Pressure on young players to perform
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Revolving door
In comes the 37-year-old seamer
Ottis Gibson. Out go last year's
captain Mike Hussey, other
overseas men Brad Williams,
Nathan Astle and Ashley Noffke,
plus Gavin Hamilton, Andrew
Pratt and Nicky Peng.
Winter wonderland
Oh brother! There will be two
Harmisons in 2006. Ben Harmison,
a 20-year-old top-order batsman,
and younger brother of Steve, is
one of five academy graduates to
join the full-time staff. He may
have a first-team chance sooner
rather than later.
Strengths
Cricket Australia's decision to keep
Hussey under wraps is a blow. But
Dale Benkenstein, Jimmy Maher,
the overseas fast bowler Mick
Lewis and Gibson, short-listed
for the post of England bowling
coach, provide a solid core of
experience and know-how.
Weaknesses
Younger players are unproved at
this level in both Championship
and one-day league. Question
marks remain over the spinners
- and the depth of the pace attack
if Liam Plunkett joins Steve
Harmison with England.
Best-case scenario
Durham have never really had
a sniff of a major trophy since
gaining first-class status in 1992.
But supporters are optimistic that
the famine will end in 2006.
Worst-case scenario
Last season's double promotion
will prove to be another false
dawn. Durham have not featured
in the top division of the
Championship since 2000, when it
all ended in tears. The same goes
for their last top-flight one-day
league campaign in 2002. Will
the homegrown players be able to
hack it this time around?
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Young one to watch
Mark Davies ... fitness permitting.
A back injury ended each of his
last two seasons prematurely,
but not before he had grabbed 50
wickets at 18.76 in 2004 and 47 at
15.55 last year. The figures speak
for themselves.
Key man
Dale Benkenstein. Inspirational
last season, as batsman, bowler
and stand-in captain in both
formats. It is asking a lot for a
repeat but, in the absence of
Hussey, Durham will need one.
What they say
"We have 13 or 14 homegrown
players on the staff," says the
director of cricket Geoff Cook, "a
situation we have been aiming
for from the start. Last season
some of those players threw their
caps into the ring when more
experienced men were missing for
various reasons. It's vital that they
perform consistently this time."
Mark Wagh
Consistent performances
last year, rewarded with
Division One status in both formats.
Will be interesting to see how they
perform in the higher intensity of
Division One. Hussey's ballast in the
batting will be missed. They are an
emerging side, thus fragile.
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This article was first published in the May issue of The Wisden Cricketer.
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