EVERY picture doesn’t tell the story. I was reminded of that when accosted by a Durham member on my arrival for the second day’s play of the season.

The back page of that morning’s Northern Echo had carried a lovely photograph of one lone spectator sitting in the top deck of the County Stand, with Lumley Castle behind.

“That was very misleading. There was a good crowd in here yesterday,” said the member. I agreed with him, although I could appreciate why such an excellent photograph had been used. It did, however, convey the impression that hardly anyone wanted to watch four-day cricket on a very chilly opening day. Most of the crowd had opted to seek some shelter in front of the pavilion.

On arriving for the third day I was held up by a very slow moving car and suddenly realised it was occupied by two nuns. They are apparently regulars at Riverside and earned a mention in the Guardian during the Essex game, when they were overheard expressing a wish to see Durham bat. Shortly after wards Essex collapsed from 441 for four to 484 all out, prompting the Guardian writer to claim divine intervention.

My next irritation on driving into the ground was the sight of a cross of St George flag fluttering from a car. Hopefully it was there to celebrate St George’s Day. God forbid that it had anything to do with the World Cup as cricket fans look forward with dread to a summer of football.

MOST of the Durham team still enjoy a couple of pints of Guinness, despite their attempts to drink Dublin dry at the end of last season.

But skipper Will Smith claims that when they went to Abu Dhabi to play the MCC v Champions match at the end of March the Guinness there was about £5 a pint, so they couldn’t afford it.

“Other than that I was really impressed with everything and would love to go again,” he said. “I think it would work well to have the match there as an annual event. The stadium is brilliant and could be a good international venue.

“We also had a couple of formal functions in the hotel overlooking the Formula One circuit, where everything was quite spectacular, especially during Earth Hour when all the electricity was turned off and everything was candle-lit.

“We also had an evening at the British Embassy, which was in a green haven with manicured gardens surrounded by huge skyscrapers. The ambassador gave a speech in which he referred to the MCC as Middlesex Cricket Club. He professed to be a Derbyshire fan, so he obviously doesn’t think the D in DCCC stands for Durham!”

While discussing previous teams to have pulled off a hat-trick of championships, Smith was reminded of the Surrey team won seven on the trot in the 1950s. It included Peter May, Ken Barrington, the Bedser twins, plus Loader, Lock and Laker.

Smith said: “I remember Ken Barrington presenting the trophy when I was in the Harrold Cricket Club team in Bedfordshire which won a national under 13s tournament. We beat Tynemouth in one round and they included Nicky Peng and Gordon Muchall.”