MATCH PREVIEW: Durham v Lancashire
Match Preview ahead of our trip North to face Durham
Durham v Lancashire
Rothesay County Championship, Division Two
Friday April 24 - Monday April 27, 2026, 11am
Banks Homes Riverside
It’s early days, of course, and there is an acceptance from within the Lancashire dressing room that they are yet to fully fire performance wise, but the Red Rose are in position A1 when it comes to the Division table.
A draw at Northamptonshire followed by victories over Derbyshire and Gloucestershire at home and away, Steven Croft and Sir James Anderson et al are the early pace-setters in Division Two.
Talking of A1, that’s where the county are heading next. They travel up to the North East to tackle a Durham side who started the season at the top of the betting markets alongside Lancashire in terms of promotion.
They have started the season with a draw and win from the opening two matches and sit fourth in the table.
While Lancashire’s rest week comes at the end of this fixture, Durham have just had theirs.
Opposition
Durham are back in Division Two following relegation last year.
They suffered an incredible batting collapse during the final afternoon of the summer, against Yorkshire at Headingley, when all they needed to do was bat out the final two sessions for a draw and survival.
Captain Alex Lees and co were bowled out for just 85.
While opening batter Lees leads the side, they are coached by Australian Ryan Campbell ahead of the 2023 season.
Campbell led the county to the Division Two title in his first season in charge, an aim he has once more in 2026.
There is no doubt that Lancashire will be tested in this contest which arguably takes top billing as the match of the round across either division of the Rothesay County Championship.
Emilio Gay, the ex-Northamptonshire left-hander, was their leading four-day run-scorer last summer with 954 and started this summer with a century in their opening-round home draw with Kent at the start of the month.
They have a formidable pace attack, led by England fringe quick Matthew Potts. Fellow seamer Ben Raine was their leading wicket-taker last year with 44. Like Gay, he has started the new summer nicely. He took a five-for in the first innings of their win over Gloucestershire at Bristol.
New signing Kasey Aldridge, the former Somerset seam-bowling all-rounder, is part of that attack, as is West Indian overseas fast bowler Kemar Roach, a three-time Championship winner with Surrey between 2022 and 2024.
Their other overseas player is the South African international batter David Bedingham, who is with Durham for a seventh straight season.
Opposition player to watch
Top-order batter Emilio Gay led the way for Durham last summer with nigh on 1,000 runs in Division One, including a best of 161.
The left-hander then scored two half-centuries for the England Lions in Australia before Christmas.
With England Test places up for grabs, the 25-year-old Bedford School product - the same path which Sir Alastair Cook took - will be hoping to catch the eye.
And the early signs are good for Gay, whose first innings of the season yielded 128 in the home draw against Kent at the Riverside.
Gay can open the batting and started his career with Northamptonshire in that position in the 2020 summer. But he has been batting at number three during his two years with Durham, behind Lees and fellow Lion Ben McKinney.
Ironically, Zak Crawley, the man in possession of an England Test opener’s berth - which Gay could feasibly fill, was playing in the same game.
Previous meeting
This is the first clash between Lancashire and Durham since mid-September 2024 when the Red Rose were beaten by an innings and 63 runs on the road.
Unfortunately, that defeat was one of six that summer, which they finished second-bottom in Division One and relegated alongside Kent.
Durham finished mid-table in Division One that campaign.
The match in question saw Lancashire undone by a quite remarkable second-innings return of 9-68 from 24.2 overs from England Test seamer Matthew Potts.
Lancashire had been inserted and bowled out for 228 on day one. Matty Hurst made a middle-order 90 and Potts’ fellow new-ball seamer Ben Raine claimed 5-44. Potts chipped in with three wickets himself.
In reply, Durham strengthened their grip with 573-9 declared, including David Bedingham’s superb 279 and 186 from Colin Ackermann.
The hosts had been 99-4 before - through the bulk of day two and into day three - the aforementioned pair shared 425. That remains Durham’s highest ever partnership for any wicket and the highest fifth-wicket stand the Red Rose have ever had scored against them.
Luke Wells finished with four wickets and was then the only Lancashire batter not to be dismissed by Potts in the second innings as they were bowled out for 282.
At one point, Potts - en-route to a career best return - took three wickets in four balls.
What they said
Sir James Anderson, George Balderson and Keaton Jennings were the three standout performers in Lancashire’s most recent success, against Gloucestershire at Bristol.
Balderson claimed a career best nine-wicket match haul, Anderson struck seven times and Jennings contributed scores of 70 and 78 not out.
But, right at the end, a calm 31 from Arav Shetty to help the Red Rose close in on their 202-run target indicated a very promising cricketer.
All-rounder Shetty, who is batting in the lower middle order and bowls spin, was playing only his second Championship match after one at the back end of last summer.
And Lancashire fans can expect to see much more of the young Mancunian in the coming weeks, months and years.
“He’s a really exciting all-rounder,” said Red Rose head coach Steven Croft.
“Everyone saw his skills with the bat. Both of his innings were cut shorter than we’d have wanted (13 in the first innings), but there’s some definite talent there.
“I think he’s only going to get better and better the more he plays.
“He’s also got some brilliant tools (with the ball).
“With four-day cricket, like most people, he’ll gain that consistency with the ball.
“With the bat, he’s got a lot of good options as well. It’s just about honing in on them and building an innings.
“He’s 21-years-old and has an incredibly bright future.”
On the trip to Durham, Croft added: “They’re obviously a really strong side with a strong squad. It’ll be really exciting to get up there and get started.”
How’s Stat!
Keaton Jennings returns to familiar territory. Prior to joining Lancashire ahead of 2018, the left-hander, who posted twin half-centuries in last weekend’s win over Gloucestershire, spent six seasons with Durham.
In all first-class cricket at the Riverside, Jennings has scored 2,947 runs in 44 appearances, including 11 centuries.
All of those centuries were scored in a Durham shirt.
This weekend will mark his third first-class appearance - all in the Championship - for Lancashire against Durham at the Riverside.
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