DURHAM will be looking to developing young players like Usman Arshad and Graham Clark to compensate for the absence of Ben Stokes in this season's Royal London Cup.

Although he missed the quarter-final at Headingley, when one-day captain Mark Stoneman was the match-winner with a century, Stokes starred in both the semi-final and final.

First he scored 164 in the home win against Nottinghamshire which booked the trip to Lord's, where he followed figures of two for 25 by seeing Durham over the line with an unbeaten 38 against Warwickshire.

Arshad's innings of 60 in this week's championship match against Hampshire confirmed he is a genuine all-rounder and Stoneman said: “The way he has performed he will feature in the cup. He has good one-day bowling skills.

“And after Graham Clark's outstanding innings of 91 not out in the T20 at Headingley we will have him at No 3. He has really developed in the last two years and has shown the ability to score hundreds at the top of the order.

“Calum MacLeod was our No 3 last year but his skills could be very effective lower down the order.”

A crazy itinerary contributed to Durham losing three of their first four games last year and Stoneman added: “It was only when it became do-or-die that we performed at our best. We would like to start better this time and the travelling isn't quite as bad for the early matches.”

Durham's second game is at home to Worcestershire on Monday, followed by a trip to Somerset on Wednesday. Then come home games against Surrey (Friday) and Yorkshire (Sunday).

The last three games against Gloucestershire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire offer the chance of a strong finish.

Paul Collingwood expects some high scoring, saying: “This form of the game was dying but it has been taken to the next level. It is amazing how much the game has changed recently.

“I had to pinch myself last year when I was bowling to Jonathan Trott in the final at Lord's. The pressure and intensity of occasions like that are what you play for.

“It kick-started my season last year when I scored a century in this competition at Taunton and I'm looking forward to scoring more big runs and keeping the body going.”