Durham Match Preview - 23/08/2022

The Foxes head into the final game of the Royal London Cup group stage knowing it’s all or nothing, with a win guaranteeing their place in the knockout stages.

Saturday’s defeat to East Midlands rivals Notts Outlaws, compounded by Sunday’s results, saw the Foxes slip to fourth in Group A, with five wins and two defeats from their seven matches.

Durham are the visitors to Uptonsteel County Ground for Tuesday’s finale. After finishing as runners-up in 2021, the north-east outfit have nothing but pride to play for this time around, perched second-bottom with one win but without a point following an ECB deduction earlier this month.

Last Time We Met:

The previous meeting between the two sides in List A cricket came in 2019, where Durham ran out six-wicket winners at Chester-le-Street.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, the Foxes were in deep trouble at 112 for seven halfway through their innings. 59 for Tom Taylor and 46 for Dieter Klein helped the side climb to 233 for nine after fifty overs.

But the hosts cruised to the target with captain Cameron Bancroft ending unbeaten on 118. Klein and Gavin Griffiths taking two wickets apiece for Leicestershire.

In Focus:

After missing out on selection earlier in the competition, Ed Barnes has returned impressively. He helped get the Foxes over the line with the bat in Wednesday’s win at Gloucestershire, before taking two for 32 from nine overs in Saturday’s defeat to the Outlaws.

Barnes’ early exclusion may have surprised some of the Foxes fanbase, after finishing the 2021 50-over campaign with a batting average of 26.5, as well as being the joint-leading wicket-taker with nine scalps.

With Tom Scriven nursing a hamstring injury and Ben Mike away with Trent Rockets, the all-rounder’s elevation to eight in the batting order and responsibility to bowl at the death could be pivotal to the Foxes’ fortunes on Tuesday.

Opposition Player to Watch:

At the opposite end of the innings, Graham Clark is a huge threat for Durham. The 29-year-old was a huge contributor to his side’s successful 2021 campaign, with his 646 runs comfortably the highest in the competition.

The opener averaged an outstanding 80.75 from nine innings, with three hundreds to his name. This time around, Clark is averaging 39.57, again topping Durham’s run-scoring charts with 277.

Squad:

Beuran Hendricks returns to the squad to make it a 15-strong contingent.

Leicestershire Foxes: Barnes, Bowley, Davis, Finan, Hendricks, Hill *, Kimber, Lilley, Mulder, Patel, Steel, Swindells +, Walker, Welch, Wright.