Durham Cricket launched their Hall of Fame in March 2023, inducting 6 members.
Durham Cricket was established on 23rd May 1882, and they played their first match at Chester Road cricket ground, Sunderland, on 12th June
1882 when they defeated Northumberland by 4 wickets.
Durham were Minor Counties Champions a record equalling nine times between 1900 and 1984. They also became the first minor county to defeat a first-class county in the Gillette Cup in 1973 when Yorkshire were beaten in that competition. Between 1976 and 1982 Durham created a record of 65 minor county matches without defeat, which still stands to this day.
In March 1989, the Durham County Cricket Club committee decided to apply to become a first-class county. With the Test & County Cricket Board awarding Durham Cricket first-class status in 1992. Durham became the first county to be granted such status for 70 years.
Between 1992 and 1994 Durham had a nomadic existence playing at a variety of grounds around the county. The initial squad had players of the calibre of Ian Botham, David Graveney, Wayne Larkins, Paul Parker, Dean Jones and Simon Hughes on the playing staff.Planning approval was granted for Durham Cricket to create their own ground at Chester-le-Street, with a view to staging Test Match and International Cricket in the North-East of England.
Durham’s first first-class match at the Riverside was on 18th to 22nd May 1995 against Warwickshire with the visitors winning. The ground was opened the Queen on 13th October
1996 and in September 1996 the Durham Cricket Academy was formed to nurture young cricketers from County Durham into the first-class game.
The ground has subsequently played host to a variety of international cricket matches, including World Cups in 1999 and 2019. In 2013 an Ashes Test Match was staged, with England winning the Ashes late on day four of an exciting game.
TROPHIES
The Club won its first piece of silverware in 2007 after the Durham Dynamos beat Hampshire Hawks at Lord’s in the Friends Provident Trophy final. In 2008 Durham Cricket won the LV County Championship and the Second Eleven Championship, both for the first time in the Club’s history. The first eleven went on to retain the County Championship title in 2009 and then won it for a third time in 2013. The following year, Durham won the 50-over Royal London One-Day Cup in 2014.
INDUCTEE 1: GEOFF COOK
Geoff Cook is the first inductee to the Hall of Fame. Geoff’s contribution to Durham Cricket cannot be overstated. A successful county cricketer and England international previously; Geoff took up a role as Director of Cricket with Durham in 1991 and was instrumental in establishing the county in the professional ranks.
In 2006 Geoff took over from Martyn Moxon as Head Coach and oversaw a period of sustained success on the pitch with the first trophy won at Lords in the Friends Provident Trophy in 2007 and this quickly backed up with successive County Championship titles in 2008 and 2009.
In 2013, a year in which Cook had an off-field health scare, he returned in time to see the Club again triumph in the County Championship. A title made all the more special as the team was made up almost exclusively with local cricketers.
Throughout his time at Durham Geoff’s ability to spot talent was second to none and he was responsible for unearthing a number of Durham cricketers, many of whom also went on to represent England, and also giving them an opportunity to fulfil their potential at Durham. His influence over the years has ensured that the academy at Durham has enjoyed significant success and is seen as a blueprint that other counties should follow.
Geoff Cook is not only greatly respected by those whose cricket development he influenced, but by everyone at Durham Cricket for the major impact he had.
INDUCTEE 2: DEAN JONES
Dean Jones became Durham’s first ever overseas player when he joined the club after it had announced its first-class status.
Whilst Jones only had a short spell at Durham, his influence during that period was significant and he had a huge impact in the dressing room at the start of Durham Cricket’s first class journey. In 14 first class games he scored 1179 runs at an average of 73.69 and had a similarly positive record in one day cricket.
Jones had a fantastic career in international cricket for Australia and was widely regarded as one of the best and most talented Australian cricketers of his generation. Following his debut he went on to represent Australia in 52 Test matches and 164 ODI’s between 1984 and 1994. Achieving his greatest success in ODIs, where he scored 6068 runs at an average of 44.61.
Following his retirement from cricket he worked as a coach and commentator, and was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2019.
Sadly, Jones passed away on 24th September 2020 in Mumbai following a stroke.
INDUCTEE 3: SIMON BROWN
Simon Brown joined Durham County Cricket Club in 1991, having previously played for Northamptonshire, and was part of the initial squad in first class cricket.
