PAUL Grayson is delighted that his new job as coach of Durham University has allowed him to live back on home territory at Bedale.

It was there that he and his brother Simon, the former Leeds boss now managing Preston North End, grew up together, honing their skills under the guidance of a sports-loving father.

Dad Adrian was head of PE and also taught geography at Bedale School while playing football for Pickering Town and cricket for Northallerton.

“We used to go along and watch him as kids, and with Simon being only 15 months older than me we were always playing together,” said Paul.

Their different skills developed in Bedale teams before both gravitated towards Leeds, where Simon made two first team appearances for United before being transferred to Leicester City.

Paul, now 45, was taken on by Yorkshire at 16 and played Bradford League cricket for Pudsey Congs during his time in the county second X1.

He joined the professional staff at 18, but as a left-arm spinner he first had to compete with Phil Carrick before Yorkshire broke with tradition by signing an outsider in Richard Stemp.

With limited opportunities, Grayson moved to Essex in 1996, where his successful career earned him two one-day international caps.

Once his first team days ended he became second team player-coach then took over from Graham Gooch as first team coach in 2008. He survived until a new regime took over last year.

“People said I would get another county job,” he said. “But there are only 18 counties and those jobs don't come up very often.

“My son, Oliver, saw the university post advertised and I thought it would be the next best thing to coaching a county. I applied in September and started in October.

“I'm working with some really talented students and there's a bit less pressure so I'm really enjoying it.

“Oliver has played for Essex seconds but he's going to Leeds University, so the move suits him. My wife's a Yorkshire girl and our daughter, Beth, is finishing her A-levels. And the move back home allows us to be nearer our parents.”

Grayson began playing for Bedale when they were in the York Senior League and always saw batting as his stronger suit, although it was his reputation as a one-day spinner which got him into the England team.

At Yorkshire he played a lot with Martyn Moxon, who he describes as “a great role model”.

“I had a good season in 1994, batting at No 4, but I started the following season with a few low scores and got left out. Michael Vaughan and Anthony McGrath were coming through.

“I was still in the one-day team but I wanted to play four-day cricket and was hoping Durham might have approached me.

“I spoke to three or four counties and I knew a few people at Essex, plus the opportunity to play with Graham Gooch, and under the coaching of Keith Fletcher, was a big attraction. It was a big move to make, but I was ambitious.

“They had a reputation for picking up players like Peter Such, Ronnie Irani and John Childs and getting the best out of them.

“Most of the others had come up together as a group and enjoyed a lot of success, but once that era ended the club started to target one-day cricket.

“Unless you have a massive squad it's very difficult to compete in both formats. Division One is now dominated by counties with Test grounds, although Somerset have been able to pay well since selling some land for housing.

“My brief as Essex coach was always to win one-day trophies. We won the 50-over competition in 2008 and during my time only Hampshire won more one-day matches. The downside was not getting over the line in semi-finals. It was frustrating and always baffled us.

“I hope we don't go down the same route as football, but there are more cricket coaches losing their jobs now and there's more pressure.”

Grayson says he has always been fascinated by the practical and technical side of the game, so it's just as well he has a coaching career.

He might have been lost to the game when he was working off-season in a brewery in Romford, but that was where he received a call out of the blue in October, 2000.

“David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, rang to ask me to fly out to Nairobi to play for England against South Africa in the ICC inter-continental cup.

“I'd been part of a successful one-day side at Essex and hoped I might get a call-up. It came because Ashley Giles was injured, but we lost the game and were out of the competition.

“Then I went to Pakistan for the one-day series but didn't get a game. I was picked the following winter for the one-dayers against Zimbabwe and played once.

“I would have liked to have played a bit more, but at least I can say I did play for England.”

There was a time at Essex when he opened the batting and he remembers being at the other end when Will Jefferson took the Durham attack apart at Colchester.

The 6ft 11in Jefferson was one of those Durham University graduates who never quite fulfilled their potential, along with Alex Loudon, Lee Daggett and more recently Somerset's Richard Jones.

“Will had a fabulous two or three years,” said Grayson. “But he had a bit of a fall-out with a couple of people and went to Nottinghamshire. It probably wasn't the best place for him with the way the ball swings at Trent Bridge, and back problems connected with his height didn't help.

“Tim Phillips and Tom Westley also went from Essex to Durham University and we encouraged that because we knew they would come back better players.

“We now have a squad of 25 and a lot of them have aspirations to play county cricket. Gareth Breese runs the second team and the women's team, which is only going to get stronger.

“We are trying to run a programme as close to a professional set-up as we can. We did three net sessions and four fitness sessions a week in the winter, then went to Desert Springs in Spain for a week in March.

“We took 22, who all paid for themselves. I felt it was important to get away before our two first-class games against Gloucestershire and Durham because it would be tough to come into them without any outdoor practice.

“It's a bit of a shame that we have to play those games right at the start of the season, but we had a very good work-out at Bristol. I know the Gloucester coach, Richard Dawson, well from Yorkshire days and he said he would like to keep an eye on two or three of our players.

“I also think our links with Durham are important and I played with their coach, Jon Lewis, at Essex. Their bowling coach, Alan Walker, helps us.

“It's important that two or three of our players go on to play professional cricket. Of course I miss some of the interaction with professional players, but this is a new part of my life and |I'm very happy working with some talented lads.”