Both counties promoted to Division One in 2023, Durham and Worcestershire, comfortably avoided the relegation battle and finished right in the middle of the table. Durham managed four wins and four defeats and were indebted to their South African overseas player David Bedingham, who was the standout batter in Championship cricket last summer. He has gone from strength to strength in recent seasons, forcing himself into the South African Test side. His contract at Chester-le-Street currently runs until the end of the season, although he will be involved in the World Test Championship final in June. Colin Ackermann repaid his new club with 743 Championship runs at 46.43 and Callum Parkinson, who made the move north with Ackermann contributed 30 wickets albeit at a pricey 53.26.
Durham have continued to reinforce their squad bringing in Emilio Gay, Sam Conners and Will Rhodes. Each has plenty of cricket behind them, but are young enough to offer Durham plenty more years of service. Gay fills the gap at the top of the order left by the departure of Michael Jones to Lancashire, although he will come under pressure from Ben McKinney. Rhodes could slot into the batting order at three, replacing Scott Borthwick who has relinquished the captaincy to take up a new role as player-coach. It waits to be seen how much he will play as he is still only 34, but he struggled for runs last season, making just 356 at 19.77 in the Championship.
With Matthew Potts back in England consideration, he was limited to eight Championship games last season, but still led the wicket-taking with 33 at 25.39. The ever reliable Ben Raine took 32 and the 33-year-old has just signed a new three-year contract. They will be hoping to see more of Bydon Carse, his season having been curtailed because of suspension following a betting misdemeanour. However he is currently on the sidelines with a recurring toe injury that brought a premature end to his Champions Trophy participation and he has had to pull out of the Indian Premier League.
Durham have a history of producing quick bowlers and another that might be on his way to a bright future is 17-year-old James Minto. He is a left arm fast-medium bowler who made his county debut last summer aged 16, playing two List A and two Championship matches. He has been part of the England under 19 tour of South Africa this winter and then starred in Durham’s preseason match against Zimbabwe A, taking 5/21 in the first innings.
There were a sequence of overseas quicks who came and went last season and one of them, Scott Boland is rumoured to be in line for a return. In the meantime, Australian Brendan Doggett has been signed for the first batch of Championship fixtures. They have also recruited New Zealand international seamer Zak Foulkes for the group stages of the T20 Blast. The 22-year-old played seven matches for the Birmingham Bears last summer, taking eight wickets at an economy rate of 9.25. He has taken nine wickets in seven T20 international appearances for the Black Caps, but it remains to be seen if this addition is enough to take Durham into a finals day spot.
Key player
Ollie Robinson had another impressive season, scoring 871 Championship runs at 48.38. He will be disappointed with his Blast performances, making just 146 runs at 14.60 and will be looking to be productive in all formats. He will also have been disappointed following Jamie Smith’s selection ahead of him for England, but will need to keep focussed in case opportunities arise.
One to watch
Ben McKinney has made a fast start to his cricketing career. He made his Championship debut at the start of the 2023 season, aged 18 and played five matches in last year’s campaign, posting a maiden first class century against Nottinghamshire, having reached three figures against Kent in a One Day Cup game nine days earlier. McKinney captained England at the under 19 World Cup in 2023/24 and was selected for the England Lions tour to Australia this winter, making his second first class century against Australia A, while watching his team’s batting falling in a heap around him. It will be interesting to see who gets the nod to open alongside Alex Lees, with the signing of Gay. In the final two games of last season Lees and McKinney opened with Gay at three, but Rhodes will be in line for the number three spot. Not a bad headache for coach Ryan Campbell to have.
Ins and Outs
Overseas signings: David Bedingham (South Africa), Brendan Doggett (Australia, until 26 May)
Ins: Emilio Gay (Northamptonshire), Sam Conners (Derbyshire), Will Rhodes (Warwickshire)
Outs: Michael Jones (Lancashire), Jonathan Bushnell (released), Brandon Glover (released), Oliver Gibson (released)
How will they fare
Durham will not be content with just making up the numbers in Division One and depending on which bowlers are able to turn out alongside Raine, they could mount a challenge in the Championship. In the Blast, a quarter final spot may be their limit.
Opening fixture: CC vs Nottinghamshire on April 4 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Likely Championship XI
- Lees
- McKinney
- Rhodes
- Bedingham
- Robinson
- Ackerman
- de Leede
- Raine
- Potts
- Doggett
- Parkinson
