Tough summer ahead for the Riversiders
SOME typical first-weekend weather may have put Durham’s misery on hold, but their first few days of the English cricket season have shown the steep slope ahead this summer.
The Riversiders have started life back in County Championship Division Two against favourites Nottinghamshire.
That would be tough enough if the sides starting level pegging, but the massive points deduction Durham were hit with in the winter means the visitors will be galloping over the horizon if they wrap up victory on Mond ay. Notts will be 88 points ahead already, albeit having played a game more.
To stop that, Durham need someone to hang around with Keaton Jennings. Even with only 69 balls bowled, Ryan Pringle and first-innings top-scorer Stuart Poynter have already departed.
Jake Ball speared one into Pringle’s stumps and Harry Gurney nipped one into Poynter’s.
It has been an excellent bowling performance from a Notts side minus Stuart Broad – rested by England against his will after one match this season, bless him.
Jennings was 82 not out when the players went off for rain at 1.15pm, never to return.
Durham are effectively 58-7, so Nottinghamshire will be hoping for better luck on Monday so they can get the three wickets they need, polish off the runs, and get onto the motorway as quickly as possible.
Top-scorer in the match so far has been Nottinghamshire’s firstinnings nightwatchman Luke Fletcher. The bowler equalled his career-best score of 92 on Saturday, only to slip over running a single from the non-striker’s end and be comfortably run out by Jennings before he could make his ground.
Meanwhile, new Durham chairman Sir Ian Botham was at the ground on Sunday, discussing amongst other things his plans to take more Durham games to the outgrounds in future.
Durham are at South Northumberland’s Gosforth ground on May 5 for a One-Day Cup game against Leicestershire, their third visit north of the Tyne in four years.
“We’ve got some interesting plans to spread the word a little bit,” said Botham.