Durham return to action in Chester-le-Street after a weekend on the road, taking on Leicestershire Foxes tonight at 6:30pm, live on Sky Sports.
Ryan Campbell has named a squad of 13 including the return of Bas de Leede as Durham look to bounce back from defeats to Notts Outlaws and Lancashire Lightning in the Vitality Blast.
Jimmy Neesham drops out of contention after being called into New Zealand’s squad for their T20 tri-series in Zimbabwe whilst de Leede returns after helping the Netherlands to qualification for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Campbell’s side sit second in a tight North Group on 28 points, with only four points separating the top four, and face a Foxes side who are just four points behind in sixth position.
Durham fell short to Leicestershire by just six runs in the last encounter between the sides with Will Rhodes and Kasey Aldridge sharing a 91-run stand as Durham almost chased the hosts’ total of 193 at the Uptonsteel County Ground.
Words from Ryan Campbell
(On Lancashire defeat) A good game for spectators to watch, I guess. It was a really close game but at the end of the day, 155 was probably under what we thought we could get. It was a used surface so we knew that their spinners were always going to be difficult.
Unfortunately we kept losing momentum at the wrong times and that probably cost us. 170 would have been really good, but I was proud of the way we fought and hung in there, kept taking wickets.
Their overseas had a great day out and (Chris) Green showed with both bat and ball that he’s a very dangerous character. He played really well and well done to Lancashire.
We’ve played really good cricket in this competition up until now which has afforded us to have a couple of bad results on the road against two really good teams.
We now go home for two games and we have to play well. If we do, we still have our destiny in our own hands. Leicestershire and Northants are going to be tough but I think we’ve got the team to beat those sides.
Squad v Leicestershire Foxes (15 July)
Colin Ackermann, Kasey Aldridge, David Bedingham, Graham Clark, Sam Conners, Bas de Leede, Alex Lees*, Ben McKinney, Callum Parkinson, Matthew Potts, Will Rhodes, Ollie Robinson+, Nathan Sowter
Opposition Corner
Captain: Louis Kimber
Overseas players: Logan van Beek (Netherlands, full competition), Shan Masood (Pakistan, full competition)
Finals Day appearances: Five (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011)
Titles: Three (2004, 2006, 2011)
2024 finish: Fifth (North Group)
2024 leading runscorer: Rishi Patel (413)
2024 leading wicket taker: Scott Currie (20)
Key winter moves: With club captain Peter Handscomb choosing to skip the Blast this season, the Foxes have turned to Pakistan international Shan Masood to plug the gap in their batting left by the Australian’s absence. This will be the 35-year-old’s fifth consecutive Blast season with his fourth county. Something similar to his 2022 campaign for Derbyshire, which yielded 555 runs at 42.69, would suit Leicestershire nicely.
The big question: Will the left-field choice of Louis Kimber as captain prove to be an inspired move? Best known for smiting 243 off 127 balls against Sussex in red-ball cricket last season, Kimber’s numbers in Blast cricket have been relatively modest so far. Yet he has the potential to be destructive in this format, and will have Masood’s leadership experience to tap into as he finds his way as skipper.
Wildcard watch: Sol Budinger is still looking for consistency in his T20 game but a 25-ball fifty against Yorkshire last season offered a glimpse of his potential. Never shy about taking on the new ball, he maintains a strike rate of around 80.00 even in red-ball cricket. A good eye and an instinctively explosive approach looks perfect for The Hundred’s all-action format.
Final thought: With loan stars Scott Currie and Lewis Goldsworthy back with their parent counties and the early absence of Josh Hull and Rehan Ahmed deprives the Foxes of four of last season’s five leading wicket-takers. Yet they can draw on a red-ball squad brimming with confidence from a superb start to the Rothesay County Championship campaign and some cross-format continuity might work in their favour.
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 on Durham’s YouTube channel in addition to Sky Sports. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.