Durham CCC v Worcestershire CCC: James Franklin's side eye back-to-back wins as 14-man squad is named

Franklin’s side secured their first win of the season last time out when they beat Warwickshire by an innings & 127 runs, to claim their first win of the season.

Durham now have a chance to make it back-to-back wins when the Pears visit tomorrow – a win this week could put Durham in the top two spots in Group 1 – a group which is immensely tight going into the halfway stage.

Matt Salisbury comes into the squad of 14, having been rested for Durham’s game against Warwickshire, the addition of Salisbury is the only addition to an otherwise unchanged squad.

Cameron Bancroft’s arrival into England was delayed due to visa issues and therefore the Australian’s first game will be against Derbyshire on Thursday 20 May.

Will Young will remain with the Durham squad for another week, before joining up with New Zealand on 17 May and will therefore play his final game for Durham.

Mark Wood also remains with the Durham squad, as he continues his preparation for England’s Test series against New Zealand early next month.

Squad v Worcestershire (13-16 May)

Scott Borthwick*, David Bedingham, Jack Burnham, Brydon Carse, Paul Coughlin, Ned Eckersley, Ben Raine, Chris Rushworth, Matt Salisbury, Liam Trevaskis, Alex Lees, Stuart Poynter, Mark Wood, Will Young.

Words from the Head Coach

“Cameron has just come out of quarantine today, so he has been training at the ground for a bit of a run out, having been in quarantine for five days. We came to a conclusion, having spoken with Cameron that one day’s prep, wasn’t ideal.

“We have been very lucky that Will Young is still here, and New Zealand cricket have given him permission for him to be available this game. It works well for us all, one day’s prep for Cameron wasn’t ideal to go into a County Championship game.

“Will has fitted in perfectly since he has joined the club, so we are really pleased that he is still here, not just the 100, but he has the confidence boost going into the final game against Worcestershire.

“Most of the guys have had a good four or five day off since the Warwickshire game, just having some time away from cricket, after a fairly busy four to five weeks. They had a few hits last week and have been training well this week with some good preparation going into this game.

“We have to make sure we hit the ground running tomorrow, sometimes after a bit of a break, it takes some time to get back into it, so we have to be on it. Worcestershire have been batting well, but we have to keep our process and do well what we have done in the first four games of the season.”

The Opposition

Coach: Alex Gidman

Captain: Joe Leach

Last Year’s Performance: Second (Central Group)

2020 Leading Runscorer: Jake Libby (498, 55.33)

2020 Leading Wicket Taker: Joe Leach (19, 25.78)

Overseas players: Alzarri Joseph (West Indies – first seven matches)

Key man: Gareth Roderick

Flies under the radar: Ed Barnard - Consistently amongst Worcestershire’s wicket-takers in red ball cricket and also chips in with invaluable late order runs when most needed

Best Player Under 24: Dillon Pennington - Burst on the scene in 2018 and after a difficult second season, the paceman came back strongly in 2020 and ready to fulfil his potential.

The Season Ahead: After two years in the doldrums in Championship cricket in 2018-2019, Worcestershire are confident of a further improvement after impressing in the Bob Willis Trophy and expect to challenge strongly for a top group spot in September.

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 the club’s match centre and clubs YouTube channel.

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.

*A reminder this game is played behind closed doors.