Durham out to prove T20 credentials, says head coach Ryan Campbell

Campbell admits that before his arrival, red-ball cricket was the primary focus of the north east county.

But the former head coach of the Netherlands wanted to create a team to compete across all fronts.

Durham have lifted three County Championship titles, but they are one of only four counties yet to win the T20 Blast.

They have only been to Finals Day twice, their best finish in the competition being defeat to Northamptonshire Steelbacks in the final in 2016.

Last year, they sneaked into the quarter-finals in fourth place in the North Group only to lose away to Surrey.

But they have been stronger again this season with eight wins from 13 completed matches in finishing as runners-up to Lancashire and they have this home quarter-final with Hampshire as their reward.

“I’ve made it no secret that when I came to Durham, I wanted us to be the best club in England,” said Campbell.

“To do that, you can’t just be good at red-ball cricket. You have to be good at everything.

“Making the quarter-final last year, everyone was pretty happy about it, but to draw someone like Surrey first up down south is a big ask.

“So we made it a real goal to host our own quarter-final – we wanted to bring someone from down south up to us.”