Durham are looking to go a fourth game unbeaten, returning to action against Rothesay County Championship leaders Nottinghamshire at Banks Homes Riverside on Friday.
Ryan Campbell has named a squad of 14 to face the Green and Golds- featuring the returns of Brydon Carse, David Bedingham, James Minto and Sam Conners.
Carse is in line to make his first Durham appearance of the season after recovering from a toe injury whilst Bedingham reappears in a Durham squad for the first time since the clash against Warwickshire in mid-April.
17-year-old seamer James Minto is also in line for a first appearance of the summer after signing a two-year rookie contract this week.
Codi Yusuf is set for his first outing at Banks Homes Riverside and Sam Conners is in contention for his Durham debut in the County Championship after returning from an injury suffered during pre-season in Zimbabwe.
Jake Ball and Jack Blatherwick have returned to Somerset and Lancashire after their 14-day loan spells whilst Brendan Doggett’s Durham stint has also come to an end after nine wickets in three appearances.
Durham sit joint sixth in the Division One table with 58 points whilst Nottinghamshire stand at the top of the ladder with 91 points from five games.
Words from Ryan Campbell
We are feeling refreshed; we have probably had the greatest preparation for a game of county cricket that we could have had because we don’t usually get any time off. We’ve had a full week of taking our time with everything and making sure every box is ticked and all the players are ready to go.
(On Brydon Carse) We know the quality of Carsey. We aren’t going to expect the world of him, he hasn’t played a game in a long time. He’s done all of his rehab really well and his return to bowling has been good and solid. To have his face around is a big boost and it’s really exciting to have his pace back in the squad.
Hats off to Nottinghamshire, they’ve started the season tremendously well. Young (Freddie) McCann has been very impressive and (Haseeb) Hameed has had a really good season as well. They’ve got lots of good players in their team but do we fear them? No.
We have dreamt of having these hard conversations about selection but we haven’t had that opportunity yet because of injuries. There are lots of guys there who are putting their hands up to play and we look forward to taking on Nottinghamshire in front of our supporters.
Squad v Nottinghamshire (16-19 May)
Colin Ackermann, David Bedingham, Brydon Carse, Graham Clark, Sam Conners, George Drissell, Emilio Gay, Alex Lees*, Ben McKinney, James Minto, Ben Raine, Will Rhodes, Ollie Robinson+, Codi Yusuf
Opposition Corner
Captain: Haseeb Hameed
Head Coach: Peter Moores
2024 finish: Eighth
2024 highest run-scorer: Haseeb Hameed (1,091)
2024 highest wicket-taker: Dillon Pennington (31)
Key winter moves: South African seamer Dane Paterson’s move to Middlesex after 180 wickets in four seasons at Trent Bridge came as a surprise, although international cricket may now limit his availability. Australia’s 24-year-old pacy all-rounder Fergus O’Neill (four matches in April) and Pakistan quick Mohammad Abbas (six rounds, in May and September) arrive as overseas bowlers. Conor McKerr from Surrey further boosts the seam stock. South African wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne can offer significant middle-order runs.
What we’re looking forward to seeing: Remember Josh Tongue? Some 20 months after his move from Worcestershire to Trent Bridge was announced, the 27-year-old pace bowler is at last ready to make his Nottinghamshire debut after a torrid time with injuries that has restricted him to just 12 first-class matches since June 2021. As a contracted England player, his workload will be controlled but at least three appearances in the first block of Rothesay County Championship fixtures is on the cards.
Player to watch: After he burst on the scene with 22 wickets in four matches at the end of last season, Nottinghamshire accept it will be hard to keep record-breaking 17-year-old off-spinner Farhan Ahmed out of their line-up irrespective of the need to manage his physical development. Even with talented leggie Calvin Harrison and quality left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White offering competition, Farhan is in pole position to be the side’s No 1 choice as specialist slow bowler.
Final thought: After looking more like relegation candidates than title prospects since returning to Division One two seasons ago, Nottinghamshire are sensibly not setting their ambitions higher than finishing in the top half of the table in 2025. Although they have a decent hand of bowlers, more is needed from the batters, particularly the middle order, and particularly in the first innings, where they have fallen notably short.
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 Durham’s YouTube channel. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.