Weather dampens in-form Durham

Jun 19 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

DURHAM were shown the single biggest reason why Twenty20 cricket in this country will struggle to match its Indian equivalent last night – the frustratingly unpredictable nature of the English summer.

While the new Indian Premier League is played in largely sunny conditions on batsmen-friendly pitches, cricket in this country, even at the height of summer in June, is always at risk of being ruined by rain or bad light.

This clash with Nottinghamshire Outlaws was the second successive Twenty20 home game in which the Dynamos have been disrupted by the weather and, while the one point for a draw was hardly disastrous for Durham skipper Dale Benkenstein, it will have been a different story for those who are concerned with the club’s finances.

Against Derbyshire Phantoms last week, Durham had triumphed in virtual darkness after rain had held up play, but last night the crowd were not even treated to a single ball before the game was eventually called off shortly before 8pm.

Durham, who had the worst Twenty20 record in the country before the start of this year’s campaign, had won three of their four games so far this season, with their only defeat coming against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.

They were also coming into this game on the back of their highest ever score in Twenty20 cricket, with Albie Morkel’s unbeaten 45 helping to take them to their victory target of 181, with an over to spare, against Lancashire at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.

“It was especially frustrating because we were coming into this game after a fantastic win against Lancashire,” said Benkenstein, who revealed Steve Harmison will not be forced to spend any more time on the sidelines, despite breaking a small bone in his left hand during the warm-up at Old Trafford.

“If we had beaten Notts, it would have given us a bit of breathing space going into the halfway stage, but at the same time, if you are getting down to five or seven overs a side because of the rain, it’s a real lottery and we could have lost the game to the side directly below us in the table,” said Benkenstein.

“We’ll take the one point and look forward to Leicestershire on Friday.” Benkenstein handed 18-year-old leg spinner Scott Borthwick his debut against Lancashire and he insisted the county’s most exciting prospect would have played again last night, had the weather not intervened.

He said: “It was great to see someone like Scotty play so well in his first game, particularly as it was against such good opposition and on television as well. It’s not all about the big signings, it’s great for cricket and for Durham to see someone like that come through the ranks.

“I’ve been really impressed with him. He’s been with us on the last two pre-season tours, but unfortunately he got injured when we got back from South Africa last year.

“We want to try and bring him through the set-up when we feel it’s right. We don’t want to throw him in too quickly, but he’s got a lot of talent. He’s probably as good a batsman as he is a bowler.”

And, while Benkenstein insisted he and head coach Geoff Cook will do everything they can to protect the teenager’s development, he is confident he has the right attitude to succeed.

He added: “The most impressive thing about him is his mental strength. He’s got what it takes to be a leg spinner and that’s a tough job. I think that is more impressive than his raw talent. There are a lot of guys who are unbelievably talented in terms of hand-to-eye ball skills, but they don’t have the mental capacity to deal with it.

“I think he is the other way round. He’s got good talent and a really good brain and heart. He’s a really good character for his age and he would have played against Nottinghamshire.”