9:54am Saturday 20th March 2010
By Tim Wellock
DURHAM skipper Will Smith was presented with the Cricket Society’s Captain of the Year award on Thursday night.
The presentation took place at a meeting of the Wombwell Cricket Lovers’ Society, near Barnsley, an old-established organisation which has Dickie Bird as its president and boasts two other locals, Michael Parkinson and Geoff Boycott, among its patrons.
The Cricket Society has branches all over England and the award to Smith was made by the Wombwell chairman, James Greenfield. It is known as the Brian Sellers award after the Yorkshire captain of the 1950s.
Smith, who also captained Bedford School and Durham University, said: “This is the first time I’ve won a captaincy award and it’s a great honour that it should come from such a prestigious body.”
After leading Durham to their second successive LV County Championship title in his first season as skipper, he told the meeting: “There will be no sitting back. We have to keep on improving because all the other counties will be gunning for us.”
Durham have handed a full contract to 23-year-old Sunderland seamer Chris Rushworth, who was in the academy from 2002-2006.
He made one senior appearance in 2004 in a one-day game against Sri Lanka A at Riverside, and although he disappeared from the scene for a while he has continued to impress in club cricket.
Rushworth will be in the squad departing for Abu Dhabi on Monday, along with new wicketkeeper Michael Richardson and the other addition to the full staff, England Under 19 all-rounder Ben Stokes.
Smith said: “I reckon Ben could be the most powerful striker in our squad, even ahead of Phil Mustard and Ian Blackwell. He definitely has a chance of playing in the oneday side this season, and the reports of his England Under 19 century during the winter were that it was a very mature innings.”
Durham will play one-day games against Sussex and the United Arab Emirates next week before the four-day MCC v Champions match starts on March 29.
“The team we select to play the MCC will be pretty close to the one we expect to field in the first championship match against Essex,” said Smith.
“I’ve heard varying reports of the pitch in Abu Dhabi.
Kyle Coetzer has been there with Scotland this winter for the World Twenty20 qualifiers and Will Gidman was there recently with an MCC squad.
“Geoff Cook has also coached out there, and there is some suggestion the pitch takes spin so we might consider playing Scott Borthwick as well as Ian Blackwell.”
Although England’s tour of Bangladesh ends on Wednesday, Liam Plunkett is not expected to join Durham in Abu Dhabi.
DURHAM SQUAD: W R Smith (capt), D M Benkenstein, I D Blackwell, G R Breese, S C Borthwick, M E Claydon, K J Coetzer, M Davies, M J Di Venuto, L Evans, W R Gidman, B W Harmison, S J Harmison, N Killeen, G J Muchall, P Mustard, M Richardson, C Rushworth, M D Stoneman, B W Stokes, C D Thorp.
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