By Niall Hickman
Durham squad to face Worcestershire at the Emirates Durham ICG: Collingwood, Stoneman, Borthwick, Burnham, Richardson, Muchall, Harrison, Rushworth, Onions, Weighell, Pringle, McCarthy, Arshad.
Worcestershire squad: Mitchell, D’Oliveira, Fell, Clarke, Gidman, Whiteley, Cox, Leach, Shantry, Morris, Gabriel, Barnard.
Last CC fixture between the two sides: May 21-24 2015: Durham won by six wickets at New Road. For full scorecard, click here
Durham coach Jon Lewis accepts the 52-run defeat against Nottinghamshire was a bitter pill to swallow after his side had bossed the first two days at Trent Bridge.
Durham fell to an unexpected loss despite dominating the majority of the match and coach Lewis said the setback deeply hurt his squad.
Lewis, who has added fit-again Usman Arshad for the LV= County Championship First Division clash at home to Worcestershire, told www.durhamccc.co.uk “The result at Nottinghamshire was tough to take but it was of our own making. Even though we made a reasonable first innings score it was the best time to bat on the pitch and to not manage a single match-winning partnership was below par.
“We should have been strong enough to keep the chase lower than it was but their major partnership showed what could be done.
“Chasing 200-plus was definitely achievable but we allowed them a window of opportunity and they took it by taking five wickets for 12 runs. It was a good effort by Barry McCarthy to try and rescue the situation but in the end it was too little, too late.”
Durham won at New Road by six wickets in the fixture against Worcestershire earlier this season, thanks to centuries from Paul Collingwood and Scott Borthwick and seven second innings wickets by John Hastings.
On that occasion Durham were bowled out for under 200 in their first innings, conceding a deficit of over 120, but a thrilling run chase ended successfully as skipper Collingwood guided his side to a winning 318-4.
Lewis and Collingwood will be hoping for a similar result to end the season on a high after a loss of form in recent weeks.