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A season no one will forget any time soon. A magnificent season with bat and ball which has created some outstanding statistics and record breaking moments. Roll on next season
Top Run Scorer
- With England on his mind, Alex Lees impressed with the bat this season scoring 1347 runs across 21 innings averaging 70.89. Lees was the 1st to reach 1000 runs in England despite the best efforts of Somerset youngster James Rew. His previous best season with the bat was in 2016, when he hit 1199 runs. Alex Lees’ 195 against Gloucestershire was the highest score achieved by a Durham player in 2023. Lees reached 5 centuries alongside fellow teammate David Bedingham, which was the most in the country. They were tied at the top with Worcestershire batter Jake Libby. David Bedingham finished 2nd on the list, achieving 1000+ runs for the 2nd time in a Durham shirt with 1019 runs across 19 innings averaging 56.61. However, Bedingham fell 11 runs away from breaking his best season with the bat in 2021, when he amassed 1029 runs. He smashed 5 centuries, and 1 half century, carrying a brilliant conversion rate. 3rd on the list is Ollie Robinson, with 931 runs across 18 innings averaging 58.19. Many people including myself are still questioning Kent’s decision to let him go, but we can’t complain. Ollie hit a career best 167* against Leicestershire at Grace Road in June and was impressive behind the stumps throughout the season. Ollie smashed 3 centuries and 5 half centuries in his 18 innings.
Top Wicket Takers
- Once again, Ben Raine has played a huge role in the bowling department for Durham. This season, Ben struck 60 times, the most he’s ever taken in a season, while averaging 24.95. Raine’s best match figures came in the high score draw with Leicestershire at Grace Road in June, when he took 8/169. Ben claimed one 5 Wicket Haul in 2023, against Leicestershire. Matty Potts finished 2nd on the list, with 54 wickets despite not playing every game, while averaging 22.22. Potts’ best match figures came in the 1 wicket victory over Yorkshire at The Riverside in May, when he took 8/110. Potts also claimed one 5 Wicket Haul. 3rd on the list is Matt Parkinson. After arriving from Lancashire on loan, Matt struck 23 times while averaging 27.22. Parkinson’s best match figures came in the 7 wicket win over Sussex at The Riverside 3 weeks ago, when he took 8/138.
Overs Bowled + Maidens
- 1st on the list Ben Raine bowled 485 overs in 2023 (2910 balls) and took 96 maidens, (20% of his overs). Ben bowled 112.3 more overs than 2nd on the list, Matty Potts, who bowled 372.3 overs (2235 balls) and took 60 maidens, (16% of his overs). 3rd on the list was Matt Parkinson who bowled 194 overs (1164 balls) and took 25 maidens, (13% of his overs).
Dismissals
- In 2023, Durham took 233 wickets, which is coincidentally how many points they claimed. Durham caught 52% of the wickets (120), bowled 24% of the wickets (57), LBW 19% of the wickets (45), stumped 4% of the wickets (10) and ran out 1% of the wickets (1). One of Ryan Campbell’s main goals was to take 20 wickets in every match, and this has been shown this season, averaging just under 17 wickets per match. Durham took 20 wickets in 5 matches, which was crucial in their promotion winning season.
Boundaries
- 1st on the list is with no surprise, Alex Lees. Lees smashed 177 boundaries (169x4 & 8x6) across his 21 innings while rampaging to 1347 runs for the season. Over 53% of Lees’ runs came from boundaries. 2nd on the list is Ollie Robinson, who hit 134 boundaries (118x4 &16x6) in his 18 innings. 61% of Ollie’s runs came from boundaries. 3rd on the list is David Bedingham who hit 123 boundaries (106x4 & 17x6) in his 19 innings. Over 51% of Bedingham’s runs came from boundaries.
Tosses
- Durham won 6 of the 14 tosses, losing 8.
Points Gained
- Durham gained 235 points in this year’s County Championship. However, it wouldn’t be a normal season if there were no point deductions. Durham were deducted 2 points from their games against Derbyshire & Yorkshire respectively for slow over rates. So Durham finish on 233 points their 3rd best points tally ever. Durham claimed 149 points at home and 86 points away. Durham won division 2 by an outstanding 66 points.
Runs Scored
- Durham have scored 7423 runs in 2023, an average of 530 per match. 3758 runs have been hit at the Riverside (51%), while 3665 runs were scored away from home (49%). The most runs scored by Durham in a match this season was at Grace Road, where they smashed 860 runs across 2 innings, remarkably, Durham declared in both innings.
1st Innings Scores & Averages
- Durham’s 1st innings scoring has been impeccable. Durham average 429 when batting in the 1st innings. However, Durham’s 106 against Yorkshire in a rain affected match at Scarborough is a huge anomaly. Without this score, they average 454. Durham averaged a 1st innings score of 450 at the Riverside only failing to achieve maximum batting points twice. Durham’s highest 1st innings score was against Glamorgan in a high scoring draw at the Riverside, with 630. The match turned out to have the highest match aggregate at The Riverside ever with 1446 runs scored in the match.
Results
- Durham capped off an outstanding season winning their 7th game of the season against Leicestershire on Friday afternoon in stunning style. The victory against Leicestershire was the biggest of season, beating Leics by an innings and 141 runs, despite losing the toss. Durham drew 6 games and lost only 1 against Sussex at Hove in April. They would go on to finish the remaining 13 games unbeaten.
Bonus Points
- Durham achieved 54 batting points in 2023, a club record. Durham’s previous best was 49 batting points in 2009. Amazingly, Durham have played less games than they did in 2009, and have had to smash 450 runs to claim maximum batting points. Durham have claimed maximum batting points 8 times out of the 14 games, which is another club record. They finished 23 points ahead of Yorkshire who have the 2nd most batting points in the country, with 31.
- Durham achieved 39 bowling points in 2023. This was the joint best in the 2nd division with Sussex, and Durham rank 4th overall in the country. Durham picked up 39/42 bowling points.
- Durham have claimed 93 bonus points in 2023. They finished 25 points ahead of Surrey & Sussex who have the 2nd most bonus points in the country, with 68.
5 Wicket Hauls
- Four Durham players achieved 5 wicket hauls in 2023. Spinner Matt Kuhnemann picked up one 5 wicket haul while fellow spinner Ajaz Patel picked up two 5 wicket hauls in the same match against Gloucestershire in May. Seamers Matty Potts & Ben Raine also picked up one 5 wicket haul each in 2023.
Declarations
- Durham declared 9 times in 2023, which is the joint most in the country with Essex, who finished 2nd in Division One.
Players
- Durham used 23 players in their promotion winning season: Ajaz Patel, Alex Lees, Bas de Leede, Ben McKinney, Ben Raine, Brydon Carse, Craig Miles, David Bedingham, George Drissell, Graham Clark, Jonny Bushnell, Liam Trevaskis, Matt Kuhnemann, Matt Parkinson, Matty Potts, Michael Jones, Migael Pretorius, Ollie Robinson, Paul Coughlin, Raymond Toole, Scott Borthwick, Stanley McAlindon & Vishwa Fernando.
