Essex v Durham
LV= Insurance County Championship
The Cloudfm County Ground
Thursday 15 – Sunday 18 April
11am start
Essex continue their LV= Insurance County Championship campaign when they entertain Durham at The Cloudfm County Ground starting on Thursday.
Essex are looking to restart an enviable record of home successes having previously won 11 successive red-ball matches at Chelmsford before the run ended with the drawn affair with Worcestershire in the opening match of the season.
Squad:
Watch: Westley talks Durham:
Injury/Absentees News:
Essex name an unchanged 14-man squad but will again be without Aaron Beard who is recovering from a groin strain. Meanwhile Australian pacemen Peter Siddle is expected to be available to take his place in the side for the fixture with Warwickshire at Edgbaston starting next week.
Opposition:
Following a stint with Surrey, all-rounder Scott Borthwick returned to the County during the winter being one of several players returning to their former roots that also included Ben Raine and Paul Coughlin.
Durham also persuaded Sean Dickson to up sticks and move from Kent where he joins ex-Yorkshire Alex Lees in the batting. Left-hander Lees led the batting for his side in last year’s Bob Willis Trophy campaign with 386 runs whilst the bowling attack includes former Essex player Matt Salisbury.
One to Watch:
South Africa born batsman David Bedingham began the season in excellent nick, making 237 against Nottinghamshire. The 26-year-old’s second-innings of 180 not out was his best first-class score and spanned just 228 balls.
Head-to-Head:
The two teams last contested a red-ball affair back in September 2010 when the outcome at Chelmsford was a draw.
On that occasion, Essex scored 268 and 367 (Matt Walker 105, Alastair Cook 68) with their opponents collapsing to 5-4 before rallying to 177 (Chris Wright 5/70) and then 234-6.
In the 16 Championship clashes thus far, Essex boasts eight victories and Durham three whilst five matches have been drawn.
Potential Milestones:
Alastair Cook requires 49 runs to reach 9,000 first-class runs for Essex.
Dan Lawrence requires 243 runs to reach 4,000 first-class runs for Essex.
Adam Wheater requires 107 runs to reach 3,000 first-class runs for Essex.
Jamie Porter requires 12 more wickets to record 350 first-class wickets for Essex.
Sam Cook requires 1 more wicket to record 100 first-class wickets for Essex.
How To Watch:
Our Live Stream service will be available across all four days of this game from 11am, which also includes player stats, scorecards and clips throughout the day. Access via the Essex Cricket Matchzone is available here.
