Matthew Potts has been added to a 13-man squad for Durham’s opening home County Championship match of the season against Derbyshire, which starts tomorrow [Thursday] at 11am.
Potts comes into the squad of 13 for the first time this summer, having played for the Second team in the early part of the season, in addition to featuring for the first team squad in pre-season.
The 22-year-old replaces Brydon Carse in the squad who misses out on this fixture, having picked up a niggle to his ankle in last week’s match against Essex, and is therefore unavailable for selection.
The remaining 12 members of the squad remain unchanged, with Scott Borthwick leading Durham out for the first time on home soil, while Will Young will make his home debut since joining Durham.
Squad v Derbyshire (22-25 April)
Scott Borthwick*, David Bedingham, Jack Burnham, Paul Coughlin, Ned Eckersley, Ben Raine, Chris Rushworth, Alex Lees, Matthew Potts, Stuart Poynter (wk) Matt Salisbury, Alex Thomson, Will Young
Words from the Head Coach
Lead High Performance Coach James Franklin said: “The guys trained yesterday, so we will be finishing our preparations [for the Derbyshire game] today with a light run around and yeah the lads are back into game day mode.
“I have been delighted and the other coaches have been delighted with our performances so far. Although we haven’t had a win yet, we had a really good performance down at Trent Bridge and yes, we lost the last game against Essex, with a slip up in the last hour of the game, but the performance and the way we drove that game for three and a bit days, was really good to see.
“If we stay true to our processes and preparations and put ourselves in a good position and situation to win the game on day 4 then that is all we can do.”
The Opposition
Head of cricket: Dave Houghton
Captain: Billy Godleman
Last Year’s Performance: Second (North Group)
2020 Leading Runscorer: Leus du Plooy (296, 42.28)
2020 Leading Wicket Taker: Matt Critchley (17, 26.88)
Overseas Players: Billy Stanlake (Australia – full season), Dustin Melton (Zimbabwe – full season).
Key man: Billy Stanlake – The Australian’s reputation has been forged in white-ball cricket but the 26-year-old 6’7″ fast bowler is keen to show he can also deliver in the longer game.
Flies under the radar: Fynn Hudson-Prentice – bowls accurate medium pace and his unbeaten 91 in a thrilling win at Trent Bridge last year proved he can perform under pressure.
Best Player Under 24: Sam Conners: The 22-year-old right-arm pace bowler impressed Jimmy Anderson when he played against Lancashire in 2019. Took nine wickets in the Bob Willis Trophy last season.
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 the club’s match centre and clubs 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 each day.
*A reminder this game is played behind closed doors.