Durham are on back on the road tonight to take on Yorkshire Vikings at Headingley and go in search of their third win of the competition.
James Franklin’s side got their home campaign off to a winning start on Friday night against Worcestershire Rapids with a 48-run win over the New Road side and now sit in 5th place with 4 points in the North group.
Yorkshire are one point and spot below Durham in the North group with 1 win, 1 tie and 2 defeats from their opening 4 games.
Durham head to Leeds with an unchanged 14 player squad. Sean Dickson continues to make good progress to the hamstring injury which he sustained against Glamorgan in the County Championship in May, but it not yet ready for selection.
Harry Brook has been given permission to leave the England camp and play for his respective counties in tonight’s round of Vitality Blast matches, with Brook available to play for Yorkshire against Durham. He will return to the England set-up on Saturday.
Squad v Yorkshire Vikings (3 June)
David Bedingham, Scott Borthwick, Jonathan Bushnell, Brydon Carse, Graham Clark, Paul Coughlin, George Drissell, Ned Eckersley, Michael Jones, Stanley Mcalindon, Ben Raine, Ollie Robinson +, Liam Trevaskis*, Andrew Tye.
Words from Andrew Tye
“I came over on holiday with my wife just to see a few friends and family, then I saw Ashton Turner hurt his shoulder on Friday night and I was messaging him. He asked if I was interested in replacing him, come Monday things started to happen and I had to go to a sports store today to buy spikes because I don’t have any gear here. It was a whirlwind, but we’re here and we got the win.
The boys got off to a flier against Worcestershire, Michael Jones and Graham Clark came out swinging, especially Jones who played some great shots. We got a good total on the board and Paul Coughlin and Brydon Carse started well with a good length, they hit their lengths beautifully. They left us with an easy job to do at the end.”
Yorkshire Vikings
Pedigree: Yorkshire have flattered to deceive in T20 cricket despite having many high-profile and international players. They did make it out of the group stages last season but lost to Sussex at the Riverside. Yorkshire’s highest finish was in 2012 when they were runners-up to Hampshire. With the likes of Brook and Rashid likely to be available for at least the beginning of the campaign, Yorkshire will look to improve on previous years.
DANGERMAN: It would be hard to look past top ranked batsman Dawid Malan as the star man of Yorkshire’s team. He has has shone for England on the international stage, becoming the fastest player to reach 1000 T20 international runs at an average above 50 since making his debut in 2017. Malan is not the most explosive player but consistently produces with an average of just over 33 in domestic T20 cricket, he will be looking to bounce back with Yorkshire this summer. RISING STAR: 25-year-old bowling all-rounder Jordan Thompson has flourished in recent years with a 26-ball 50 to his name and bowling speed to intimidate any batter, he is a real threat for Yorkshire. He made two half-centuries in last season’s Vitality Blast in England, striking at 167 across his career, and has been a wicket-taker with the ball claiming 34 wickets in 36 innings. Thompson played for Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League earlier this year alongside Yorkshire teammate Harry Brook.
LAST VISIT: Brydon Carse inspired Durham to a 20-run victory over Yorkshire Vikings in their first game of their Vitality Blast campaign. Carse took centre stage with the bat after it appeared the hosts had spurned an excellent platform. The 25-year-old scored his maiden T20 fifty to elevate Durham to a match winning total of 181, despite career-best figures of 4-44 from Jordan Thompson. Jonny Bairstow threatened the home side, but Carse made the decisive impact to dismiss the England man for 67. A late surge from Harry Brook proved in vain as the home side held their composure to get off the mark in the competition at the first attempt & Durham winning by 20 runs.