Durham teen has loved every minute of the Cup campaign

STANLEY Mcalindon has relished the opportunity of playing a part in Durham’s Royal London Cup campaign amid the absence of several key players.

Durham have been without a number of their senior bowlers with Matthew Potts away on England Test duty, Ben Raine at The Hundred and Brydon Carse sidelined with a toe injury. It has left the dressing room short on bowling experience, giving Mcalindon and Ollie Gibson vital roles in the attack.

Although Durham have only won one of their Group A matches, Mcalindon has loved the challenge of bowling with the white ball even in difficult match situations, including an incredible onslaught when Ben Green scored 157 in their only win over Somerset.

The 18-year-old said: “It is hard but you have to stick it to the opposing teams and try to show what Durham can do.

“I feel as though I have been getting into a better rhythm and I have enjoyed every minute of it.

“The white ball presents a little bit of a different challenge but it has been great.

“You have to bowl your fourday lengths to tie those batters down and build pressure which creates chances and wickets.

“I have had to adapt my lengths a little bit so you want to bowl a little bit fuller to get wickets. You cannot really afford big partnerships to build because teams can punish you.” He added: “The Somerset game was an outlier for us because Green played a gem of an innings.

“There is not much you can do, you just have to stay calm and adapt your skills from there.

“It is funny because in one game you can be on top of the world and the next you can be slogged out of the ground. You just have to learn to take it in your stride.

“Having a guy like Chris Rushworth around is great, he has done it for so many years with the red and white ball.

“You just look at him and he is so composed and that is what you want to be.”

Durham coach Neil Killeen has been buoyed by how his fledgling players have fared in the competition, both in their performances and their approach on the field.

He believes Mcalindon, Gibson and wicketkeeper Tomas Mackintosh are learning key lessons in their development.

Killeen said: “This competition provides a great learning platform for the young lads.

“They are exposed to highperformance games whether it is chasing down big totals or defending low scores.

“You cannot practice the types of experience these guys are getting out in the middle.

“The lads have all shown character in the competition, and at Durham we are very proud of that. It builds character and stands them in good stead.”

The white ball presents a little bit

of a different challenge but it’s been great

Stanley Mcalindon