Durham will be looking for back-to-back wins when they take on table toppers Essex tomorrow at Seat Unique Riverside starting at 11am in the Vitality County Championship.
Following Durham’s opening match of the season on home soil being washed out against Hampshire, Campbell’s side will be hoping the weather improves for round 4 fixtures.
Durham got their first win under their belts last week, when they enjoyed a 185 run win over Worcestershire and now sit 5th in the Division One table with 38 points, while Essex occupy top spot with 2 wins from 3 sitting on 57 points.
Peter Siddle has now arrived in the North East and is in line to make his Durham first-class debut against his former club, while Brydon Carse returns to the squad having been rested last week by the ECB in order to manage his schedule.
Daniel Hogg remains in the 14, having been included in the squad which travelled to Worcestershire.
Bas de Leede isn’t’ considered for selection this week following a minor knee injury picked up at Kidderminster but is expected to make a full recovery ahead of the Hampshire game starting Friday 10 May.
Words from Ryan Campbell
I’d be lying if I didn’t say the first couple of games weren’t disappointing, but to go to Worcestershire and play the ‘Durham Brand’ of cricket, being brave with the bat and setting the game up so our bowlers can go to work was amazing for us. I walk away going “that’s us”. We wanted to get back to being us, and we got the job done inside three days.
We’re devastated for Scott Boland because he was going to be a great signing for us, everyone looked forward to him taking millions of wickets. Once we knew the extent of the injury, I immediately got onto Marcus North and he came up with a list. We felt that Peter Siddle has done it all before, he understands the county game, a total professional who will work to keep himself in shape and to get him here straight away is really important for us.
Essex are the number one team in the country at the moment, they’re the benchmark. Everyone can talk about Surrey and how good they are, but you look at the ladder and Essex are top. For us, it’s a great challenge and as a coach I love these games because it puts us up against the best team and we want to be the best.
They have a very stable, very good bowling attack. They’re one of the rare teams that are able to roll out the same four bowlers every week: Jamie Porter, Simon Harmer, Sam Cook and the old Dutchman Shane Snater has been awesome for them. Our batters are going to be tested, but I’m confident our batters can absorb the pressure and give it back to them in spadefuls.
Squad v Essex (26-29 April)
Colin Ackerman, David Bedingham, Scott Borthwick*, Brydon Carse, Graham Clark, Paul Coughlin, Daniel Hogg, Michael Jones, Alex Lees (vc), Callum Parkinson, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Ollie Robinson+, Peter Siddle
Opposition Corner
Captain: Tom Westley
Head Coach: Anthony McGrath
2023 finish: Second (Division One)
2023 highest run-scorer: Tom Westley (1,130)
2023 highest wicket-taker: Simon Harmer (61)
Key winter moves: Essex moved promptly and astutely to cover the retirement of Sir Alastair Cook and defection (to Surrey) of Dan Lawrence. They brought in another former Test captain at the top of the batting in South African Dean Elgar and prised away promising wicketkeeper-batter Jordan Cox from Kent to enhance the middle-order.
Player most likely to Baz-Ball: If the circumstances are right, Matt Critchley is capable of stepping up to the plate, lighting the after-burners and taking the game away from the opposition in a whirlwind of boundaries. His leg-breaks can cause havoc, too.
Final thought: While there has been remedial surgery in the batting ranks with the loss of Cook and Lawrence, Essex are still able to field one of the most balanced and penetrative bowling attacks in the competition. Seamers Jamie Porter and Sam Cook will again soften up the opposition batters, weighing in with their fair share of wickets, before leaving Simon Harmer to bemuse any survivors with his relentless off-spin.
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 YouTube channel with live commentary brought to you by Rob Rush and Sam Dalling. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.