WHO will be Durham’s Player of the Year this season? Ian Blackwell pipped a number of strong contenders to win the members’ vote last year, but the current campaign is waiting for someone to burst from the pack.

At least that’s the impression given by the Most Valuable Player rankings, issued by the Professional Cricketers’ Association, which make depressing reading for Durham. They are the last county to appear, with Blackwell in 50th place and noone else in the top 60.

The rankings take all forms of cricket into consideration, which might explain why Warwickshire have seven in the top 60 as they won the Twenty20 northern group.

Yorkshire’s Adil Rashid is in top spot.

Whether the rankings can be taken seriously is thrown into question by the appearance of Dale Benkenstein and Mark Davies as the two most miserly bowlers in the championship.

They have economy rates of 1.89 and 2.07, but have taken only one wicket between them.

IN his days at Gateshead Fell, occasional off-spinner Marcus North would not have been expected to take six wickets in a Durham Senior League innings, never mind in a Test match.

Even he was surprised by his six for 55, which wrapped up victory for Australia against Pakistan at Lord’s and earned him a place on the famous honours board.

“I don’t feel like I deserve that, to be honest,” he said.

“There have been some amazing bowlers over the years who have had some great bowling performances at Lord’s.”

Things went North’s way as soon as Ricky Ponting handed him the ball ahead of Steven Smith on the fourth day.

With two left-handers at the crease, Ponting wanted the ball turning away from them, but with his first ball North drifted the ball down leg side and had Salman Butt stumped.

Three balls later Shahid Afridi tried to launch North out of the ground (surprise, surprise) only to find the fielder at deep mid-wicket.

“I haven’t had too many opportunities at this level,”

said North and, in truth, it’s not surprising.

When he spent the 2004 season with Durham he took seven first-class wickets, which included four for 16 in the opening match against Durham University.

The Lord’s effort was his first six-wicket haul in first-class cricket and atoned for being bowled for a duck in the first innings and caught behind for 20 in the second.