It is not often that Durham have felt at the centre of the English cricketing world. The youngest and most northerly of the 18 first-class counties has sometimes felt a little peripheral; while there is still a sense of unease at the heavy punishment levied by the ECB over financial issues a decade ago that dropped the Chester-le-Street club into the second tier.
There is a certain prominence, though, to Durham at the moment, plenty of reason to cast one’s eye in their direction. Not only does the international summer begin at the Riverside with England hosting the White Ferns in an ODI on Sunday, but Ben Stokes is primed to return to action for the first time since the Ashes as Ryan Campbell’s side visit Worcester in the County Championship this weekend. Top–order batters Emilio Gay and Ben McKinney will hope to use that game to further their cases for inclusion in the Test squad to be named in about a fortnight, which may well be partly picked by Marcus North – Durham’s director of cricket, who, it would seem, has won the race to be England’s new selector.
