The business end of the Vitality Blast season is upon us and Durham are right in the mix as they look to progress out of the North Group for the first time since 2018.
Ryan Campbell’s side bounced back from Thursday night’s defeat against Yorkshire Vikings with a 30-run win over Notts Outlaws on Friday night and now move up to third in the group.
With two games to go, Durham are straight back in action tomorrow hosting Northamptonshire Steelbacks at 2:30pm before traveling to the County Ground next Friday to round off the group stages against Derbyshire Falcons.
Durham will be looking for revenge when they take on the Steelbacks tomorrow, with the Wantage Road side sitting in 5th place on 12 points, just one point behind Durham in 3rd.
Ryan Campbell has made one change to the squad with George Drissell dropping out having sustained an ankle injury, with Jonathan Bushnell his replacement in the 14 player squad.
Words from Ryan Campbell
The most important thing about our performance on Friday night was that we had to bounce back – we were very disappointed with the way we played on Thursday night, but good teams know how to bounce back, and we bounced back against Notts Outlaws and that was the really good thing.
The whole thing about this season, after the poor start, we had is that this club and this team really want to play in finals. We have our own destiny in our hands now, we need to keep winning and we don’t want to rely on other teams. If we win, we will get through and these two games against Northamptonshire and Derbyshire are two big games and should be exciting for everyone.
It’s been a while since we progressed of out the group, 2018 was the last time, so hopefully we can give the fans what they want, and we can make the quarter finals. We have been pretty good in the red ball arena over the last two years now, but I think when we get it right with this white ball team, we can be a very good T20 team. We will have our ups and downs, but I think we still have plenty in the tank and I wouldn’t say we have played our perfect game yet but when we do I think we can beat anyone.
Squad v Northamptonshire Steelbacks (14 July)
Opposition Corner
Captain: David Willey
Overseas players: Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe, first eight games), Ashton Agar (Australia – last four games), Matthew Breetzke (South Africa)
Finals Day appearances: 4 (2009, 2013, 2015, 2016)
Titles: Two (2013, 2016)
2023 finish: Sixth (North Group)
2023 leading run-scorer: Chris Lynn (364)
2023 leading wicket-taker: Andrew Tye (19)
Key winter moves: Former England all-rounder Ravi Bopara joins the Steelbacks for the Blast, while ex-Derbyshire paceman George Scrimshaw will be hoping to impress the selectors after his ODI debut last summer. South African Matthew Breetzke arrives following blistering form in his country’s domestic T20 tournaments, alongside highly-experienced Zimbabwe T20 captain, all-rounder Sikandar Raza.
Wildcard watch: Ricardo Vasconcelos is fresh from two big Championship tons, the second scored at a white-ball rate in a run chase. Holding his own alongside Lynn at the top of the T20 batting order last year, Vasconcelos offers firepower and the ability to bat deep – and an extra wicketkeeping option.
Final thought: Without a County Championship win in seven games, Northamptonshire are looking to relaunch their season with a successful Blast campaign. Skipper David Willey has a wealth of experience around him in Bopara and Sikandar Raza (and Ashton Agar for the final four games) and this squad could mount a serious challenge for the knockout stage.
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.