thewearsider
Midfield
Like many who have enjoyed membership of the Club since Dean Jones magnificent 100 at the Racecourse, we have all witnessed many high and lows in the 30 years since following our team.
From the absolute low when Norman Gifford's team won one Sunday League game and no County Championship matches in a season to the invincible side of 2009 who strolled the league with an array of class players, its been full of ups and downs.
So where are we now ?
On the face of it being in the lower half of division 2 and looking far from a side that will pull up trees in the blast, things look a bit flat.
However the fact that many of us expect better, particularly in the 4 day format is a bit of a positive in itself. We can all remember seasons where we expected nothing !
In many cases the powers that be .... who seem to have a complete disregard for the county game and its ageing members .... would argue that Durham are the most succesful team in the country , ..... why ? .because we are currently providing the national team with no less than five players across both formats, in their eyes a much greater acheivement than Warwickshire's title ..... particularly as one of those players is the test captain and the biggest box office draw in the game.
As members who love county cricket its a strange one. We all welcome our call ups and wish our players well but this is clearly in direct conflict with success on the pitch.
We could all list our best Durham eleven with a full squad and whilst opinions would differ we would all agree that the team we pick would be competing at the top end of the county game in all formats.
So where are we ? ........ maybe just victims rather than failures !
ECB relegated us to Div 2, thats why we are here .......the hundred dictates that our nearest game is 100 miles away, exactly as it was pre 1992.......... and England constantly take our best players. We produced a test standard ground at great expense and they gave us Bangladesh in April, we made mistakes at board level and ended up skint.
So again .... where are we ?
I guess in conclusion that Durham are okay......
not great, but okay and seemingly financially more stable than before.
Our head coach is under pressure to produce and on field improvements are needed , in terms of results.
Like many though, I have far greater concerns about the way our beloved county game is handled by the powers that be.
They muck about with the format, ruin an excellent 50 over cup, playing a final 2 days after a semi resulting in a half empty stadium and constantly make decisions without any thought for the true members. By members I mean people who , yes often maybe advanced in age, but who turn up through thick and thin to watch a format that' s been around for 100 years.
Yes, entice the 12 year old who wants to see three sixes an over, that's important .... but don't mess the game up for the rest of us who are paying membership fees to support counties who provide the ECB with players for the national team.
Lets just say for now that they stick any thoughts of a franchise 4 day game somewhere where the sun doesn't shine .... if not leave us in peace and go and produce your own England players.!!
Good luck as ever to Durham CCC ..... or should I say ........ Durham Cricket.
Onwards and upwards !
From the absolute low when Norman Gifford's team won one Sunday League game and no County Championship matches in a season to the invincible side of 2009 who strolled the league with an array of class players, its been full of ups and downs.
So where are we now ?
On the face of it being in the lower half of division 2 and looking far from a side that will pull up trees in the blast, things look a bit flat.
However the fact that many of us expect better, particularly in the 4 day format is a bit of a positive in itself. We can all remember seasons where we expected nothing !
In many cases the powers that be .... who seem to have a complete disregard for the county game and its ageing members .... would argue that Durham are the most succesful team in the country , ..... why ? .because we are currently providing the national team with no less than five players across both formats, in their eyes a much greater acheivement than Warwickshire's title ..... particularly as one of those players is the test captain and the biggest box office draw in the game.
As members who love county cricket its a strange one. We all welcome our call ups and wish our players well but this is clearly in direct conflict with success on the pitch.
We could all list our best Durham eleven with a full squad and whilst opinions would differ we would all agree that the team we pick would be competing at the top end of the county game in all formats.
So where are we ? ........ maybe just victims rather than failures !
ECB relegated us to Div 2, thats why we are here .......the hundred dictates that our nearest game is 100 miles away, exactly as it was pre 1992.......... and England constantly take our best players. We produced a test standard ground at great expense and they gave us Bangladesh in April, we made mistakes at board level and ended up skint.
So again .... where are we ?
I guess in conclusion that Durham are okay......
not great, but okay and seemingly financially more stable than before.
Our head coach is under pressure to produce and on field improvements are needed , in terms of results.
Like many though, I have far greater concerns about the way our beloved county game is handled by the powers that be.
They muck about with the format, ruin an excellent 50 over cup, playing a final 2 days after a semi resulting in a half empty stadium and constantly make decisions without any thought for the true members. By members I mean people who , yes often maybe advanced in age, but who turn up through thick and thin to watch a format that' s been around for 100 years.
Yes, entice the 12 year old who wants to see three sixes an over, that's important .... but don't mess the game up for the rest of us who are paying membership fees to support counties who provide the ECB with players for the national team.
Lets just say for now that they stick any thoughts of a franchise 4 day game somewhere where the sun doesn't shine .... if not leave us in peace and go and produce your own England players.!!
Good luck as ever to Durham CCC ..... or should I say ........ Durham Cricket.
Onwards and upwards !
