A 13-man squad has been named for Durham’s maiden first-class outing of the season against Durham MCCU at Emirates Riverside.
The traditional curtain-raiser starts tomorrow (Tuesday 26 March) & is Durham’s final pre-season match before the Specsavers County Championship opener at Derbyshire next week.
Assistant Lead & Bowling High Performance Coach, Neil Killeen, will take charge of the side as Lead High Performance Coach, James Franklin, oversees the last few days of the South Africa tour.
Alex Lees, Gareth Harte, Ryan Pringle, Ben Raine & Chris Rushworth are all set to feature after returning from Potchefstroom this morning.
Lees will captain the side in the absence of recently-appointed Cameron Bancroft, while all-rounder Raine is set for his second first-class appearance for the Club – nearly eight years after his first – after rejoining during the winter.
Wicketkeeper Stuart Poynter will take the gloves after making his Test debut for Ireland earlier this month while there could be first-class debuts for Ross Greenwell, Oliver Gibson & Luke Doneathy.
Top order batsman Greenwell played a prominent role in the Second XI Championship win last season, while all-rounder Doneathy & fast bowler Gibson have impressed for the Academy in recent times.
Squad vs Durham MCCU (26-28 March)
Alex Lees, Gareth Harte, Ross Greenwell, Will Smith, Stuart Poynter (wk), Ryan Pringle, Ben Raine, Josh Coughlin, Luke Doneathy, George Harding, Nathan Rimmington, Chris Rushworth, Oliver Gibson
Change to start time
The Club this morning announced a revised start time of 10:30am at the request of the ECB, applicable to all three days of the fixture.
Emirates Riverside will open at 9:30am & entry is free.
Members facilities will be available in the Royal Caribbean Suite on the top floor of the Don Robson Pavilion. A cash bar will be operating alongside tea, coffee & a snack offering.