Match times, streaming information, tickets and travel, team news, head-to-head record, weather forecast, prediction, and everything else you need to know ahead of the latest round of the County Championship...
Fixture: Durham v Derbyshire
Venue: Emirates Riverside, Chester-le-Street
Dates: Thursday, April 22, 2021 - Sunday, April 25, 2021
Start time: 11am
What's the lowdown?
Without a win in their opening two games yet Durham will be encouraged by their start to the season. They failed to break down Nottinghamshire on day four in the opening game and had Essex sweating for long period sin the second match of the campaign.
At Fortress Chelmsford they held a lead of 144 runs, with the reigning champions two down in the second innings. However, from that moment on the hosts had things largely all their own way, though Durham were 83 for 3 in pursuit of 168 to win before Simon Harmer clicked into gear and complete a 10-wicket haul.
Weather very much disrupted Derbyshire in the first game at Warwickshire, a contest they were very competitive in thanks to Matt Critchley and Harvey Hosein.
But for Ben Cox they would be arriving at Chester-le-Street with a victory over Worcestershire, after falling two wickets short of capping off a dominant display. Critchley was once again inspired with bat and ball but it wasn't enough. This is a quickly-improving Derbyshire side, who also impressed during last season's Bob Willis Trophy, and have picked up from where they left off in 2020.
Who's in form?
Critchley is surely the player of the season so far if such a thing exists after two rounds. Three-hundred and forty runs and 10 wickets via his entertaining leg-spinner makes him easily Derbyshire's outstanding performer of the campaign.
New ball pair Chris Rushworth and Matt Salisbury have started the season in typically potent form, having collected 17 scalps between them, and are key to backing up a batting order which has a tinge of reliability about it.
Last five first-class matches (most recent first)
Durham: LDDDD
Derbyshire: DDLDD
Head-to-head first-class record
Total matches: 29
Durham wins: 13
Derbyshire wins: 6
Draws: 10
Abandoned: 2
What's the team news?
Durham: Brydon Carse is missing after picking up an ankle injury at Essex. Matty Potts is added to the squad.
Mark Wood has been in the nets in the northeast this week but his return has been put back.
Durham squad: Scott Borthwick (c), David Bedingham, Jack Burnham, Paul Coughlin, Ned Eckersley, Ben Raine, Chris Rushworth, Alex Lees, Matthew Potts, Stuart Poynter (wk) Matt Salisbury, Alex Thomson, Will Young
Derbyshire: Batter Tom Wood and seamer George Scrimshaw have been added to the squad for the trip to Chester-le-Street. Dustin Melton misses out with a muscle injury and Billy Stanlake is not yet available after his domestic duties in Australia came to an end.
Derbyshire squad: Billy Godleman (c), Luis Reece, Tom Wood, Leus du Plooy, Wayne Madsen, Matt Critchley, Alex Hughes, Harvey Hosein, Brooke Guest, Fynn Hudson-Prentice, Michael Cohen, Ben Aitchison, Sam Conners, George Scrimshaw
Latest Durham news: Click here
Latest Derbyshire news: Click here
Who's said what?
Despite still being without a victory after two games, Durham coach James Franklin has been impressed by his side's performances.
"I have been delighted and the other coaches have been delighted with our performances so far," he said.
"Although we haven’t had a win yet, we had a really good performance down at Trent Bridge and yes, we lost the last game against Essex, with a slip up in the last hour of the game, but the performance and the way we drove that game for three and a bit days, was really good to see."
Aitchison is also buoyed by Derbyshire's start to the campaign after draws in their opening two matches.
"We’ve played some really good cricket but not managed to get the result we deserved, which can happen, but as a bowling unit and a batting unit, we performed really well,” he said.
"At Warwickshire, we managed to fight our way into the game, despite having one off-day, and (against Worcestershire), we’ve only just come up short. If we keep playing that brand of cricket all season, we will definitely pick up some wins."
What's the weather forecast?
Reaching a positively balmy 16 degrees on days one and two, the weather is set fair in the northeast with no rain anticipated over the four days.
Keep up to date with the MetOffice’s rolling forecast for Emirates Riverside: Click here
How do I follow the match?
TV/stream: Durham will offer live coverage of the match via their website: Click here
All County Championship matches are also available via the ECB's central hub: Click here
The matches can also be viewed on mobile via the ECB app.
Radio: BBC Local Radio and the BBC Sport website will carry ball-by-ball radio commentary of the game.
Digital: The Cricketer will carry live scorecards and daily updates from every County Championship match in 2021, as well as the latest breaking news from around the counties and exclusive features. Visit our County Hub for more.
Going to the game?
Tickets: This match is to be played behind closed doors owing to Covid-19 restrictions.
Travel: Not applicable owing to Covid-19 restrictions.
Prediction?
Derbyshire's batting unit looked solid in their draw with Worcestershire, and with the firing Critchley it would be a surprise if they were rolled. However, Rushworth is a famously tricky customer on home turf and you'd expect Durham's in-form bowling arsenal to take 20 wickets. Home win.
OTHER MATCH PREVIEWS
Group 1
Worcestershire v Nottinghamshire
Group 2
Group 3
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