Ashton Turner is fit and back in the Durham squad for tonight’s Vitality Blast T20 fixture at home to Yorkshire Vikings.
Turner, who suffered a shoulder injury in Durham’s second T20 game against Northamptonshire Steelbacks has undergone his rehabilitation and is cleared for a return to cricket.
He will lead Durham out at Seat Unique Riverside for the first time when Durham aim to make it back-to-back wins in the tournament as the competition reaches it halfway stage.
Durham got their third win last time out when they beat Lancashire Lightning in a thriller at Seat Unique Riverside and sit 7th with 6 points in a close North Group.
Yorkshire have enjoyed a positive start so far this term and sit in 4th spot with 9 points having secured four wins.
David Bedingham is not named in the squad for tonight’s fixture having sustained an injury to his right shoulder when diving to stop a four during Durham’s LV=Insurance County Championship match against Worcestershire, earlier this week.
Brydon Carse also drops out of the squad for tonight’s fixture as he is in England action for their ODI series against the Netherlands.
Squad v Yorkshire Vikings
Scott Borthwick, Jonathan Bushnell, Graham Clark, Paul Coughlin, George Drissell, Ned Eckersley, Michael Jones, Stanley Mcalindon, Ben Raine, Ollie Robinson +, Nathan Sowter, Liam Trevaskis, Ashton Turner*, Andrew Tye.
Words from James Franklin
We are coming into the Yorkshire game on the back of a really good win over Lancashire last time out, so we know we are up for a big game this Friday night. Hopefully we get a nice crowd in with the weather forecast looking well and truly fair, so we know if we can get a couple of really good results this weekend then that puts us straight back in to the mix again in the Vitality Blast. We are all really looking forward to Friday and Sunday.
Yorkshire Vikings
Pedigree: Yorkshire have flattered to deceive in T20 cricket despite having many high-profile and international players. They did make it out of the group stages last season but lost to Sussex at the Riverside. Yorkshire’s highest finish was in 2012 when they were runners-up to Hampshire. With the likes of Brook and Rashid likely to be available for at least the beginning of the campaign, Yorkshire will look to improve on previous years.
Dangerman: Finn Allen demonstrated the destructive batter he is when Durham played Yorkshire at Headingley earlier in the campaign. He is a six-time T20 international with the BlackCaps and represented Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League prior to arriving at Headingley. He played for Lancashire Lightning last summer in the Blast and was amongst the top 10 run-scorers with 399 runs in 13 games.
Rising Star: 25-year-old bowling all-rounder Jordan Thompson has flourished in recent years with a 26-ball 50 to his name and bowling speed to intimidate any batter, he is a real threat for Yorkshire. He made two half-centuries in last season’s Vitality Blast in England, striking at 167 across his career, and has been a wicket-taker with the ball claiming 34 wickets in 36 innings. Thompson played for Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League earlier this year alongside Yorkshire teammate Harry Brook.
Last Visit: Brydon Carse inspired Durham to a 20-run victory over Yorkshire Vikings in their first game of their Vitality Blast campaign at Seat Unique Riverside last year. Carse took centre stage with the bat after it appeared the hosts had spurned an excellent platform. The 25-year-old scored his maiden T20 fifty to elevate Durham to a match winning total of 181, despite career-best figures of 4-44 from Jordan Thompson. Jonny Bairstow threatened the home side, but Carse made the decisive impact to dismiss the England man for 67. A late surge from Harry Brook proved in vain as the home side held their composure to get off the mark in the competition at the first attempt & Durham winning by 20 runs.
Match Coverage
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 the Durham Cricket YouTube channel.
There will also be regular updates on Twitter, with a match report and post-match reaction on the website following the conclusion of the game.