DURHAM need to repel the threat of former teammate Melvyn Betts when he returns to the Riverside for the first time today since his winter move to Warwickshire.
Durham will go into the four-day match with the side which won the C and G Trophy tie against Hampshire on Wednesday, which leaves them thin on bowling.
Their highly-rated seam attack was badly weakened when Betts and John Wood both left in the winter, and with Steve Harmison and Neil Killeen still injured options are very limited.
Betts took five for 22 in Durham's second innings when they squandered a good position and lost by seven wickets at Edgbaston in early May.
Warwickshire are expected to field the same line-up as in that match, with England requesting that left-arm spinner Ashley Giles should not be risked after his injury. Although they looked the strongest team Durham have so far faced in division two, the visitors lost to leaders Middlesex last week and slipped to fourth place.
Off-spinner Nicky Phillips suffered a back spasm while bowling on Wednesday, but will be fit to play and can expect plenty of bowling.
Although their one-day form has been highly encouraging, Durham are already halfway through their championship programme with the only win coming courtesy of a generous declaration by Nottinghamshire.
Skipper Jon Lewis has lost the last five championship tosses, and has won only two of the last 12 in all competitions. He is desperately hoping that a change of luck will allow Durham to bat first and dictate the course of the game by posting a big total.
Although they are inclined to include an extra batsman compared with the team which lost at Southampton last week, no-one has pressed his claims in the second team.
That means Martin Speight will be given another chance, despite an average of 17.2 from his eight innings this season.
Durham: J J B Lewis (capt), M A Gough, M L Love, P D Collingwood, N Peng, M P Speight, D R Law, A Pratt, N C Phillips, S J E Brown, N G Hatch
Warwickshire (from): M J Powell (capt), N V Knight, M A Wagh, D L Hemp, D P Ostler, D R Brown, N M K Smith, K J Piper, V C Drakes, M M Betts, A Richardson, N M Carter.
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