For an hour they pondered why it had happened and wondered what might come next, but Mark Wood has revealed what the players’ next thoughts – put up a hell of a fight and aim for promotion back to Divison One.
And he acknowledged that while the members and supporters of the club may be helpless on the sidelines, the players will attempt to turn their frustrations in to match-winning Division Two performances.
Wood, who last week signed a new three-year deal at Emirates Riverside, may not be involved too much at county level as he targets a return to full fitness and looks to regain his England place next summer.
But he promised the players will wear their heart on their sleeves as they aim to bounce back at the first attempt, despite the points deductions.
“We were gutted,” said Wood of the reaction when the players heard the decision. “When the players suffer for things that are out of your control, it’s really disappointing but ultimately there’s nothing we can do about it.
“The lads were asking anxious questions about why do we deserve this, but ultimately after an hour of talking to each other we realised that there’s nothing we can do, we’re just going to have to get together again and make sure we put up a good fight in Division Two and get the team back where it belongs; that’s Division One.
“Maybe the experience of Division Two will help some of the younger players again, there will be expectation now as they’ll be pushing to get as many wicket and runs as they can in that division and really push the case to get us promoted.
“It helps both parties, it gives experience but also brings pressure and that can only mean better things for the lads coming through.
“We deserve to be in Division One because of the quality cricket we put forward so that’s what we need to get back to.”
A main reason why Wood believes Durham can bounce back at the first time of asking is the togetherness, spirit and character the players share in a close knit dressing room.
The 26-year-old has been part of England, England Lions and fast bowling camps over the last 12 months but firmly believes the home dressing room at Emirates Riverside is the envy of them all.
“You can go anywhere in the country and they all say the same about Durham, that it’s fantastic and we’ve got that real togetherness,” he said.
“We’ve got that identity of the region and that’s what we play for when we’ve got that shirt on, we play for the region and represent everyone from up here.
“The core values of the North East are just the same, the hard working determination and really putting it in for each other, and I think that’s why people really warm to our team.
“I don’t think it’s changed a lot since I was in the academy to be honest; the same principles and core values of the club run right through.”
The club have been flooded with messages of support since the announcement earlier this month while Wood admits his Twitter account “blew up” when the news broke – and he has a special message of thanks for everyone who has sent positive messages.
“It just shows how much the decision has impacted on everyone in the country and not just here. My Twitter nearly blew up with people asking what I was going to do about it and I was just like ‘what do you want me to do, there’s nothing I can do?!’”
“That’s what the players have come to, there’s nothing we can do about it, this is the decision, there’s only one thing we can do now and that’s affect things on the field.
“The supporters are the ones I ultimately feel sorry for because they don’t get to do anything about it, they just have to accept the decision. As players we can do something about it, we can buck up, help each other out and get the performances right on the field again to get us back promoted.
“Unfortunately, supporters just have to sit there and hope we do the business!
“To them, I’m sure we will and to everyone else throughout the country, thank you for your support, it really means a lot to everyone up here.”