Durham v Hampshire at Chester-le-Street. 6th, 7th, 8th June 2009
Hampshire 105 (G Onions 3-22, SJ Harmison 4-43) and 96 (G Onions 6-58) Durham 311 (WR Smith 80, ID Blackwell 68, Imran Tahir 5-85)
Durham won by an innings and 110 runs
Durham 20 points Hampshire 3 points
Defending the title after the previous summer’s success Durham started this match still seeking a first Championship win of the season. Much of April and May had been given over to Friends Provident Trophy group games in which Durham had disappointed, failing to qualify for the quarter finals. Now they were to get the season back on track with a decisive victory which was the first of six in seven matches that set the side well on the way to retaining the Championship crown.
On the first morning play was delayed for over an hour after heavy rain. Will Smith won the toss and chose to field, and Durham were soon on top. Graham Onions took three early wickets as Hampshire slipped to 26 for four. The visitors rallied a little thanks to their skipper, Nic Pothas, but Stephen Harmison took four quick wickets as the tail folded. By the close of the first day Durham were only 21 behind with just two wickets down.
Batting was initially difficult on the second morning but patience from Will Smith was to pay off and allow some quick run scoring later in the day from Ian Blackwell, in his first season at Durham, and Phil Mustard. Durham took a first innings lead of 206 despite most batsmen having difficulty picking Imran Tahir’s googly.
By the end of the second day Graham Onions, Stephen Harmison and Callum Thorp had shared four wickets and Hampshire appeared to be in a hopeless position. It needed less than an hour for Durham to finish the job the next morning with Onions taking five further wickets to finish with match figures of nine for 80. Hampshire’s total of 96 remains their joint lowest total against Durham in the Championship.
This was a triumphant season for Graham Onions for as well as playing a huge part in Durham’s success he took 20 wickets in his first five Test matches. The following spring he became the fifth Durham player in six years to be named one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year. He was to go on to take 527 first-class wickets for Durham and now is back at the club as Elite Bowling Coach.