DURHAM will unveil a new chairman this week to succeed Bob Jackson, who agreed to take over on a temporary basis following the resignation of Bill Midgley.

Jackson, who will stay on as vice-chairman, said: "We had a short list of three and they were all more than excellent. We need someone with the business contacts to bring money into the club."

Durham made a profit of £30,000 last year and are saving money this season by operating with a squad of 18 rather than 21. But the threat of a reduction in the ECB hand-out to counties means they need a cash injection if they are to continue developing Riverside. The new chairman, who is a former first-class cricketer with Durham connections, will be at the helm of a new finance committee.

MARTIN Love, who has spent part or all of the last three seasons with Durham, has agreed to play for Northamptonshire for the second half of the season.

He will replace South African Martin van Jaarsveld, who has to leave for the tour of Sri Lanka on July 14, just as Herschelle Gibbs would have done had he come to Durham.

Love, who made the Durham individual record score of 273 against Hampshire at Riverside last year, has become available following his slip down the pecking order of batsmen knocking on the Australian Test door.

Durham coach Martyn Moxon said: "We spoke to Martin before we signed Marcus North, but he only wanted to come for half a season, so the Northants move will suit him."

FORMER Darlington and Durham bowler Nicky Hatch staked a claim for an extension of his two-month trial with Leicestershire by taking five for 42 in the second innings of a second X1 match against Derbyshire last week.

The 25-year-old 6ft 8in seamer was one of six players released by Durham at the end of last season then spent the winter playing in Australia.

Several counties have shown an interest, but he committed himself to two months at Grace Road from April 1. He has been training and practising with the squad, but the Derby game was his first chance to impress in a match.

ALTHOUGH Shoaib Akhtar will have to leave before the end of the season, Durham are unlikely to turn again to his fellow Pakistani Tahir Mughal.

Although Tahir had impressed Director of Cricket Geoff Cook in one match for the academy last season, Durham could have found at least a dozen club professionals of a similar standard in the northern leagues.

He is in his third season with Silverdale, near Stoke, in the North Staffordshire and District League, which is apparently much better than village standard but hardly preparation for county cricket.

AS I was quaffing my second pint of Uley Bitter in the evening sunshine outside the Woolpack at Slad on Saturday, I reflected that it doesn't get any better than this.

The beer tasted all the better after the thrills, drama and sheer tension of the greatest turnaround in Durham's first-class history.

I recalled that in the first game of the 1998 season at Edgbaston, when John Wood removed Brian Lara for a duck, a national newspaper man noted that that would be the highlight of Durham's season.

It takes a slight edge off the euphoria to feel like that now - only five weeks into the season and the highlight has gone. Or has it? We can but live in hope that the wonderful deeds at Taunton, and Worcester yesterday, will set the tone for more magical moments to come.

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