County Cricket

• Twenty20 Means Business
  Paul Coupar follows the circus around the country and learns how important T20 is
• No More Tall Tales In Smoky Rooms
  Ed Smith on how counties have changed and why the amateur ethos may return

NOVEMBER

By common consent Durham were the best team in the land, a status they confirmed by clinching their first Championship. That performance summed up the single-minded determination that has been an increasing feature of Durham’s game since Ottis Gibson’s and Dale Benkenstein’s epic partnership of 315 against Yorkshire ensured top-flight survival in 2006.
It has been a hard road since they entered the first-class arena in 1992 but winning the Championship, reaching the FP Trophy and Twenty20 semi-finals and finishing third in Division 1 of the  Pro40 means Durham will start 2009 as the team to beat.
Rumblings from some quarters about the Riverside track favouring Durham’s high-octane pace attack could be answered by its effectiveness away, too. Steve Harmison was the best fast bowler on the circuit and Mark Davies left his injury woes behind to claim 39 Championship wickets at 15.05. That left Callum Thorp, Liam Plunkett and Graham Onions, all of whom would walk into any other county line-up, scrapping for places. Given a rejuvenated Will Smith in the top order, the batting usually packed enough punch to give the pace battery something to work with.
The 2nd XI, too, won their first title and there are plans for a £45m redevelopment at Riverside. To temper the euphoria Harmison is likely to be absent during next year’s Ashes and Benkenstein wants to hand over the captain’s reins. His leadership will be hard to replace.
Player of the season  Steve Harmison
In No details yet.
Out  Neil McKenzie ,  Albie Morkel and  Shaun Pollock . Onions has been linked with several counties but dare Durham let him go?
Bottom line Championship bubbly will taste extra good for coach Geoff Cook and the ‘Durham Dreamers’ who had a vision 20 years ago.

OCTOBER

Total view from Wood

In August 1991 John Wood was a member of the Durham squad that left the minor counties behind by beating Suffolk at Stockton.
Eight months later he was playing alongside Ian Botham, Dean Jones, Wayne Larkins and Paul Parker as Durham took their first steps as a first-class county. So it is no surprise that Wood, who took 260 wickets in 88 first-class appearances for Durham, is delighted by Durham’s emergence as a major force.
“When I first started I looked at some of the players in the dressing room and thought, ‘We’ve got to have a chance with this lot around,’” says Wood, 38, who now works as a market consultant for a Manchester-based international recruitment agency. “But I was young and naïve and basically it was a case of looking for respectability in those early years.
“When I left in 2000 [to join Lancashire], I was worried that the club was moving in the wrong direction after making great strides under David Boon in the previous three years. But all credit to Geoff Cook and David Harker for the way they’ve turned the club around.
“While I can understand that some people would like to see more local lads in the side, there looks to be a real conveyor belt of emerging talent. I’m sure things will change over the next few years.” Andrew Collomosse
Top man  Mark Davies with career-best 11 for 75 against Hampshire.
Bottom line All to play for.

SEPTEMBER

Onions undaunted

Two down, two to go in Durham’s four-way quest to add to last season’s Friends Provident Trophy triumph. While there was disappointment over a semi-final exit in both the FP Trophy and Twenty20 Cup, Durham started the second half of the Championship season in good shape.
Last season’s runners-up slot behind Sussex marked Durham’s highest finish since they were awarded first-class status in 1992. Now they are determined to go one better.
Even before a ball was bowled in Twenty20, paceman Graham Onions was adamant that the Championship was first, last and everything as far as he is concerned.
“Of course, people in the dressing room look at the money in Twenty20 and think: ‘Kerching! There’s a bit of cash in this … ’ That kind of money can’t be ignored. But, as far as I’m concerned, winning a Championship for Durham would mean more than all the money on offer in Twenty20.
“We set our goals to win every game in every competition. Obviously we can’t do that. But if I had a choice, I would choose Championship cricket without a doubt.”
Top man  Liam Plunkett  Key man with bat and ball.
Good month  Will Smith  Career-best 201 not out in 10-wicket win over Surrey at Guildford.
Bottom line Two near misses but still all to play for.

