Durham preview: Worcestershire dial in for date with Stokes-boosted Durham

Rothesay County Championship Division Two: Worcestershire v Durham

Venue: New Road, Worcestershire

Date: Friday 8th May

Scheduled start time: 11am

Match preview sponsored by MSN Pharmacy Group.

Having surrendered their unbeaten start to 2026 in last week’s defeat away at Northamptonshire, Alan Richardson’s side return to New Road looking for a reaction as they prepare to host Durham in their next Rothesay County Championship assignment.

With the memory of an impressive three day win over Kent last time out at home still fresh in the mind, the Pears will be hoping to stifle the threat of the returning England captain, Ben Stokes.

Gareth Roderick’s dogged 164 threw his side a lifeline at the County Ground over the weekend, with the Pears’ number three batter enjoying life back towards the top of the order in the early stages of the 2026 campaign.

Adam Hose showed encouraging signs in the second innings at Northamptonshire that he is getting back into the groove, scoring a brisk 33 in typically positive fashion from number four, where the experienced campaigner will be hoping to kick on this week.

Dan Lategan has made a typically bright start to the Rothesay County Championship this summer, with the exciting teenager keen to show his full potential after making two eye catching half-centuries in the early forays of the season.

With the ball, it is all eyes on Tom Taylor, who returns to New Road leading the way for Worcestershire, having notched 17 wickets @ 27.1 so far in 2026.

Worcestershire youngster Dan Lategan is brimming with excitement ahead of a hotly anticipated matchup with the current Division Two leaders, Durham, on Friday.

The highly regarded opening batter has shown glimpses of his class throughout the early stages of the Rothesay County Championship season, scoring 308 runs in seven innings, averaging 44 on his way to cementing himself as a linchpin of the side.   

With an irrepressible cover drive and a particular liking for the short ball, the Pears’ teenage ace looks the real deal.   

A high-class 89 away at Derbyshire in the opening round of the season laid a marker down, before several fast starts have seen the left-hander race to 30, but struggle to regularly kick on.   

More desperate than anyone to cash in on his bright starts, the batter says watching his experienced counterparts go about their work in the middle is the biggest help he could wish for. 

“I am really enjoying being at the top of the order, and have made a couple of nice starts but am yet to kick on and make that really big score as Rodders did at Northants, which was a huge hundred and something that gave me a lot to learn from.  

“It comes down to time in the middle. Being at the top of the order, it is about staying concentrated, and if you want to make that big score, you need to take it ball by ball.  

“I try my best at the top of the order, and it is a bit easier given how strong our batting line-up is that I can try and be confident and lead from the top and win games for Worcestershire.”  

Known for his positive intent and infectious competitive nature, Lategan may well be going toe-to-toe with a master of his craft, with England Captain Ben Stokes in line to make his first domestic appearance of the season this week.   

A timely return to action from one of the game’s greats only adds to the strength of the visitors’ team on paper, with the likes of Emilio Gay, Alex Lees and Matthew Potts all enjoying prominent starts to 2026 for the Division One leaders.  

However, Lategan is excited about the opportunity to square off with the frontrunners, reminding everyone how hard his side has been working to ensure they are best prepared for Friday’s showdown.   

“We have played a lot of good sides over the past month, and now Durham could potentially be lining up with Ben Stokes, which would make for a really exciting challenge, but we will see how they line up on the day and try our best to beat what is in front of us.  

“They have a very high-quality bowling line up, and they bat deep, so we know the quality that they possess and what they can do, but we have prepared well over these last few days and want to bring our best on Friday.” 

Captain: Alex Lees

Table position: 1st

One to watch: Ben Stokes

The early season pace setters in Division Two travel to New Road this Friday looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign, with the Chester-le-Street outfit looking to return to the topflight at the first time of asking, having suffered a shock relegation on the final day of the 2025 season.

In confident mood after mounting up 567 against Middlesex at Lords, Friday’s visitors will be hoping that the likes of Matthew Potts, Ben Raine and Kasey Aldridge can extend their bright start to the season with the ball.

Opening batter Emilio Gay led the way for Durham last summer with nigh on 1,000 runs in Division One, and has started 2026 in similarly sublime touch, registering three centuries, racking up 473 runs at an average of 94.

However, Worcestershire will have to contend with another standout name slightly lower down on the batting card, with a certain Ben Stokes set to make his first competitive appearance of the summer for his county after being declared fit to return from injury.