Mum drove me to my county debut because I was too young for a licence

My first game was in 1998 against Surrey – I was 17 and it was it was one-day game.

At the time, Surrey had some fantastic players who I had watched on TV, the likes of Alec Stewart, the Hollioake brothers and Graham Thorpe.

I was meant to be playing for the academy on the same day, and (academy coach) Geoff Cook rang me that morning and said: “You’re not playing for the academy, there’s a game at Chester-le-Street, get yourself there.” He didn’t even say it was for the first team!

I turned up with my mum – I didn’t have a driving licence or anything, I was too young. I suddenly got to the side of the ground and followed an official into the stadium.

Then it dawned on me I was playing for the first team. I stood next to David Boon and was told I was opening the bowling – it was a bit nervewracking!

My figures were 2-44 from eight overs and my first wicket was Ben Hollioake, I think it was caught at deep square leg.

He was playing for England at the time and it was a massive wicket for me. I told all my mates at school that I got him out.

Winning the first County Championship in 2008 was absolutely amazing. To grow up at a club, go through every level up to firstclass cricket and then actually win a County Championship was fantastic.

Seeing people like Geoff Cook, Don Robson and Bob Jackson, people behind the scenes who had put so much time and effort into making first-class cricket a reality at Durham, for them to witness us winning a Championship was brilliant. It is probably my favourite cricketing memory. Some of my earliest memories are at the side of a cricket field. My grandad was a die-hard cricket fan who loved Durham and anything to do with cricket. My brother Andrew is a footballer, and played for Middlesbrough, Bradford and Derby. He went down the football route and I went down the cricket route. My time at Durham came to an end in 2011 – I was struggling with a few injuries, and went to Kent. My time down south was fantastic – playing under Jimmy Adams as a coach was a great opportunity for me. I really loved it – even though it was quite brief, I was only there for a couple of years. It was a nice way to finish my career. I am now in the commercial department at Durham and for me it’s an exciting time to go back to the club and see a few familiar faces. But on a more serious note, it’s good to be able to help the club out in any way, shape or form. Durham is something I’m passionate about, we’re going to try and move things forward in Teesside, and try and get the club more involved in that area. It’s a role I’m looking forward to just as much as when I started out in my playing career.