Durham host Worcestershire in their final home game of the season as their fight to stay in Division One of the Rothesay County Championship comes to a head, starting tomorrow from 10:30am at Banks Homes Riverside.
Ryan Campbell has named a squad of 15 to take on the Pears with Daniel Hogg added to the 14 that travelled to Chelmsford, as Durham look for a much-needed victory on home soil.
Hogg returns to contention and could make his fourth first-class appearance of the season, having struggled with injury during the summer.
Campbell has named an otherwise unchanged squad from last week’s draw at Essex as Ben Raine and Matthew Potts dug in to secure an important 12 points for Durham.
Afghan leg spinner Shafiqullah Ghafari remains in line to make his Durham first-class debut, having joined Durham for the remainder of the 2025 domestic season.
Archie Bailey also remains in contention to make his Durham first-class debut having joined the Club on loan for the remainder of the season ahead of his permanent move from Gloucestershire.
Durham sit ninth in the Rothesay County Championship Division One with 126 points and face a Worcestershire side who sit tenth in the table with 88 points. Durham have two wins to their name going into round 13 whilst Worcestershire have won just once.
Alex Lees is Durham’s leading run scorer with 921 runs while Ben Raine’s is the leading wicket taker with 37 poles to his name.
Words from Alex Lees
(On Essex draw) The weather saved us 100 per cent. I think the momentum in the game shifted with the batting on day three. They got themselves a decent lead and the rain in the last two days has resulted in the draw. I think during the last day and a half Essex outplayed us.
The obvious thing is we need to get a win on the board. We’ve got Worcestershire at home coming up and over the last few years we’ve been good at home. So I think the timing of that game and being a home game is pretty exciting for us. We’ll worry about Yorkshire when we get to it. A win in the next round will go a long way to helping us.
But it’s in our hands and if we perform well over the two games there is a prize reward at the end of it. As professional sportsmen, if you’re not excited by the chance to dictate your future it’s a pretty poor do.
Squad v Worcestershire (14-17 September)
Colin Ackermann, Archie Bailey, David Bedingham, Graham Clark, Sam Conners, Emilio Gay, Shafiqullah Ghafari, Daniel Hogg, Alex Lees*, Ben McKinney, Callum Parkinson, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Will Rhodes, Ollie Robinson+
Opposition Corner
Captain: Brett D’Oliveira
Head Coach: Alan Richardson
2024 finish: Sixth
2024 highest run-scorer: Kashif Ali (767)
2024 highest wicket-taker: Tom Taylor, Joe Leach, Nathan Smith (all 27 wickets)
Key winter moves: All-rounder, Ben Allison, and spinner, Fateh Singh, have signed three-year deals after moving from Essex and Nottinghamshire respectively following successful loan spells at Visit Worcestershire New Road. Pace bowler, Jacob Duffy, is the latest in a lengthy line of New Zealanders to enjoy a spell with Worcestershire. He is available for Rothesay County Championshipand Vitality Blast cricket throughout the first half of the summer until the end of June.
What we’re looking forward to seeing: Worcestershire were the bookies favourites last summer to make an instant return to Division Two but achieved their highest finish since the competition was split into two divisions in 2000. They aimed from pre-season for a top six spot rather than just survive and the positive attitude and never-say-die spirit demanded by club captain Brett D’Oliveira, despite several key injuries, will again be at the fore in 2025 and there is more depth to the squad to give genuine hope of securing a third successive year in the top flight.
Player to watch: Although he has spent several winters playing franchise cricket plus The Hundred, Adam Hose is determined to make his mark in the red-ball format. One the reasons he moved from Warwickshire was to have more Championship opportunities and Hose has played 25 of 28 four-day games and, although lacking consistency, has made several vital contributions including in the 2024 memorable away wins over Durhan and Essex.
Final thought: Worcestershire know they will have to again perform well to have a realistic chance of maintaining Division One status with newly-promoted Yorkshire and Sussex both looking strong. But, despite go-to pace bowler Joe Leach retiring, there is genuine belief they will not be whipping boys especially if they avoid what was at times a shockingly lengthy injury list in 2024, particularly in the bowling department. The likes of Jake Libby, Gareth Roderick and Kashif Ali are capable of providing ample runs at the top of the order but they also have a posse of all-rounders like Matthew Waite, Tom Taylor and Ben Allison which mean they bat very deep.
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.