BEN RAINE feels Durham’s impressive start to the LV=Insurance County Championship season has enabled them to establish a strong position from which to mount a promotion push.

Durham beat Yorkshire in dramatic fashion on Sunday, with a superb second-innings rearguard action from Raine, Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse securing a one-wicket victory at Seat Unique Riverside.

The win, which resulted in Durham claiming 19 points, saw Raine and his team-mates move 18 points clear of their closest rivals, Sussex, at the top of the Division Two table.

It is by far their strongest start to a County Championship season since their forced demotion from the top-flight, with their three matches so far having resulted in three victories, a draw and a solitary defeat.

They return to action on Thursday when they head to Bristol to take on a Gloucestershire side that are yet to claim a victory this season, with Raine delighted at the strength of their start to the campaign.

“Every game has been a fun to be a part of, even games when we’ve lost and drawn,” said Raine, whose unbeaten 50 formed the bedrock of Durham’s successful final-day run chase against Yorkshire. “You're not going to play against many teams better than Yorkshire with a batting line-up of Test players.

“To get a win from where we were on Saturday morning, when they were in a strong position, sets up our season. We've managed to find a way to win.”

Raine feels Durham’s positive approach has been the key to their impressive performances in the first month of the season, with new head coach Ryan Campbell keen to embrace the ‘Bazball’ revolution that Ben Stokes has spearheaded with the England Test team.

“It was a really fun game to be a part of (against Yorkshire),” he said. “It was fantastic, but I think all of our games have been like that this year. There has been a real impetus in four-day cricket to play a positive brand of cricket, which has come from Ben Stokes and the England team.

“It's nice to see yourself at the top of the table, but we know that there's a lot of cricket to go. We're looking forward to every game. We will lose some along the way and there will be ups and downs, but it's going to be a fun ride.”

The mood in the Yorkshire camp was rather different at the end of Sunday’s game, with the White Rose now having gone a year without recording a County Championship victory.

The hangover from last season’s relegation from the top-flight has carried over into the current campaign, and while head coach Ottis Gibson remains adamant his side is not too far away from turning the corner, he admits they have developed a worrying habit of throwing away winning positions.

“You’ve got to give credit to Durham because they played well,” said Gibson. “They're top for a reason and they've won games. We're still trying to win, and we know it's not easy.

“They showed a lot of great character on Saturday evening after we got a lot of wickets in the afternoon. The last two batters - Ben Raine and Matthew Potts - their effort in the evening session won them the game. It's an example for us and all of our all-rounders.

“Our 17-game win drought is not affecting the players. We know we haven't won. I don't think we've been counting, 17 sounds like a lot, but you look back at the opportunities we've had to win games. We keep on putting ourselves in a position to win games, but perhaps we're lacking a little bit of toughness in key moments that can get us over the line. But from my point of view, at least we're putting ourselves in those positions.”