Lead High Performance Coach, James Franklin, has named his first 13-man squad of the season for the opening Bob Willis Trophy match against Yorkshire – which takes place behind closed doors tomorrow [Saturday 1 August at 11am]
Ned Eckersley will lead Durham out at Emirates Riverside for the first time since being named the new-red ball captain, while Sean Dickson and David Bedingham are set to make their first appearances for the club in first-class cricket.
Paul Coughlin is also named in the thirteen for tomorrow’s opener and if selected will return to the field at Emirates Riverside for the first time since 28 August 2017 against Derbyshire.
Following Brydon Carse’s return from the England ODI training bubble in Southampton, his work load means he isn’t available to play four-day cricket and therefore will not be available to play against Yorkshire, however Carse will be a strong option to feature in the Lancashire game next weekend.
This will be the first time Durham have faced Yorkshire in first-class cricket at Emirates Riverside since 2016, where Durham scored 507/8 in their second innings – its highest home total against Yorkshire, as the match ended a draw.
Squad 1-4 August 2020
Squad: Alex Lees, Sean Dickson, Cameron Steel, David Bedingham, Gareth Harte, Stuart Poynter, Jack Burnham, Ned Eckersley (c,wk), Paul Coughlin, Ben Raine, Matthew Potts, Matthew Salisbury, Chris Rushworth
What the coach has to say?
Ahead of tomorrow’s Bob Willis Trophy opener, James Franklin said: “Cricket seamed a long way away back in the spring, so to now find ourselves here on the eve of a shortened season, is hugely exciting.
“The Yorkshire friendly this week was a really good hit out, all our seamers had a good run out, taking 12 wickets and the batters got some meaningful time in the middle, so as far as the warm up went for tomorrow, I couldn’t be happier.
“We have some new faces in the squad and an old one in Paul [Coughlin], we are extremely excited in the new additions and hopefully they can add more quality and depth to the squad and build on the competitiveness within in the group.”
Match Coverage
The Club’s match centre will be in operation for the fixture with live scorecards, statistics & video highlights as they happen.
There will also be regular updates on Twitter, with a match report and post match reaction on the website following the conclusion of each day.