Durham coach Jon Lewis is “pretty confident” all-rounder Paul Collingwood will be fit for the crucial Royal London One-Day Cup clash against Derbyshire on Monday at the Emirates Durham ICG.
Collingwood missed the defeat at Gloucestershire and victory at Leicestershire in Durham’s previous two RL Cup matches with back spasms, but Lewis is hoping the spell on the sidelines will mean he is fit to take the field on Monday, in what is an all-or-nothing tie.
A win over Derbyshire would probably see Durham reach the knock-out stages of a trophy they won last September at Lord’s, but defeat would mean they would have no chance of progressing any further in the competition.
Lewis told www.durhammccc.co.uk : “It is a massive game for us because we know if we win it we have got a good chance of going through, depending on other results, and if we lose we are out.
“We had the same scenario last season where we had to win our last two group games to go through to the last eight and we managed that, so hopefully we can manage it again.
“The news on Colly is good, he is improving and we are pretty confident he will make the line-up against Derbyshire. John Hastings had a bit of a shoulder problem over in Scarborough during the Yorkshire match but again, we are hopeful he will be fit as well.
“Graeme Onions has come into our squad for Usman Arshad after bowling really well at Scarborough and we are raring to go. We have been practising hard this week and all the players know how vital this game is in defending our trophy.
“The win at Grace Road kept us in the competition and it was a victory we really needed. We put a big score up with Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick enjoying a terrific partnership and the bowlers defended our total very well. To win by over 140 runs was exactly what was required and has given us a lot of confidence going into the Derbyshire match.
“The fact that we had a similar scenario last year where we had to win group matches or we were out of the competition should also give us some degree of confidence.”
Lewis has nothing but respect for Monday’s opponents, who he insists have a number of potential match winners in their ranks.
“Everyone knows what Tillakaratne Dilshan can do on any given day, so he is one we have to watch very closely and Mark Footitt has been terrific this season, so much so that he is on the verge of the England side. They are a very good side and we know only our best will be good enough.”
Durham won by only five runs the last time the sides met, in the NatWest T20 Blast in June at the 3aaa County Ground. Derbyshire looked to be on course for a relatively straightforward win before Hastings struck some telling blows with the ball and the home team fell just short of Durham’s 147-7.
Durham have yet to win at the Emirates Durham ICG in the RL Cup this season, but Lewis is confident his players can use their home advantage to clinch a vital victory.
Lewis said: “We have not played to our best at home this season in the 50-over game, but in front of our own supporters we know we have the players to pull it off and get us in the last eight. Anything can happen in the knock-out stages and as we showed last year we have got some exceptional one-day competitors.”
Durham squad to face Derbyshire – M Stoneman, P Mustard, S Borthwick, G Clark, P Collingwood, G Muchall, J Hastings, R Pringle, K Jennings, G Onions, C Rushworth, J Harrison, C MacLeod, M Richardson.
Derbyshire squad: B Godleman, W Durston, T Dilshan, W Madsen, C Hughes, A Hughes, M Footitt, S Elstone, S Thakor, T Poynton, M Critchley, G Cork, B Cotton.
Last meeting – June 5 – NatWest T20 Blast. Durham 147-7, Derbys 142-9. Durham won by five runs. Go to http://www.durhamccc.co.uk/news/jets-edge-out-falcons-in-thriller/ for full scorecard.