MOTORISTS would not have known it, but they were helping to mark the 125th anniversary of Durham County Cricket Club when they ground to an unexpected halt in the middle of Durham City yesterday.

The photographers approached paparazzi proportions as they spilled into the road to take shots of the Durham squad outside the Three Tuns Hotel, where the meeting to found the club was held in 1882.

As the players broke off from their preparations for the championship match against Yorkshire, starting at Riverside today, coach Geoff Cook said: "It's good for them to be here to appreciate the history.

"Durham were one of the most competitive minor counties and it was really exciting and interesting to be involved in the transition. But it still took a while to appreciate the pride of the people of this area in the achievements of the past."

Cook, who was appointed director of cricket a year ahead of the move into the first-class game in 1992, added: "Part of the job was to put a development structure in place and make sure the best players had the best chance of the best education. We now have three Test players plus others who will form the nucleus of our team for the next few years."

Skipper Dale Benkenstein said: "Some of the guys didn't know how it all started, and it's important that they have that knowledge. That's when you really start to play with your heart and try to be part of the tradition.

"It's good that the occasion coincides with the visit of Yorkshire. In my time here we've had some pretty heated battles with them.

"It always feels good to beat them but we lost at Headingley this season against a very good side who cover all aspects of the four-day game.

"One of the things we have to learn from that is to sell our wickets dearly. Adil Rashid took five against us in the first innings without bowling particularly well and we've lost wickets to other spinners this season. It's not a technical thing, we just have make them work harder for their wickets."

Among those Benkenstein is keen to see convert good starts into centuries are Kyle Coetzer and Will Smith.

"The coaches have always said Kyle could play. He has a good technique and has the basic skills to handle the best bowlers. He took a bit of a risk taking on Dale Steyn at Edgbaston and paid the price but he will learn.

"Will has given us good starts and is doing the hard part by getting to 20 or 30. He just has to learn to go and on and get the next 20 at the same pace without thinking about accelerating."

With Callum Thorp still out with a back injury, Durham have added Australian Mitch Claydon and New Zealand off-spinner Paul Wiseman to their squad.

One of Claydon's two championship matches for Yorkshire was at Riverside last season and Cook said: "He can bowl aggressively, so he might help us to replace what Steve Harmison gave us."

Had Graham Onions been called up by England, instead of Ryan Sidebottom, Claydon would have replaced him. But if he is to make his competitive debut for Durham it is now more likely to be at the expense of Neil Killeen.

Durham (from): D M Benkenstein (capt), M J Di Venuto, W R Smith, G J Muchall, K J Coetzer, P Mustard, G T Park, G R Breese, O D Gibson, G Onions, N Killeen, M Davies, M E Claydon, P J Wiseman.