The business end of the Metro Bank One Day Cup group stage is upon us as Durham prepare for their final three games of Group A – with a trip to Gosforth next up tomorrow.
Ryan Campbell has named a 15-player squad for tomorrow’s game against Hampshire at South Northumberland Cricket Club – which includes on addition to the squad which travelled to Radlett. Daniel Hogg returns to the fold in another wise unchanged squad.
Neil Wagner remains in contention to make his Durham List A debut, after Tuesday’s One Day Cup clash at Radlett was abandoned without a ball bowled.
Hampshire have enjoyed a strong One Day Cup campaign and currently sit second in Group A with 8 points. They have won 4 out of 5 and travel North on the back of a 143 run win over Derbyshire yesterday in Southampton. While Durham are sixth in the group and are likely to need to win at least their final three games to qualify,
Hampshire are missing seven players to the Hundred with Benny Howell, James Fuller, Liam Dawson, James Vince, Joe Weatherley and John Turner all on franchise duty. They do however have experienced South African seamer Kyle Abbot in their squad.
The two sides have only met once in the last ten years in List A cricket, where Durham ran our nine-wicket winners in 2021, courtesy of a Graham Clark century as we booked our place in the Semi Finals of the Royal London Cup.
Squad v Hampshire [9 August]
Colin Ackermann, Scott Borthwick, Jonathan Bushnell, Paul Coughlin, Bas de Leede, George Drissell, Brandon Glover, Daniel Hogg, Michael Jones, Mitchell Killeen, Alex Lees, Ben McKinney, James Minto, Haydon Mustard+, Neil Wagner
Words from Neil Wagner
It’s very nice to be here at Durham, I have been welcomed well with open arms from a great bunch of lads, so I am very much looking forward to being here over the next two months and getting stuck into it.
The rain affected game at Radlett didn’t help things, with about 14 hours on the bus to watch some rain fall down in London. But we have trained well over the last few days and in the gym and I am looking forward to tomorrow.
Tomorrow should be exciting, playing in a format which I very much enjoy playing in, I love one-day cricket and white ball cricket. Most of my stints over here have just been in red ball so any opportunity you get to play white ball is exiting and I can’t wait for the next couple of months.
Opposition Corner
Captain: Nick Gubbins
Overseas players: Kyle Abbott (South Africa), Mohammad Abbas (Pakistan)
2023 finish: Runners-up
2023 leading run scorer: Fletcha Middleton (480)
2023 leading wicket taker: Ian Holland (18)
Key player: With over 75 first-team appearances and well over 2,000 runs to his name, it is hard to believe Tom Prest is still only 21. The top-order batter, and occasional off-spinner, has collected over 400 runs in each of the last two Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaigns and is well positioned for another run-heavy competition.
Keep an eye on: Eddie Jack had a promising fresher year last season, where he took nine wickets with his bustling pace. The 18-year-old tall quick has all the attributes England craves in a bowler, so eyes will be firmly focused on how he develops.
Final thought: A squad oozing in experience even the youngsters have deep big-game experience. Included in that is the hurt of losing last year’s final from plenty of winnable positions. A return to Trent Bridge is inevitably the premier aim, especially with the increasingly impressive leadership of Nick Gubbins at the helm.
Match Centre
The Club’s match centre will be in operation for the fixture with live scorecards, statistics & video highlights as they happen. You can watch the game live via Durham’s match centre and Durham Cricket YouTube channel.