Durham Rothesay County Championship Div 1 at Trent Bridge Win 22 points

 

07/04

Day 4

TONGUE RIPS THROUGH DURHAM 

setting up a deserved team win, as Notts become the early league leaders

Notts won their opening championship match of the season by eight wickets with 22.5 overs to spare at sunny Trent Bridge today after a dramatic days cricket.

 

Durham started the day 87 runs in arrears with 8 wickets still standing. Pennington (Pavilion End) and O’Neill were both bowled well from the off as Durham’s overnight pair of Ackermann and Robinson were struggling to put bat to ball. Pennington proved too good for Robinson (7) who edged him to James at first slip who took the catch diving low to his left; 115 for 4 in the 33rd over. It was slow going Ackermann in particular continuously playing and missing. The South African got his 50 off 95 balls with a single off Pennington in the 39th over. Pennington and O’Neill were bowling superbly and in the 41st over Pennington had Rhodes leg before for 2, 123 for 5. The former Yorkshire and Warwickshire left hander beaten for pace. Durham had scored 10 runs for the loss of two wickets from the opening 11 overs of the day.

 

Tongue and James replaced O’Neill and Pennington for the 44th and 45th overs respectively. Spectators were losing count in terms of how many times Ackermann was beaten but somehow he stayed in and never gave a chance. James after a four over spell made way  for Farhan. James replaced Tongue from the Radcliffe Road End for the 58th over. Durham got to lunch on 177 for 5 off 61 overs with Ackermann on 73 and Clark on 22.

 

Ackermann and Clark stood firm after the interval. James (Radcliffe Road End) and Pennington shared the bowling immediately after lunch. A four through mid-wicket by Ackermann off James saw Durham take the lead in the 68th over. Tongue returned in the 72nd over. In the following over, an edged four passed the right hand of slip off Farhan saw Ackermann to his second ton of the contest off 195 balls. Farhan bowling tidily once more but with no luck. Clark reached his 50 off 111 balls with a hooked six off Tongue in the 76th over. The new ball seemed the only route to victory with spectators counting the overs down. 

 

Tongue bowled the 80^th over, bowling what was the fifth and presumably the last over of his spell. At that stage Ackerman and Clark had added 135 in 39 overs with Durham leading by 67 runs, some fans were leaving the ground thinking a draw was now inevitable. Tongue’s first delivery was chopped onto his off stump by Clark (62 off 123 balls, 5x4 , 1x6); 268 for 6. At last the breakthrough just before the new ball was due. The wicket seemed to inspire Tongue. Five balls later, Drissell (2) was beaten for pace becoming Tongue's second victim of the over, palpably leg before; 270 for 7. The crowd came to life and Hameed decided to delay the new ball. Ackermann hit Farhan for consecutive boundaries, the first an edged four passed the vacant third slip. Tongue returned for his sixth over of his spell and took another wicket with the first delivery of the over, Raine lost his middle stump to a devastating yorker to depart for a golden duck, 278 for 8. Coughlin survived the hat trick ball. But unbelievably Tongue made it 4 wickets on 12 balls when off the last delivery of the over he had Ackermann lbw for 124 (off 223 balls, 16x4); 279 for 9 after 82 overs. Potts joined Coughlin and they survived the next two overs. Hameed then took the new ball with Durham 282 for 9 after 84 overs. Nine balls later, Potts (1) was the last man to fall drilling a O’Neill slower delivery straight back to the bowlers midriff with the Aussie taking the catch. Durham 289 all out off 85.3 overs. Coughlin 7 not out. Tongue (21-1-66-5) so rusty in the first innings seemed to gain great impetus from his 55 and had become the second Notts debutant to take five wickets in an innings after O’Neill (5-81 in the first innings). The very much delayed debut for Tongue had been worth the wait. O’Neill finished with match figures of 8-116 on what remained a relatively benign deck. Durham had lost five wickets for 21 runs in 6.3 overs, having looked like they had saved the match 30 minutes previously. 

