IF MARCUS North plays in the first Ashes Test, he will be returning to a ground with happy memories. But I’d wager that, like anyone else with North-East connections, he would consider Riverside a more deserving venue.

Whether North will recognise the Cardiff ground is open to doubt as the rickety old Sophia Gardens has been transformed into the Swalec Stadium, which many observers believe to be devoid of character.

It was at Cardiff in 2004 that North scored 219 for Durham in a season in which he still fell short of 1,000 runs and averaged 32.3.

The former Gateshead Fell professional, who will be 30 next month, was to have played for Hampshire this season until his selection for the Ashes squad. That would have been his fifth county as he has also appeared for Lancashire, Derbyshire and Gloucestershire.

He hasn’t been outstanding with any of them, and he struggled in the tourists’ match against Sussex at Hove, scoring four and 11. But he made a century on his Test debut against South Africa and if he does make the team for Cardiff there will be three ex-Durham men in the top six.

Simon Katich will open and Mike Hussey will be at No 4, despite suddenly starting to struggle recently. Hussey was captaining Durham during the 2005 Ashes series, but had to leave for five weeks to play in the one-day internationals, during which no-one could get him out.

His subsequent rise up the world rankings was meteoric, and after three years of Test cricket he was still averaging 61 last Christmas. Since then, however, he has averaged 22 and without his rock-like consistency the Australian middle order looks a little shaky.

NO sooner had I written that Lancashire hadn’t benefited from the inclusion of Andrew Flintoff than he smashed 93 off 41 balls in Thursday night’s Twenty20 match at Derby.

In previewing Lancashire’s Friday visit to Riverside I submitted the copy around two hours before Flintoff began his blitz on Thursday.

There must have been an element of revenge about his assault on Garry Park as he hit four successive balls for four, six, four, six.

In his only championship appearance in the last of his three seasons with Durham last year, Park bowled Flintoff for a fourth-ball duck at Old Trafford.

Originally signed as the reserve wicketkeeper, Park also bowled his current Derbyshire team-mate Stuart Law to finish with two for 20 in that innings. But it was the only time he bowled his bustling medium pace in four-day cricket for Durham.

PAUL Wiseman is to retire from first-class cricket at the end of the season to take up a coaching position with Canterbury in New Zealand.

The 39-year-old former New Zealand Test off-spinner was a regular in the Durham side which won the LV County Championship last season, but hasn’t featured this year following the signing of Ian Blackwell. He has been playing for the second team and for Normanby Hall.

Wiseman, whose main role will be to work with the 14 selected young players in Canterbury’s development programme, said: "I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with Durham, whose success over the last few years I have been proud to be a part of. I will continue to play whatever part I can for Durham for the rest of the season.”

Coach Geoff Cook added: "Paul's experience has been a real asset to the side.”