Durham ‘will come out fighting after defeat’
LATHAM IS LOOKING TO SHIFT FOCUS
TOM Latham has insisted that Durham can turn the page from their Royal London One-Day Cup disappointment by shooting up the Specsavers County Championship Division Two table.
The club failed to progress from the group stage of the 50-over competition for the second time in two years.
Durham were made to rue home defeats to Yorkshire and Notts Outlaws leaving them off the pace of the top three in the North Group, and with their chances of making the play-offs scuppered irrespective of the result of their last game at Leicestershire – another defeat.
They have a turnaround of only one day before taking on Derbyshire in the four-day format at Emirates Riverside.
But Latham is confident that he and his team-mates can overcome their disappointment and come out firing in the County Championship.
“We’re pretty level-headed as a group,” said the New Zealander. “We don’t get too high when we win games and we don’t get too down when we lose, which is important.
“It’s frustrating and disappointing to not make the playoffs, but it’s the way it goes sometimes.
“Now we have to shift our focus to the red ball for a couple of games then we’re on to the T20s.
“It’s quite close. You got a lot of a points for a win, so if you get two quick ones under your belt you never know where you might end up. We’ve just got to be able to make those shifts and adjustments as quickly as possible to get up to speed.”
Durham’s slow start to the Championship has left them eighth in Division Two after four matches.
But they won their last home game against Leicestershire, and came agonisingly close to another victory at Derby, with their opponents surviving for the draw with one wicket remaining at 3aaa County Ground – so they will hope to pick up where they left off in this rapid rematch.
“It’s the toughest facet of the game,” added Latham. “Going from white-ball cricket to the red ball you’ve got to be more disciplined as a batter. With the quick turnaround there’s not a great deal of time for preparation.
“We’ve done that many times before playing in that way, so we’ve got the experience to know what to do to make the transition.
“We’re looking forward to getting back into the Championship and playing some good cricket. We’ve played some good stuff in the last couple of fourday matches so hopefully we can continue that form.”
Derbyshire are fourth in the Division Two standings ahead of the contest at Emirates Riverside, which begins tomorrow.
Durham have two more Championship matches, against Sussex in Arundel and at home to high-flying Warwickshire, before the start of the Vitality Blast campaign at Yorkshire on July 5.