 

Tea was taken between the innings. Notts needed 89 to win in 40 overs. Hameed hit two boundaries in the opening over bowled by Raine (Pavilion End). Potts removed Slater lbw for a duck with his second ball, 8 for 1. Drissell replaced Raine from the Pavilion End for the 11th over.  McCann (15) reverse swept him for four, and attempting the shot two balls later he under edged the delivery and the ball ballooned off Robinson's boot and the ricochet was caught at first slip by Ackermann, 39 for 2. In the 13th over, Clarke hit Drissell for six over extra cover and next ball pulled the off-spinner for a legside four, Notts had reached 50 in the 13th over. Coughlin came on for the 14th over with Hameed hooking him for six over square leg into the Smith Cooper Stand. Clarke hit Drissell for six over wide long on and two balls later for six over extra cover, 15 off the 17th over. The scores were now level. At 16:55, Clarke hit Coughlin towards the mid-wicket boundary with the winning single run before the ball crossed the rope. Hameed (39*) and Clarke (35*) had added 50 in 40 balls for the third wicket to see Notts home. Notts took 22 points from the fixture and top the table after round one. MAG

06/04

Day 3

JAMES CENTURY SETS UP FINAL DAY PUSH FOR VICTORY

on day where Notts make hay in the sunshine

Lyndon James (125 off 160 balls, 16x4, 1x6) led the way as Notts had extremely profitable third day at Trent Bridge against visitors Durham.  Notts’ final total of 579 was their highest first-class score since registering 662-5d against the same opposition in the last match of 2022. With a lead of 200, Notts had license to set attacking fields and tore into Durham. Led by Fergus O’Neill who took two wickets in three balls, Durham stood at 29-2. McKinney and Ackermann then added 71 for the third wicket until seven overs before the close, Josh Tongue, with a much improved second innings bowling performance, removed wonder kid McKinney to diving catch by keeper Clarke. Durham closed with a deficit of 86 with seven second innings wickets standing.

On another fine sunny day but with an easterly wind still prominent, Notts had a fine morning session adding 134 runs to their overnight score for the loss of nightwatchman Farhan. Potts (Pavilion End) and Raine opened the bowling and in the third over, Montgomery guided a couple to third man off Potts to take Notts passed 300. In the 95th over, nightwatchman Farhan (17) was caught at second slip by Gay off Potts; 319 for 6. James joined Montgomery in the middle and both took advantage of the somnolent surface adding an unbroken 94. Coughlin replaced Raine in the 96th over from the Pavilion End and his first ball was lofted to the point ropes by Montgomery. Raine returned for the 101st over, this time from the Radcliffe Road End. A legside single for Montgomery off Raine saw Notts to 350 in the 103rd over. Notts took the lead via a reverse swept boundary for Montgomery off Drissell. Notts 380 for 6 off 110 overs – three batting points for Notts. A four through point by Montgomery off Drissell saw him to 50 off 115 balls. With James dominating the scoring he reached 50 off 54 balls in the 114th over bowled by Drissell – Notts attaining 400 in the same over. Notts 413 for 6 off 116 overs at lunch time with Montgomery on 62 and James on 55.

The runfest continued after the interval as Notts made hay in the sunshine on the dead pitch. A cover driven four by James off Coughlin brought the 100 stand for the seventh wickets off 136 balls. Potts took wickets with consecutive balls bowling Montgomery with an unplayable delivery that removed middle and off stump for 75 (off 146 balls, 11x4) and then O’Neill lbw 437 for 8 in the 123rd over. Montgomery who had a lean 2024 with the bat failing to reach 50 in his four championship appearances (119 runs @17.00) had played the situation well. The seventh wicket stand worth 118 in 28 overs. Despite his performance, it appears to be either him or Jack Haynes who will make way for the incoming Kyle Verreynne. Western Province’s final first-class fixture was abandoned without a ball being bowled which meant Verreynne’s side finished in fifth place in the standings and would have no play-off fixture next week.

