SINCE July last year, Durham have lost five of their most successful cricketers from their books. All of them had learnt their cricket through Durham’s academy, second XI and ultimately found ‘fame’ in Durham’s first team.
Whilst Alastair Cook’s latest opening partner in Test cricket, Mark Stoneman, chose to leave before Durham’s predicament was known, their head coach Jon Lewis has his suspicions that this is where naivety ends.
“I think a couple of people knew what was around the corner for Durham before I did,” he tells me on the morning that Keaton Jennings’ departure is rumoured.
By accepting a £3.8million bailout from English cricket’s governing body, Durham were relegated to Division Two in the County Championship and docked points in all three formats.
Leg-spinner and nifty batsman Scott Borthwick followed Stoneman to Surrey in early September 2016, when the scale of Durham’s predicament was becoming clear. “How much he (Scott Borthwick) knew about what was coming, whether he was aware of anything, I do not know,” Lewis says after a pause.
“But I have a sneaky suspicion a couple of people did know.”
When asked who these ‘people’ might be, Lewis keeps his cards close to his chest. In reality he probably could not pinpoint an individual, but rather refers to the background whisperings and chatter, rife in the close-knit community of county cricket.
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