Durham's resolve may overcome the odds
Chester-le-Street is one of the most impregnable home fortresses on the circuit, and Durham's sense of grievance could well manifest itself in a singularly focused push for justice
ESPNcricinfo staff
03-Apr-2017
Durham's sense of injustice may make them interesting outsiders • Getty Images
The second tier of the County Championship doesn't tend to attract much interest these days. It remains first-class cricket in name, but it is decidedly second-class in status, with the gulf between the haves and the have-nots widening by the year.
But this year's Division Two race is intriguing nonetheless, not least because it will feature for the first time ten teams rather than nine, following the decision to whittle the top flight down to eight to make it more streamlined for the T20 era.
And it also features two undoubted heavyweights of recent English vintage - Nottinghamshire, last year's top-flight wooden-spoonists, who are 7/4 favourites to bounce straight back up as champions. And Durham, who deserve far deeper consideration than their 25/1 outsider status suggests.
Durham's plight is well-known and has attracted much sympathy. The three-times champions were relegated from Division One after the final round had been completed, on account of their off-field financial issues, having finished the season comfortably placed in mid-table.
They begin this campaign with a whopping 48-point deduction, and will also have to overcome the loss of two of their top-three batsmen, with Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick having fled south to Surrey. But, as Ian Botham, their new chairman, stated in typically bombastic fashion, that merely equates to two quick wins.
The fact remains that Chester-le-Street is one of the most impregnable home fortresses on the circuit, and Durham's sense of grievance could well manifest itself in a singularly focused push for justice. Either way, it is worth sprinkling a tenner in their direction, and sitting back to watch how their efforts unfold.
Elsewhere in the market, keep an eye on Kent - the nearly-rans of the 2016 season - who have a similar sense of injustice after being denied promotion when Durham came down, despite finishing as comfortable runners-up to Essex. They have a solid core of young and experienced campaigners, plus a stand-in coach, Jason Gillespie, who has a promotion and two Championships to his name from his days at Yorkshire. At 9/2, they are worth a flutter too.