Cricket
DURHAM COUNTY
CRICKET CLUB
Chester le Street
Co Durham, DH3 3QRr
Tel: 0870 389 1991
Fax: 0191 387 1616
INFORMATION
First game Raby Castle, 5 August 1751
Earl of Northumberland's XI v Duke of Cleveland's XI.
First game as Durham County in 1876 versus MCC
First international game - versus Australians in 1878 (Won by 71 runs)
FORMATION
Official formation
23 May 1882
MINOR COUNTIES CHAMPIONSHIP
Won 7 times
FIRST-CLASS COUNTY
6 December 1991
Our only Northeast (excluding the famous near neighbour Yorkshire!) first class Cricket Team is Durham
Dr. Alan Bell, 11 Jan 2007
The earliest reference to cricket in Durham is a game at Raby Castle on or soon after 5 August 1751 between the Earl of Northumberland's XI and the Duke of Cleveland's XI.
The return game soon afterwards at Stanwick, near Richmond, is the earliest reference to cricket in Yorkshire so Durham beet their famous close rivals Yorkshire in cricketing history terms.
Durhams first recorded match of representative cricket in the county took place in 1848 at Sunderland between 'All England'and Bishopwearmouth where the cricketers of Bishopwearmouth were comprehensively outplayed as All England's scores of 129 and 143 to their 56 and 59.
The first team to carry the name of 'Durham County' played a MCC team in 1876 and went on to take on the Australians in 1878, winning by 71 runs. They tried to win a second time in 1880, however, this time they lost by an innings and 38 with the great Fred Spofforth taking 17 wickets for 66.
Durham CCC was founded as an official entity on 23 May 1882, and the nascent club played its first competitive match on June 12 of that year, beating Northumberland by 4 wickets at the Ashbrooke Ground, Sunderland.
The club established an enviable record as a minor county: becoming the first minor county to beat a first-class county in the Gillette Cup; winning the Minor Counties Championship a record-equalling seven times between 1901 and 1984; and putting together a record of 65 matches without defeat between 1976 and 1982 that remains unbroken to the present day.
So early in 1989, the Club began the process of applying to become a first-class cricketing county and on 6 December 1991 they became the first new first-class county for 70 years. Their first season in the County Championship was the 1992 season.
In recent times, Durham has seen a number of their top players make an impact on the England side. Paul Collingwood (who is the first Durham CCC player to hit a Test century and double century), Steve Harmison and Liam Plunkett have established themselves in the national squad.
The recent addition of Graham Onions may be a sign that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future and is an indication of Durham's admirable youth system.
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