Durant Cricket National Counties Championship - Round 2 Preview

Essex batter Josh Rymell will make his first appearance for Suffolk in two years in the Durant Cricket National Counties Championship Eastern Division One match against Lincolnshire at Sleaford which starts on Sunday. 

Rymell’s only previous appearance in the three-day competition came against Cambridgeshire at Bury St Edmunds in July 2021 since when his commitments with Essex have restricted his availability for his native county. 

But the former Ipswich School pupil is not required by Essex this weekend and has been included in a 12-man squad by Suffolk who were beaten by Staffordshire in their Championship opener two weeks ago. 

Left-arm seamer Matt Wareing is set to make his first appearance of the season for Suffolk with two potential Championship debutants in Arthur Summers and Tom Harper also included in the squad. 

Lincolnshire, who were runners-up last season, have included six of the side that faced Berkshire in last year’s Championship final for their opening match in this season’s competition. 

There are three potential Championship debutants – Lewis Graham, Qundeel Haider and Alex King - in a 12-man squad. 

Staffordshire and Buckinghamshire, who both won their opening matches, meet at West Bromwich Dartmouth. 

Staffordshire have called up Checkley batter Tom Moulton and Moddershall & Oulton all-rounder Dan Richardson to replace the unavailable Zen Malik and Rory Haydon. 

Former Derbyshire and Lancashire seamer Liam Hurt is back on National Counties duty having taken four second innings wickets to help Worcestershire Second XI defeat Glamorgan at New Road this week. 

Buckinghamshire have also made two changes to the side that beat Norfolk with opening batter Ewan Cox and seamer Tom Weymes replacing Jake Tarling and Teddy Fleming. 

Herefordshire has included contracted Worcestershire pair Rehaan Edavalath and Henry Cullen in their side for the Western Division One match against Cheshire at Alderley Edge. 

Off-spinner Edavalath, who made his first-class debut against Derbyshire last month, will be making his National Counties debut and batter Cullen his first appearance of the season for Herefordshire. 

Ben Chapman-Lilley, Nick Hammond and James Rudge all return having missed the draw with Oxfordshire at Eastnor. 

Cheshire gives a debut to wicketkeeper/batter Owen Feakes, who captains Flowery Field, with former Glamorgan batter Joe Cooke set for his first Championship appearance for them having played 10 times in the competition for Hertfordshire. 

Former Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Hampshire slow left-armer David Wainwright makes his first appearance of the season as Cheshire’s red ball professional. 

Oxfordshire gives a Championship debut to Gloucestershire seamer Jared Warner, who has already featured for them in white ball cricket this season, against defending champions Berkshire at Thame. 

Aston Rowant opening batter Ollie Ebsworth-Burland makes his seasonal bow at a ground on which he has made two centuries and a fifty at Church Meadow. This will be just the sixth Championship match that Ebsworth-Burland has played but his fourth at Thame. 

Berkshire will not need reminding of the damage that Ebsworth-Burland inflicted on them at Thame two years ago when he followed up 81 in the first innings with a century to set up a 283 runs victory. 

Oxfordshire batter Marcus Campopiano is missing this weekend as he is playing for Italy in the ICC World T20 European Qualifier tournament in Edinburgh. 

Essex seamer Aaron Beard will make his National Counties debut for Hertfordshire in their Eastern Division Two match against Cumbria at Bishop’s Stortford. 

Beard played in the Vitality Blast T20 final at Edgbaston last Saturday but is not required by Essex this weekend and so will play alongside his former county team-mate Jack Plom for Hertfordshire. 

Chinmay Mullapudi and Charlie Mumford will make their Championship debuts and opening batter Arjun Patel his seasonal bow for Hertfordshire. 

Cumbria have made one change to the side that was beaten by Bedfordshire with slow left-armer Matt Siddall returning in place of Ed Moulton. 

Northumberland will have two contracted Durham players, Harry Crawshaw and Ross Whitfield, in their side against Bedfordshire at Bedford School. 

Crawshaw will be making his National Counties debut and Whitfield his first appearance in the Championship. 

Oli McGee will captain Northumberland in the absence of Stuart Poynter with Nikhil Gorantla and Alasdair Appleby coming into the side that was beaten by Cambridgeshire. 

Bedfordshire are missing Harry Gouldstone and Gus Miller, who are required by Northamptonshire, but Ed Ballard and James Lowe are available and batter Fayaz Homyoon will make his first appearance of the season. 

In Western Division Two Shropshire welcome back batters George Hargrave and Ollie Westbury for their match against Cornwall at Bridgnorth. 

Both made centuries when the sides last met at Bridgnorth two years ago with former Worcestershire man Westbury getting his for Cornwall. 

Jack Home and Luke Thornton make way from the side that spent most of the three days of a rain-ruined draw with Wales NC confined to the pavilion at Brymbo. 

Cornwall again includes Kent all-rounder Alex Blake, who made a century on debut against Dorset, and welcome back all-rounder Tommy Sturgess from injury in place of Liam Weeks. 

Wiltshire begins their three-day season against Wales NC at Corsham where former Glamorgan batsman Tom Cullen will be a familiar face to the visitors. 

Wales have named an unchanged squad from the one that drew with Shropshire. 

Durant Cricket National Counties Championship 

July 23-25 (11am) 

Eastern Division One 

Sleaford: Lincolnshire v Suffolk, West Bromwich Dartmouth: Staffordshire v Buckinghamshire. 

Western Division One 

Alderley Edge: Cheshire v Herefordshire, Thame: Oxfordshire v Berkshire. 

Eastern Division One 

Bishop’s Stortford: Hertfordshire v Cumbria, Bedford School: Bedfordshire v Northumberland. 

Western Division Two 

Bridgnorth: Shropshire v Cornwall, Corsham: Wiltshire v Wales NC.