DURHAM have offered a full-time contract to 19-year-old left-handed batsman Gary Pratt.

They have also introduced development contracts as a stepping stone between the academy and the senior squad, and the first two have gone to seamer Mark Davies and all-rounder Ian Pattison.

Pratt, from Crook, joins his wicketkeeping brother Andrew on a staff of 19, of which 13 are North-Easterners.

He made his first-class debut at Old Trafford last season, scoring five and 11, then made 23 in his only other championship innings against Kent at the Riverside.

"Gary was a bit disappointed not to get a contract at the end of last season," said Director of Cricket Geoff Cook.

"But we are putting the onus on performances and we told him he would be rewarded if he did well on the England Under-19 tour."

Pratt was the most consistent batsman on the trip to India, where he was joined by three other Durham boys in Pattison, Nicky Peng and Gordon Muchall.

Peng, who had attracted the attention of six other counties, had already been given a full-time contract by Durham.

Those who have not been abroad have been having nets three times a week at Norton since January and Steve Harmison has played a full part in the last month.

The 22-year-old paceman had to pull out of this winter's England A tour to the West Indies because of his shin problem, but Cook said: "We expect him to be fully fit for the start of the season.

"All the scans showed there was no fracture, so we took him to a specialist in Leeds who diagnosed it as a biomechanical problem.

"Steve has to realign his left foot as he walks and runs and bring that into his bowling action. If he can do that over a period of time it will take the strain away.

"It appears only a slight change but it's quite a major thing for him to take on board.

"If he stays fit he will be a match-winning bowler, along with Simon Brown, and Ian Hunter also has enough pace to surprise a few people. He went to Dennis Lillee's pace bowling school in Madras for 15 days in January and came back with renewed confidence.

"He said Dennis was a real character. He's still very fit and loves the game. The more our players can be introduced to that sort of person the more it will benefit them."

New coach Martyn Moxon returns next week from his role as assistant coach to England's one-day team in Sri Lanka.

He has arranged a day's golf at Slaley Hall with the squad prior to getting down to serious practice, hopefully outdoors, although the Riverside is desperately in need of some sunshine.

The first match starts there on April 16. It is a three-day game against Durham University, who are one of six such establishments to be awarded three first-class games this season.

New overseas signing Martin Love is expected to arrive during that match, having recovered from a chipped finger suffered helping Queensland to the Pura Cup final.

Love has scored 758 runs in nine innings in the competition at an average of 84.2, and Cook said: "We hear he's a very similar character to Simon Katich. He leads a similar lifestyle - very dedicated and professional. He is a tall, elegant batsman whose style has been compared with Greg Chappell."

Love should have three or four days to practise and acclimatise before his debut in the opening championship match against Gloucesteshire at the Riverside, starting on April 20.