County Cricket / Will Smith / 02 July 2011 /

Will Smith is full of praise for former Durham skipper Dale Benkenstein today as he tells us how his team are doing in the different competitions this season.

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The beginning of July is a natural mid-point of the season; a season which is certainly a marathon and not a sprint. As Durham ease underneath the 13 mile banner, we are perhaps just ahead of the pack in the Championship, to the fore of the chasing group in the Twenty20, and the Pro40 seems that distant a notion that I'm not sure where we are!

With six Twenty20 group games left, we are in a position where three wins should just about secure a quarter-final spot. As I write, we are on the bus to Old Trafford for the first of those six. We beat Lancashire well at home last week, thanks to some skilful stuff from Dale Benkenstein. The batting was topped off by some lusty hitting from Liam Plunkett, who then went on to secure man-of-the-match status by taking five wickets. Thus proving, in Twenty20, that genuine wicket-taking bowling can be just as vital as miserly bowling.

That victory was followed up by an even better one against Leicestershire - one of the North Group's form teams - two days later. The victory was this time marked by the best last ten overs of bowling that I can remember. Benkenstein and Plunkett were once again at it, aided further by brilliant death bowling from Chris Rushworth and Mitchell Claydon. Simple skilled death bowling is paramount in a good Twenty20 side, and Rushworth and Claydon are finding that consistency just at the right time.

By the time of reading, our standing in theTwenty20 group will be clearer after the Old Trafford game. Our standing in the Championship is altogether clearer. After our fascinating win at Liverpool, which is a great place to play cricket (more later), we sit atop the league by 23 points. The teams chasing have a game in hand, but with the experience we can call upon from similar past situations, I wouldn't swap our position for anyone's.

Characteristic of our form in Twenty20 and Championship cricket has been the consistency and/or match-winning brilliance from almost every player. So often teams rely heavily on one or two players, and in winning seasons gone by Durham have been no different. This year has seen a change. Runs and wickets have been coming from everywhere, with perhaps one notable exception.

Dale Benkenstein has been mentioned earlier in this piece, but I must give him even more credit. At Liverpool he played two innings that may just shape our whole season. In scoring 83 not out in the first innings, he gave us a vital lead. In the second innings 60 not out took us home from a position from which further wobbles were possible. In doing so, he not only passed 1,000 Championship runs for the season, but also passed Jon Lewis' tally of 7,854 as Durham's all-time highest first-class run scorer. It is a phenomenal achievement. Indeed it is hard to put into words quite how good he is, and just how important he is to this team, as a player and a character. He's as unflappable as he is dependably classy.

Playing at outgrounds is continually enjoyable. They offer different surroundings - sometimes quaint, sometimes staid - but always fascinating and intriguing. Both in terms of the cricket played and the people attending. Liverpool is no different. Lancashire doubtless enjoy playing there, (having decamped from Old Trafford for Championship cricket), as they had not lost a game there this season. It was a vital toss to win and we managed to play well enough for long enough to hold out for the win.

From the proximity of the deck-chaired spectators to the glinting of the marquees in the Merseyside sunshine, this was county cricket at its quintessential best. The local folk were friendly but amusingly, and forgivingly, partisan.

One such instance was when I wandered across to the pitch before warm-ups on the fourth morning. I noted the groundsmen were readying the tarpaulin sheets, so politely enquired as to the possibility of imminent rain. His response I'm sure was planned and delivered with unerring steel: "It may well do, which will juice up the wicket nicely. Plus there is a good crosswind which will help our bowlers swing it."

Bearing in mind I was not out overnight and hoping to help us score the 150-odd more runs needed to win, his psychological attack was carefully planned and executed with amusing clarity. I could only chuckle. Thanks Benki...

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