DURHAM V SURREY at Chester-le-Street (RCC)
29 JULY - 1 AUGUST 2025

Eighth in Division One play host to the leaders. Surrey moved a little further ahead of Notts in the last round of matches, by notching up maximum batting points in yet another Kookaburra-inspired run-fest; this time at Scarborough, where Dom Sibley became the first batter this summer to go past 1,000 first-class runs. The 29-year-old now has 1,028 at an average of 73.42, although Northants' Saif Zaib (with 1,045) has since edged ahead to lead the pack.

Somerset's victory over Durham at Taunton, sealed in just two days, bucked the trend in the third of four rounds with the detested Kookaburra. The result leaves Durham hovering above the relegation zone (assuming this year's schedule is retained), while Yorkshire fell one place into it following Essex's victory by an innings over Sussex at Hove.

Alex Lees (768 championship runs at 48.00), Emilio Gay (632 at 45.14) and Graham Clark (614 at 51.16) have all notched up 500 or more for this season for Durham, who could do with Colin Ackermann (495 at 33.00) and Ben McKinney (350 at 31.81) upping their output.

Just two Durham bowlers have taken more than 17 championship wickets this term - Ben Raine (30 at 29.40 runs apiece) and Matty Potts (20 at 38.05), which means the return of Codi Yusuf (17 victims at 20.94 in four appearances) is most welcome. But as with their batting, the Riversiders' problem appears to be their reliance on a handful of key individuals.

Surrey v Durham - First-Class Records Sheet

Rory Burns (13,865) is approaching 14,000 first-class career runs, while Ben Foakes has 495 f-c dismissals as a wicketkeeper. Dan Lawrence, Ravi Sai Kishore and Dan Worrall will start with 49, 196 and 395 f-c wickets respectively. Durham's Ben Raine will start with 491 first-class career wickets, plus Colin Ackermann (11,899 f-c runs) has a landmark coming into view.

Sam Curran, Ben Foakes and Tom Lawes return, while Matt Fisher (ankle injury), Will Jacks (rested) and Jamie Overton (called-up to the England squad for the final Test v India) drop out. Cam Steel and James Taylor are also named in the South Londoners' party.

The Kookaburra ball combined with a forecast for day three that looks decidedly wet suggests draw. Furthermore, Surrey's five away games so far this season have produced over 6,000 runs at an average of 48.70. The objective for both sides = batting bonus points.

A.Lees (capt), B.McKinney, E.Gay, C.Ackermann, O.Robinson (wk), G.Clark, G.Drissell, B.Raine, M.Potts, C.Yusuf and M.Killeen.

James Middlebrook and Steve O'Shaughnessy.

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