Match Preview v Durham Cricket
Sun 30 Aug 2020
Leicestershire Foxes continue their home 2020 Vitality Blast campaign against Durham despite both teams travelling to Emerald Headingley for the tie.
The Foxes are travelling up to Yorkshire as the fixture is scheduled to be aired live on Sky Sports, and as a result of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, only specific grounds have been chosen to host Sky Sports fixtures.
Leicestershire head into the fixture without a victory or a defeat to their name as their opening two Vitality Blast fixtures have fell victim to the weather.
No balls were bowled for the opener against Derbyshire Falcons, whereas the Foxes managed to complete their innings against Lancashire Lightning, however the rain meant Lightning could not reply.
Conversely, Durham have managed to complete their two opening Blast fixtures against Lightning and Notts Outlaws respectively, losing both, after Outlaws chased down Durham’s competitive first innings score of 181 with 28 balls remaining more recently.
The fixture is scheduled to be shown on Sky Sports, with live coverage starting from 1:00pm.
Head-to-Head
Durham's matches tend to have a low-scoring dynamic, so a calm head is crucial, and there are none more so than Foxes captain Colin Ackermann.
In the last three seasons for the Foxes in the Blast, Ackermann has accumulated an excellent 940 runs, striking at 127.54 runs per 100 balls and averaging a very strong 29.38 batting average.
Comparably, opponent Clark who is coming in off a 36 ball 60 against Outlaws is likely to bat at three for Durham.
In the last three seasons in the T20 Blast, he has scored 876 runs, striking better at 136.88 but offering less stability, averaging almost six runs per wicket lower at 23.68.
Last Time We Met in Vitality Blast
The last time that Leicestershire Foxes and Durham met in the Vitality Blast was in July of last season’s competition.
The Foxes headed up to Chester-le-Street buoyant after Arron Lilley led Leicestershire to an 11-over victory over Notts Outlaws at Trent Bridge four days prior.
However, the Foxes could not replicate their form which saw them win by 21-runs in the Midlands.
The hosts won the toss and put the Foxes into bat on the huge pitch at Emirates Riverside and the decision looked to be a good one after the opening duo of Mark Cosgrove and Harry Swindells struggled to get going during the powerplay.
The duo were both back in the pavilion after 8 overs with the score on 61 for two, which saw Lilley and captain Colin Ackermann to the crease.
Lilley played a short cameo hitting 10 off 13, prompting a typical captain’s performance from Ackermann to drag the Foxes back into the tie.
Ackermann outlasted three more partnerships at the crease as Lewis Hill (0, 1b), Harry Dearden (13, 12b) and Aadil Ali (7, 8b) came and went with the Foxes now on 135 for six after 18.2 overs.
The crucial wicket of Ackermann fell next after posting a cultured 52 from 41 [4x4] after 19.2 overs, which saw Callum Parkinson (2, 6b) and Dieter Klein (0, 1b) bring the Foxes’ innings to a close on 142 for seven.
D’Arcy Short (70, 36b) and Durham danger man Graham Clark (59no, 38b) made short work of the Foxes attack after sharing a first wicket partnership of 118 after 10.1 overs, laying solid foundations for Durham to push on and claim the win with 5.2 overs remaining.
Former-Fox Ben Raine came in and posted 5 from 8 balls, which saw Alex Lees come to the crease and see the game out alongside Clark. Lees posted 7 from 7.
Squad
The squad for the Durham fixture remains the same from the 13 named for the Lightning match.
Gareth Delany will be looking to get back to his best after only managing to post 5 from 5 against Lightning on Saturday.
Harry Dearden and Arron Lilley looked in good touch against Lightning as they will look to push on from their respective scores of 31 off 34, and 26 off 15 respectively.
Leicestershire from 13: Colin Ackermann (c), Will Davis, Gareth Delany, Harry Dearden, Gavin Griffiths, Lewis Hill, Dieter Klein, Arron Lilley, Ben Mike, Callum Parkinson, George Rhodes, Harry Swindells, Tom Taylor.
