Blow of losing young star softened by the form of replacement
CLARK WILL GRAB THE CHANCE TO IMPRESS
JACK Burnham’s broken thumb should hand Graham Clark his chance to impress, just when the right-hander is best placed to take it.
England under-19 international Burnham broke his thumb batting in the nets on Wednesday.
Ordinarily, for Durham to lose their most talented batsmen the day before setting off for their first County Championship away game of the season would be a huge blow but the recent form of Clark softens it slightly.
Despite three centuries in as many second-team innings, the 24-year-old would have been struggling to force his way into the side at Gloucestershire.
Durham lost their opening Division Two game to Nottinghamshire by nine wickets on Easter Monday but changes to the batting line-up would have smacked of panic.
Burnham’s injury has made space for Clark – an opener by trade – at No.3.
All players want to come into the first team when they are in good form and the Whitehaven-born batsman can have no complaints on that score.
He was unfortunate to be overlooked for the season’s opening game after a half-century in last season’s final Championship match, and another against Durham University in the final warm-up game of this.
His response has been to reel off the hundreds – two against Kent/Essex seconds, and another versus Scotland A.
His brother Jordan hit a maiden firstclass century for Lancashire at the weekend.
With Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick having left for Surrey – both have already made hundreds for their new county – Durham’s batting has a slightly fragile look.
“It is good to see where standards need to be,” coach Jon Lewis said after the Nottinghamshire defeat.
“We said at the start of the season we need an awful lot of people to have their best season ever, an awful lot.
“Most of our success in four-day cricket over the last few years has been based around some players who are no longer with us so we need other people to be producing those runs.
“The belief is they have the talent to do it. You have to give them the opportunity and support them enough and they have to stand up and do it too.” Brydon Carse offers a pace option if Durham want to switch their change bowlers. They bowled well with the new ball in the first innings against Nottinghamshire but apart from that lacked penetration, something first-innings nightwatchman Luke Fletcher highlighted by equalling his career-best score of 92 on a pitch where Durham were bowled out for 162. Paul Coughlin and Mark Wood have a history of injury trouble and will need careful managing this season, although Coughlin came in at No.6 - which would change the balance of the attack was Carse to come in for him. Carse is a bowler who has shown promise with the bat rather than a genuine allrounder at this early stage of his career.
Lewis added: “I am not a big fan of the word ‘rotating’ because it suggests you put in place for the next month what you are going to do.
“We are not going to do that but certainly we are going to have to keep a close eye on some of the younger seamers’ workloads.
“Graham (Onions) and Chris (Rushworth) have pretty hardened bodies now – they know what they can do and what is needed every day.
“Some of the younger guys will need a bit more managing.
“Even with the new-ball guys there is a margin but you feel with the younger guys you’ve got to be a bit more protective.”
Gloucestershire are set to be captained by former Durham wicketkeeper Phil Mustard, who is deputising for Gareth Roderick and a half-century in the crushing victory over Leicestershire.