Durham Match Thread 2026

[Durhamfootman]

Durham knocked out of the FA cup T20 county cup (I think it's a straight knock out comp) at the first time of asking

167-5 in our 20, which Notts knocked off in the 19th over

No Mady Villiers, which surprised me.... maybe she's injured, maybe we wanted to rest her, maybe the test selectors wanted her to attend a team dinner somewhere... Joburg perhaps

whatever the reason, we clearly missed her

No Heather Graham either... missed her too

Quite easy to tell that we were probably short on batting options when Grace Thompson comes in at 5

[captaincolly]

Durham knocked out of the FA cup T20 county cup (I think it's a straight knock out comp) at the first time of asking

167-5 in our 20, which Notts knocked off in the 19th over

No Mady Villiers, which surprised me.... maybe she's injured, maybe we wanted to rest her, maybe the test selectors wanted her to attend a team dinner somewhere... Joburg perhaps

whatever the reason, we clearly missed her

No Heather Graham either... missed her too

Quite easy to tell that we were probably short on batting options when Grace Thompson comes in at 5

Definitely. A shame to fall at the first hurdle. These fixtures seem more random than ever, jumping from one format to the next.

[captaincolly]

I may not have been entirely honest in any line of that last post

Hehe.
I'm with you - would take a draw now . There's potential now for trouble, Northants win probably just about the least likely result right now but that could change quickly.

[Durhamfootman]

we have form

[Durhamfootman]

Hmm....

Northants have 3 Australians in their side. Presumably one must qualify on a dual passport or something, but which one... not Nathan McSweeney, that's for sure

[Durhamfootman]

Maybe one of genial Darren Lehmann's signings managed to sandpaper the nationality off his passport

[Durhamfootman]

interesting piece about Robbo from Nick Friend at the Cricketer mag

"It wasn't long ago that Ollie Robinson was in New Zealand, flown in after Jordan Cox – who was meant to keep wicket for England, with Jamie Smith on paternity leave – had broken a thumb in the buildup to the series.

But Robinson's passport was midway through its renewal, in the hands of Royal Mail, when Brendon McCullum phoned with the news. It meant embarking on a nationwide wild goose chase – driving 161 miles to Liverpool because Durham's passport office was closed due to wind damage – which also meant arriving in Christchurch in time to toast victory in the first Test, but not to play in it.

Without the bureaucracy, Robinson would have been with the squad in time for the start and, in all likelihood, would have debuted. He'd never been to a Test match before and, since the end of that tour, hasn't been to another.

Instead, Ollie Pope was behind the stumps and, having forced his way into international contention as a high-quality wicketkeeper and a consistent batter, his form has rather plateaued in the 18 months since that missed opportunity."

[Durhamfootman]

I'm trying to remember if I knew about that. I don't think I did, but then it was a couple of years ago and my brain is porridge

[Durhamfootman]

he goes on

"He managed just 594 runs in last year's County Championship as Durham were relegated from Division One. Before then, plenty of toil had gone into earning the New Zealand opening; he'd averaged 58.18 in 2023, only to lose out to Smith when England moved on from Ben Foakes, and he scored another 871 runs in 2024 to keep himself in the conversation. If he'd managed the same in 2025 and cemented himself as understudy, he'd likely have had Smith's spot in the last week, when James Rew took the gloves in his absence.

But the game can be cruel, and you can understand how a fallow period might follow the preceding feast, so much having gone into that initial quest. A valuable, consequential knock on Sunday, against second-placed Northamptonshire, is both what the doctor ordered and, for a player of his ability and work ethic, long overdue."

a fair point, and one I hadn't considered in the last couple of seasons

[captaincolly]

I don't think I'd heard that. The downturn in form did coincide with the England talk so it's probably no coincide that his confidence was dented and the feeling of what if?

[captaincolly]

2 wickets in the first half hour so it looks as if the dreaded scenario is unfolding!

[captaincolly]

And now it's overcast!

[Durhamfootman]

Bowled them out for 250

62-1 in reply, needing another 234

We are probably in a pretty strong position, but I just hope we don't do anything stupid. It'll take me a while to get over the horror of that final afternoon in 2025.

My nerves will be jangling, so I think I'll avoid following it and just have a look at 6pm to find out what happened

[Durhamfootman]

well done, boys!

never in doubt

I confess that checked in at what I thought would have been about tea, but was actually a few overs past the tea interval and at that point we were blimbling along at 3 an over, still needing plenty of runs at 5 an over, so I figured that we probably weren't going for it, but Bedders and Ackers must have put the after burners on and got us home easily.

That's a very fine win against a very decent Northants side and despite Kent winning their game, we have extended our lead at the top to 32 points.... effectively 2 wins clear with 6 to play

Good that Bedders made a big score after his disappointing first innings nick off, and justification for our bringing in of Ackers to replace Stokesy.

and to genial Darren Lehmann..... thanks for playing..... V

[Durhamfootman]

That's a very fine win against a very decent Northants side

particularly since we very generously gifted them about 200 runs in the first innings