Former skipper David Boon wasn't at Lord's last weekend but that didn't stop him raising a toast to Durham for winning the Friends Provident Trophy from the other side of the world in Australia.

Boon, who led Durham in three consecutive seasons at the Riverside from 1996-98 before returning to his native Tasmania, communicates regularly with former captain Jon Lewis and sent good luck messages to the Durham players, who he was cheering on against Hampshire.

Only three players - England one-day captain Paul Collingwood, England fast bowler Steve Harmison, and Neil Killeen - remain from the Boon era, but the Aussie revealed that despite the change in personnel he remains a proud Durham supporter, and watching the team celebrate at Lord's was a fitting reward for the patient supporters.

"I want to offer my congratulations to all the cricket family at Durham because they deserve it," said Boon.

"I managed to keep in touch with the Durham team in the lead up to the final through JJ Lewis, who keeps me up to date with all of the news from the Riverside.

"Apart from Colly (Paul Collingwood) and Harmy (Steve Harmison), the only player in the final from when I played for Durham was Neil Killeen but I obviously have watched the rest of the players intently and the club has a very good list.

"Beating Hampshire to win the Friends Provident trophy was a fantastic achievement for the club and the players involved, as well as the supporters.

"Durham have been working towards this for a number of years and I feel very proud to have been a part of those years leading to this success at Lord's.

"It was great to see some of those players, who were very young when I was there, playing a big part in the team's success.

"I'm sure there would have been amazing support for the team at both Lord's and their return to the Riverside.

"Their support and winning the trophy should give the club every confidence and encouragement to work towards more success and to continue producing more players for England."

Boon said Durham's unprecedented 125-run victory over a Shane Warne-led Hampshire proved the doom and gloom merchants were way off the mark when they predicted that the introduction of a two-divisional county championship in 2000 would rule out Durham's prospects of winning the biggest prizes in the county game.

"Those who thought that Durham would fall by the wayside upon the introduction of two divisions will be eating their words now because in my opinion that was never going to happen and winning at Lord's has proven I was right," he said.

"I have always believed that Durham have the potential to be one of the strongest sides in county cricket.

"They have good players, a fantastic ground, and are well supported by local business, so the future looks very bright for the county and for cricket generally in the North-East."

With Durham flying high in third place on the first division county championshipr, just 12.5 points behind the leaders Sussex, Boon is urging the Riversiders to put in a late charge for the big one.

He said: "If Durham can win their home games and make it 'Fortress Riverside' then anything can happen between now and the end of the season.

"It might not be this year but I'm sure that Durham will win the championship in the future and it would be a big achievement for the whole club."