Over the next ten years Brown was a key player for Durham, often carrying the bowling attack during times that were often difficult on the pitch for Durham. Brown was an exception to this and regularly achieved 50 wickets in the County Championship, and set the mark as the club’s leading wicket taker with a total of 518 wickets. This record has only recently been surpassed by Graham Onions and Chris Rushworth.
The left arm seam bowler earned a Test cap for England against Pakistan in 1996 at Lords, taking a wicket with his tenth ball in international cricket. However this ended up being his only appearance for England.
Hanging up the boots in 2002, Brown’s impressive and respected career is one that saw his name go down in the history books here at Durham Cricket.
INDUCTEE 4: PAUL COLLINGWOOD
Paul Collingwood made his debut appearance for Durham County Cricket Club in 1995 and stayed with the club until 2018. With no fewer than 226 first-class match appearances for his home county and a hefty 12,000 runs to his name, Paul holds a significant position in Durham Cricket’s history.
Following his early years at Durham Paul broke into the England team, initially in the one day team and then in Tests. Paul enjoyed incredible success in England colours
and became the first captain of a world cup winning England team when they triumphed in the 2010 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean. Other significant achievements for Paul in the international arena included Ashes wins, a double hundred in an Ashes Test match in Adelaide and lots of other match winning performances.
On retiring from international cricket Collingwood returned to play for Durham in the domestic competitions, captaining the side to the County Championship in 2013 and as part of the team which won the Royal London 50 over cup in 2014. Paul continued to play for Durham until his retirement in 2018. He finished his career with a total of over 20,000 runs for the club, and is considered to be one of the greatest cricketers to have ever played for Durham.
Paul has now embarked on a coaching career and is currently part of the England set up.
INDUCTEE 5: STEVE HARMISON
Born in Ashington, at the height of his powers Steve Harmison was feared as the one of the world’s best fast bowlers.
Harmison made his debut for Durham aged 18 in 1996, and went on to have a fantastic career spanning 16 years and taking over 450 first class wickets for Durham. He played a key role in the County Championship triumph in 2008 taking 60 wickets at an average of 22.66, and ending the season as the competitions third highest wicket taker. The following year Durham went on to defend their title with Harmison once again being the club’s leading wicket taker in a memorable season with the team going through the whole campaign unbeaten.
Like Collingwood, Harmison spent a large part of his career with the England team, making his international debut for both the Test and One Day teams in 2002. He quickly established himself as a key member of the England team, playing in 63 Tests and 58 ODIs over his career, and was a prominent figure in the 2005 Ashes team which regained the urn for the first time in 18 years in a dramatic series.
A key memory from Harmison’s career was a spell of fast bowling in a Test at Sabina Park, Jamaica in which he produced the stunning figures of 7-12. The image of almost the entire team in the slip cordon during his spell will remain as one of the most iconic in cricket. This series propelled Steve to the rank of the world’s best fast bowler.
Following his retirement from cricket, Harmison has gone on to have a spell managing his local football team, Ashington, in the northern league and is now forging a successful career in the media.
INDUCTEE 6: DAVID BOON
Boon joined up with Durham in 1997, as an overseas player, to captain the side in the County Championship and went on to become one of the Club’s favourite imports. His time at the Club was one that was received positively and he became a firm favourite with club members. His spell at the Club spanned 1997-1999, during which time he played 50 first class matches and scored over 3000 runs.
Boon had a very successful career with the Australian cricket team as a durable number three batter, playing during a resurgence in Australian cricket from the 1980’s through to his final Test match in 1996. During this period he played 107 Tests for Australia including 4 Ashes wins, as well as featuring in 181 one day internationals along the way.
Boon is now a match referee for the International Cricket Council, travelling the world to officiate on games. This included a visit to the Riverside to officiate a few years
ago, an experience that Boon described as nostalgic and emotional, showing the affection he has built up for Durham.
An image from his Durham career that has stayed with Boon is from the 1999 season when a scheduled day’s play in April with Worcestershire was called off due to snow on the pitch.
INDUCTEE 7: DALE BENKENSTEIN
Regarded as one of Durham’s greats, Dale Benkenstein retired from playing professional cricket in 2014 to become Hampshire County Cricket Club’s Head Coach.
The former South Africa international retired as Durham’s highest run-scorer in First-Class cricket, and one of Durham’s most successful and respected captain.
He joined on trial in 2004 following the completion of the South African domestic summer and impressed enough to make a permanent contract ahead of the 2005 season.