Notts on paper looked to have a long tail, however Tongue possessing a first-class average of 12, unveiled a fine cover drive and further demoralised the hosts whilst adding a further 96 in 24 overs with James. The all-rounder was happy not to shield the former Pear from the strike. A four through third man by Tongue off Coughlin saw Notts to 450 in the 126th over. In the 132nd over, Tongue hit Drissell for three offside fours, 13 off the over. Notts now had a lead of over 100. The 50 partnership between James and Tongue came up in just 61 balls. A legside ball from Raine went for four byes taking Notts passed 500 in the 137th over. A single for Tongue off Drissell in the 140th over took Tongue passed his career best score of 45 not out for Worcestershire against Notts at New Road in 2022 – a match that Notts lost by an innings! A single for Tongue off Potts in the 143rd over saw him to his 50 off 81 balls. Off-spinner Ackermann came onto bowl in the 144th over. Rhodes got a delivery to keep low and had Tongue leg before for 55 (off 97 balls) - 533 for 9 in the 147th over. Still the carnage continued with James and Pennington adding a further 46 in nine overs. James who had batted superbly throughout his innings got to 98 with a punched four of the back foot. In the 149th over, a tired edge through the vacant slip cordon off Rhodes saw James to his ton off 135 balls – the fifth of his first-class career with three of them against Durham. In the same over he hit Rhodes for six over mid-wicket to bring up the Notts 550. James was dropped on 121 by Potts on the deep mid-wicket ropes off Coughlin – an absolute sitter. Potts though had bowled 35 overs and was the stand out bowling performer for his side with 4-112. James (125) eventually fell top edging Ackermann to Clark at deep cover who held the steepling effort. Notts 579 all out off 155.5 overs, led by 200.

Pennington (Pavilion End) and O’Neill shared the new ball. In the 8th over, Lees was lbw to O’Neill for 17, 29 for one. Gay departed for a two ball duck, bowled by O’Neill to one that kept low, 29 for two. Gay the new signing from the Cobblers had registered a 10-ball pair. With Durham 53 for 2 off 14 overs, James replaced Pennington, who bowled well without luck, from the Pavilion End. Tongue replaced O’Neill from the Radcliffe Road End for the 18th over and bowled much better, possibly buoyed by his unexpected contribution with the willow, after a very rusty first innings effort. Notts were setting attacking fields and McKinney and Ackermann raced to the 50 partnership in 57 balls. James bowled a three over spell and was replaced by Farhan – whose threat Durham feel particularly wary of. McKinney was dropped on 33 by James at first slip off Tongue - a regulation chance. Luckily, in his next over Tongue found left-hander McKinney's edge once more and this time Clarke took the catch low diving to his left, 100 for 3 in the 24th over. Stumps were drawn at 18:40 with Durham on 114 for 3 off 30 overs with Ackermann on 45 and Robinson on 6.

The wicket is still playing well, but the odd ball is keeping low and Notts probably will need to remove the remaining seven Durham batters by teatime today as they look to start their 2025 championship season on a winning note. Good seats are still available! MAG

05/04

Day 2

NOTTS FIGHTBACK THROUGH SLATER AND McCANN AFTER IRRIGATION IRRITATION

Durham go into the third day with a lead of 81 with Notts closing on 297 for 5 off 86 overs in their first innings on another day with clear blue skies accompanied by a brisk and biting north easterly wind.

The players came out at 11:00 but the umpires spotted a leaking water nozzle near the pitch at the Pavilion End. They then went to summon the groundstaff underneath the scoreboard. Within seconds the offending sprinkler and several others then started spraying water. Pure slapstick for the good sized Trent Bridge crowd. Luckily the northernly wind ensured it was only the outfield and not the actual pitch that got a brief soaking. The red faced ground crew then started drying the outfield. They had to put some diesel in the motor mop to get it up and running and eventually play started at 11:45 with four overs lost which will be added to tomorrow’s ration. Pennington (Pavilion End) and O’Neill shared the bowling. In the 100^th over, Coughlin was leg before to O’Neill for 11. Durham 378 all out with Potts unbeaten on 11. O’Neill 5 for 81 on his Notts debut very much the pick of the Notts bowlers.

