Durham still on the hunt for win as they head south
DURHAM head to Taunton today still in search of their first win in the Royal London Cup.
They face a Somerset side who are also winless in both of their opening two games.
Sean Dickson and Paul Coughlin are welcome additions to the squad with both having passed fitness tests and are now available for selection, with both having played for their clubs in the North East Premier League last Saturday.
Alex Lees has now joined up with the England squad for their Test series against South Africa, with Michael Jones is also on international duty as Scotland take on the UAE and America in a Tri-series at Mannofield, Aberdeen for the World Cup qualifiers.
Speaking after Durham’s match against Middlesex on Sunday, captain Scott Borthwick said: “It was a disappointing day [against Middlesex] , but to take the positives we were slightly better than we were at South Northumberland against Surrey. It was the two powerplays that hurt us, losing wickets when we were batting and not quite getting it right with the ball, it has cost us the game. It looked a good pitch to bat on and it looked like it was going to get slower as the game progressed.
“I think we made the right decision at the toss, but we didn’t get it right in the middle. You’re always
playing catch-up after losing three wickets in the first 10 overs.
“After building partnerships, we lost wickets at the wrong times. We were 30 to 40 runs short with the bat. From that point onwards we needed early wickets, but they got off to a flier and could then chase it down at four runs per over.
“It’s tough, but we’ve got a young squad and as long as we’re learning from these defeats we can try to improve.”