JON LEWIS is set to use tomorrow’s second XI game against Leicestershire as an opportunity to give some of his Durham batsmen some much-needed match practice before they return to senior duty in the County Championship.

Durham’s Championship campaign got off to the worst possible start as they crashed to a nine-wicket defeat to Kent at the weekend, with their two innings at Emirates Riverside only producing a combined total of 261 runs.

Overseas signing Aiden Markram failed to score in either of his knocks, while Graham Clark, Paul Collingwood and Stuart Poynter also failed to get into double figures in either of their innings.

Durham’s pre-season preparations were severely restricted by the heavy rainfall at the start of the month, and Lewis accepts that a number of players went into the first game of the season badly undercooked.

As a result, he will use tomorrow’s second XI game at Brandon CC as an opportunity to give some of his batsmen in particular some extra time in the middle.

“The second team have a game on Tuesday, which we might use to get a bit more match practice in for a few guys,” said the Durham head coach. “Not the bowlers as much, but the batters yes.

“We have two more days to get ready (for the Championship game at Northamptonshire that starts on Friday) than there should be, so it’s going to be a week where we have to prepare.

“It’s going to be a mental preparation more than anything else. We’ve got to make sure our heads are alright by the time we get to Northampton. Tuesday’s game might be an opportunity for guys to get time in the middle and regain belief.”

Lewis had hoped a lack of pre-season action would not count against his players as they made their Championship bow, but his side were skittled out before lunch on day one and fared little better when they returned to the crease second time around.

The opening two rounds of Championship action have witnessed a host of low scores, with the unseasonably wet weather throughout most of April a contributory factor.

“We certainly looked a bit shy of games,” said Lewis. “The batters looked shy of a hit in the middle or two. It probably showed up more (in the second innings) than it did on day one. It looked as though the batters were still playing on a day one wicket.

“They were looking for demons that weren't quite as large as they were on day one. There was less going on and a couple of them were looking for something to happen and then were undone by that fact. They needed to be mentally tougher and part of that is being game hardened.

“We had four games, two and three-day games, pencilled in for pre-season. We managed to play one day out of those games due to the weather. It wasn’t ideal and not being on grass didn’t help too much either.

“I don’t think we can lay everything on that - we were not good enough between the ears when the batters were looking for things that weren’t quite as bad as they were on day one.”

“But there’s no substitute for playing on grass and there’s no substitute for playing games. That’s what we were a bit shy of. No excuses though – Kent played well. Matt Henry bowled beautifully and they were the deserved winners.”

The one Durham player to bolster his reputation over the weekend was James Weighell, with the bowler chipping in with a career-best score of 84 after his side collapsed to 39-7 in their second innings.

“His first fifty runs were pretty measured and considered,” said Lewis. “I thought his shot selections were good. He’s a guy that has a reputation of being able to bat without always producing as much as he can. He’s worked hard this winter so there were good signs, but there was also good signs in the first innings from him as well.”