Durham County Cricket Club (Durham CCC) is an English domestic first-class cricket team based at the Riverside Ground , Chester-le-Street, County Durham.
Granted first-class status in 1991, Durham is English cricket's youngest first-class county. The County Ground at the Riverside is also the newest addition to the English test match circuit; hosting its first match, England v Zimbabwe in the second npower Test, in June 2003.
History of the club
Durham CCC was founded on May 23, 1882, and the nascent club played its first competetive match on June 12 of that year, beating Northumberland by 4 wickets at the Ashbrooke Ground, Sunderland. The club established an enviable record as a minor county: becoming the first minor county to beat a first-class county in the Gilette Cup; winning the Minor Counties Championship a record-equalling nine times between 1900 and 1984; and putting together a record of 65 matches without defeat between 1976 and 1982 that remains unbroken to the present day.
Early in 1989, the Club began the process of applying to become a first-class cricketing county and join the County Championship. First-class status was awarded on December 6, 1991, with Durham becoming the first new first-class county for 70 years. Their first season in the County Championship was the 1992 season.
Durham have not been distinguished by marked success as a first-class county. In the 2004 season they finished bottom of the two-divison County Championship, sixth out of ten teams in the one-day National Cricket League and fifth out of six teams in the Northern Division of the Twenty20 Cup.
The Riverside
The club's acceptance into first-class cricket was made conditional on the building of a new test match-standard cricket ground. Work began on the new ground at the Riverside, a spectacular location in Chester-le-Street overlooked by Lumley Castle, in 1990, and development has continued in phases until the present day. Work on the outfield and playing surface began in 1993. In its first three seasons in the Couny Championship, the Club played in a variety of locations around the county, but the Riverside ground was pronounced ready for cricket in time for the 1995 season, even though many of the buildings were still temporary or unfinished. The ground hosted its first game, Durham v Warwickshire, on May 18, 1995. Other facilities at the ground continued being built over subsequent years, and the club's Don Robson Pavilion was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1996. The full ground capacity, including permanent and temporary seating, is 15,000.
The development of the Riverside into a significant cricketing venue was underscored in 1999, when it hosted World Cup involving Pakistan, Scotland, Australia and Bangladesh, and then in 2000 when it staged the first One-day International match in the NatWest Triangular Series between England, Zimbabwe and the West Indies. In 2003 the Riverside Ground was raised to test match status, and it hosted its first test match, England v Zimbabwe in the second npower Test, on June 4, 2003.
Players
Since Durham's induction as a first-class county, each player has been allocated a unique squad number. The first 11 numbers were allocated in batting order from the club's first game, and subsequent numbers have been awarded in order of debut.
The current Durham squad consist of:
-
Dale Benkenstein
-
Gareth Breese
-
Graeme Bridge
- Paul Collingwood
- Mark Davies
-
Gavin Hamilton
- Stephen Harmison
-
Mike Hussey (Captain)
- Neil Killeen
- Jonathan Lewis
- Gordon Muchall
- Philip Mustard
- Ashley Noffke
- Graham Onions
- Nicky Peng
- Andrew Pratt (Wicket keeper)
- Gary Pratt
- Callum Thorp
Other notable cricketers who have played for the club include:
External links
