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Durham in need of a quick win

Th Durham Dynamos get their Twenty20 home campaign underway tonight against the Nottinghamshire Outlaws at the Chester Le-Street.

Durham Dynamos get their Twenty20 home campaign underway tonight against Nottinghamshire Outlaws at the Riverside.

And after opening with two contrasting defeats at Derby and Leicester, Durham's stand-in captain Dale Benkenstein admits tonight's home opener is a must-win game.

He said: "We were way off the mark at Derby but it was a much better performance against Leicestershire and the game could have gone either way.

"If we can beat the Outlaws tonight then there are still five games to play as we attempt to qualify for the next stage, but if we lose again it will be very difficult."

And Benkenstein has defended Durham's decision to leave out experienced performers like Ashley Noffke and Jon Lewis along with wicket-taking seamer Mark Davies.

Without international trio Mike Hussey, Steve Harmison and Paul Collingwood, Durham were already below strength for cricket's latest innovation.

"In our position in the Championship and Totesport League, it would be foolish to play the likes of Noffke in the Twenty20," added Benkenstein.

"We've maybe lacked a bit of experience but because a number of the squad are having a game it doesn't mean we're not taking the competition seriously."

The Dynamos are likely to abandon their experiment to top-load their big-hitters, with wicketkeeper Phil Mustard set to drop down the order.

"If Mustard and Nathan Astle had come off we'd probably have won in 10 overs," added Benkenstein. "But Mustard will be held back rather than bat in the top three.

"He can be devastating with the bat and hopefully that will be the case against Nottinghamshire where the 12 is the same that was on duty at Leicester."

The Outlaws are also looking to bounce back from a narrow defeat - by two wickets against Yorkshire - for a game that begins at 6pm.

Over 3,000 tickets have been sold for tonight's clash and seats priced at £12 for adults and £5 for juniors are available on the gate.

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