England pace bowler Mark Wood returns to the Durham squad for tomorrow’s LV=Insurance County Championship match against Warwickshire at Emirates Riverside.
The 31-year-old is in line to play his first Durham match of the season, as he prepares for England’s test series against New Zealand, which gets underway in June.
Wood could make his first appearance for Durham in the County Championship since September 2018, when Durham welcomed Middlesex to Emirates Riverside. Wood claiming eight wickets in the match.
Brydon Carse also returns to the squad of 13, having missed out on last week’s draw against Derbyshire with an ankle niggle, but has passed a fitness test to feature on Thursday.
Liam Trevaskis is also named in the Durham squad for the first time this summer, having claimed 8 wickets for Durham Seconds in their previous two Championship games, along with his 73 not out against Derbyshire at South Northumberland.
Matt Salisbury misses out on squad selection for the Warwickshire clash, having played in Durham’s first three County Championship matches of the season, while Matthew Potts is omitted from the squad. Alex Thomson is not included in the 13, as he is unable to face his home club Warwickshire.
Squad v Warwickshire (29April-2 May)
Scott Borthwick*, David Bedingham, Jack Burnham, Brydon Carse, Paul Coughlin, Ned Eckersley, Ben Raine, Chris Rushworth, Liam Trevaskis, Alex Lees, Stuart Poynter, Mark Wood, Will Young
Words from the Head Coach
“It is great news to have Mark Wood back in the squad, it has been a short while since he played a first-class game for Durham, Liam Trevaskis is also named in the squad for the first time this summer, he has had a couple of good weeks with the Second team with both bat and ball, so it is reward for him to be involved.
“Looking ahead to tomorrow, Warwickshire are going into the game having played some good cricket with a couple of wins in their last couple of games, but we are playing good cricket as well.
“I have been really pleased by the performances that we have been putting out there on a day-to-day basis, and we just need to continue that across the course of the next four days.
“If we put ourselves in with an opportunity of winning the game on day 4 then that is all we can ask for of the players and the group.
“The worm will turn, we are hoping that it is this game but if we keep going the way we are, hopefully we will get our rewards soon.”
The Opposition
Coach: Mark Robinson
Captain: Will Rhodes
Last Year’s Performance: Third (Central Group)
2020 Leading Runscorer: Will Rhodes (423, 52.88)
2020 Leading Wicket Taker: Olly Hannon-Dalby (25, 20,92)
Overseas players: Hanuma Vihari
Key man: Olly Stone – Unlucky not to play more for England during the winter, Stone has much impressed around the national team and Warwickshire will look for some explosive early-season displays from him.
Flies under the radar: Will Rhodes – As captain, Rhodes’ influence will be huge, but he has also quickly become integral to the Bears batting and also an under-rated threat with the ball.
Best Player Under 24: Dan Mousley – Director of cricket Paul Farbrace believes it is only a matter of time before the classy young batsman (19) plays for England and few who have seen him play disagree.
The Season Ahead: Warwickshire have under-performed in red ball cricket in the last two years but, under new first team coach Mark Robinson, there is a belief around Edgbaston that better fortunes await this year.
Match Centre
Due to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) along with all 18 First-Class Counties and the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) taking part in a social media boycott from 15:00 BST on Friday 30 April to 23:59 BST on Monday 3 May, there will be no updates across Durham’s social media channels from 3pm on Friday afternoon.
The Club’s match centre will remain in operation throughout 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.
A match report and end of play reaction will be uploaded on the website at the close of play.
*A reminder this game is played behind closed doors.