Durham Diary

The question of the provision of overnight security obviously arises from the vandalisation of the covers at the Racecourse ground, where the delightful setting is sadly no longer enough. Just about everything else seems out of step in this rapidly changing world.

Durham’s visit early last season was ruined by bitterly cold and misty weather and when Lancashire were scheduled to visit on April 3-5 this year the match was cancelled two days in advance.

In the one game which has produced more than one day’s cricket Nottinghamshire scored 505 for five declared and sent in Paul Franks to score a century as an opener in the second innings.

Ten years ago the university was producing a clutch of players who have gone on to enjoy county careers, such as Essex’s James Foster and Tim Phillips, ex-Hampshire pair Michael Brown and James Bruce, Kent’s Rob Ferley, Leicestershire’s Will Jefferson and ex-Warwickshire man Alex Loudon.

But the flow dried up, chiefly because too many counties were making Kolpak signings, and in the last few years only Hampshire seam bowler David Balcombe and the current captain, Essex’s Tom Westley, have made much impact.

Durham’s last three games against the students have been eminently forgettable affairs and most of the champion county’s players would have been better employed practising at Riverside than kicking their heels at the Racecourse.

SINCE Luke Evans joined the academy in 2004 Durham have admired his bowling but generally considered that he should appear at number 12 in any batting line-up.

Promoted to the full-time staff in 2008, the 6ft 7in seamer’s only first-class appearance until this season was against Sri Lanka A, in which he scored one run.

He is very proud, however, to be averaging 20 this season thanks to three not outs in four innings. He also points out that, when on loan to Northants, he took part in a last-wicket stand of 26 which avoided the follow-on against Middlesex.

It proved crucial as Northants chased down a target of 395 in that match to win by six wickets after Middlesex declared their second innings on 258 for three. Danny Evans, Luke’s former Durham Academy colleague but no relation, took five for 87 in the first innings. But in four first-class innings this season his batting average is 0.5.

DURHAM fan Stephen Ransome has been good enough to forward an email he received from the ECB in response to his questioning of how the Duckworth/Lewis fiasco occurred during Durham’s visit to Grace Road.

The reply said: “All counties were equipped with the correct software. They have been reminded that the 2010 software and no earlier version should be used and that earlier versions should be deleted. The matter will be addressed with Leicestershire and the ECB will look to see whether our own regulations can be improved. We appreciate all feedback at the ECB” etc, etc.

Just to recap, before Leicestershire began their reply to Durham’s 156 for four we were told the revised target would be 176 in 26 overs. But during the third over Sky television informed the umpires the target should actually be 181.

It is down to the home county’s match manager to oversee this situation. Durham’s match manager is William Dobson and he apparently had his suspicions about the calculation even before Sky intervened.

The umpires were correct, under the match regulations, in standing by the original target but had Leicestershire reached that in the final over it’s reasonable to assume there would have been a few people other than Stephen Ransome demanding some answers.

STEVE Harmison was summoned for a chat with the Sky commentators at Grace Road, so his spell out of the limelight has not turned him into an anonymous character. But Durham scorer Brian Hunt had told the players that when Harmison came on for his first over against the university he was going to shout out: “Bowler’s name, please.”

SIMILAR efforts to Ben Stokes’s sensational catch at Grace Road have been pulled off before, but the legality of some has been questioned, prompting a revision of the law this week.

Stokes leapt within the boundary to catch Wayne White, but on realising his momentum would take him over the rope he threw the ball up and while it was in the air he stepped back inside the rope to complete the catch.

Some such efforts have apparently been allowed to stand when the catcher has leapt to parry the ball from beyond the boundary, so the law now says: “A fielder’s first contact with the ball must be when some part of his person is grounded within the boundary or, if he is airborne, that his final contact with the ground before touching the ball was within the boundary.”

Whichever way it is viewed, Stokes’s catch was a brilliant effort and perfectly within the rules.