Durham will be looking to make it three wins in three when they take on Leicestershire Foxes tomorrow at Seat Unique Riverside, in the Vitality Blast.
Having gone back-to-back on Friday and Saturday with wins over Birmingham Bears and Leicestershire Foxes, Durham are right back in the mix going into the fixture tomorrow night at 6:30pm.
Ryan Campbell has made one change to the squad which travelled to the Midlands last week, as George Drissell is added to the 14.
Durham take on the Foxes less than a week after they travelled to the Uptonsteel County Ground on Friday night, and will be looking for their second win in the space of five days.
Leicestershire enjoyed a thrilling win over Worcestershire Rapids on Sunday afternoon and sit fourth in the North group on 4 points, with two wins from four games played.
Durham also have 4 points with two wins from four games, but sit in 8th place, in a tightly contested North group table.
Words from Ryan Campbell
We didn’t start the way we wanted to, to be honest I don’t even know what happened in them two first games, we literally got bowled over in the blink of an eye and that wasn’t what we expected, but that does happen in T20s. We needed to fix the ship and get back on track very quickly. I am very proud of the way the boys stuck in and performed at the weekend and bounced back against two really good teams.
Leicestershire have had something over us the last couple of years, and Birmingham continually make the finals, but there is still a long way to go, but we are in a much better spot now.
You don’t become a poor team overnight, we looked at a few things after them two defeats, we made the decision to bring David Bedingham back into the squad, it wasn’t in a panic to add him to the squad. David has been in such good form in the red ball and has replicated that now into the white ball.
We need everyone to keep chipping in and someone to have a big day out, over the last two games that has happened, Alex Lees on Friday, Bedingham and Ben Raine on Saturday and we need that to continue. Leicestershire on Wednesday will be another tough game, it is another quick turnaround, which we can’t wait for.
Squad v Leicestershire Foxes (12 June)
David Bedingham, Jonathan Bushnell, Graham Clark, Paul Coughlin, George Drissell, Ben Dwarshuis, Alex Lees*, Haydon Mustard, Callum Parkinson, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Ollie Robinson+, Nathan Sowter, Ashton Turner
Opposition Corner
Captain: Peter Handscomb
Overseas players: Wiaan Mulder (South Africa), Peter Handscomb (Australia)
Finals Day appearances: Five (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011)
Titles: Three (2004, 2006, 2011)
2023 finish: Ninth (North Group)
2023 leading run-scorer: Rishi Patel (390)
2023 leading wicket-taker: Callum Parkinson (17)
Key winter moves: Nine players from the Foxes’ 2023 campaign have departed, notably former skipper Colin Ackermann and left-arm spinner Parkinson. Liam Trevaskis (ex-Durham) is a like-for-like replacement for the latter. Ben Mike returns from Yorkshire and Ben Cox (ex-Worcestershire) will keep wicket, with on-loan Hampshire duo Scott Currie and Ian Holland added to the squad plus Somerset’s Lewis Goldsworthy.
Wildcard watch: A wildcard pick for Trent Rockets after taking 15 wickets in the 2022 Blast campaign, Ben Mike missed out on The Hundred last year following his switch to Yorkshire. Always good for a few late runs too, he’ll be keen to put himself back in the frame.
Final thought: With Ackermann’s departure in particular, it feels like a new era for the Foxes – but one that sees the one-time T20 kings in need of a revival. Just seven home victories in three seasons has left things feeling flat at times on a ground that needs atmosphere and excitement. Australian international Handscomb takes over the captaincy, with a morale-boosting opening-night win against Yorkshire his first objective.
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 YouTube channel. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.