Ryan Campbell has named an unchanged squad of 14 as Durham head to the Uptonsteel County Ground to take on Leicestershire Foxes in the T20 Blast.
Durham face the Foxes on Friday night, looking to start with two wins from three in the Vitality Blast.
After a three-wicket opening win over The Bears at Edgbaston, Durham fell to a final ball defeat at home to Lancashire Lightning and will be looking to bounce back against the Foxes.
Durham face a Leicestershire side who have won two from three so far with an opening victory over Derbyshire Falcons followed up by a five-wicket win over Lancashire Lightning last night.
Words from Ryan Campbell
(On Lancashire defeat) It was a thriller wasn’t it? If they are all like that, people are going to get their money’s worth. But at the end of the day. you need to win those matches if you are going to be a good team.
We had our opportunities but I don’t think we were quite at our best. I know defending a score is in our DNA but this is a game of fine margins: bad shot here, don’t get two somewhere else, and it all adds up.
There were lots of twenties or thirties but no big score and every time we lost a wicket, we had to re-establish ourselves. We know it’s tough to come here and face those first three or four balls and get a partnership going.
This is a tough competition, you’ve got to roll with the punches. You don’t get really excited when you win but you enjoy it. But then you don’t get down when you lose and you accept it, look at how to improve and move on.
Squad v Leicestershire Foxes (6 June)
Colin Ackermann, Kasey Aldridge, Graham Clark, Bas de Leede, George Drissell, Zak Foulkes, Alex Lees*, James Minto, Jimmy Neesham, Callum Parkinson, Ben Raine, Will Rhodes, Ollie Robinson, Nathan Sowter
Opposition Corner
Captain: Louis Kimber
Overseas players: Logan van Beek (Netherlands, full competition), Shan Masood (Pakistan, full competition)
Finals Day appearances: Five (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011)
Titles: Three (2004, 2006, 2011)
2024 finish: Fifth (North Group)
2024 leading runscorer: Rishi Patel (413)
2024 leading wicket taker: Scott Currie (20)
Key winter moves: With club captain Peter Handscomb choosing to skip the Blast this season, the Foxes have turned to Pakistan international Shan Masood to plug the gap in their batting left by the Australian’s absence. This will be the 35-year-old’s fifth consecutive Blast season with his fourth county. Something similar to his 2022 campaign for Derbyshire, which yielded 555 runs at 42.69, would suit Leicestershire nicely.
The big question: Will the left-field choice of Louis Kimber as captain prove to be an inspired move? Best known for smiting 243 off 127 balls against Sussex in red-ball cricket last season, Kimber’s numbers in Blast cricket have been relatively modest so far. Yet he has the potential to be destructive in this format, and will have Masood’s leadership experience to tap into as he finds his way as skipper.
Wildcard watch: Sol Budinger is still looking for consistency in his T20 game but a 25-ball fifty against Yorkshire last season offered a glimpse of his potential. Never shy about taking on the new ball, he maintains a strike rate of around 80.00 even in red-ball cricket. A good eye and an instinctively explosive approach looks perfect for The Hundred’s all-action format.
Final thought: With loan stars Scott Currie and Lewis Goldsworthy back with their parent counties and the early absence of Josh Hull and Rehan Ahmed deprives the Foxes of four of last season’s five leading wicket-takers. Yet they can draw on a red-ball squad brimming with confidence from a superb start to the Rothesay County Championship campaign and some cross-format continuity might work in their favour.
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 Leicestershire’s YouTube channel. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.