
David Bedingham, Scott Borthwick*, Jonathan Bushnell, Paul Coughlin, Sean Dickson, George Drissell, Oliver Gibson, Michael Jones, Tom Mackintosh, Nic Maddinson, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Liam Trevaskis
Words from Scott Borthwick on Derbyshire
“When we went back out for those last 17 overs it was always going to be tricky but the two lads dug in and got through it really well.
“At the start of the day we weren’t scared of 300, the pitch was still a decent one so it was quite a fair declaration. It was a shame the weather did come in but we take the points and move on.
“You do in the back of your mind fear a little bit in that last hour when it was always going to be tricky with the floodlights on in good bowling conditions, but I thought Paul (Coughlin) and Liam (Trevaskis) were brilliant, they showed nerves of steel.”
The Opposition
Coach: Paul Nixon
Captain: Colin Ackerman
Last year’s performance: 4th (Division 3)
2021 leading run scorer: Lewis Hill (944, 44.95)
2021 leading wicket taker: Callum Parkinson (50, 29.04)
Overseas players: Wiaan Mulder (South African), Beuran Hendricks
Key player: Experienced seamer Chris Wright will play a key role in the Leicestershire bowling attack this season, having claimed 49 wickets in 2021, one behind Callum Parkinson with 50. An experienced bowler on the county circuit he is Leicestershire’s leading wicket-taker with 22 wickets.
Under the radar: Hassan Azad – With a First-class average of 40, Azad has notched up 7 centuries and 12 fifties in his career so far. Often dealing with his business quietly under the radar, he scored a superb unbeaten century against Worcestershire on the opening day of the season and has 563 runs so far this season.
Young potential: 24-year-old Ed Barnes move to Leicestershire from Yorkshire is reaping the awards, with the right arm seamer enjoying his move to the Midlands. He has 18 wickets in the County Championship this campaign, the same amount he picked up last summer during his opening campaign for Leicestershire.