Durham aim to 'win whole thing' after T20 turnaround

Durham are one of only four counties never to win the T20 Blast

Durham head coach Ryan Campbell is thrilled at how the county has transformed its fortunes in T20 cricket.

Under the Australian's guidance, Durham have reached the knockout stages of the T20 Blast in successive seasons for the first time in 16 years.

But now he wants the team to go one step further and reach its first Finals Day since 2016.

Hampshire Hawks stand in their way, as they make the long journey up to Chester-le-Street for the last-eight tie on Friday (18:30 BST).

"I'm so proud of where this club has got to with T20 to now host a quarter-final," Campbell told BBC Sport.

"It's a great achievement but we're not happy with that. We want to keep pushing on, we want to win the whole thing."

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."

Nathan Sowter took 14 wickets in the T20 Blast group stages before playing for Oval Invincibles in The Hundred

'Win games and selectors look your way'

A high-profile match live on television is also a perfect showcase for players to put forward their international credentials.

Durham has been a production line into the England set-up and Campbell believes that performances in a winning side - in whatever format - are what turns heads towards those players.

He highlights Nathan Sowter, a key player for the Oval Invincibles in winning The Hundred again, and Graham Clark as among those pushing their case, as well as the rapid progression of Brydon Carse.

"If players want to play for England, they have to be able to play in all formats," Campbell said.

"When you're winning games and putting in performances to win those games, it's not a coincidence that's when the England selectors start looking your way.

"A guy like Nathan Sowter should be spoken about. Graham Clark is never spoken about, but he does such an amazing job for us in T20. Hopefully, more franchise opportunities come for those guys as well.

"Matthew Potts has become a white-ball bowler for England and now Brydon Carse is now playing in all formats.

"I don't think that would have happened if Brydon hadn't had the opportunity to bat at number three in our T20 side last year and bowl the important overs."