Durham are looking to round off the opening block of the 2026 Rothesay County Championship with victory, heading to Beckenham to face Kent.
Ryan Campbell has named a squad of 14 with two changes from last week’s trip to Worcester as his side close out three weeks on the road.
Matthew Potts returns to the fold after being rested last week whilst Duanne Olivier is in contention to make his Durham first-class debut. Luke Robinson is rested and drops out of the squad.
In the reverse match, Durham picked up 13 points as Storm Dave denied a full day’s play in the opening fixture at Banks Homes Riverside whereas Kent claimed 11.
Campbell’s side remain unbeaten with three wins from the first five games and top Division Two with 91 points, 23 clear of second-placed Middlesex, whilst Kent sit fifth on 61 points having claimed two wins and one draw so far this season.
Ben Raine is the top wicket-taker in the country with 30 wickets from five matches whilst David Bedingham sits top of the Division Two run scoring charts with 554 runs, closely followed by Emilio Gay on 552.
Squad v Kent (15-18 May)
Kasey Aldridge, David Bedingham, Graham Clark, Emilio Gay, Alex Lees*, Ben McKinney, James Minto, Duanne Olivier, Callum Parkinson, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Will Rhodes, Ollie Robinson+, Ben Stokes.
Words from Duanne Olivier
It’s a massive honour joining this club. I’ve been following the games in the County Championship, we’ve really been in a good position so far. The guys have played well, I saw them play in Worcester and to get a win like that in three days is a lot of hard work and effort so I commend the guys for that.
I love the grind of the County Championship, I love four-day cricket. I think it’s the ultimate format, in my eyes. I just enjoy figuring it out there as a team how to get a win and I think that’s what makes the red-ball game so special.
When my agent told me Durham were interested I told him I would come for anything, just to get back over in the UK. Things happened quickly and as soon as I signed the contract I couldn’t wait to get started.
I’m a very chilled and laid-back person and for me it’s about fitting into the guys here and helping in whichever way I can, whether that’s with the experienced guys or the youngsters, I think that’s quite important. From what I’ve seen so far there’s a great blend of youngsters and experienced guys coming through and it’s shown so far.
I’m very excited to play for Durham, very nervous at the same time. For me it’s just soaking everything in, all the preparation has been done we’ve ticked all of those boxes. Hopefully we can come away with another win to keep the confidence and momentum going. It’s going to be a four-day grind but I can’t wait to get started.
Opposition Corner
Captain: Daniel Bell-Drummond
Head Coach: Adam Hollioake
2025 finish: 8th
2025 highest run-scorer: Ben Compton (1,386)
2025 highest wicket-taker: Matt Parkinson (35)
Key winter moves: Domestically there are no entirely new faces, but Sam Northeast and Matt Milnes both return and the talent drain seems to have stopped. Aside from Nathan Gilchrist, who joined Warwickshire, Kent kept everyone they wanted to after a summer spent worrying that Tawanda Muyeye, Joey Evison and Grant Stewart might leave. The overseas contingent is entirely South African: Keith Dudgeon returns for the season, joined by Glenton Stuurman for the first phase and Senuran Muthusamy from May onwards.
What we’re looking forward to seeing: A genuinely competitive team again. Kent’s bowling unit has been decimated by injuries in the last two years. This time round the seamers will be heavily rotated to prevent a repeat and the wickets will no longer be batting paradises.
Aiming to catch Test selectors’ eye: There’s a clutch of talented youngsters but the most likely to succeed might be Ben Dawkins, who is going to be “huge”, according to no less an authority than Sam Billings. A tall, multi-format batter from the same school as Zak Crawley (Sevenoaks), he’s played for England Under-19s and made an outstanding, unbeaten 111 in List A cricket. Averages 34.4 in four red-ball appearances.
Final thought: Kent’s 2025 season was so desperate that Hollioake resorted to calling in a “non-denominational geopathic surveyor” to the ground over the winter “to support the promotion of positive well-being.” The story went viral, but if Kent’s fortunes do improve this year there may be less fatuous explanations: they’ve recruited well, retained well and they won’t be squandering home advantage by asking undercooked bowlers to toil for two days on lifeless surfaces.
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 Kent’s YouTube channel. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.