Durham are looking for back-to-back wins at Banks Homes Riverside when they welcome the Bears on Sunday afternoon [2:30pm].
Ryan Campbell has named an unchanged squad of 15 from Friday night’s thrilling victory over Notts Outlaws as his side search for a seventh Vitality Blast win.
Durham are top of a tightly contested North Group with 24 points after Friday’s win and face a Bears side who sit fourth on 20 points after a six wicket win over Leicestershire Foxes.
Sam Conners remains in contention for his Durham T20 debut whilst George Drissell and Haydon Mustard could make their first T20 appearance of the season. Matthew Potts is also available after being rested on Friday night.
Campbell’s side opened their Blast campaign against the Bears at Edgbaston, chasing down 143 to secure a three wicket win over this weekend’s opponents.
Words from Kasey Aldridge
(On Outlaws win) It was an exciting night, wasn’t it? The boys got off to a great start, Alex Lees and Graham Clark had an epic powerplay and then Colin [Ackermann] did the business at the end. It was pretty impressive ball-striking.
I get to see big hitting quite a lot in Somerset on those wickets but to see it on this ground shows how good Colin played against the Outlaws. He was epic there and it was really impressive.
It’s great to be here [on loan from Somerset] and get an opportunity to play. For me to produce a performance of note is really pleasing.
It was a great feeling at the end because they’re a class team who play on wickets like that at home in high-scoring games. So to put it to bed like that at the end was a bit of a relief because they came hard there and were chasing.
Squad v Bears (6 July)
Colin Ackermann, Kasey Aldridge, Graham Clark, Sam Conners, George Drissell, Zak Foulkes, Alex Lees*, Ben McKinney, Haydon Mustard, Jimmy Neesham, Callum Parkinson, Matthew Potts, Will Rhodes, Ollie Robinson+, Nathan Sowter
Opposition Corner
Captain: Alex Davies
Overseas players: Tom Latham (New Zealand, full competition), Hasan Ali (Pakistan)
Finals Day appearances: Four (2003, 2014, 2015, 2017)
Titles: One (2014)
2024 finish: Quarter-finals
2024 leading run scorer: Sam Hain (569)
2024 leading wicket taker: Danny Briggs (29)
Key winter moves: It was all change off the field during the close season but the Bears’ T20 side on the field is likely to be little changed beyond the arrival of New Zealand batter Tom Latham. Aussie all-rounder Beau Webster was initially signed for the Blast but has been called up by his national team.
The big question: After four successive quarter-final defeats, the big question among the Bears’ fans is can they overcome the nerves of big knockout games? Clearing the memory of last year’s quarter-final implosion against Gloucestershire at Edgbaston, when they failed to chase 138, will surely be a driving force.
Wildcard watch: Ethan Bamber. Short-format cricket thrives on exuberance and Bamber has it by the bucketload. An attacking player with ball or bat, he makes things happen and has infectious energy in the field. Bamber moved from Middlesex to Warwickshire to kick-start his career and the early signs are he has done exactly that.
Final thought: There is much talk of the quarter-final hoodoo but a lot of hard work remains ahead before that even becomes an issue, The Bears have scintillated at times in the group stage in recent years only to then falter. To reach a fifth successful quarter-final would be a notable effort in itself…then they can try to get their heads round the hoodoo!
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 match will also be available on Durham’s YouTube channel. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.