DURHAM will shortly be seeking members' backing to restructure the company with a view to writing off the £1.8m of debt they have accrued in constructing Riverside.

It's a financial millstone which prevents them from competing in the transfer market, with coach Martyn Moxon unable to land targets such as Craig White and Ryan Sidebottom in the last two seasons.

He had to settle instead for Vince Wells and Gavin Hamilton. While Wells' personal performances were disappointing it can now be seen that his experience brought something to the team, and Moxon is looking to replace that.

Durham's next away game in the championship is at Colchester and I wouldn't be surprised to see Moxon sounding out his old Yorkshire colleague Paul Grayson, who has been with Essex since 1996.

The 33-year-old all-rounder from Bedale has captaincy experience and proved he still has something to offer when he was called upon to open for Essex in the absence of Alistair Cook, who was on England Under 19 duty, last week.

Grayson scored 119 against Nottinghamshire at Southend, but the future for Essex obviously lies with Cook and Will Jefferson at the top of the order.

Another possibility is to challenge Derbyshire for 30-year-old Tasmanian Michael di Venuto, who was due to captain the Peakites this season until a back injury ruled him out. He scored 1,520 championship runs last summer at an average of 49.03.

THE quandary surrounding whether or not to extend Gavin Hamilton's one-year contract hasn't been helped by yet another injury.

The all-rounder was very close to a first team comeback at Grace Road last week, but after spending much of the first day on the field as a substitute he tripped over a bag in the dressing room on the second day.

Damaged ankle ligaments will now keep him out for two weeks, which means the nightmare goes on and on for a player who was determined to rekindle his career this season, only to be ruled out for ten weeks by a thumb injury at the end of April.

DURHAM'S appalling championship record against Leicestershire now reads: played 12, lost ten, drawn two. But at least their second innings total of 389 was considerably more than they have achieved before against the Midlanders.

Durham's previous highest was 318 in their inaugural first-class match at Durham University in 1992, when Paul Parker and Ian Botham made centuries but they still lost by seven wickets.

Among the other records at Grace Road last week was the highest individual score on the ground by a Leicestershire player, Brad Hodge's 262 beating Phil Simmons' 261 on his debut against Northamptonshire in 1994.

This was Hodge's third double century of the season, and in the last 15 months he has converted 15 of his 23 half centuries into three figures.

This was something Martin Love was unable to achieve in his first season with Durham in 2001, when he made 14 half-centuries but only once went on to a hundred. On his championship debut for Northants against Surrey last week he was out for 51.

Love has, however, made the two biggest individual scores for Durham, his record of 273 coming only a year ago at Riverside against Hampshire in a match which Durham won by an innings and 115 runs.

MY thanks to Durham member Geoff Wood for pointing out that in listing occasions when a Durham player has carried his bat I forgot about Michael Gough against Essex at Riverside in 2002. Gough scored 75 out of 187 in a rain-affected match in which Brad Hodge batted at three for Durham and was bowled by Graham Napier for two.

It was part of a golden end to the summer for Gough, which also featured a century against Essex at Colchester. He made only one score below 30 in his last 12 innings.

THE Durham A team have been drawn away to Essex in the semi-finals of the Second XI Trophy. The match will be played at Billericay next Monday. Today the A team start a three-day match against Northants at Darlington.

THE first 150 youngsters, aged nine to 16, to sign up for the H J Banks and Sportsmatch Road Show will be given free tickets for Durham's floodlit match against Somerset on Wednesday week. The roadshow will be staged at Riverside and Tynedale CC from August 10 under the guidance of ECB coaches. The fee is £20 and further details are available from Graeme Weekes (0191 387 2868).