DURHAM County Cricket Club has refuted claims by former England captain Michael Atherton that it is in danger of going into administration.

However, the club conceded iy is involved in financial discussions with the England and Wales Cricket Board and admitted it is saddled with debts of between £5m to 6m.

The Northern Echo: GROUND VISION: Durham County Cricket Club chief executive David Harker at the Emirates ICG in Chester-le-Street. The Northern Echo is backing the First Class Future campaign to build a new cricket academy next to the ground

Durham chief executive David Harker

Durham chief executive David Harker insists the talks are part of a wider discussion that has been going on for a number of years – and stressed that he was not “unduly worried” by the extent of the club’s debt.

Writing in The Times, Atherton claimed: “Without a seven-figure cash injection from the England and Wales Cricket Board, Durham could become the first casualty of a creaking system.”

Durham’s response disputed that version of events, and said: “We and others have been in discussion with the ECB for some time about the funding of county cricket and continue to have a positive dialogue.

“We believe there is no imminent threat to the future of the club and remain confident in the long-term plans to move towards a sustainable funding model.”

Durham’s debts are about quarter of Yorkshire’s and much lower than those of Warwickshire, who asked for repayments to be suspended on a £20m loan from Birmingham Council two years ago. There were also similar reports last year of Northamptonshire being in danger of going bust.

However, Durham were forced to halve their players’ wage bill three years ago in an attempt to stabilise a debt which initially arose through the ECB’s requirements for creating an international-class stadium. That was a condition of their entry into first-class cricket in 1992.

A lack of money prevented Durham from going on a pre-season tour this winter, and after Australian John Hastings was forced to cancel his contract, the club opted to head into this season without a single overseas player in any format of the game.

The Northern Echo:

Michael Atherton

Atherton claims Durham have sought a restructuring of the repayment of the £923,000 staging fee for the Sri Lanka Test, which starts at Chester-le-Street on May 27.

“Ticket sales for the Test are relatively poor, about 26,000 for the scheduled five days,” he wrote. “Since Durham’s ground was granted Test-match status, the risk of hosting international games has shifted from the ECB to grounds who have been forced to bid against each other for the privilege of hosting matches that, in Durham’s case, simply do not pay.”