Raine (Radcliffe Road End) and Potts shared the new ball. Hameed and Slater made a comfortable start and Notts stood at 31 for 0 off 9 overs when Coughlin replaced Potts from the Pavilion End. Potts returned from the Radcliffe Road End in the 13th over. At lunch Notts were 48 for 0 off 16 overs with Slater on 31 and Hameed on 17. The openers had batted well and positively to ease the fears of a Notts collapse.

Their good work continued after the interval. The 50 stand was achieved in the opening over after lunch in 98 balls. In the 21st over, Hameed (27) was leg before to Potts, 62 for 1. After all the trouble with the sprinklers in the morning it was perhaps appropriate that Drissell replaced Raine from the Pavilion End for the 26th over. A four through point by Slater off Coughlin took him to his to 50 off 89 balls (10x4) in the 31st over. Three overs later, Slater found the backward point ropes off Drissell to take Notts to three figures. A further two offside fours followed from Slater in an over that cost 12. Next over, a four through point by McCann off Coughlin brought up the 50 stand in 86 balls. Rhodes came on for the 38th over. Notts reached 150 in the 46th over via a four through backward point by McCann off Drissell. Slater (92 off 147 balls, 19x4) was batting beautifully and looked certain to achieve a ton but his fluent innings ended via a poor shot, pulling a short ball from Rhodes to wide long leg where Gay took the catch;  157 for 2 in the 47th over. The second wicket had added 95 in 26 overs. Clarke inside edged his first ball off Rhodes for 4. His second ball was deposited to the square leg ropes. Notts 166 for 2 off 48 overs when tea was taken at 16:00 with McCann 36 and Clarke on 8.

An off driven boundary by McCann off Coughlin got him to 50 off 93 balls in the 54th over. A four through third man by Clarke off Coughlin took Notts to 200 in the 56th over. The two batsmen looked in no trouble. Out of nowhere in the 67th over, ex Notts man Coughlin produced a peach of a delivery to remove Clarke’s (37) middle stump; 225 for 3. The 3^rd wicket stand worth 68 in 20 overs. McCann (79 off 158 balls, 10x4), who was attempting to reach his third ton in succession at Trent Bridge chased a wide one from Coughlin and edged an attempted drive into Robinson's gloves; 244 for 4 in the 73rd over. A pull shot to the square leg ropes by Haynes off Coughlin took Notts to their first batting point in the 75th over. The new ball was taken with Notts 280 for 4 off 80 overs. Haynes (30) was adjudged leg before to a short ball from Raine that failed to lift properly. Haynes not offering a shot with the ball hitting his backside; 288 for 5 in the 84th over. With 15 balls remaining Farhan (4*) came in as nightwatchman. Montgomery (19*) stood firm. Notts were five down when stumps were drawn at 18:51 and had allayed fears of giving Durham a big lead. 

Slater and McCann both batted well but frustratingly gave their wickets away when well set and nearing their tons. The Durham bowlers were more accurate than Notts 24 hours previously. All their bowlers, apart from Rhodes bowling economically on what was clearly an easing surface. With the new ball only six overs old, the first hour tomorrow will have a big bearing on where this game is heading. MAG

 

The Good, the Bad and the underwhelming

The Good, Fergus O'Neill - really promising and also Farhan Ahmed - he makes things happen from nothing.

The Bad, look at the number of no balls and extras in general. Look at the number of deliveries that were served-up to short boundary.

The underwhelming, the progress on the shrouded pavilion and what the difference between the old Randall Suite and the new Clubhouse.

Question: if we have a Members' Forum in this first block of Championship home fixtures, where will it be held and when?

04/04

Day 1

DURHAM DOMINATE

in spite of a promising start for O'Neill

Visitors Durham had the better of the first day of the county season reaching 370 for 9 against a ragged disappointing Notts attack. Former Fox, Colin Ackermann top scored with a well-constructed 116, on his birthday.