Benkenstein made his Durham First-class debut against Leicestershire, scoring 16 in an innings and 216 run win.
Durham captain Mike Hussey and vice-captain Paul Collingwood both featured in the 2005 England v Australia one-day series, therefore Benkenstein was promoted to captain for the second half of Durham’s summer.
He proved to be a successful captain as he guided Durham to promotion in both the County Championship and One Day cup, and played an instrumental role in Durham avoiding relegation in 2006. He amassed 1427 runs in the 2007 season with a best of 151.
His 151 is a special knock in the history of Durham County Cricket Club, Durham were heading for a huge defeat to relegation rivals Yorkshire as they found themselves 191/6 in reply to the Tykes 677/7 (declared), but his 315-run partnership with Ottis Gibson rescued a draw, and with Nottinghamshire somehow taking a solitary point from their game against Sussex, Durham’s draw with Yorkshire, kept both north sides up and sent Middlesex down.
On the back of the 2006 season, Durham put their stamp down as a First-class county on the English domestic circuit with Benkenstein being at the forefront of their success. He helped Durham lift the Friends Provident Trophy, Durham’s first major silverware, at Lord’s the following summer, and won Championships in 2008 and 2009.
He eventually handed the captaincy over to Will Smith in 2009 and it was in that season where he was named in the Wisden Team of the Year.
His final outing for Durham came in 2013 at the Oval, where he dislocated his shoulder which saw his career for the Riversiders come to an end. He made 137 appearances for the club, scoring 9,055 runs at an average of 45.96.
INDUCTEE 8: PHIL MUSTARD
‘The Colonel’ Phil Mustard, a character cricketer much loved by Durham supporters, was another exciting prospect of the Durham academy that would go on to represent England at International level.
Whilst remembered as a very good player and captain in the white ball format of the game, Mustard was also a main stay in Durham’s red ball side. At one point nobody had played more First-class games for Durham until Paul Collingwood overtook him.
Throughout his 14-year career at The Riverside, Mustard went on to make 185 First-class appearances for the club, in which time he posted a total 7434 runs which included 14 centuries.
He was also appointed captain from 2011 until 2012 before being replaced by Paul Collingwood.
2007 was the year when Mustard was to make his mark. He helped Durham to their first two trophies, scoring 893 List A runs at 49.61, including a breezy 49 in the county’s first Lord’s final.
Off the back of such a successful summer, he was called up to replace the injured Matt Prior for England’s one-day series against Sri Lanka in October 2007.
Mustard would go on to represent England a total of 12 times across both white ball formats scoring a total of 293 runs with a high score of 83.
The wicket-keeper’s career would come to an end at The Riverside when he joined Gloucestershire on a permanent basis in 2017 following loan spells in Bristol and previously Lancashire in 2015.
Following his retirement, Phil became an umpire and now stands on the National Panel.
INDUCTEE 9: NEIL KILLEEN
A Durham stalwart. From Academy to coach, he is the only person to remain with the club in some capacity throughout the entire thirty years.
His cricket journey began at an early age, playing at Annfield plain Cricket Club at 10 years old. This before representing Durham at all levels.
As a schoolboy in 1992, he was selected as part of Durham’s first-team squad for the very first time for a tour of Zimbabwe. Three years later in 1995, Killeen would sign his first full contract with Durham, making a First-class debut against a touring West Indies in the same year.
Between 1995 and 2008, Killeen would go on to play a total of 101 First-class matches for Durham. A total of 262 wickets would come in that time, with a best of 7-70. With the bat he posted a total of 1302 runs with a high score of 48.
However, it’s Killeen’s exploits with the white ball that he will be best remembered for, remaining the club’s all-time leading wicket taker in one-day cricket
In 2007, Killeen was a part of the squad that lifted the club’s first ever piece of silverware by beating Hampshire at Lord’s
‘My absolute highlight has to be winning the Friends Provident Trophy,” said Killeen when reflecting on his career.
Following his final game against Kent in September 2010, Killeen’s retirement marked the end of an era being the last playing link with Durham’s original First-class squad in 1992.
Having taken up the role of coaching since retirement, following a stint as Durham’s second XI coach, winning the Championship twice, in 2019 he took on the role of Assistant Lead & Bowling coach, a role he held up to 2023 before joining England as Elite Pace Bowling Coach.