DURHAM will begin life in division one of the County Championship next season by making their first visit to Canterbury since 1998.

Following Surrey's relegation, Kent are the only team who have been in the top-flight since the advent of two divisions in 2000. Durham played them at Tunbridge Wells that year.

They are also making a surprise return to The Parks to play Oxford University, where they began their first five seasons in first-class cricket. They are due there for a three-day game on May 31, but there is no fixture next season against Durham University.

After taking a championship match to Stockton in two of the last three years, Durham will again use an outground for the return game against Kent, who were beaten by 135 runs at Darlington in 1997. The match starts on June 13, inbetween the Elton John concert and the visit of Sri Lanka to Riverside for a one-day international.

Durham also have a three-day match against West Indies A starting on July 21, but fans hoping for a third successive visit to Scarborough will be disappointed as the away match against Yorkshire is at Headingley at the end of the season.

There will be no trips to the seaside as the match against Sussex has provisionally been marked down for Horsham, where Durham played in their first season in 1992.

Durham begin one-day action with a home game against Northamptonshire on May 1 in the C & G Trophy, which has been expanded to nine matches, with Scotland playing in the northern group.

The winners of the North and South divisions will meet in the final.

The Twenty-20 Cup will continue on the same lines as last year with eight matches in mid-season.

There will be eight matches in the one-day league, which has been reduced from 45 to 40-overs-a-side, in which Durham are also in division one and begin against Middlesex at Lord's on July 30.

There will be automatic two-up and two-down promotion and relegation but the third-placed side in division two will host the third-bottom side in division one in a play-off.

The Championship will be played under the banner of Liverpool Victoria, parent company of the previous sponsors Frizzell, and two teams will be promoted and relegated instead of three.

Yorkshire, also back in the first division of the County Championship, face a tough start to their programme with a visit to title holders, Nottinghamshire, at Trent Bridge.

Yorkshire should soon know if they have sufficient firepower to stay in the top flight because three of their first four Championship games are away from home.

Yorkshire's season gets under way on Saturday, April 19, with a three-day friendly against Leeds-Bradford Universities Centre of Excellence at Headingley, where the first home Championship match will be staged against Sussex, starting on May 3.

The plum C & G game for Yorkshire will be the Roses battle at Headingley on Sunday, May 28.

Yorkshire's one-day league match with Worcestershire at Headingley will be played under floodlights, as will be their totesport League and Twenty20 games against Derbyshire at Derby.

Once again, Yorkshire will take two Championship and two one-day league games to Scarborough.

They entertain Warwickshire at North Marine Road in the Championship from July 19, with Leicestershire being the one-day visitors on the Sunday.

At the Scarborough Festival they entertain Middlesex in the Championship from August 30-September 2 followed by Hampshire in the one-day league.

Read more about Durham here.