DURHAM will have to face one of the world's most explosive hitters without Mark Wood in their opening NatWest T20 Blast match at home to Northamptonshire this evening.

The Steelbacks have signed Shahid Afridi for this competition, while Durham are without Wood and their most powerful hitter, Ben Stokes, following their inclusion in the squad for the first Test against New Zealand.

As the squad assemble on Monday, Wood will also be unavailable for the championship match starting at Edgbaston on Sunday. There is every chance he will also miss the game at Worcester a week later as the second Test starts two days after the New Road game finishes.

Durham will hope he does not have to suffer the same treatment as Graham Onions, who was a regular non-playing reserve for England a few years ago.

Although Liam Plunkett made a good impression on his return to Test duty last summer, Wood has now been preferred in the 12-man squad.

The danger is he will suffer for lack of cricket after shaking off the rust this week gathered from non-activity in the West Indies.

“You don't find the same rhythm bowling in the nets,” he said. “I felt a bit rust in the first innings against Nottinghamshire.

“The pitches were flat in the West Indies and the bowlers bowled well, so I understood why I wasn't selected. But it was a great experience and I learned a lot. Now I feel comfortable in that environment and I am desperate to play.”

Today's match, which starts at 5.30, will take place to a background of floodlights being erected. Durham pressed ahead with having the foundations laid even before securing planning permission and issued a leaflet saying they were not pre-judging the planning meeting but wanted to be ready to get the lights up in time for most of this season's T20 games. The first pylon went up on Wednesday.

Durham last encountered Afridi in the 2011 quarter-final defeat away to Hampshire, when they were ecstatic after running out the compulsive slogger for a duck.

But his leg-spin bowling can be even more effective than his manic hitting and he took two for 13 in 3.3 overs to help stifle Durham's reply.

Now 35, he has played in 78 T20 internationals for Pakistan and has taken 88 wickets at 22.75.

Northants also include two South African internationals in batsman Richard Levi and left-arm seamer Rory Kleinveldt, plus left-handed all-rounder David Willey, man of the match when they won the 2013 final.

Another dangerous batsman they have added this season is Josh Cobb, from Leicestershire, and the strength of their line-up means there is no place for ex-Durham player Kyle Coetzer.

They have two left-arm spinners in their squad in Graeme White and 16-year-old Saif Zaib, from High Wycombe.

Durham lost by 36 runs in the 2013 quarter-final at Northampton and looked certain to be beaten again in last year's home clash. Replying to 195 for three, they were 73 for five when John Hastings joined Calum MacLeod and hit eight sixes an unbeaten 80 off 26 balls. MacLeod hit 64 in the unbroken stand of 126 as victory was secured with five balls to spare.

But it wasn't enough to book a quarter-final place for a team who have reached finals day only once and one-day captain Mark Stoneman admitted: “Our history in the event is poor, so we are hoping for better performances.

“Gareth Breese was a reliable one-day performer so now he's no longer with us it gives Ryan Pringle a chance to perform. But we don't want to push him too quickly.”

Stoneman, who will again open with Phil Mustard, added: “We will play two spinners and we also have some slow to medium options with Paul Collingwood and Keaton Jennings.”

Hastings, the top wicket-taker in Australia's recent Big Bash, opted out of the IPL auction to spend the whole season with Durham and is expected to be a key performer.

Durham (from): M D Stoneman (capt), P Mustard, C S MacLeod, P D Collingwood, G J Muchall, S G Borthwick, K K Jennings, J W Hastings, R D Pringle, C Rushworth, G Onions, U Arshad.

Northants (from): A Wakeley (capt), S Afridi, J Cobb, R Levi, R Keogh, D Willey, G White, A Rossington, S Crook, O Stone, R Kleinveldt, M Chambers, S Zaib.

Admission costs £15 with advance booking or £20 at the gate, £5 for those aged 15 or under.