Back where they belong - Onions

CRICKET Graham Onions believes both he and his boyhood county Durham are “back where we belong” as they prepare for a top-flight return eight years on from their “incredibly harsh” relegation.

Onions was a key part of the side treated with unprecedented severity by the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2016, demoted to Division Two and hit with a 48-point penalty for the following season after falling into serious financial trouble.

He left for Lancashire in 2017 as the club’s record wicket-taker, part of a talent drain that also saw the likes of Scott Borthwick, Mark Stoneman and Keaton Jennings move on, but returned from Old Trafford at the start of the year as lead bowling coach.

The team he rejoins is finally back at the top table of English cricket after a stirring promotion season under Ryan Campbell, with Onions delighted to be part of Durham’s longawaited comeback.

“The punishment was extremely harsh. A lot of people would say it was completely wrong and I get that because it wasn’t based on our performances,” he said. “A lot happened financial troubles and a lot of uncertainty - and it got messy. Did it leave a chip on the shoulder? Yeah, a little bit. The members here will feel ‘we’re going to show you’. There’s been years where we haven’t gone straight back up and that does surprise me but we’re in a good place now. We’re back to where we belong now and we just need to go out and show how good we are.

“I’m excited to be back home, I’ve still got the Geordie twang and the weather hasn’t changed! As a young lad I was given the opportunity to play for this amazing county and that seems a long time ago. But now I’ve got the chance to come back and work with some incredibly talented players and I feel very privileged again. I’m proud of where I’m from.”