Lancashire are Durham’s next opponents in the Vitality Blast when they host the Lightning in the final T20 game of the first block of white ball games at Seat Unique Riverside tonight.
Friday’s game will be dedicated to the Chloe and Liam Together Forever Trust, as the five-year anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing was marked last month.
The Trust, which helps young people living in the North East to reach their potential in the fields of sport and performance, will fundraise towards continuing its inspiring legacy at Friday’s game.
Durham still only have 2 wins to their name in the Vitality Blast so far this summer with wins over Leicestershire Foxes and Worcestershire Rapids and face a Lancashire Lightning side who are flying at the top of the North group.
Lancashire have 6 wins out of 7 and 1 tie with Tim David, a known name in the North East having played in the North East Premier League, leading the way as their top run scorer with 264 runs.
Durham have made one change to their squad which was named to face Birmingham Bears. Middlesex legspinner Nathan Sowter has joined the Club on loan for the remainder of the Vitality Blast. Sowter’s loan move comes as cover for Scott Borthwick who requires an injection to his wrist and is not available for selection against Lancashire. The Australian-born legspinner has made 74 T20 appearances for Middlesex in the Vitality Blast taking 73 wickets with a best of 4/23 against Essex Eagles.
Squad v Birmingham Bears
David Bedingham, Jonathan Bushnell, Brydon Carse, Graham Clark, Paul Coughlin, George Drissell, Ned Eckersley, Michael Jones, Stanley Mcalindon, Ben Raine, Ollie Robinson +, Nathan Sowter, Liam Trevaskis*, Andrew Tye.
Words from Ben Raine
“It definitely wasn’t our best night. Birmingham are a good team and they’re sitting at the top of the table. They showed it and they’ve beaten us twice this year, and been better than us on both occasions. It wasn’t the easiest pitch to bat on, I had a bit of a swing and got away with a few to get me going. I think it was a 150 to 160 wicket, it wasn’t the free-scoring pitch that we’ve been used to so we were a few runs short.
“They bowled very well, especially in the powerplay where they didn’t let us get away. They took wickets at the right time. We were just outplayed throughout the game. You’ve just got to tip your hat, they were excellent. I think we bowled well too, and started well in the powerplay. But they have real depth in their batting line-up with quality players coming at five and six. That’s what you’re up against, but that’s who we have to measure ourselves against, and two from two we’ve come up short.”
Lancashire Lightning
Pedigree: Lancashire have been relatively consistent in the T20 blast since its introduction 19 years ago with the side regularly making it out of the group stage but rarely going much further with six quarter final and five semi-final defeats. Their one triumph came in 2015 and with key man Jos Buttler potentially available for the group stage they will be looking for a similar outcome.
Dangerman: It would be extremely difficult to overlook Jos Buttler as the main threat in the Lancashire line-up despite the rise of Liam Livingstone and Saqib Mahmood in recent years. Buttler has proven his ability over several seasons and seems to keep improving as shown by his sensational form in the IPL this year having hit three centuries after 10 appearances in the competition. An in-form Buttler is a match-winner against any side.
Rising Star: 20-year-old Jack Morley could be one to watch this season following an impressive one-day cup campaign in 2021 where he picked up 9 wickets at 24.88 with an economy rate of just 4 runs per over. Preceding this he had an exciting first-class debut in September 2020 where he picked up 5 wickets in the match at 14.20. The next step for Morley would be to make an appearance on the T20 stage and being a left arm spinner, he is likely to have his uses, particularly if Parkinson is on England duty.
Last Visit: The last time Lancashire paid Durham a visit was in the 3rd game of the 2021 season. Durham saw victory, continuing their promising start to the Blast campaign with key contributions from David Bedingham who notched a half century and Matthew Potts who picked up three key wickets. Lancashire batted first with Liam Livingstone leading them to 151 as Buttler fell cheaply. Durham, however, never looked like succumbing to defeat in reply as the Lancashire seamers struggled to back up the spinner’s efforts as Durham sailed to a six- wicket victory.
Match Coverage
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 the Durham Cricket YouTube channel.
There will also be regular updates on Twitter, with a match report and post-match reaction on the website following the conclusion of the game.