The Red Telephone
Striker
I think most of us in attendance got a lot more out of this than we expected. Hosted by Ash Thorpe we went briefly through the fixture list (with a magnifying glass due to the small print!) looking at the ones that caught the eye and a few jokes at the home game against Surrey with everyone wondering if they would be arsed to turn up this time.
Leah Dobson and Phoebe Turner from the Women's Team were first up and both said they were settling in and said Durham would be the team to beat. Phoebe lamented the fact that in the new Knockout competition we wouldn't have a home tie.
Next up were Sam Connors, Will Rhodes and Emilio Gay. All three basically outlined their roles and hopes for next season. Connors said he had had a difficult season with Derbyshire and needed a new challenge and fresh start. Rhodes said he was expecting to spend the rest of his career at Durham and revealed that Rushy had told him what a great club he was joining. Gay said that he couldn't believe hoe friendly everyone was at the club and was hoping to pile on the runs in 2025 to gain the attention of the England selectors.
Vic had a quick word and said that the weather had been a lot more favourable in October and November compared to last year and said he had the grass was still growing.
Marcus North up next and here it gets interesting. He was over the moon for Carse and Potts getting England recognition and and warned us not to expect to see much of the former with his IPL and probable England commitments but said that in the first block of seven CC fixtures in 2025 he fully envisages Stokes, Potts and.....Woody !!!!to be available to play at least some (and Woody himself had said this). He then said he felt we missed out on a couple of wins last season ie Lancs and Worcs which would have seen us challenging Surrey. He thinks it's great that we're playing them twice next season as if we can beat them then we're real title contenders.
North then said we'd had really bad luck with our overseas bowlers last season but Durham are in advance stages of negotiating a new deal to get Scott Boland back here for next season and if for any reason that didn't come off then then we had another couple of irons in the fire.
He was asked about Lees and he smiled and said he has just signed a three year extension on his contract and then said so had Ollie Robinson ! He also didn't say as much but it looks like Ollie will be off to NZ shortly.
Next up North said that Ben McKinney WILL be our opener next season and he was thrilled by how he, Hoggy and young Minto had taken their opportunity in 2024. He was asked about the batting squeeze for next season and what that means for Borthwick and he said there is an announcement in the next week which is exciting for Scotty at this stage of his career...batting coach? 2nd team coach?...watch this space.
North sort of hinted that Lees will be the First Team Captain in 2025.
Hope I haven't missed too much but I'm sure @mosi will fill in any empty spaces.
Leah Dobson and Phoebe Turner from the Women's Team were first up and both said they were settling in and said Durham would be the team to beat. Phoebe lamented the fact that in the new Knockout competition we wouldn't have a home tie.
Next up were Sam Connors, Will Rhodes and Emilio Gay. All three basically outlined their roles and hopes for next season. Connors said he had had a difficult season with Derbyshire and needed a new challenge and fresh start. Rhodes said he was expecting to spend the rest of his career at Durham and revealed that Rushy had told him what a great club he was joining. Gay said that he couldn't believe hoe friendly everyone was at the club and was hoping to pile on the runs in 2025 to gain the attention of the England selectors.
Vic had a quick word and said that the weather had been a lot more favourable in October and November compared to last year and said he had the grass was still growing.
Marcus North up next and here it gets interesting. He was over the moon for Carse and Potts getting England recognition and and warned us not to expect to see much of the former with his IPL and probable England commitments but said that in the first block of seven CC fixtures in 2025 he fully envisages Stokes, Potts and.....Woody !!!!to be available to play at least some (and Woody himself had said this). He then said he felt we missed out on a couple of wins last season ie Lancs and Worcs which would have seen us challenging Surrey. He thinks it's great that we're playing them twice next season as if we can beat them then we're real title contenders.
North then said we'd had really bad luck with our overseas bowlers last season but Durham are in advance stages of negotiating a new deal to get Scott Boland back here for next season and if for any reason that didn't come off then then we had another couple of irons in the fire.
He was asked about Lees and he smiled and said he has just signed a three year extension on his contract and then said so had Ollie Robinson ! He also didn't say as much but it looks like Ollie will be off to NZ shortly.
Next up North said that Ben McKinney WILL be our opener next season and he was thrilled by how he, Hoggy and young Minto had taken their opportunity in 2024. He was asked about the batting squeeze for next season and what that means for Borthwick and he said there is an announcement in the next week which is exciting for Scotty at this stage of his career...batting coach? 2nd team coach?...watch this space.
North sort of hinted that Lees will be the First Team Captain in 2025.
Hope I haven't missed too much but I'm sure @mosi will fill in any empty spaces.
