Red ball cricket returns to Chester-le-Street after a two-month hiatus as Durham take on Gloucestershire in the Rothesay County Championship from 11am tomorrow.
Ryan Campbell has named a squad of 15 to face the Bristol-based side, with Ben Raine included.
Raine is back in the squad following the successful birth of his wife’s second child.
Brydon Carse remains available for selection following his release from England’s squad for the second Test against Pakistan.
Durham enjoyed a dominant three-day victory over Derbyshire last time out to remain unbeaten, coming out on top by 338 runs while Gloucestershire fell to an eight-wicket defeat against Worcestershire in Cheltenham.
Campbell’s side sit top of the Division Two table with 169 points, leading second-placed Kent by 30 points having picked up six victories and three draws from nine rounds.
Mark Alleyne’s Gloucestershire lie at the foot of the table on 41 points with one win so far this campaign.
David Bedingham is Division Two’s top run-scorer on 821 runs whilst Matthew Potts is the highest wicket taker in the competition with 49 poles.
Words from Ryan Campbell
Obviously it was a really good result for us against Derbyshire. Everyone is saying the way we’ve played four day cricket all year that we’re just going to romp home in the last six games but we don’t feel that.
We know we have to respect every team we play against and losing the semi-final of the One Day Cup hurt the team but the way the lads showed up down here, even losing the toss in tough conditions in that first innings when I thought Alex Lees and Graham Clark were outstanding.
We thought 280 was well above par with our bowling attack and at the end of the day that was the difference because when they get going they are pretty good.
That second innings, I thought Matthew Potts, if there’s anyone around the country who doesn’t think that boy can play Test cricket they are absolutely crazy because that pressure he brought along with his ability to nip the ball both ways and never miss the spot is outstanding.
That was probably Ben McKinney’s best innings that he’s played for Durham because we were none for one, the ball was nipping all over the shop and he showed his ability to knuckle down and be disciplined outside the off stump but if you gave him anything he was ruthless.
Squad v Gloucestershire (27-30 August)
Colin Ackermann, Kasey Aldridge, David Bedingham, Brydon Carse, Graham Clark, Alex Lees*, Ben McKinney, James Minto, Duanne Olivier, Callum Parkinson, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Will Rhodes, Ollie Robinson+, Ben Stokes.
Opposition Corner
Captain: Cameron Bancroft
Head Coach: Mark Alleyne
2025 finish: 6th
2025 highest run-scorer: James Bracey (1,010)
2025 highest wicket-taker: Ajeet Singh Dale (40)
Key winter moves: Indian spinner Sai Kishore has joined for the final six Rothesay County Championship games and is expected to relish the spinning English conditions after a dry summer up and down the country. He joins after a successful stint with Surrey last season. While the recruitment of Will Williams from Lancashire and the return of Craig Miles from Warwickshire will further strengthen a seam attack depleted by the moves of Josh Shaw, Ajeet Singh Dale, Tom Price and Zaman Akhter to Somerset, Lancashire, Sussex and Essex respectively.
What we’re looking forward to seeing: Whether Ben Charlesworth can continue his development into a genuine big-hitting all-rounder. The powerful left-hander looks set to open the batting with skipper Cameron Bancroft after scoring 914 Championship runs at an average of nearly 40 last season. Having made his debut at 17, 25-year-old Charlesworth is now a seasoned first XI player and has been working on his right-arm seam bowling, which brought 16 Championship wickets in 2025.
Aiming to catch the Test selectors’ eye: After suffering a dip in form following two Test appearances against New Zealand in 2021, James Bracey looked back to his best last season, averaging 50.5 in 24 Championship innings. A capable wicketkeeper, Bracey earned a reputation for sound defence in his early Gloucestershire career but has developed his shot-making and was Gloucestershire’s leading six-hitter in four-day cricket during 2025.
Final thought: The appointment of Jon Lewis as director of cricket last October means that, along with head coach Mark Alleyne, Gloucestershire go into the new season with two of their most experienced former players at the helm. Lewis took 849 first class wickets during his playing career as a seamer and it will be fascinating to see how he can influence a new-look pace attack, which will need to gel quickly if the team are to challenge for promotion.
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.