Liam Plunkett upbeat over Durham returning to cricket's top flight
Thursday 13 April 2017 12:05, UK
England bowler Liam Plunkett believes his troubled former county Durham will not stay out of county cricket's top flight for long.
The terms of a financial bailout from the ECB mean Durham, champions in 2008, 2009 and 2013, have dropped down to Division Two of the Specsavers County Championship and also been hit with a 48-point penalty this term.
The punitive nature of the action, which also includes points deductions in both white-ball competitions, has drawn plenty of debate but on Friday morning Paul Collingwood's side will be back on the field against Nottinghamshire and starting the long road back.
Plunkett may now be with Yorkshire but he is one in a long and talented list of internationals produced by the north east county in recent years - including Collingwood, Ben Stokes, Steve Harmison, Mark Wood and Graham Onions.
And he is both confident and hopeful that things can get back on track at Emirates Riverside, a proving ground for a wide demographic of cricketers who might otherwise slip off the radar of the first-class game.
"I loved my time at Durham and I owe a lot to the cricket I played there," he said.
"I went from school in Middlesbrough, playing local cricket, to going there and being treated like a professional at 14,15,16 years old. It was the best years of my life.
"I've read about what's happened to Durham and it's a shame to see. You want to help all clubs out and see them have the same opportunities.
"You want the political stuff to improve and you want them to still be there fighting because they're good enough to be in Division One."I know they'll find their way back up, if not this year then definitely the next couple of years."
Durham lost key men Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick to Surrey in the close season but retained the likes of Keaton Jennings, Chris Rushworth and Wood to lead a youthful squad.
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