Durham Under-15s will be looking for a win against Lincolnshire tomorrow, 5 June, when they start their ECB Royal London Cup campaign.
The side will aim for a positive outcome from the fixture at Cleethorpes Cricket Club to help towards their season target to win their group.
Tomorrow’s fixture is the start of eight games for the under-15s as they look to progress through the group stages of the national ECB competition.
Head Coach James Lowe said: “The aim is to win the group, that is what we have told the boys since February, anything else we would be disappointed with.
“We want to go all out and qualify for the knockout stages. We have enough ability and good players in the group to do that.”
The side have had a busy winter schedule and have already played ten outdoor fixtures this season as part of their annual southern-tour and during the North East Midlands T20 Cup.
Games against Derbyshire at Spondon Cricket Club and T20 games against Norfolk, Yorkshire and Cumbria have put the boys in good stead going into the Lincolnshire fixture.
Lowe said: “Overall, I am very pleased with how the boys have performed so far in the friendlies we have played.
“The friendlies have been used to make sure everyone gets plenty of game time and everyone in the squad has had the chance to play on the grass outdoors.
“The performances so far have generally been good, we lost to Middlesex, Lancashire and Yorkshire but the lads didn’t let themselves down in the games we lost.
“What has been encouraging in the games we lost is that, individual boys have stood out, which is encouraging with key performances.
“What we practiced during the winter has started to take shape in the games we have played, which shows we are well placed to perform in this year’s campaign.
“I have set the boys the task of playing with energy on match days, putting their skills on show while making sure they enjoy themselves. If enough people do that then results will take care of their selves.”
Alongside Lincolnshire, Durham will face Northumberland, Cumbria and Scotland in both home and away fixtures through the summer.
Squad
Tom Bolam, Dan Gray, Robbie Dawson, Tom Ward (C; WK), Abhinav Ramisetty, Jake Pratt, Sam Garraghan, Jake Dickinson, Lochlann Young-Hall, Edward Brown, Theo Truss and Luke Husband