AUGUST

Life after Gibson

Those who predicted problems in Durham’s pace bowling following the retirement of Ottis Gibson have been disappointed.
England’s bowling coach was always going leave a big gap to fill after taking 80 Championship wickets last season but Durham have succeeded, with the presence of Steve Harmison a huge bonus.
But the other members of an eight-man pace battery, most of whom learned their trade in the north-east, have all played a part in Championship, one-day and Twenty20 cricket.
The director of cricket, Geoff Cook, explains: “By the time Twenty20 finished we had played 19 one-day games and five four-day matches – with 11 more Championship games and another one-day competition to come. So it is vital that we can rotate our pace bowlers and have cover for any injuries.”
Luke Evans, a 6ft 7in 21-year-old from Sunderland, looks like being the next in line but Cook says his emergence is not part of a long-term pace-based strategy.
“It’s more that we’ve been lucky to find some raw talent around here. And they have all been lads who have been keen to take on the workload involved.”
Top man  Steve Harmison  has led from the front on his return to the county circuit.
Bottom line This lot just never know when they’re beaten.

LVCC D1  L Ham 4r   FPT QF  W Not 1w   T20 N  W Der 5w; W Lei 6w; L Not 23r; W Lan 6w; NR Not; W Lei 8w; T Yor; W Yor 39r; W Der 7w; NR Lan

RUNS  P Mustard 281 @ 133.17 SR   wkts  SM Pollock 11 @ 5.59 rpo
 

JULY

Minibus, major team

Ben Harmison, Kyle Coetzer and Mark Stoneman provide proof that the Durham academy is coming up with the goods. And the academy manager, John Windows, is confident that a good percentage of the young hopefuls now playing in the North East Premier League will follow them into the county game.
“We only take people on if we believe they have a realistic chance of making the grade,” says Windows. “All the lads are ambitious and desperate to succeed and the Premier League gives them an excellent opportunity to learn what the game is all about.
“It’s a tough league. Our county players are involved on a regular basis and there are some very experienced club players around, too. And the boys are not just in there to develop their game … we can do that every day of the week. We want them to develop a winning mentality, too.”
The academy also plays two- and three-day games in midweek and Windows admits travel arrangements are not quite on a par with those enjoyed by first-team players. “We were just setting off for Cambridge in the minibus the other week when Ben and Kyle wandered by,” says Windows. “They were laughing about it and said: ‘That’s one thing we don’t miss from the academy days.’”
Top man  Michael Di Venuto scored runs in both formats.
Bottom line Recovered well to qualify in FPT.
LVCC D1  L Lan 232r; W Yor 295r; W Sus 7w  FPT Nor  L Yor 5w; W Sco 46r; W Lan 6r; W Sco 38r; W Der 117r
RUNS  DM Benkenstein 362r @ 90.50   wkts   SJ Harmison 17w @ 20.58
 

JUNE

Onions Ripening

Graham Onions is hoping history repeats itself. In 2006, after a winter stint in India, Onions made his name with 50 Championship wickets.  
After another impressive campaign in India for the England Lions Onions made a strong start to a season that could take him closer to an England cap. However, he is reluctant to draw too many comparisons between his two Indian summers. “2006 was my first season in county cricket and, when I took a few wickets, people were asking, ‘Who is Graham Onions?’” he says. “I just wanted to run in and bowl quickly. But I’d like to think I’ve improved every year and now I’m twice the bowler I was then.
“Playing in India is a challenge. You learn a lot about yourself and I’ve reached the stage where I’m hitting my straps.”    
The retirement of Ottis Gibson leaves a sizeable hole in the Durham seam attack that Onions believes he can fill. “I said to Durham at the start of the year that I want to be the guy the captain can rely on to bowl the tough spells, taking wickets or containing the batsmen. I think [captain] Dale Benkenstein was happy with that.”
Introducing South African Test batsman  Neil McKenzie  as first overseas man.
Top man  Onions  quick out of the blocks for MCC and Durham.
Bottom line Too early to tell if they are likely to live up to some people’s favourites’ tag.

LVCC D1  D Sur   FPT Nor  W Yor, 5r; L Der, 1r; L Lan, 5w
RUNS   DM Benkenstein 130r @ 65.00   wkts   G Onions 5w @ 17.20

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