Northamptonshire Steelbacks return to Metro Bank One Day Cup action after a stuttering start as they make the trip up north to Durham on Friday.
A rain-soaked Sedbergh School saw their curtain-raiser against Lancashire abandoned before a heavy defeat to Yorkshire and slightly less one-sided loss to Warwickshire have left the Steelbacks still searching for their first win.
Despite reducing Warwickshire to 32-4 at Rugby School last week, a classy Alex Davies century and Taz Ali five wicket haul saw the Steelbacks bowled out for 229, 62 runs short of the target. George Bartlett top scored for the visitors with 47, continuing his positive start in the middle order.
Darren Lehmann makes two changes for the journey to the North-East as all-rounder, Stuart van de Merwe, enters the squad after signing a one-month rookie contract, whilst James Sales makes a timely return from injury and is included. Ben Whitehouse and Aadi Sharma are replaced. Nirvan Ramesh retains his place in the squad and is in contention to make his first-class debut.
Durham have enjoyed a mixed start to their tournament, with two wins and two losses from their opening four games. After failing to defend a mammoth total of 387 against Middlesex on Wednesday night, losing by five wickets, they will be looking for a reaction in front of their fans against the side they pipped to a home quarter-final in the Vitality Blast last month.
Opponent Preview: Durham
Previewed by Graham Hardcastle – ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Captain: Alex Lees
2024 Position: Fifth (Group A)
2024 Most Runs: Colin Ackermann (316)
2024 Most Wickets: Paul Coughlin (12)
Why they can win the competition: Durham are coming off the back of an excellent Vitality Blast campaign, which saw them finish second in the North Group. They were 50-over finalists in 2021 and will be desperate to win their first white-ball title since 2014 when they won a previous incarnation of this competition. Their squad is well balanced and hasn’t been ravaged by the Hundred.
Player to watch: Ollie Robinson, the 26-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, hasn’t played in this competition since 2022 due to Hundred commitments. That season, he won the title as a Kent player. He scored a career-best 206 not out during that particular campaign. This season, he’s available to his county and is likely to be a linchpin of their top order.
Young gun: Wicketkeeper-batter Haydon Mustard, 19, is set for his first first-team exposure of 2025 in this competition. An ever-present last year in the lower middle order, the former England U19 posted a top-score of 35. He even hit a six in a match against Lancashire at Sedbergh which was caught in the crowd by his dad, Phil.
Final thought: South African overseas quick Codi Yusuf is available for this competition. He represented the county in the Rothesay County Championship during the first half of the summer before heading off to Zimbabwe in late June and early July to make his Test debut for the Proteas, taking the new ball and claiming 10 wickets in a 2-0 series victory. He returned to the Riverside on a deal until the end of the season and will add significant firepower to Durham’s bowling attack.