DURHAM are expecting their biggest crowd of the season for this evening's Friends Life t20 match against Yorkshire, with almost 6,000 tickets sold in advance for what has been dubbed Emirates Day.
Free Emirates caps will be handed out at the gate and supporters who wear them will have a chance of being selected for the Emirates Safest Hands competition during the interval, with two flights to Dubai up for grabs.
With the return match against Yorkshire taking place at Scarborough on Sunday afternoon, Durham's four remaining group games are all against the bottom three sides.
That should help them to secure a quarter-final place, especially as Yorkshire will be out of the running if they lose tonight.
But the Tykes' defeat by second-placed Leicestershire on Wednesday makes it all the more likely that Durham will have to settle for an away tie in the last eight.
That means a trip to the south and they will hope to play it on Sunday, August 7 as they finish a home championship match against Nottinghamshire on the Friday.
They are also at home to Hampshire the following week, starting on Wednesday, August 10.
Leicestershire are now seven points ahead of third-placed Durham with two games left. They would need to lose both for Durham to have a chance of overhauling them.
Graham Onions and Mark Stoneman have been added to the eleven who beat Worcester on Sunday, when Paul Collingwood's four wickets lifted him to sixth in the national T20 bowling averages. The top four are all spinners.
In the batting averages Ian Blackwell lies eighth with 272 runs at 38.85 and Phil Mustard has slipped to tenth after scoring one run in his last two innings. He has 301 runs at 37.62.
There are no Yorkshire players in the top ten of batting or bowling.
Supporters have until 1pm today to book cut-price tickets. They can contact the box office on 0844 499 4466 or visit www.durhamccc.co.uk. Tickets are priced at £13 for adults and £5 for juniors, compared with £17.50 for adults and £6 for juniors if bought on the gate.
Durham (from): D M Benkenstein (capt), P Mustard, G J Muchall, I D Blackwell, P D Collingwood, G R Breese, W R Smith, L E Plunkett, S G Borthwick, M E Claydon, C Rushworth, G Onions, M D Stoneman
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