WHEN Durham filed onto the pitch for their first county championship match, against Leicestershire in April 1992, no one could have foreseen that 15 years later they would be a dominant force in the game.

Durham finished bottom of the table that year - an unenviable feat they equalled the following season as well. It was not until 1998 that they managed to finish outside the bottom three.

Progress this year has been majestic, however, and it is particularly pleasing to note their core of home-grown talent.

Although the team that won the Friends Provident Trophy yesterday contained five foreign players, the bedrock of the side is rooted in the North-East.

Liam Plunkett (Middlesbrough), Phil Mustard (Sunderland), Graham Onions (Gateshead), Neil Killeen (Annfield Plain) and Paul Collingwood (Shotley Bridge) all played their part in yesterday's success. No doubt another Ashington lad, England fast bowler Steve Harmison, would have had a say as well were he not recovering from injury. Durham dynamos all.

The victory is a tribute for the people who had the vision of turning Durham into a first-class county - and former county council leader Don Robson, in particular.

That vision was commensurate with the creation of a first-class cricket venue. Indeed, Durham's acceptance into first-class cricket was conditional on the building of a Test match-standard ground. Work began on the new ground at the Riverside in 1990, and the ground hosted its first game five years later. In 2003 it was granted Test match status and is now a regular venue on the international calendar.

Reflecting on yesterday's glory as his team-mates celebrated, Harmison said: "I think we've proven a few things to a lot of people."

They certainly have. We offer our heartfelt congratulations and look forward to more celebrations in the future.