AARON Finch wants to get one over his big mate John Hastings on the way to helping Yorkshire beat Durham and take a significant step towards LV= County Championship glory.

Finch returns to the defending champions' side at Emirates Durham tomorrow, having recovered from a bruised lung suffered while playing second XI cricket on Monday.

The Australian overseas player will bat in the middle order and his availability goes some way to compensating for the loss of Gary Ballance and Adam Lyth, who are on a pre-Ashes training camp.

Leaders Durham are nine points clear of Yorkshire after eight matches – one more than the visitors have played.

The winner of the Finch and Hastings inter-state Victorian battle will ensure their team takes a healthy position in the title race.

Finch said: "I can't wait. It's going to be exciting. Durham are in good form – but so are Yorkshire.

"The bowling attack of Durham is probably their strength at the moment. It will be a great challenge, especially to come up against one of my big mates Johnny Hastings.

"There's always a good bit of banter and a few ego points on the line.

"It swings and it seams there, so you have to be on top of your game. You have to be confident in your defence and when you attack, you have to look to attack hard.

"Not unnecessarily take risks, but you have to be really positive. On a wicket like that, if you look to hang around long enough, you are going to get a good ball. I think you have to look to score where possible.

"It makes for a huge game and sets up the back half of the season really well for the team who wins – and we're really confident we'll do that."

Jonny Bairstow and Adil Rashid are available again after England limited-overs duty.