Notts won the toss and elected to bowl on a sunny and windy day with a short boundary on the Bridgford Road side. With Western Province still in action in South Africa both teams were missing key overseas players in Kyle Verreynne and David Bedingham. Durham were also without Aussie Brendan Doggett and England trio Stokes, Carse and Wood. Notts meanwhile gave debuts to Aussie Fergus O’Neill and Josh Tongue. With Notts possessing a very long tail, they were not prepared to give Schadendorf a rare outing and Clarke donned the gloves and Matt Montgomery bolstered the batting at number six. Olly Stone who injured his knee during the pre-season knockabout about Grace Road has undergone an operation and is likely to miss the next four months, hoping to get fit for the Hundred starting in August.

Pennington (Pavilion End) and O’Neill opened the bowling in an impressive manner. In the 6th over, O’Neill got highly-rated McKinney (5) to edge one to Clarke who took the catch diving to his left, 22 for one. In the following over, Lees was dropped on 17 by James at first slip off Pennington, a regulation chance and a costly miss. Gay departed for an eight ball duck another dismissal for the Clarke-O’Neill combination, 24 for 2 in the 8th over. After a six over spell from Pennington, Josh Tongue replaced him. His opening two deliveries were deposited for legside boundaries by Lees. The former Worcester man making a much delayed debut was understandably rusty all day and well below his best in his first championship match since July 2023. The Durham 50 came up in his opening over, the 13^th of the innings. Lyndon James replaced O’Neill (7 1 24 2) from the Radcliffe Road End. The 50 stand for the third wicket between Lees and Ackermann came up in 72 balls via a legside boundary by Ackermann off the erratic James. Farhan Ahmed replaced the expensive Tongue from the Radcliffe Road End for the 23rd over, a single for Lees brought up his 50 off 60 balls. A four through third man by Ackermann off James brought up the 100 in the 24th over. The new Durham skipper  Lees (52 off 70 balls, 8x4) threw his wicket away being caught at mid-on by O’Neill off Farhan, 102 for 3 in the 25th over. The 3^rd wicket had raised 78 in 17 overs. O'Neill returned for the 26th over. Durham 118 for 3 off 30 overs at lunch with Ackermann on 41 and Robinson on 5.

After bowling a no ball, Tongue's opening two legitimate deliveries after lunch were driven for offside fours by Robinson. Pennington switched to the Radcliffe Road End. Robinson (16) fished at a Tongue delivery and was caught at first slip by James, 136 for 4 after 35 overs. Ackermann reached his 50 off 86 balls. James replaced Tongue from the Pavilion End for the 43rd over and proved less expensive than his opening spell. O'Neill returned and with his fourth ball of his third spell had Rhodes (10) well caught by Clarke diving low to his left, 171  for 5 in the 44th over. Notts still reasonably placed, however Durham managed to add a further 199 for the loss of four wickets off the remaining 52 overs of the day. O’Neill was by far the most impressive bowler for Notts today bowling a good probing line and length. In the 51st over, Ackermann on 80 had a huge slice of luck when James brushed his off stump with the bail moving but then returning back into its groove. Farhan returned for the 53rd over with Durham reaching their 200. In the last over before tea, a straight driven boundary for Ackermann off Tongue took him to his ton off 174 balls. Durham 243 for 5 off 64 overs with Ackermann on 104 and Clark on 34.

A cover driven boundary by Ackermann off Tongue saw Durham to 250 in the 66th over. In Tongue's following over Clark pulled him for six into the Smith Cooper Stand. Clark (45) though fell off the last delivery of the over caught by McCann diving to his right at second slip, 264 for 6 off 68 overs. The sixth wicket partnership had added 93 runs in 25 overs. Ackermann (116) finally departed caught by Montgomery at slip off Farhan Ahmed, 278 for 7 off 73 overs. A lofted four by Drissell off James brought up the Durham 300 in the 78th over. The new ball was taken with Durham 310 for 7 off 80 overs. Drissell hit three consecutive boundaries off the tiring O’Neill in the 86th over. Pennington demolished Raine's (27) stumps with a well-pitched up delivery, 347 for 8 in the 87th over. Another useful stand put together by Raine and Drissell adding 69 in 13 overs. The Durham 350 came up in the following over. Drissell (45) became O’Neill's fourth victim, all caught behind by Clarke – the last one a easy effort;  355 for 9 in the 92nd over. The strength of Durham batting line-up could be gleaned by Matty Potts (8*) coming in last man with a first-batting average of 18.72. With former Notts man Coughlin (6*) as his partner they added a further 15 as Durham closed on 370-9 off 96 overs. The extras count was far too high on 40 as the Notts seamers had a very up and down day with the ball. 

