No fewer than ten Durham players have been playing abroad in the past week with continued success at international & grade level – including some silverware Down Under!
Sunday saw the return of England’s ace card in Mark Wood & the Durham man was at his signature best in the first over back to David Warner at the MCG.
After showing glimpses of his express pace during the England Lions tour, Wood announced his return to full international action with a fierce over which resulted in Warner’s dismissal, edging one high off the shoulder of the bat.
Hands up if you’re looking forward to Mark Wood bowling ??? again…
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? Friday morning
? BT Sport 1 HD
? 3am pic.twitter.com/Z0mI0z411q— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) January 17, 2018
He finished with 1/49 off his ten overs & proved economical in the second ODI today with figures of 0/55 as England took a 2-0 lead.
Ireland’s latest tour in Dubai proved another profitable one for Barry McCarthy as he shared eight wickets equally across four games against Scotland & UAE, further cementing his place in the national side as they prepare for next month’s ICC World Cup qualifiers.
The best of his two-wicket returns came in the first match against the Scots (2/42) as Ireland completed a 100% record on the trip, carrying on their good form after defeating Afghanistan pre-Christmas.
Stuart Poynter was selected for the second UAE encounter, facing just one ball as the top order racked up 301/5.
The performance of those Ireland-Scotland encounters came from debutant & new Academy signing Michael Jones, who started life at international level with two highly impressive half-centuries.
After receiving his cap from captain Richie Berrington, opener Jones made a composed 87 on debut & added 74 from 94 balls second time around, halted only by future Durham team mate McCarthy.
Jones will look to nail his place for the World Cup qualifiers when Scotland face UAE in two One-Day Internationals starting on Sunday.
Rounding off international success is Tom Latham, who played his part in New Zealand’s 5-0 whitewash of Pakistan in Wellington. The wicketkeeper took five catches & a stumping, with a top score of 35 during the third match in Dunedin.
Down Under in Australian grade cricket, Nathan Rimmington celebrated success with Sandgate-Redcliffe as they registered a third successive Kookaburra First Grade T20 title, beating Western Suburbs by 19 runs at Allan Border Field.
Rimmington took 1/35 as they successfully defended 177, taking his T20 tally to nine wickets with a best of 4/23 vs Valley.
One day previous to the final, Rimmington continued his excellent two-day form by taking 3/55, leaving them on the brink of victory against Ipswich/Logan heading into the second day.
Liam Trevaskis made yet another contribution during North Canberra Gungahlin’s win against ANU, claiming four wickets for 61 runs & adding 29 runs in the chase of 329.
There was a rare defeat for Cameron Steel’s side, Claremont-Nedlands, in a 50-over match against Wanneroo. Steel’s leg spin brought figures of 2/54 from nine overs & he struck 32 in their reply as they fell short by 19 runs.
The two teams will go head-to-head again on Sunday in the Western Australia Premier T20 final.
Graham Clark opened up for Newtown & Chilwell in their limited-overs fixture against Geelong City, making 23 off 21 balls before the game was eventually abandoned due to rain.