Durham vs Gloucestershire, County Championship Divison Two, Today Match Prediction 10 July 2023

dur vs glo Match Prediction & Analysis

Durham is sitting pretty at the top of the County Championship Division Two table with 131 points. They have won four matches and lost only one this season. Durham’s next assignment will be against Gloucestershire, who are struggling to stay afloat in the competition. After eight games in the season, Gloucestershire are yet to win a match and are in seventh place with 60 points. They still have six games left to make amends. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

Durham Preview

Durham have had the near-perfect season so far. In their last five games, they have won three and drawn two. Their success this season has been largely due to the performance of their batting unit. Oliver Robinson leads the batting charts with a whopping 734 runs in 8 matches at an average of 66.72. He is fresh off an unbeaten 167 against Leicestershire – his highest score this season – and will be the batter to watch out for in this game.

Captain Alex Lees, too, had a wonderful game against Leicestershire, scoring 101 and 145 in the two innings. His season tally now stands at 699 runs from 8 matches at an average of 53.76. Another batter who has been consistent for Durham this season is David Bedingham (667 runs in 8 matches at an average of 55.58).

When it comes to bowling, fast bowlers Ben Raine (38 wickets in 8 matches at an average of 23.78) and Matthew Potts (34 wickets in 6 matches at an average of 21.67) have been the standout performers for Durham this season. Raine, in fact, took eight wickets on a flat surface at Grace Road in the previous game against Leicestershire.

Durham Predicted Playing XI:

Alex Lees (c), Michael Jones, Scott Borthwick, David Bedingham, Oliver Robinson (wk), Graham Clark, Liam Trevaskis, Ben Raine, Stanley McAlindon, Matthew Potts, Raymond Toole

Gloucestershire Preview

Gloucestershire have been let down by their batting this season. Overseas batter Marcus Harris is their highest run-scorer this season, with 457 runs in just 5 matches at an average of 57.12. Harris, however, has been called up in Australia’s Ashes squad this summer, leaving Gloucestershire without their best batter. 
Miles Hammond (412 runs in 7 matches at an average of 37.45) has done well this season for the team, and in Harris’ absence, he will need to take on more responsibility.

Oliver Price (316 runs in 5 matches at an average of 45.14) is another batter to watch out for. The batting allrounder scored a brilliant 113 in the first innings of Gloucestershire’s last match against Yorkshire at Headingley.

Overseas spinner Zafar Gohar has been Gloucestershire’s best bowler this season. The slow left-arm orthodox bowler has taken 19 wickets in 7 matches at an average of 49.94. Right-arm fast bowler Tom Price (15 wickets in 6 matches at an average of 36.53) has done a decent job as well. We are also backing Zaman Akhter to do well in this match. The fast bowler has grabbed 10 wickets in just 3 matches at an average of 31.70.

Gloucestershire Predicted Playing XI:

Grant Roelofsen, Miles Hammond, Ben Charlesworth, MD Taylor, James Bracey (wk), Graeme van Buuren (c), Zaman Akhter, Chris Dent, Oliver Price, Tom Price, Zafar Gohar

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street is a batting beauty. The ball comes on nicely to the bat and batters have had a great time milking runs on all parts of the ground. Bowlers will have to toil hard to get wickets here. However, the weather during the first two days of the match is expected to be mostly cloudy with a couple of thundershowers. That should help the seam bowlers get some movement off the air.

Venue Details

The average first innings score at the Riverside Ground in the county championship is 364. The highest total posted here this season is 630 by Durham against Glamorgan. Totals of 400+ have been posted five times at the venue this season in six matches. The team batting first should look to post a total in the range of 450 runs.

Toss: To Bat

The Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street has favored the team batting first this season. Out of the four matches played at the venue this season in the county championship, two have been won by the team batting first, one has been drawn, while one was clinched by the chasing side by just 1 wicket. The team winning the toss here is likely to bat first.