Durham Men head to the OurCoop County ground to take on Derbyshire from 11am tomorrow as the 2026 Rothesay County Championship run-in begins.
Ryan Campbell has named a squad of 14 including Brydon Carse to start the final block of the season in Derby.
Carse is set to make his first County Championship appearance of the summer having been released from the England squad ahead of their opening Test against Pakistan at Headingley.
Graham Clark and Matthew Potts return from their stints at The Hundred with Sunrisers Leeds, following the completion of the franchise competition.
Ben Raine is unavailable for selection due to the expected arrival of his wife’s second child.
Campbell’s side resume their unbeaten red ball campaign looking to extend a 32-point lead at the top of Division Two having picked up 149 points with five wins and three draws in the opening eight rounds.
Mickey Arthur’s Derbyshire trail Durham by 50 points in fifth place, having recorded three wins, one draw and four losses so far.
David Bedingham is Division Two’s top run-scorer on 794 runs whilst Potts and Raine are joint-highest wicket takers in the competition with 41 poles apiece.
Words from Ryan Campbell
Overall I think we performed really nicely in the One Day Cup, remember we haven’t been in a final since 2021. To win a quarter-final and to then go close in a semi-final was pretty cool. We’ll keep developing and exposing guys and hopefully the 50-over competition goes from strength to strength.
Lukey (Robinson) has opened the bowling and bowled at the death and done all those sort of things. He continues to grow which is really exciting for us. At the back end of this season, (Matthew) Potts and (Ben) Raine can’t play all six games so we’ll be looking to the likes of Luke to step up. Everyone is pretty confident in what Luke can do.
The County Championship has always been our number one priority for the year and we’ve put ourselves in a pretty good position from the start but we’ve still got a long way to go. We know it’s not over, it’s far from over.
We’re going to have some tests now with trying to keep Raine, Potts and (Ben) Stokes and these sorts of guys on the park but we’ve got faith in our bowling group.
We’ll head to Derby and look to pick up where we left off in this competition.
Squad v Derbyshire (20-23 August)
Colin Ackermann, Kasey Aldridge, David Bedingham, Brydon Carse, Graham Clark, Alex Lees*, Ben McKinney, Duanne Olivier, Callum Parkinson, Matthew Potts, Will Rhodes, Luke Robinson, Ollie Robinson+, Ben Stokes.
Opposition Corner
Captain: Wayne Madsen
Head coach: Mickey Arthur
2025 finish: 3rd
2025 highest run-scorer: Wayne Madsen (1,158)
2025 highest wicket-taker: Luis Reece (50)
Key winter moves: Persuading the experienced Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Abbas to reject offers from Division One counties and sign a two-year contract is a statement of intent by Derbyshire, who made another impressive move with the recruitment of England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir. The bowlers will also benefit from the vast experience of Chris Wright, who has taken up his first coaching role after the former Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Middlesex and Essex seamer announced his retirement at the end of last season.
What we’re looking forward to seeing: After narrowly missing out on promotion in 2025, Derbyshire look to have a genuine chance of booking a place at the top table for the first time in 14 years. Abbas will spearhead an attack in which all-rounder Luis Reece excelled last season to finish as the leading wicket-taker in the division while Matt Montgomery strengthens a batting line-up that will once again be led by the evergreen Madsen and attacking Australian opener Caleb Jewell.
Aiming to catch Test selectors’ eye: After the selectors overlooked him for the entirety of the chastening 4-1 Ashes defeat, Bashir will be determined to remind them of his qualities by making a strong start to life at his new county following his switch from Somerset.
Final thought: A new season brings with it fresh hope and the exciting fast bowling prospect Harry Moore will be looking forward to it more than most. The England Under-19 quick missed all of the 2025 campaign with a back injury so will be aiming to build on the potential he showed towards the end of the previous summer.
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 Derbyshire’s YouTube channel. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.