Durham unleash the big guns

Jul 22 2008 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

DURHAM will have two in-form England internationals, Test cricket’s most prolific batsman and one of the most effective performers in the history of Twenty20 cricket at the Riverside this evening.

While that might be great news for Durham in their quest to claim this autumn’s £1m jackpot, it will mean some of the players who have served them so well recently will have to watch from the stands.

When Durham were told their Twenty20 Cup quarter-final would have to be replayed against different opponents, their first worry was they might have to field a weaker team than would have been the case had it taken place on its original date.

But with Paul Collingwood and Steve Harmison overlooked by England last week, Shivnarine Chanderpaul now in place as South African all-rounder Albie Morkel’s replacement and Shaun Pollock released from his media commitments even before the second Test finished a day early, the side which takes on Glamorgan should be stronger than the one due to take on Yorkshire.

That, though, will mean disappointment for some of the lesser lights who have performed so well recently. Callum Thorp is unavailable after back spasms on the final day of the County Championship game at Guildford, Ben Harmison and Mark Stoneman miss out and with a 13-man squad to choose from, others who played their part in last week’s wins may follow.

“Now we’ve reached the halfway point of the Championship season it’s nice to have the fillip of two high-class international players available to us in Collingwood and Chanderpaul,” said Durham coach Geoff Cook.

“The downside is those who have strived hard for recognition in the second team recently will not be able to get their chance and some of the players who have served us well recently will have to miss out. It’s been a long time since we’ve had no players in the England team (December 2003) so it’s left us with some difficult decisions to make.

“We’ll have a look at the pitch and pick the team as late as possible.”

Durham will probably field their strongest-ever side days after a week in which their lesser lights weighed in with vital performances against Surrey.

“It was very much a game for that,” Cook noted. “Phil Mustard got vital runs, Liam Plunkett performed well with the bat and the ball, Stoneman got a good 50 in the second innings and Ben Harmison bowled some significant spells. There were some very encouraging signs from that game.” Of more interest to the neutral observers has been Steve Harmison, who took six wickets at Guildford and raised his tally for the week to 10 with 4-31 in Sunday’s Pro40 victory at Middlesex, sealed by Collingwood’s unbeaten 78.

With England’s more sedate bowling attack labouring to bowl South Africa out in consecutive games, the bandwagon for a Harmison recall is starting to gain momentum.

“It’s not a question of getting worried, I’d be pleased to see him get back into the England set-up,” Cook commented.

“They always say Harmison should be recalled, it’s an annual event. He’s bowling as well now as he did last year and in previous years.

“He’s getting through lots and lots of overs and he’s clearly enjoying himself but I think he just enjoys playing cricket full stop.”

When play starts at 5.30pm, it will bring to an end one of the most drawn-out soap operas of the county cricket season. Durham should have played their quarter-final 15 days ago only for the England and Wales Cricket Board to decide minutes before the scheduled start that the game should be postponed because Yorkshire fielded an ineligible player in the group stages.

The Tykes were thrown out, replaced by Nottinghamshire, then after an appeal, Glamorgan. The matter has assumed even greater importance because of the riches on offer in Twenty20 cricket this year.

Tonight’s winners will face Middlesex this Saturday and, if they are then victorious, they will qualify for an international “Champions League” event this autumn, probably in Dubai or India. There is a £2.5m prize fund for the inaugural tournament, with £1m for the eventual winners.

It has been so difficult finding a suitable date to play that they have had to do without a reserve day for bad weather but if there are delays, floodlights will allow Durham to carry on into the night.

Cook was glad a compromise was found for the game, and with Pollock. “It’s been a bit of an episode to get the opponents and the date identified,” he said. “It was a balancing act really.

“We could have played it yesterday but it would have meant a long journey the night before. Sky and BBC were very co-operative with Shaun really. They just volunteered it without us even asking.”

:: DURHAM have slashed ticket prices to £5 for adults in an attempt to record their biggest attendance for a county game. There is no cost for accompanied juniors. The gates open at 3.30pm.

Proceeds will be split between the County Durham Foundation, the Cricket Foundation and the Kidney Wales Foundation.

Chester-le-Street District Council will provide free parking in the car parks adjacent to the ground from 3.30pm.

DURHAM (from): Mustard (wkt), Di Venuto, W Smith, Chanderpaul, Collingwood, Benkenstein (capt), Breese, Plunkett, S Harmison, Pollock, Park, Onions, Killeen.

GLAMORGAN (from): Cosker, Croft, Dalrymple, Grant, Harris, Harrison, Hemp (c), Maynard, Powell, Wallace, Wharf and Wright.