Without Verreynne, Notts have a challenging task to remain in the game and what is a good pitch with a short boundary on one side. The plus side for Notts was the performance of Sheffield Shield Player of Year who impressed with his 4-74 this on the back of taking 38 wickets at 21.07 for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield last winter.  Former England man Tongue looked very rusty. Based on this performance and his earlier pre-season form, Hutton should have been selected ahead of him. MAG

03/04

No Kyle Verreynne  included in the opening squad of the season. Kyle's parent club, Western Province that he shares with Dane Paterson and David Bedingham, are still in contention for the play-offs of the South African 4 Day competition, so No Objection Certificates have not been issued yet. The squad does include Fergus O'Neill.

Haseeb Hameed c

Ben Slater

Freddie McCann

Joe Clarke

Matt Montgomery

Jack Haynes

Lyndon James

Fergus O'Neill

Dane Schadendorf

Josh Tongue

Brett Hutton

Dillon Pennington

Conor McKerr

Farhan Ahmed

Ben Martindale

Making a show

If any of Josh Tongue, Conor McKerr and Fergus O'Neill make their club debuts tomorrow, who will hand them their county caps, Hass, Broad or Fletch?

Durham Squad:

Colin Ackermann, Graham Clark, Paul Coughlin, George Drissell, Emilio Gay, Mitchell Killeen, Alex Lees*, Ben McKinney, Callum Parkinson, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Will Rhodes, Ollie Robinson+

Who'd be a sponsor of the County Championship these days? They seem to change annually in recent years, Vitality, LV= and now we have Rothesay, who don't appear to to do insurance but do do pensions and investments. Dave Griffin says that this is the 9th sponsor of the Championship since sponsorship was introduced in 1977.

Just to lower the profile of the new sponsor's launch, there will be no Ben Stokes in the opening few rounds, significant for this fixture.

Also, Root and Brook will be absent for Yorkshire's return to the top flight and Jimmy Anderson is injured for Lancashire's first few Division 2 matches.

Friday could possible see the coming together of a fair proportion of England's fast bowler stable at Trent Bridge:

Notts in theory have Olly Stone, Josh Tongue and Dillon Pennington whereas Durham have Matty Potts, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood but one thing is certain not all of those players wlll be fit or will be given a green light to play from the England string-pullers. Add to those England Lions' Sam Conners and Lyndon James into that mix.

Will Will Rhodes, after switching counties, maintain his happy hunting ground feeling at Trent Bridge with his new playmates?

All the talk around Notts has been the need to score first innings runs this year, so can they achieve this? Durham's bowlers in April will be a stern test for the Notts batting.

Nottinghamshire - 'The Only Way Is Up'

2024 season - Eighth in Division One

Dave Bracegirdle - BBC Radio Nottinghamshire

Yazz knew what she was on about, didn't she? 'The Only Way Is Up' was not only a catchy hit single but is also a good place to approach Nottinghamshire's hopes for 2025.

Head coach Peter Moores has emphasised that it's important to learn from what went wrong last year, as well as draw a line underneath it.

As a brief reminder, Notts narrowly avoided relegation from Division One of the County Championship, finished bottom of their group in the T20 Blast and barely raised a pulse in the One-Day Cup.

So what might be different this time around?

The only domestic signing sees Conor McKerr join from Surrey but with Josh Tongue now fully fit, those two bolster a fast-bowling unit that promises untold riches.

If Notts can keep Olly Stone healthy, alongside overseas recruits in Australia's Fergus O'Neill and Pakistan's Mohammad Abbas, throw in the evergreen Brett Hutton and the raw pace of Rob Lord, then their resources seem well stocked.

