Preview: Durham v Kent
Durham open their Rothesay County Championship Division two campaign against Kent at the Banks Home Riverside on Friday.
Durham find themselves in Division two following a disappointing season last year which saw them relegated in the last round of fixtures after defeat to Yorkshire.
Knowing that survival was in their own hands due to Surrey defeating Hampshire, Durham knew they had to avoid defeat to stay up. However they capitulated to 85 all out and lost by an innings and 44 runs which saw themselves relegated alongside Worcestershire.
As the 2026 season commences this week Durham will be hoping to rebuild and push for promotion back into Division one at the first opportunity. They take on a Kent side who had a miserable season of their own finishing bottom of the table winning only two of their 14 games in last seasons competition.
Kent made the perfect start last season winning their opening two games against Northamptonshire and Middlesex but failed to win any of their next 12 games drawing 6 and losing 6.
Pre-season plans were disrupted for Durham as they had planned to go to Abu Dhabi but that was cancelled due to the situation in the middle east. Durham played two warm up fixtures, a two-day game vs Sussex and a three-day friendly against Durham University which saw them win by 266 runs including a century from Will Rhodes.
Overseas Impact
Durham recruited West Indian international Kemar Roach to bolster their bowling ranks as he joins until June. David Bedingham returns for his 6th season at Durham where he has became a fan favourite and sits 11th on the all time list for first class runs for Durham.
Kent have acquired two South African bowlers Glenton Stuurman and Keith Dudgeon. Dudgeon played one game for Kent where he claimed 8 wickets including 7-36 in one innings before a knee injury ended his stint there.
Players to watch
Emilio Gay was Durham’s highest run scorer last season with 954 runs with Alex Lees just below him with 950 runs. With uncertainty surrounding Zak Crawley’s place in England’s top order, both men will be hoping to start the season strong – and stake claim for themselves to be in the conversation come June when England kick off their test summer.
One person who will be in that conversation is Kent’s Zak Crawley. The current England number one has came under scrutiny from England fans due to him failing to grab the position with both hands.
He will be hoping to score big runs in the first block of county fixtures and cement his place in the England team. Ben Compton scored 1386 runs last year and will be another batter to keep an eye on.
Bowling wise Matthew Potts and Nathan Gilchrist are the two standout bowlers who are both on England’s radar. Potts played in the final ashes test but was expensive as he went for 0/141 in the first innings. He will be hoping to rediscover his form last time Durham were in Division two as he took 54 wickets to spearhead Durham to promotion.
Gilchrist is a 6ft 5 fast bowler who recently toured Australia with the England Lions taking 4/128 against Australia A. He took 23 wickets in 10 innings in last years campaign and will be hoping to impress on Friday.
Predicted Teams
Durham: Lees, McKinney, Gay, Bedingham, Rhodes, Robinson (WK), Clark, Aldridge, Raine, Potts, Roach
Kent: Compton, Crawley, Northeast, Muyeye, Bell-Drummond, Stewart, Evison, Benjamin (WK), Stuurman, Dudgeon, Parkinson
Betting Odds
Paddy Power have Durham favourites at 2/5 to win whereas Kent are 15/8 to win.
