A Harmy who bats

There has not been much to smile about at the Riverside this summer. But Durham's coach Martyn Moxon is used to that and looks on the bright side, despite another disappointing Championship season.

"The one-day form was pretty good but we suffered from not having our first-choice overseas players, Herschelle Gibbs and Shoaib Akhtar," said Moxon, "and then from losing Mark Davies to injury after he became the first man in the country to 50 Championship wickets.

"We missed him badly and never had a settled attack. But Liam Plunkett was looking good towards the end, Gavin Hamilton went a long way towards rehabilitation after his yips and Gordon Muchall, still only 21, made three Championship 90s.

"Other pluses," continued Moxon, "were that Ben Harmison, Steve's brother, was called up for the England Under-19 World Cup squad and Mark Turner, another of our local lads, played in the Under-19 Tests against Bangladesh."

Harmison junior is not, however, a clone of his brother. He has similar lofty height but at the moment is considered more of a stylish left-hand bat, though Moxon thinks he could develop into a more than useful allrounder once his body strengthens.

The county, with a new chairman, is already looking to reinforce the side for next season. An overseas strike bowler and batsman are high on the shopping list. "We need to get experienced, capable pros," adds Moxon, "but they are increasingly difficult to find."