Championship Essentials: Durham v Warwickshire

Match times, streaming information, tickets and travel, team news, head-to-head record, weather forecast, prediction, and everything else you need to know ahead of the latest round of the County Championship...

Fixture: Durham v Warwickshire

Venue: Emirates Riverside, Chester-le-Street

Dates: Thursday, April 29, 2021 - Sunday, May 2, 2021

Start time: 11am 

What's the lowdown?

Warwickshire are flying high as the first side to turn over Essex in a Championship match since 2019, their seven-wicket round three win against the defending champions a resounding assertion of their credentials as title challengers.

They had to use all of Tim Bresnan's nous to fashion a win at Trent Bridge the previous week, the veteran allrounder's unbeaten 68 seeing his side through a fourth-innings chase of 333 against Notts. Those two victories together with a draw against Derbyshire put new head coach Mark Robinson's side top of their group with three rounds played. 

Durham ran Essex close at Fortress Chelmsford – they held a first-innings lead of 144 runs and were at one stage 83 for 3 in pursuit of 168 in their second innings – but Simon Harmer was in a game-shaping mood and powered his side to victory with a 10-wicket haul. 

A restorative draw followed in round three against Derbyshire, though James Franklin would have been disappointed that his charges only had their opponents five down by close of play on the final day. It leaves his side still searching for their first win of the season. 

Who's in form?

A sleeper-hit of an overseas player, David Bedingham is county cricket's leading run-scorer this term with an astonishing 565 runs at 141.25. The South African, who played for Durham last year as a non-overseas on an ancestry visa, hit over 300 runs across his two innings against Derbyshire, including a mammoth first innings 257. It's the kind of form that prompts chatter about Graeme Hick and 1,000 runs before the end of May.

With the ball, Chris Rushworth has 14 wickets and has been typically consistent and Brydon Carse bowled with pace against Essex before picking up an ankle injury. 

For Warwickshire, opener Rob Yates repelled Essex's feted attack to see his side to victory, hitting a terrific 120 not out in the process. The metronomic Oliver Hannon-Dalby is the Bears' leading wicket-taker with 14. 

Last five first-class matches (most recent first)

Durham: DDDDL

Warwickshire: WWDDD

Head-to-head first-class record

Total matches: 32

Durham wins: 11

Warwickshire wins: 12

Draws: 9

What's the team news?

Durham: Mark Wood is in line for his first outing of the season after being included in the Durham 13 for the visit of Warwickshire. Liam Trevaskis is also named in the squad for the first time this term.

Brydon Carse returns after missing the draw with Derbyshire, but there is no place for Matt Salisbury or Matt Fisher. Alex Thomson is ineligible to face his parent club.

Durham squad: Scott Borthwick (c), David Bedingham, Jack Burnham, Brydon Carse, Paul Coughlin, Ned Eckersley, Ben Raine, Chris Rushworth, Liam Trevaskis, Alex Lees, Stuart Poynter, Mark Wood, Will Young

Warwickshire: Olly Stone has been rested for the trip to Chester-le-Street but there are places for Dan Mousley, Liam Nowell and Henry Brooks in the 13.

Warwickshire squad: Will Rhodes (c), Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Henry Brookes, Michael Burgess (wk), Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Sam Hain, Matt Lamb, Craig Miles, Dan Mousley, Liam Nowell, Hanuma Vihari, Rob Yates

Latest Durham news: Click here

Latest Warwickshire news: Click here

Who's said what?

Durham head coach James Franklin is hopeful his side can string together a consistent performance over four days after a run of four draws in a row in first-class cricket.

“I have been really pleased by the performances that we have been putting out there on a day-to-day basis, and we just need to continue that across the course of the next four days," he said.

“If we put ourselves in with an opportunity of winning the game on day four then that is all we can ask for of the players and the group.

“The worm will turn, we are hoping that it is this game but if we keep going the way we are, hopefully, we will get our rewards soon.”

Heading to the north east off the back of an unbeaten start to the campaign, captain Will Rhodes has warned his Bears teammates that Durham will be no pushovers.

“We have played some very good cricket in the last two games, but now we face a very tough game at Durham," he said. "They are a good team who have recruited really well in the last couple of years. We will see what the pitch is like and might have to rethink our strategy to see how we are going to try to win up there.

"We will travel north with a lot of confidence after the last two games. Now the challenge for us is to keep hitting those standards. We have just got to be hard to beat. To make it three wins out of three would be pretty special so the lads have been back in training working really hard to be as prepared as we can be for Durham."

What's the weather forecast?

Light showers are scheduled throughout days one and two at Chester-le-Street, with play likely to be intermittent if it goes ahead. The next two days are less damp but remain overcast and cold, with temperatures dropping to six degrees at points as our 'summer' game gets underway at The Emirates Riverside for the second time in two weeks. 

Keep up to date with the MetOffice’s rolling forecast for Chester-le-Street: Click here

How do I follow the match?

TV/stream: Durham will offer live coverage of the match via their website: Click here

All County Championship matches are also available via the ECB's central hub: Click here

The matches can also be viewed on mobile via the ECB app.

Radio: BBC Local Radio and the BBC Sport website will carry ball-by-ball radio commentary of the game. 

Digital: The Cricketer will carry live scorecards and daily updates from every County Championship match in 2021, as well as the latest breaking news from around the counties and exclusive features. Visit our County Hub for more. 

Going to the game?

Tickets: This match is to be played behind closed doors owing to Covid-19 restrictions. 

Travel: Not applicable owing to Covid-19 restrictions.

Prediction?

Warwickshire look like a side that means business this season and but for the weather and the looming presence of Bedingham in Durham's middle order would be favourites to make it three wins in three. Expect wickets to tumble in between rain breaks but both sides to run out of time in the hunt for 20 wickets. A draw.

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