DURHAM are hoping the Boon times will return under their new captain, Mike Hussey, and he sees no reason why they shouldn't.

It was under David Boon that Durham enjoyed their best period in first-class cricket, earning a place in the inaugural Division One in 2000, when Nick Speak failed the survive the season as captain as they finished next to the bottom.

The reins have since been held by Jon Lewis, but as they slumped back to the bottom last season it was no surprise that Durham should return to the Aussie ways.

Apart from captaining Western Australia, Hussey already has experience of leading a team out of England's second division, although it took him until his second season in charge of Northamptonshire in 2003.

That was a year when the left-hander scored 187 against Durham in an innings win at Northampton and 43 and 72 not out at Riverside, followed by an unbeaten 112 in the Sunday League match.

He scored a triple century in each of his three seasons with Northants, starting with 2055 championship runs at 79.03 in 2001, followed by 1379 at 72.57 and 1697 at 89.31.

Durham's best last season was Gordon Muchall's 970 runs at 35.92.

Yet Hussey, who will be 30 next month, has never played Test cricket and Durham were justified in thinking that his international chances had probably passed.

There has never been any particular reason to see him as a one-day specialist, yet he is suddenly part of the Australian one-day squad and will miss five weeks of Durham's season.

"I have mixed feelings about that," he admitted.

"I want to be involved with Durham and for us to do well, but it's an honour to play for your country.

"I am helping Durham to find a replacement, but as well as being a good player he has to be the right type of person who will adhere to the team culture.

"When Martyn Moxon approached me about this job last year I realised he was someone who knows what he's talking about and that we have similar philosophies.

"We want to build a strong team culture and spirit, and we want to play patient, positive, disciplined cricket for long periods of time.

"That's the Aussie way and I want to develop that culture in Durham.

"When I have played against them I have been pretty impressed with the way they have gone about their cricket, but the opposition would get on top of them in one session.

"We have to keep the game simple, and the bowlers have to repeat good balls in good areas and keep up the pressure from both ends."

The fact that Hussey has become a one-day international rather than a Test player, despite his ability to score triple hundreds, speaks volumes for his adaptability, which obviously extends to different pitches.

He bridled at the suggestion of an ex-Australian Test player that he is a good player on slow pitches, saying: "I have grown up playing at the WACA in Perth, which has probably the fastest pitches in the world.

"You have to be able to adjust to slower pitches. You need a simple game plan and a technique which will hold up on any sort of pitch."

That ability to adjust is something Durham fans will hope he can pass on to the other batsmen, who scored far more runs away from home last season and seemed to develop a dislike of Riverside.

Hussey had other offers for this season but says he chose Durham because of the challenge.

"It's a county that wants to go places and I'm excited about the challenge," he said. "I'm here for two years and if it goes well I would like to stay beyond that.

"The goal this season is to win Division Two, and if we get the culture right with the depth we have in the squad we can be challenging in Division One next season.

"It would be nice to have Steve Harmison and Paul Collingwood all season, but we have to aim to get as many players as possible involved in international cricket. I have seen three or four others who have the potential to play for England.

"I am impressed with the way Liam Plunkett goes about his cricket, Phil Mustard has a lot of ability, Mark Davies has attributes which would be a success at international level, and Gordon Muchall and Gary Pratt are in a similar mould."

Hussey has played for Western Australia for ten years and is a graduate of the Australian Academy as well as a former Sir Donald Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year.

He spent a week getting to know his Durham players on their tour in Dubai then flew home briefly before returning last Thursday with his wife, Amy, and 14-month daughter Jasmin.

They have settled into a house in Lanchester and Hussey reckons he might just about have acclimatised by the time he goes out to toss the coin at Grace Road today.

Durham have never beaten Leicestershire in championship cricket, but the omens are not all bad because it was in Boon's last four-day match at Grace Road in 1999 that they achieved the draw which ensured Division One status.