Durham Jets head coach Jon Lewis has named a 14-man squad for tonight’s NatWest T20 Blast opener against Lancashire Lightning (6:30pm start).
Paul Coughlin will lead for the first time as full-time skipper after being appointed earlier this week following a stint as vice-captain in the Royal London One-Day Cup.
Some of the stars from last year’s run are set to feature in a mouthwatering first match at Emirates Riverside.
Chris Rushworth, Michael Richardson & Paul Collingwood are all included after their vital contributions throughout the 2016 campaign, which saw the Jets make it all the way to Finals Day.
All-rounder Coughlin will lead a talented young side out at Emirates Riverside, with up to four potential debutants in this format of the game.
James Weighell could be in line for a return after leading Durham’s wicket-takers in the One-Day Cup earlier this year, while Adam Hickey offers an all-round option to the side with his powerful batting & spin bowling.
Cameron Steel, who’s impressed in this year’s Specsavers County Championship, could also debut alongside exciting young talent Liam Trevaskis.
The 18-year-old received his first England under-19s call up this week & has impressed for the Second XI in recent weeks, scoring 32 off 20 balls in yesterday’s high-scoring win over Yorkshire.
The visitors have also named a 14-man squad including England star Jos Buttler & recent debutant Liam Livingstone.
Tonight’s match is also Emirates Day, meaning a trip to Dubai is up for grabs for the first person to catch a six in the crowd!
From gates opening at 4:30pm, a number of the new activities for #Blast17 will be available to try around the ground.
Tickets are still available on the gate priced at £20 for adults & £5 for juniors.
Squad vs Lancashire Lightning (7 July): Paul Coughlin (c), Usman Arshad, Jack Burnham, Paul Collingwood, Graham Clark, Adam Hickey, Barry McCarthy, Stuart Poynter (wk), Ryan Pringle, Michael Richardson, Chris Rushworth, Cameron Steel, Liam Trevaskis, James Weighell