Test stars join Durham as the fightback starts
HEAD coach Jon Lewis admits it was about time Durham had some good news to report, after two new faces were signed in the last week to fill the gaps in their batting.
This winter has largely been a story of departures from Chesterle-Street as the likes of Mark Stoneman, Scott Borthwick and Phil Mustard have all moved on from the North-East county.
And following their relegation last season and upcoming points deduction in 2017, positive stories have been thin on the ground for the side who won three County Championships between 2008 and 2013.
But the signings of international openers Stephen Cook, 34, and Tom Latham, 24, are a muchneeded boost for the club according to Lewis, who is planning more additions this winter.
“The performances of Ben Stokes and then Keaton Jennings with England have been a positive but we needed some good news,” he said. “Top of the order needed to be looked at.
“It’s one hell of a loss (Stoneman and Borthwick) but there was an opportunity to bring other people in and these guys tick all the boxes.
“It has been a long time coming, we have had to work bloody hard but you can see Cook’s record in South Africa.
“He has been pretty good in red-ball and 50-over cricket and that is the part of the season that we will have him for and he will be involved in.
“He is an old-school opening bat, he values his wicket and if he gets in, he tends to make it count with Test centuries against three different opponents already.
“His experience will also be vital in what is now a young side.”
Latham was in Durham’s academy in 2010 and played for Kent in 2016 before hitting a career-best Test score of 177 for New Zealand against Bangladesh last month.
“Tom is someone who we know well and we were very keen to renew the relationship,” Lewis added.
“He has potential to build on his excellent record up to now and we are looking forward to welcoming him back.”
And there are new additions still to come – but Lewis anticipates giving his youngsters plenty of chances in 2017.
“The opportunity is going to be there, just by the very nature of the squad,” he added.
“We have got to bring to some new people, particularly in the batting department.
“Graham Onions and Chris Rushworth are high-class operators with the red ball.We have got a good tradition of bringing through youngsters there as well. We have got a good pack of seamers developing, you need that.
“But spin is a bit thin, we might have to lean on our all-rounders Ryan Pringle and Adam Hickey – we are still looking.”
Durham will go into the 2017 season with Jennings as their new One-Day Cup captain. The 24year-old replaces Stoneman, now with Surrey.