Ryan Campbell has named a squad of 14 as Durham kickstart their Vitality Blast campaign at The Central Co-op County Ground tomorrow at 6:30pm.
Durham head to the East Midlands looking to get their T20 Blast campaign underway in winning style having reached the quarter finals over the last two years.
Nathan Sowter is named in a Durham squad for the first time this summer and will make his return to the Durham 11 while Colin Ackermann and Will Rhodes are in line to both return to the playing 11.
James Minto could make his T20 debut while Luke Robinson – fresh off two County Championship appearances, and Haydon Mustard are also in the fold to feature in the shortest format.
Ben McKinney will join up with England Lions this week for their two match series against South Africa A at Arundel and Beckenham while Emilio Gay is due to link up with England for a training camp at Loughborough University.
Sam Conners, Archie Bailey and Daniel Hogg remain unavailable as they work their way back towards full fitness.
Words from Ryan Campbell
This time of the year is always exciting, a new format and the weather is making an improvement, we can’t wait to get going against Derbyshire on Friday. We are going well so far this season so the change of ball doesn’t matter as such, we have players who are going well and some players who are still looking for form but once a few sixes have been hit that form will come back.
It is going to be a tough competition, we know that, especially with the change of groups. Competition will be bigger than ever with just two going through per group and the two second best teams so we know we have to be on it from the off and that starts on Friday against Derbyshire.
Our best players have to stand up and perform, last year our home record was impeccable, we lost one game at home which was just by 1 run and we know if we want to go one better this season we have to improve on road. Our away team performances are something which we are looking at and how we can improve.
What was great about last year was the double headers and to kick off at home with a double header is exciting – the men enjoyed coming and watching the women ahead of our game and that will be the same this season – the fans flock to the ground and we look forward to putting on performances for them again this season.
Squad v Derbyshire (22 May)
Colin Ackermann, Kasey Aldridge, David Bedingham, Graham Clark, Alex Lees*, James Minto, Haydon Mustard, Callum Parkinson, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Will Rhodes, Luke Robinson, Ollie Robinson+, Nathan Sowter.
Opposition Corner
Captain: Aneurin Donald
Overseas players: Caleb Jewell (Australia, all), Akif Javed (Pakistan, all), Mohammad Ghazanfar (Afghanistan, second half)
Finals Day appearances: One (2019)
Titles: None
2025 finish: 9th in North Group
2025 leading run-scorer: Anuerin Donald (449 runs)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar (16 wickets)
Key winter moves: Javed was a late replacement for leg spinner Sufiyan Muqeem, who was signed for the first half of the tournament but withdrew after his call up by Pakistan. Matt Montgomery’s move from neighbours Nottinghamshire will strengthen the batting and provide another spin option while Shoaib Bashir could play a part, England commitments permitting.
The big question: Do the Falcons have the bowling firepower to challenge for the knock-outs? Injuries to Harry Moore and Pat Brown have reduced the seam bowling options although Javed will bring pace and left-arm variety to the attack. Ghazanfar was one of the stars of last year’s Blast and his arrival for the second half of the tournament could be crucial.
Wildcard watch: Amrit Basra delivered some eye-catching innings in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup last season and has the potential to be a destructive force in the middle order. The 23-year-old all-rounder could also play an important role with his lively medium pace.
Final thought: The Falcons have proven T20 match-winners in Donald, Ghazanfar and Wayne Madsen but need to put together consistent performances as a team to compete. After last summer’s disappointing campaign, the only way is up and the Falcons will hope the arrival of Javed and Montgomery will give them momentum.
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 the Derbyshire Falcons YouTube channel. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.