49 days on from victory over Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Durham return to Vitality Blast action taking on Hampshire Hawks at Banks Homes Riverside in the Club’s first home quarter-final since 2016, tomorrow at 6:30pm.
Ryan Campbell has named a squad of 14 as Durham search for a place at Finals Day for the first time in nine years.
Durham go into the knockout stages with two overseas available as Jimmy Neesham returns after missing the latter stages of the group stage on international duty whilst David Bedingham is also in line to feature.
Nathan Sowter returns to contention after a victorious campaign in The Hundred with Oval Invincibles whilst Matthew Potts, Ben McKinney, Callum Parkinson and Graham Clark also return from franchise duty.
Alex Lees topped the run charts for Durham in the group stage racking up 405 runs whilst Neesham claimed the most wickets for Durham with 20 poles.
Durham face a Hampshire side who finished third in the South Group boasting the likes of Chris Lynn, Hilton Cartwright, Liam Dawson and James Vince amongst their ranks.
Words from Ryan Campbell
It’s been a long time coming that’s for sure. I think we all know that we’ve made a conscious effort to improve our T20 and white ball skills. Making the quarter final against Surrey last year was a starting point.
As a collective group we wanted to bring a quarter final to the North East and share it with our people. The excitement has built steadily throughout the week and now it’s all about getting out there and having fun. Come tomorrow, we’ll be ready. Of course we will.
It’s refreshing to have had some time to prepare players and to get them ready for the different formats. Just because you play 50 over cricket does not mean you are ready for T20 and vice versa. The preparation has been good and we’ve been able to take our time and not had to do everything in two days so the guys are prepared nicely.
We’re all there, Jimmy Neesham is back from New Zealand and all the guys are back from The Hundred. Sammy Conners comes into the squad as probably a backup quick and George Drissell is there. And then it’s the usual faces who have done a good job for us so far.
It’s so pleasing to hear that we’ve already sold over 7,000 tickets. Wherever I’ve gone over the last week or so, I’ve been stopped by people telling me how excited they are. I’ve made no secret that I’ve wanted to bring a quarter final to this Club ever since I’ve been here. I hope we put on a show and the 7,000+ in the crowd sit back and say ‘jeez what a good night we’ve had’. Hopefully we can win and go on to Finals Day.
Squad v Hampshire Hawks (4 September)
Colin Ackermann, David Bedingham, Graham Clark, Sam Conners, George Drissell, Alex Lees*, Ben McKinney, Jimmy Neesham, Callum Parkinson, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Will Rhodes, Ollie Robinson+, Nathan Sowter
Opposition Corner
Captain: James Vince
Overseas players: Hilton Cartwright, Chris Lynn
Finals Day appearances: 10 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023)
Titles: Three (2010, 2012, 2022)
2025 group finish: Third (South Group)
2025 leading runscorer: Toby Albert (472)
2025 leading wicket taker: Scott Currie (22)
The big question: Can James Vince feel at home again? The Hawks skipper is only playing in the Blast for Hampshire this year after moving to Dubai over the winter. He had a rare lean 2024 – understandable after attacks on his family house – but the Blast’s all-time leading run scorer has been tearing up franchise leagues around the world and is ready to return to the UK with his destructive brand of cricket.
Final thought: Having won the Blast in 2022, before reaching Finals Day the following year, 2024 was underwhelming, filled with a series of overseas not arriving and general under performance. The new Proteas contingent provides an exciting new headline but the core squad, that knows the unique challenges of the expansive Utilita Bowl, is still there. Vince should return fresher without two months of Rothesay County Championship cricket in his legs but with PSL form.
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 the Sky Sports Cricket channel. Durham Cricket will have coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.