Just 48 hours after being in Vitality Blast action against Yorkshire Vikings, Durham return to County Championship tomorrow, taking on Essex at Chelmsford.
Four weeks after Durham took only five sessions to beat Somerset by an innings and six runs in their Vitality County Championship clash at the Seat Unique Riverside – the red ball returns tomorrow at 11am.
Ryan Campbell has named a 13-player squad for round eight of the Vitality Blast County Championship which sees the return of Scott Borthwick, Peter Siddle and Colin Ackermann to the fold.
Durham sit mid table in the Division One table in fifth place with two wins from their first block of games, while Essex are flying high in second place with 113 points.
Words from Ryan Campbell
We are excited to get back to the County Championship, we are at the halfway stages of that competition now and we think we have played ok, without being the dominant self we were last year. The facts are we still haven’t played our best cricket yet in this format, which to me as head coach is exciting.
I think there is a lot of upslope in our red ball cricket to come and blokes are in good form going into this one. There are going to be some selection calls in this match, we have guys coming back from the World Cup, and fitness, so I can’t wait to get down there and see how our guys go.
Colin Ackermann is back in the fold now after he has been missing for 2 to 3 weeks with a finger injury, he looks like he is fit and healthy to go again. Michael Jones and Bas de Leede come back in from World Cup campaigns. Ben Stokes unfortunately won’t be playing, he is being managed but will play against Worcestershire, but overall, our 11 on paper should be very strong and we will be ready to go.
Squad v Essex (10-13 May)
Colin Ackermann, David Bedingham, Scott Borthwick*, Graham Clark, Paul Coughlin, Bas de Leede, Michael Jones, Alex Lees (vc), Callum Parkinson, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Ollie Robinson+, Peter Siddle
Opposition Corner
Captain: Tom Westley
Head Coach: Anthony McGrath
2023 finish: Second (Division One)
2023 highest run-scorer: Tom Westley (1,130)
2023 highest wicket-taker: Simon Harmer (61)
Key winter moves: Essex moved promptly and astutely to cover the retirement of Sir Alastair Cook and defection (to Surrey) of Dan Lawrence. They brought in another former Test captain at the top of the batting in South African Dean Elgar and prised away promising wicketkeeper-batter Jordan Cox from Kent to enhance the middle-order.
Player most likely to Baz-Ball: If the circumstances are right, Matt Critchley is capable of stepping up to the plate, lighting the after-burners and taking the game away from the opposition in a whirlwind of boundaries. His leg-breaks can cause havoc, too.
Final thought: While there has been remedial surgery in the batting ranks with the loss of Cook and Lawrence, Essex are still able to field one of the most balanced and penetrative bowling attacks in the competition. Seamers Jamie Porter and Sam Cook will again soften up the opposition batters, weighing in with their fair share of wickets, before leaving Simon Harmer to bemuse any survivors with his relentless off-spin.
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 Essex YouTube channel. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.