Teenagers Farhan Ahmed and Freddie McCann both made their county debuts towards the back end of last season and already carry the weight of expectation.

The prodigious spinning fingers of 17-year old Ahmed have already marked him out as a generational talent, while 19-year-old team-mate McCann hit two centuries in just seven innings.

Some astute observers are already wondering if Kyle Verreynne is the best wicketkeeper-batter in the world right now. The county fought off a lot of competition to secure the services of the South African for the whole campaign.

That just leaves the top order. While Trent Bridge members may not see too much of England's Ben Duckett once again, there are guaranteed runs from skipper Haseeb Hameed and the gifted Joe Clarke, both as good as any in the county game.

2024 season - Fifth in Division One

Martin Emmerson - BBC Radio Newcastle

Durham finished fifth on their return to Division One last season and in general more than held their own. They might be able to improve on that this year. We'll see.

They weren't helped by the loss of their entire opening game - at home to Hampshire in April – but there was only really Surrey who turned them over.

That was towards the end of the season and the week Surrey retained their title - and they beat a weakened Durham side struggling with injuries.

From a batting point of view they have added Emilio Gay to the ranks. He joined towards the end of last season from Northants, while Will Rhodes chose to leave Warwickshire after seven seasons, despite the offer of a new contract.

They will help boost a line-up which includes the leading batter in Division One last season, in South African David Bedingham. He scored 1,331 runs, including a club-record 279 against Lancashire in September. He also became the first Durham batter to score centuries in four consecutive innings.

Opener Michael Jones has left for Lancashire. His outings last season were limited due to selection choices, so he took the decision to head back home.

Bowling is the key issue. They've had no luck with overseas players in recent seasons. Scott Boland lasted part of one game before returning home to Australia in April. Neil Wagner managed just one game too. Veteran Peter Siddle came in and did well in his four games, while West Indian Chemar Holder didn't particularly pull up any trees in his three matches. Keeping their bowlers fit will be key.

It remains to be seen how much of a good signing Sam Conners will be. The bowler has joined from Derbyshire. While he boasted 50 championship wickets in 2022, he took 27 the following year, but only played five Championship matches last season. Australian seamer Brendan Doggett will play County Championship matches in April and May. The 30-year-old seamer plays for South Australia and has 157 first-class wickets to his name.

Then there's the likes of ever-dependable all-rounder Ben Raine. Matthew Potts is important to the team too, when England allow him to be available. Seventeen-year-old James Minto looks a good prospect and fellow bowler Daniel Hogg will be looking to push on after a career-best 7-66 against Notts in Chester-le-Street.

A Durham preview:

Previewed by Graham Hardcastle - ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay

Captain: Alex Lees

Head Coach: Ryan Campbell

2024 finish: Fifth (Division One)

2024 highest run-scorer: David Bedingham (1,331)

2024 highest wicket-taker: Matthew Potts (33)

Key winter moves: Experienced Australia A seamer Brendan Doggett has signed an overseas deal for the first two months of the season, supplementing prolific South African batter David Bedingham, who is available all summer aside from any Test Match commitments. Scotland batter Michael Jones has moved to birth-county Lancashire, but three domestic recruits have arrived in the North East; opening batter Emilio Gay, all-rounder Will Rhodes and fast bowler Sam Conners.

What we’re looking forward to seeing: After winning Division Two in 2023, Durham consolidated their top-flight position last season by finishing mid-table courtesy of four wins and five draws. Can they kick on now and give champions Surrey something to think about? England Test captain Ben Stokes, currently sidelined following hamstring surgery, could return to county colours during the early stages of the summer as he builds up to blockbuster series against India and Australia this year.

Final thought: It will be fascinating to chart the progress of three highly-rated homegrown youngsters as they tackle a summer in which Alex Lees will captain Durham’s Championship team alongside their white-ball sides. Opening batter Ben McKinney scored an England Lions century against Australia A this winter and is targeting a breakthrough campaign, while fast bowlers Daniel Hogg and James Minto can further progress after brief - and exciting - exposure in last summer’s Rothesay County Championship.