Durham Men are looking to counter back-to-back defeats when they take on Northamptonshire Steelbacks tomorrow night at 7pm.
Ryan Campbell has named a squad of 15 to take on the Steelbacks in Chester-le-Street, live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket.
Matthew Potts is with the England Lions for their 50-over series against South Africa A while Ben McKinney has been released from the Lions squad to feature for Durham on Saturday night.
Luke Robinson returns to the 15 after missing last weekend’s trip to Trent Bridge with his workload being managed.
Durham face Northamptonshire in their first of two cross-group T20 Blast fixtures, before facing Middlesex at Richmond later this month.
Campbell’s side sit third in the North group having won two games from four while Darren Lehmann’s side top the Central & West group with four wins from four.
Words from Ryan Campbell
We’ve had to go back to the drawing board. We started the comp well and then lost the last couple of games.
We know that we’re far from a perfect team, but we pride ourselves on putting in performances every time we play. Unfortunately these last two haven’t been up to our standards.
But it’s not a train wreck, that’s for sure. A poor couple of games doesn’t mean you’re out of the competition. We know that with our batters, when they’re playing well, we can dominate teams.
We have had some time off, but we’ve been back in since Wednesday and we’ve been hard at work. We are ready for Northants tomorrow night.
Squad v Northamptonshire Steelbacks (6 June)
Colin Ackermann, Kasey Aldridge, David Bedingham, Graham Clark, Shafiqullah Ghafari, Alex Lees*, Ben McKinney, James Minto, Haydon Mustard, Callum Parkinson, Ben Raine, Will Rhodes, Luke Robinson, Ollie Robinson+, Nathan Sowter.
Opposition Corner
Captain: David Willey
Overseas players: Chris Lynn (Australia, all), Nathan McSweeney (Australia, all)
Finals Day appearances: Five (2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2025)
Titles: Two (2013, 2016)
2025 finish: Semi-finals
2025 leading run-scorer: Ravi Bopara (462)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Ben Sanderson & George Scrimshaw (26)
Key winter moves: Northamptonshire are glad to have big-hitting Australian opener Chris Lynn back for a third season at Wantage Road after his match-winning century for Hampshire in last season’s semi-final ended the Steelbacks’ cup dreams. Northamptonshire will miss Ravi Bopara following his retirement, but welcome Big Bash-winning captain Nathan McSweeney who has been scoring heavily in the Championship.
The big question: David Willey has proved an inspirational leader, taking the Steelbacks to a quarter-final and a semi-final in his first two years in charge. Last season’s campaign began with a run of six victories before the Steelbacks stuttered in the second half of the group stages before rallying. Can the Steelbacks learn from that and maintain any early momentum?
Wildcard watch: Opener Ricardo Vasconcelos has returned to his best and is striking the ball hard, but few would bet against Ben Sanderson staking a claim again after his Hundred wildcard pick-up last year. The 37-year-old seamer is among county cricket’s leading wicket-takers in the Championship with four five-wicket hauls to his name and proving as effective as ever.
Final thought: Chris Lynn brings added firepower at the top of the order, while Willey will also be able to draw on McSweeney’s experience, as he looks to guide the Steelbacks to a second consecutive Finals Day appearance under charismatic head coach Darren Lehmann. Sanderson’s accuracy and Scrimshaw’s pace will again prove pivotal. Northamptonshire hope all-rounder Justin Broad, appointed vice-captain for the Blast, recovers from the back injury that ruled him out of the start of the season.
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 the match will also be available to watch on Durham Cricket’s YouTube channel, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.