Double delight for Durham as big guns make return
MICHAEL DI VENUTO'S decision
to rejoin Durham for two
more years and end his career in
the North-East was motivated by
the need to spend more time with
his young family as well as to prolong
his career.
Both Australian di Venuto and
West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul
will be back at Riverside
this summer - the latter as the
club's official overseas signing,
with di Venuto a Kolpak player
thanks to an Italian passport.
Chanderpaul played six oneday
and four first-class matches
in a short spell last season, including
the Friend's Provident
Trophy win at Lord's, while Di
Venuto finished top run-scorer.
However, Chanderpaul will
miss the start of the season due
to international commitments
but South African all-rounders
Neil McKenzie and Albie Morkel
will cover until he arrives.
The West Indies three Test series
with Australia in the
Caribbean runs until June 16, before
a one-day series carries on
until July 6.
Chanderpaul, 33, said:
Durham is a club with a big future
and, after the success we had
last year, we are definitely keen
to start the season as we finished.
I'll be keeping an eye on the
results while I'm on tour and I
can't wait to join up.''
One of Tasmania's longestserving
players, Di Venuto, yesterday
announced his retirement
from first-class cricket for his native
Tasmania after 16 years playing
for his state.
The 34-year-old was a fixture at
the top of the Tigers' batting
order and leaves as his their leading
one-day domestic run scorer.
He also holds the record for the
most half-centuries in four-day
domestic cricket.
He played nine one-day internationals
for Australian and is
third in appearances for Tasmania
behind Jamie Cox and David
Boon, the former Durham skipper.
Di Venuto insists he no longer
wants to play the game all-year
round due to a series of niggling
injuries in recent seasons which
have impacted on his ability to
play in two countries on opposite
sides of the globe.
"This is an opportunity my
wife and family are extremely
happy with and looking forward
to," Di Venuto said.
"But obviously it was a
tough decision. Tasmanian
cricket has been my life for a very
long time and I'll certainly miss
playing cricket for Tasmania.
"In the past couple of years I've
played quite well because I've
strung my county seasons together
with my state seasons,
which in the past is something I
haven't been able to do, but I'm
not getting any younger.
"It's going to be a lot easier on
my body if I stick to playing
county cricket and spend more
time with my family instead of
having to rush back to prepare
for a season with Tasmania without
having much of a break in between.
"We can spend our summers
together in Hobart and I want to
continue my involvement with
Tasmanian cricket by playing a
role for the TCA (Tasmanian
Cricket Association)."
Di Venuto topped Durham's
county championship batting averages
last summer with 1,329
runs at 66.45 but struggled to
make an impact in the one-day
competitions and it's been a similar
story for Tasmania this winter.
In the four-day Pura Cup - Australia's
equivalent of the county
championship - the left-hander
has cracked 517 runs at a healthy
47 average in six matches, but in
the one-day Ford Ranger Cup, Di
Venuto has suffered an uncharacteristic
form slump which has
left him averaging just six in
three matches.
At a loss to explain why, Di
Venuto, is determined to make
amends at Riverside this
coming season.
"It's hard to put
my finger on why I
haven't scored
more runs in oneday
cricket," Di
Venuto said. "I
wasn't happy
with my one-day
form at Durham
last year and I
want to improve
because
the
t e a m
needs everyone to perform if we
are going to win something
again.
"If we all try to improve individually
and as a team then we
can have an even better year
than last year."
Tasmania coach Tim
Coyle said Di Venuto's
loss was Durham's gain:
"Nobody wants to improve
his one-day form
more then Michael."
A l l - r o u n d e r
McKenzie will
start the season
at Riverside while
Morkel has been
earmarked for a
role in the Twenty20
Cup.
Morkel, 26, a medium-
fast bowler and
left-handed bat, is
highly-rated. In Twenty20
cricket he averages
20.45 with the bat
and has taken 22 wickets
in 33 matches. He enjoyed
an average of 40 in
the 2007 Twenty20 World
Cup.
McKenzie, 32, a right hand
bat, was a middle order stalwart
for the Springboks in the
early 2000s, but didn't play the international
game from 2004 until
being recalled to face the West Indies
this month.
He averages 43.26 in first class
cricket and needs just five runs to
hit the 10,000 barrier.
Head coach, Geoff Cook, said,
"It's great to secure the services
of such wonderful batsmen.
"Diva (Di Venuto) and Shiv
(Chanderpaul) have both made
invaluable contributions to the
team and have both had a
tremendous influence on the
team, both on and off the field,
and it will be an honour to welcome
them back to Riverside.
"To have players of Neil and
Albie's calibre committing to the
Durham cause is a great achievement.
"We are determined to improve
our performance in the Twenty20
Cup and I think Albie will be a
great asset to our set up. I'm sure
Neil's involvement in the early
stages of the season will get us
off to the best possible start in
2008.''
11:16am Wednesday 16th January 2008
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