Down by the Riverside 2020

[Durhamfootman]

Mostly fair enough. Not sure about JJB though. He was a fairly modest opening bat, as far I'm concerned, with unremarkable stats, although he was certainly a loyal servant of the club and of many years standing. Personally I'd have had Mike Hussey, but then Harmy wouldn't have played with him, so he would have a limited pool to pick from.

Probably a good idea for us to select our own best XI

[Durhamfootman]

All time Championship side

Hussey
DiVenuto
Collingwood
Benkenstein
Stokes
Blackwell
Mustard
Gibson
Onions
Harmison (but only pre-2010)
Killeen

12th man Gary Pratt

[Arthur Crabtree]

No David Boon?

[KingOttis]

Hussey
Di Venuto
Collingwood
Chanderpaul
Benkenstein
Stokes
Blackwell
Mustard
Harmison
Onions
Brown

Boon as 12th man, not for his lithe athleticism, but because I couldn't really decide between him and Chanderpaul.

[Arthur Crabtree]

From a BBC article about best overseas players.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/52514110

Callum Thorp: No-nonsense Australian bowler who put it on a length and caused problems for batsmen all over the country. Thorp was key in all Durham achieved during their late 2000s heyday, taking 257 first-class wickets in 88 matches and a further 40 in the one-day game.

Dale Benkenstein: Arrived from South Africa in 2005 to help turn Durham into a county cricket force. Won promotion in his first year and led the county to the first of three titles in 2008, and a One-Day Cup. Made 21 centuries, a then-record for Durham which has since been beaten by Paul Collingwood's 25.

David Boon: The Australian opener helped shape the club into a competitive force after seven years towards the bottom of the table and inspired them to Division One for the start of the new two-tier league structure in 2000. Made 3,007 first-class runs and 1,465 in one-day cricket.

Michael Di Venuto: Won two league titles and a cup with Durham after being let go by Derbyshire. Broke the record for the most runs in a season (1,654) as Durham went through the entire County Championship campaign unbeaten in 2009 to retain their title.

[Durhamfootman]

I voted for Benks, but I would dearly have liked to vote for Cal Thorp. He's still at the club, working in the box office these days and (at least until last year) turning out for Burnopfield CC, although only as a batsman. The last time I spoke to him he said his body couldn't cope with the bowling any more.

[Alviro Patterson]

ECB are considering using the Riverside as a venue for England training and/or matches.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id ... and-venues

Given Chester-Le-Street's proximity, is there scope for matches to be played in front of spectators who live in low risk covid-19 zone, assuming restrictions are still in place? Tickets strictly collected on the day and proof of ID for each ticket holder to ensure they are in the right hands. Otherwise no refund and reported to the police, who then issue fines while nabbing any ticket touts who are stupid enough to hang around outside the ground.

[westoelad]

Lumley Castle Hotel is virtually on-site plus it has the advantage of scaring the sh!t out of the opposition. I also liked Dobell's "Durham's perceived failure to manage its finances -sly dig at ECB but specifically Graves. Hopefully his departure will see the end of the favouritism bestowed to Yorkshire towards International game allocation. Still think the biggest obstacle to staging International games is getting the opposition to be granted permission or themselves being willing to travel to the country.

[captaincolly]

It would be hilarious if a ground the ECB banned from hosting test matches turns out to be chosen by the ECB to host test matches!

[Durhamfootman]

https://www.durhamcricket.co.uk/news-an ... -v-durham/

worth a read

One man drove down from Chester-le-Street that morning just to be a part of history. He and his five-year-old grandson walked into the ground as the final wicket fell.

I'm pleased Marty remembered....... that was me

(although the boy was 10 not 5, but hey...... close enough)

It was a great day even though we nearly missed the end. We set off at about 4 in the morning and returned later that day. The boy was brilliant on that gargantuan pair of journeys..... he never complained once. Although we were there for a few hours, when we headed off home the title still hadn't been confirmed because there was another match that could have prevented us getting the win, in theory at least, so we drove home listening to the radio news bulletins. I have it in my head that we were on the A14 when confirmation came through, but it was more likely to have been the M2

[Durhamfootman]

although we left before the players and Marty says they heard the news near the Dartford tunnel, so it probably was the A14. I should have trusted my instincts

[captaincolly]

Lancs CEO on the news suggested it might be possible to have some T20 domestic cricket with spectators towards the end of the season- one way systems, restricted crowd numbers etc.
Hopefully he'll be right but going by the ( imo) ludicrously over the top precautions in place for the behind closed doors international matches I fear his optimism will be misplaced!

I know it's not financially beneficial but I still don't know why there are no 4 day games. Ideal format for social distancing
It's too late for a meaningful Championship but some regional competition must be possible.

There was a suggestion from Atherton that the extreme caution and careful wording of advice is to try and ward off any legal action if something goes wrong!

[Durhamfootman]

Lawyers will be almost as busy as DPD and Hermes drivers atm.

[captaincolly]

Lawyers will be almost as busy as DPD and Hermes drivers atm.

Yes. There was someone from the football Championship responding to a suggestion relegation from the Premiership and therefore promotion from the Championship might not happen. His response was essentially- see you in court!

[captaincolly]

A limited season would cause headaches for clubs over membership - how much they would refund etc
They can keep my cash for next year but they presumably will have to refund for people who don't want that. So if there are a handful of games how do they work out the value.
They'd also have to send out membership cards - although that could probably be done via text or online.
Everything so complicated these days. I'll be surprised if any games have spectators present so the problems might not arise. At least it will wetten the appetite for 2021 and The Hundred.