Durham are looking to get back to winning ways when they take on Lancashire Lightning tonight in the Vitality Blast at Seat Unique Riverside kicking off at 6:30pm.
The club are once again dedicating their T20 Blast fixture against Lancashire Lightning to the Chloe and Liam Together Forever Trust. Tributes will be paid to Chloe Rutherford and Liam Curry, as the sixth-year anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing.
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 the game on Friday.
An unchanged 14 player squad has been named by Ryan Campbell as Durham look to get their third win of the campaign and face a Lancashire side who sit in third place in the North group.
Lancashire have so far played 5 games winning three of them, losing their last outing against Yorkshire Vikings last night at Headingley.
Durham occupy the fourth spot in the North group with 2 wins out of 3 siting on 4 points in a tight Northern group.
Words from Ollie Robinson
Squad v Lancashire Lightning [2nd June]
Jonathan Bushnell, Graham Clark, Bas de Leede, Luke Doneathy, Brandon Glover, Michael Jones, Alex Lees, Wayne Parnell, Ben Raine, Luke Robinson, Ollie Robinson +, Nathan Sowter, Liam Trevaskis, Ashton Turner
Opposition Corner
Captain: Keaton Jennings
Overseas players: Colin de Grandhomme (New Zealand), Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand), Dane Vilas (South Africa).
Finals Day appearances: 9 (2004, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2022)
Titles: 1 (2015)
2022 finish: Runners-up
2022 leading runscorer: Steven Croft (548)
2022 leading wicket taker: Richard Gleeson (25)
Key winter moves: New Zealand all-round pair Colin de Grandhomme and Daryl Mitchell will provide a mixture of experience, power and skill. They are two of three overseas players in the squad alongside the Red Rose’s South African stalwart Dane Vilas. The signing of 2021 World Cup finalist Mitchell is particularly exciting for Lightning fans.
The big question: Can this year be a case of the perfect 10 for Lancashire? They have reached a joint-record nine Finals Days with Hampshire, the team who beat them in last year’s final. It would be the perfect way to mark a 10th appearance at the Blast showpiece if they were to go on and win a second title this July.
Wildcard watch: Matthew Parkinson – Was a shock non-selection in March’s The Hundred draft. Released from the Manchester Originals squad last year and loaned out to Durham last month, all’s not lost for England’s fringe leg-spinner who is one of only two bowlers to have taken 100 T20 wickets for Lancashire (Stephen Parry the other) given Hundred teams have one more available spot to fill.
Final thought: Lancashire have an interesting conundrum in the early stages of the Blast. Captain Keaton Jennings (hamstring) is sidelined, and Vilas has deputised in the Championship. But it may be that New Zealanders De Grandhomme and Mitchell are the preferred Blast overseas pair. If so, another captain is needed. Steven Croft and Luke Wells spring to mind.
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 YouTube channel. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.