Durham are looking for a third win in the Metro Bank One Day Cup when they welcome Middlesex to Banks Homes Riverside, tomorrow at 11am.
Ryan Campbell has named a 15-player squad which includes Archie Bailey and Robbie Bowman alongside the returning Alex Lees and Ben Raine.
A 20-year-old fast bowler, Bailey has signed a loan deal with Durham for the remainder of the One Day Cup ahead of his permanent move from Gloucestershire this winter and is in contention for his List A debut.
Academy wicket-keeper batter Robbie Bowman is also included in the squad to face Middlesex and is in contention for his professional Durham debut after signing a short-term rookie contract for the remainder of the One Day Cup.
Haydon Mustard has been ruled out with a hamstring injury and will continue to be monitored by the Durham Cricket Science and Medicine Team.
Durham are looking for a third win in the 50-over competition after victories over Sussex Sharks and Kent Spitfires came either side of a defeat to Somerset in the opening three rounds.
Campbell’s side face a Middlesex team who have one win from their opening two fixtures after they defeated Sussex on Friday following an opening defeat to Somerset.
Middlesex are missing six players to the Hundred with Zafar Gohar, Ryan Higgins, Leus du Plooy, Stephen Eskinazi, Tom Helm and Max Holden on franchise duty and are one of the counties not to be hugely affected by the short format competition.
Squad v Middlesex (13 Aug)
Colin Ackermann, Archie Bailey, David Bedingham, Robbie Bowman, Paul Coughlin, George Drissell, Emilio Gay, Mitchell Killeen, Alex Lees*, James Minto, Ben Raine, Will Rhodes, Luke Robinson, Ollie Robinson+, Codi Yusuf
Words from Emilio Gay
I’ve had some success in Canterbury against this team and it’s nice to do it against the same team but on a different side of Kent so to speak.
I think we’d have had a bowl (if they’d won the toss.) From the discussions I think we fancied a chase, we’ve got a pretty experienced batting line-up and it looked a good wicket. I think we just backed ourselves. If it was going to do a bit it was going to do it early and it played out that way.
The key was that one of me, Robbo or Ackers, someone was there towards the end then we were going to win that game. I wanted to make sure that was me and runs came.
Opposition Corner
Captain: Ben Geddes
2024 Position: Sixth (Group A)
2024 Most Runs: Joe Cracknell (306)
2024 Most Wickets: Luke Hollman (12)
Why they can win the competition: One cause for optimism should certainly be the depth of Middlesex’s pace attack. Ireland left-armer Josh Little will bring plenty of international white-ball experience to the table, supported by a clutch of exciting young talents such as Noah Cornwell, Naavya Sharma, Sebastian Morgan and Jamie Feldman – all under 21 and hungry to impress.
Player to watch: Ben Geddes. The 24-year-old has performed well in both four-day and T20 formats since his winter move across the Thames from Surrey, can bat anywhere from one to seven and has earned his captaincy opportunity. With many top-order regulars involved in The Hundred, the 50-over tournament should provide further opportunities for Geddes to shine.
Young gun: Naavya Sharma. The pacy 19-year-old was leading wicket-taker for England Under-19s in their Test series against Sri Lanka last summer and Middlesex were unafraid to pitch him in at the deep end for their County Championship campaign this year. Sharma bowled consistently, repaying the club’s faith by claiming six wickets in their innings victory over previously undefeated Leicestershire.
Final thought: Middlesex are notoriously slow out of the blocks in this tournament, having failed to win their opening fixture since 2019 – a year that also brought the county’s most recent appearance in the knockout stages.
Despite losing spinner Zafar Gohar to injury, Middlesex’s bowling options look strong. The question may be whether they can put match-winning totals on the board – the likes of Sam Robson, Ben Geddes and Joe Cracknell may need to go big more often than not.
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 Durham’s YouTube channel. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.