Durham Match Preview - 12/09/2022

Last Time We Met:

The two teams last met in April, sharing the spoils with a draw on the fourth day on a flat track up in the North East. Having slipped to 34 for three on the opening morning, Durham went on to post 428 thanks to big hundreds from Sean Dickson and David Bedingham.

That first innings total, compounded by injuries to Chris Wright and Beuran Hendricks gave the hosts control across the match, but a 254-ball vigil on the final day from Sam Evans (77*) helped the Foxes earn a hard-fought draw with just two final innings wickets lost.

Opposition Player to Watch:

He won’t need much of an introduction to the Leicestershire faithful, but Ben Raine remains a perpetual threat with both bat and ball. He’s taken 35 wickets in this summer’s County Championship at 25.51, trailing Matty Potts’ total by just one. As ever, his overs have come down economically, costing just 2.55 runs per over.

With the bat, he’s notched up 342 runs at 31.09, including registering his maiden first-class century in the draw with Worcestershire in June.

Fox to Watch:

On his return to the red-ball side last week, Sam Evans showed the best of his abilities with the bat. While wickets fell consistently around him during the first innings, he showed astute defence and judgement to reach a half-century while carrying his bat in an otherwise underwhelming batting display.

In the reverse fixture, he batted for the entirety of the final day en route to saving the match for Leicestershire. With eight wickets left at the close of play, the draw looked comfortable, but much of the credit should be handed to Evans for an unflappable 254-ball stint at the crease.

Squad:

Leicestershire: Ackermann, Azad, Barnes, Evans, Finan, Kimber, Parkinson*, Patel, Scriven, Swindells+, Walker, Welch, Wright.