CRICKET fans and business leaders in the region are celebrating tonight after it was announced that Chester-le-Street's Riverside ground is to be given Test match cricket.
The management board of the England and Wales Cricket Board awarded the ground Test match status, which comes into effect from 2003.
The May 2003 Test match between England and Zimbabwe has been pencilled in for the ground's first five day international.
It's thought the region could make up to £4m from each Test match, with the club pocketing up to £250,000, and hoteliers, pub landlords and shopkeepers also benefiting.
It means Durham County Cricket Club is the first in the country to be awarded Test match status since Edgbaston in Birmingham in 1902.
This follows the club becoming the first new team to enter the county league in 70 years in 1992.
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