WHEN Tom Graveney fronted a promotional video on an area where Chester-le-Street residents walked their dogs he could not seriously have believed that England would play cricket there ten years later.

The video was designed to attract sponsorship for Durham's move into the first-class game and it featured a youngster named McCreesh supposedly walking out to open for England at the Riverside.

McCreesh didn't quite make it, but the Riverside has, and it now seems amazing that when the video was being made the dog walkers - and many others - were still raising petitions objecting to the development.

They even got David Bellamy to say a few words about the destruction of riverside habitats.

But while their views were taken into account in the overall planning of the ground's surroundings, the objectors were always batting on a sticky wicket.

Chester-le-Street District Council were determined to seize this opportunity to put their town on the map and county council leader Don Robson was very much at the forefront of Durham's first-class bid.

The Riverside was considered the ideal site. There was plenty of space available, it was close to the A1, easily accessible for large numbers of people, and boasted the attractive the backdrop of Lumley Castle.

Once the plans were drawn up no amount of petitions were going to halt the bandwagon and the Environment Minister decided there was no need for a public inquiry.

The crucial matter of preparing the playing surface was in the hands of the original groundsman Tom Flintoft, who was of the firm opinion that the soil on the square at Wolviston Cricket Club was ideal for his purposes.

Some of the same soil was being shifted in the construction of the golf course at the adjacent Wynyard Hall, whose owner, Sir John Hall, agreed to donate more than enough soil for Durham to lay the square.

Flintoft duly became the only man alive to have prepared from scratch a ground for first-class cricket and at the first match played there the plaudits almost reduced him to tears.

The match was between Durham seconds and Middlesex in August, 1994 and the first ball was delivered by Franklyn Rose, who is likely to be in the West Indies team today.

He had a brief trial with Durham, who felt he was a potential replacement for Anderson Cummins for the 1995 season. But Rose did not impress and they plumped for Indian all-rounder Manoj Prabhaker.

The Riverside's inaugural first-class match took place the following May and when Warwickshire's Nick Knight and Andy Moles put on 172 for the first wicket there was little hint of the pitch troubles to come.

Flintoft always insisted it would take several years for the square to settle down, and there is no doubt it has improved in recent seasons.

A high water table still causes problems following wet spells and the soil can dry too quickly during sunny weather, which means getting the moisture content right can be a tricky operation for Dave Measor, who succeeded Flintoft last year.

He was foiled by the complete absence of sun for several days during the NatWest Trophy tie against Hampshire two weeks ago, which resulted in a high-profile match becoming a damp squib.

If that should happen today Durham will not get another England match for some time. But absolutely nothing has been left to chance in the preparations for this game.

Chairman Bill Midgley has admitted that some other counties are deeply jealous of the fact that Durham have been granted two matches in the triangular series and they will be hoping that something goes wrong.

Hopefully, the pitch will be much better than many of those produced at the traditional Test venues these days. If they are made to sit up and take notice, Durham will be doing English cricket a big favour