Congrats to Durham

[pie_chucker]

Congratulations to Durham for winning their first major trophy as a FC county.

It was a great team effort and just about everyone contributed to the win. It was also a sweet victory as most of the "southern" press had Hampshire as massive favourites for this game, whilst overlooking Durhams fine one day perfromances this season.

If the England selectors are looking for an explosive opening bat and a decent One Day Keeper, then they should ask the current one day captain about Phil Mustard.

[engssmoothcriminal]

Yep congratulations to Durham for a full deserved win and you couldn't have picked a more deserving bunch of show ponies to batter in the final . I'll admit that I was one of I suspect many who was against them being granted first class status as the last thing the English game needed at that point was another county clogging up the system but after a shaky start they have made extraordinary strides on and off the pitch and now have a structure in place that puts many more high profile sides (<cough>Warwickshire<cough>) to shame. With all the young English talent coming through (allied to the shrewd kolpak and overseas signing) you suspect that this is the first trophy of many and Collingwood's "new Surrey" comment may not be so tongue in cheek after all.

[Notts Exile]

A superb performance from Durham, who outplayed Hampshire in every area. A real shame it couldn't have finished on the Saturday but the rain put paid to that! Notable performances from Colonel Mustard who from the start took the game to Hampshire, from James Bruce who stood out as the one Hampshire bowler able to control things. Kyle Coetzer started very slowly but really took to Shane Warne! Chanderpaul played exactly the way everyone expected him to and it was a real shame when his mix-up with Collingwood resulted in his run-out and not Colly's! Benkenstein finished the innings off superbly with Ottis Gibson who then continued the destruction with the ball!

On the down side I thought Colly looked like a number eleven batsman and it was a real positive that he got out two overs before the end. Plunkett showed why he shouldn't play for England by bowling pies (on Saturday, the game was decided when he bowled ok on Sunday). KP got a shooter from Ottis thus denying the crowd the chance to see him bat well. Shane Warne's captaincy didn't show themselves much, he slowed the game down and got his big decisions wrong i.e. the toss and the decision to back Daren Powell to bowl all ten overs and leave Bruce one short!

Well done Durham, good to see the "underdog" win again. Not really sure why they were underdogs though, as they had as many good players as Hampshire did, and they proved it too!

[darksideofthemoon]

Originally Posted by pie_chucker

Congratulations to Durham for winning their first major trophy as a FC county.

It was a great team effort and just about everyone contributed to the win. It was also a sweet victory as most of the "southern" press had Hampshire as massive favourites for this game, whilst overlooking Durhams fine one day perfromances this season.

If the England selectors are looking for an explosive opening bat and a decent One Day Keeper, then they should ask the current one day captain about Phil Mustard.

"I think 'Colonel' has a few steps to go before he is ready for international cricket - it can also crucify you," former South Africa batsman Benkenstein said.
"I think his time will come. He's got to learn to finish innings. He needs to get hundreds - Gilchrist gets them. "But he has had a very good season and is showing a lot of good signs. He has worked hard and has moved forward quicker than other young players."

[pie_chucker]

Originally Posted by Notts Exile

.... Not really sure why they were underdogs though, as they had as many good players as Hampshire did, and they proved it too!

I hate to say this but I do think it has a lot to do with the "southern" press. Anyone who has seen Durham play cricket this year (20/20 aside) will know that they bat down to 9 and have plenty of bowlers to call upon. The signing of Chanderpaul was a masterstroke.

Originally Posted by darksideofthemoon

... international cricket - it can also crucify you.

As Matt Prior and Geraint Jones among others have found out!

[Notts Exile]

Originally Posted by pie_chucker

I hate to say this but I do think it has a lot to do with the "southern" press. ............... The signing of Chanderpaul was a masterstroke.

The press will also get behind anything Shane Warne is involved in. Apparently he is wonderful and everything he says we should believe etc. In reality he has captained a side that hasn't won much yet and made serious errors on Saturday.

The other side had an unsung captain (too many foreigners but that's a debate for another day!) and players will something to prove. I just wish Durham had been spurred on to victory by more of their english players.

Chanderpaul is a top player and his signing was a guarantee of runs. They've got something going up there and it might take a lot to stop them from claiming their first Championship win in the next five years.

[pie_chucker]

We do have a few kolpaks etc, but unlike other teams most of ours are decent.

But we do have a good crop of local players as well : Colly, Plunkett, Harmy, Mustard, Onions and Killeen spring to mind straight away and there are another half a dozen i've forgotten about. As more of our young players come through we will be relying less and less on the Kolpaks etc, which means we will have more money to pump into the acadamy....

[Notts Exile]

Originally Posted by pie_chucker

which means we will have more money to pump into the acadamy....

Which is a real positive.

I wonder what Notts do with their Academy? They never seem to promote anyone from the 2nd XI. It's ok having the purchasing power to be able to outbid Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northants when it comes to signing players but it would be nice to bring some of our own through.

[pie_chucker]

One advantage Durham have is that their youngsters are all loyal to the area. They are all proud of the area and want to play for Durham rather than anyone else, although i suppose we are helped a bit geographically in that respect .

Some of the "bigger" clubs like Notts and even Surrey are struggling a bit because you cant keep "buying" players - you have to start bringing your own players through.

I dont know about other counties but up here the ECB pyramid system does seem to help the local game. Durham have their acadamy in the local premier league and a lot of the fringe players still turn out for their clubs on Saturdays. Which again helps strengthen the local leagues and bring on talented younsters by playing against top quality opposition.

[greg]

Well done Durham,a thoroughly deserved success.