DURHAM will be without Steve Harmison because of a shin injury and Michael Di Venuto with a groin strain in today’s Friends Provident Trophy tie at Headingley.

Luke Evans, the 6ft 7in seamer from Sunderland, will make his competitive debut and Kyle Coetzer comes in for his first appearance of the season. The regulations allow Coetzer to play, despite having already appeared in the event for Scotland.

Both sides will go into the match believing they can still qualify for the quarter-finals, although Durham would have to win their three remaining games and hope all other results went their way. That would involve three defeats for Sussex, while Surrey would have to lose at home to Gloucestershire today then beat Yorkshire.

Three wins for Yorkshire might be good enough, but they will certainly need to win at Hove next Monday. Sussex also face Gloucestershire at home and Surrey away.

If Durham lose today they will be tempted to give their casualties, who also include Callum Thorp, an extended rest and take the opportunity to give experience to other youngsters like Scott Borthwick.

They are at The Oval on Friday, after which their ridiculously hectic schedule begins to ease with the only game in the following ten days being the final FPT group tie at home to Gloucestershire next Wednesday.

After that comes the opening Twenty20 Cup tie at Trent Bridge on May 25 and after their disappointing showing in the 50-over event Durham will use some of the rest period to sharpen up their T20 skills.

There is a chance that David Warner will not arrive in time for the first game. While Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah couldn’t get a game for Delhi Daredevils, the Australian T20 specialist has been opening the batting and has helped them to the top of their group.

Warner is averaging 36 with a strike rate of 124 per 100 balls and looks likely to be required for the final stages. The semi-finals are on May 22 and 23, with the final on the 24th.

Warner is the only specialist in Australia’s 15-man squad for the World T20 Championship, in which their first match is on June 6, so there is also a danger of him having to miss Durham’s match at Old Trafford on June 4.

Hopefully he will be available for at least four of the first batch of six T20 games for Durham, then the final four on June 23-28.

Durham: W R Smith (capt), P Mustard, K J Coetzer, I D Blackwell, D M Benkenstein, G J Muchall, G R Breese, L E Plunkett, W R Gidman, M E Claydon, L Evans.