DURHAM will step up their search for an overseas player following the decision of excaptain Dale Benkenstein to take up a coaching role with Hampshire.

The South African had long been considered the likely successor to Geoff Cook as Durham’s Director of Cricket, but his nine-year association with the club ended abruptly yesterday.

Benkenstein, who will be 40 in June, was expected back in Durham next month ahead of his final season as a player.

He was a Northern Echo columnist in the first two months of last season prior to having a shoulder operation which ruled him out for the rest of the summer.

Although he declined to elaborate in his column, he returned to South Africa slightly disillusioned with the handling of the situation immediately after Cook’s cardiac arrest. It was clear that Benkenstein would take no part in the Twenty20 competition and he claimed Cook had asked him to coach the team during the tournament.

No-one else was aware of this and when he was asked merely to assist with the coaching he declined.

This came about shortly after his wife and three children returned to South Africa, having apparently abandoned their attempts to settle in Durham. Benkenstein has since said they were happy to be back home, although he added that he was looking forward to his final season with Durham.

Doubts about his prospects of becoming the Director of Cricket grew with the emergence of Paul Collingwood as a candidate for the role. But as he approaches his final season the captain has suddenly been handed the opportunity to stake his claim for a permanent place in the England management set-up.

His role, announced on Wednesday, as assistant coach for the one-day series in the West Indies and the T20 World Cup, will prevent him from leading Durham in the MCC v Champions match in Abu Dhabi, starting on March 23.

Mark Stoneman, who took over as one-day captain last season after Benkenstein was injured, is now likely to take charge of a line-up which will also be without Ben Stokes.

After their cost-cutting saw them release five players at the end of last season, as well as demoting Gordon Muchall and Gareth Breese to one-day contracts, Durham’s squad now looks dangerously thin and new first team coach Jon Lewis admitted this week they would look overseas.

Other than in T20 cricket, Durham have not had an official overseas player since Shivnarine Chanderpaul in 2009. Benkenstein was a Kolpak signing and the other imports had British passports or, in Michael Di Venuto’s case, an Italian one.

Benkenstein has been working his way through his coaching badges in recent years and has been helping to coach the Dolphins in Natal this winter. It seems Hampshire have made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

With Giles White being promoted to Director of Cricket, they have been looking for a first team coach and ex-Surrey supremo Chris Adams was among the candidates.

Hampshire’s chairman, Rod Bransgrove, has spared no expense in turning the Aegas Bowl into a Test ground and after £38.5m of expenditure over the last 18 months it will stage a Test against India this summer.

Attempts to build a titlewinning team have been less successful, despite the services of the likes of Shane Warne and Kevin Pietersen.

They won the T20 in 2010 but were relegated in four-day cricket the following season and have shown little sign of returning to the top flight.

Hampshire were the victims at Lord’s in 2007 when Benkenstein led Durham to their first silverware, the Friends Provident Trophy.

Among his charges will be Will Smith and Ruel Brathwaite, who were released by Durham last year. He recommended Smith to succeed him as captain after leading Durham to their first county championship title in 2008.

Benkenstein is Durham’s leading run scorer with 9,055 first class runs and chief executive David Harker said: “Dale has been a tremendous servant and is regarded very much as part of the Durham family.

“Although sad to see him leave we recognise the importance of a move both to Dale and his family and wish him every success in his future career development.”

Benkenstein said: “I have enjoyed being part of the Durham story and the success we have achieved. I would like to express my thanks to the club for my release to pursue a coaching career.

“I’m just taking an opportunity where I can see a future.

I’ll miss everyone at Durham after nine of the best years of my career.’’