Ryan Campbell has named a 13-player squad for Durham’s opening Vitality Blast fixture away to Lancashire Lightning at Emirates Old Trafford.
Durham get their campaign underway at 7pm tomorrow as they look to kick off their white ball campaign in winning style.
Alex Lees will lead Durham out again this summer as white ball captain as Durham get set for their opening match of the 2024 North group.
Durham go into the T20 Blast on the back of a strong finish to the first block of County Championship games with a commanding win over Somerset on Saturday.
Ashton Turner will make his Durham return tomorrow while new overseas signing Ben Dwarshuis is in line to make his Durham debut in T20 cricket.
Michael Jones has been made available and will feature for Durham before heading to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup for their opening game against England next Tuesday.
Having impressed in Zimbabwe, Haydon Mustard is named in the 13-player squad and could add to the five games he has already played in this format for Durham.
Words from Ryan Campbell
We come into the Blast season on the back of a great win over Somerset this weekend, and there is a real good feeling around the group at the moment, we now want to take that momentum into the Blast starting this week at Old Trafford.
Last year we played a lot of good cricket in the T20 stuff, but we also lost a lot of close games, but the facts are we are going to be fearless in our T20, we will go harder than we have before, we are going to try and excite people but to do that you need to have the bowlers to back it up.
Matthew Potts might bowl his first ball for Durham for the first time in two years or so, Brydon Carse didn’t bowl a ball last year, Paul Coughlin bowled 12 balls, so there are guys there that are going to improve our team this summer. You add Callum Parkinson, Colin Ackermann into that, I think this is a really exciting team and we can’t wait to get going on Thursday.
Squad v Lancashire Lightning (30 May)
Colin Ackermann, Graham Clark, Paul Coughlin, Ben Dwarshuis, Alex Lees*, Haydon Mustard, Callum Parkinson, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Ollie Robinson+, Nathan Sowter, Ashton Turner, Michael Jones
Opposition Corner
Captain: Keaton Jennings
Overseas players: Tom Bruce (New Zealand), Chris Green (Australia)
Finals Day appearances: Nine (2004, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2022)
Titles: One (2015)
2023 finish: Quarter-finals
2023 leading run-scorer: Daryl Mitchell (435)
2023 leading wicket-taker: Luke Wood (18)
Key winter moves: Lancashire have lost Daryl Mitchell’s overseas runs but hope fellow New Zealander Tom Bruce fills the void. Australian all-rounder Chris Green adds valuable experience following a change to Nathan Lyon’s availability. Matt Parkinson, one of only two Lightning bowlers to take 100 T20 wickets, has joined Kent. England T20 quick Richard Gleeson is another departure, replaced by fellow speedster Mitch Stanley.
The big question: Have Lancashire got the experience in their squad to win a second Blast title? Former captain Dane Vilas also departed late last summer, while they may not see much of England quartet Jos Buttler, Tom Hartley, Liam Livingstone and Phil Salt due to World Cup duty.
Wildcard watch: Jos Buttler, Tom Hartley, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mitch Stanley, Luke Wells and Luke Wood are already signed up in the Hundred. Watch out for all-rounder Tom Aspinwall, though. He is yet to debut in T20 cricket. But, in bowling fast and batting down the order, he plays his cricket in overdrive.
Final thought: This season’s Roses matches will provide some friendly fire, because Lancashire coach Dale Benkenstein and his opposite number at Yorkshire, Ottis Gibson, are the closest of mates. They are former team-mates at Durham and regularly socialise when their teams play against each other. There won’t be much else friendly about those meetings, though.
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 Lancashire YouTube channel. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.