DURHAM will be captained by Brad Hodge for their final five days of the season, starting against Gloucestershire at Bristol today.

It's a low-key end to the campaign as the hosts are guaranteed to finish one place above Durham in second bottom place, while the final National League match at Taunton on Sunday is between two relegated sides.

Durham have been led by off spinner Nicky Phillips since Jon Lewis's season was ended by a groin injury with six championship games left.

Phillips would not be an obvious candidate for leadership, and although he handled his bowlers and field placings well in the one-day games, his tactics in last week's championship defeat by Essex were questionable.

Mark Waugh and Aftab Habib were allowed to make hay against some innocuous bowling from Hodge and Gordon Muchall as they progressed to their centuries.

Graeme Bridge could replace Phillips in the team today, but coach Martyn Moxon said: "We need a change at the helm. Nicky has done the job at a very difficult time and has done OK, but now that Brad has had a few games we feel he is better equipped to do the job."

Durham's most successful period in first-class cricket was under the captaincy of an Australian, David Boon, but Hodge will have the opportunity to do the job for a mere five days.

While he hoped to put himself in the shop window by staying on to play after recovering from his broken thumb, Durham have already appointed Martin Love and South African paceman Dewald Pretorius as their overseas players for next season.

Mark Davies could return today after missing the last two games with a groin injury, which has probably cost him the chance to end the season as leading wicket-taker.

He has 32 in the championship, while Neil Killeen now has 35. If no-one gets to 40 it will be the first time this has happened with Durham, as even when Simon Brown was missing in 1998 John Wood took 61, Stephen Harmison 49 and Melvyn Betts 44.

That begins to look like a measure of Boon's influence as the same three at the moment, with their various counties, are on 17, 21 and 20 respectively.

Durham are among several counties said to be interested in signing Gloucestershire's unsettled all-rounder Jeremy Snape, but he will not be in the opposition today as he is with the England squad at the ICC Trophy.

Ian Pattison will again play for Durham and has been offered a one-year extension of his development contract.

Durham (from): B J Hodge (capt), M A Gough, G J Pratt, G J Muchall, A M Thorpe, I Pattison, A Pratt, G D Bridge, N C Phillips, I D Hunter, A M Davies, N Killeen, S J Harmison.

* Yorkshire have decided against wholesale changes for today's final Championship match of the season against Kent at Headingley which they need to win to be sure of getting off the bottom of the table. They will select from the same 12 which went to Edgbaston last week but this time opener Scott Richardson is expected to play for the first time since the opening game of the season.

Although coach Wayne Clark would have liked to try out one or two of the younger players, the importance of the match has persuaded him to field as strong a side as possible, particularly as Chris Silverwood is out injured and Ryan Sidebottom continues to struggle with a groin strain.

The game is of double significance to captain Richard Blakey who would love to lead Yorkshire to their only win of the season at Headingley and at the same time score the 55 runs he still needs to complete 1,000 first class runs for the summer.

It will be a remarkable achievement if he manages it because all his runs have come batting at No 7. He is in the right sort of form to do it, however, his last three innings bringing him scores of 63 not out, 70 and 103. Blakey has four times made it to the 1,000 mark, the first occasion being in 1987 and the last in 1994, and if he manages it again few current county players will have reached the milestone over a period of 16 seasons.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire have announced they are releasing four members of their junior staff, including pace bowler Chris Elstub (21) who has played in five first class games since making his first team debut two years' ago, taking nine wickets.

Elstub featured in eight Norwich Union League games and enjoyed a best return of four for 25 against Surrey at Headingley last season. The three others are all-rounders John Sadler (20) and Alex Stead (22), who both went on Yorkshire's pre-season tour of Grenada this year, and left-arm spinner Chris Brice.

Yorkshire from: Richardson, Craven, Elliott, McGrath, White, Lumb, Fellows, Blakey, Dawson, Sidebottom, Kirby, Thornicroft.

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