Headingley begins to lose ground in fight with Durham for Test status

During the Second Test at Chester-le-Street it has been possible to see Headingley's future as a Test venue going down the toilet. This would not be entirely inappropriate since that is what the old ground seemed to resemble for so many years. It is also a big claim to make after 65 matches at Leeds over 106 summers, some of them forever to be enshrined in the game's annals. But down by the Riverside, for all that it is half-complete and dotted with temporary structures, there is a vibrancy and a vision which have not always been apparent down the road.

During the Second Test at Chester-le-Street it has been possible to see Headingley's future as a Test venue going down the toilet. This would not be entirely inappropriate since that is what the old ground seemed to resemble for so many years. It is also a big claim to make after 65 matches at Leeds over 106 summers, some of them forever to be enshrined in the game's annals. But down by the Riverside, for all that it is half-complete and dotted with temporary structures, there is a vibrancy and a vision which have not always been apparent down the road.

There is also frustration that they are not being properly treated by the England and Wales Cricket Board. The unstated feeling is that the traditional venues are being granted favours not available to the Riverside.

"It seems inequitable that many grounds who intend to spend or are planning improvements have the benefit of long-term staging agreements," said David Harker, Durham's chief executive. "This club have already invested and have plans to invest a considerable amount more." Almost £9 million has been spent at Durham in three years and they have firm plans for £5m of their own money and several millions of private investors over the next four years. This would bring the capacity up to 15,000 and involve permanent, telescopic floodlights. Nobody should back against them since the ground was a piece of wild land 15 years ago.

Durham pleaded their case to a new ECB working party at Lord's last Thursday and came away more frustrated than triumphant. But with Yorkshire still struggling to buy Headingley and their long-term agreement under threat, the future awaits.

When three out of XI equals change

England's selectors make much these days of their commitment to continuity. It came as a surprise, therefore, to note that the team for the Second Test at the Riverside contained only three players who had played in the inaugural match there in 2003.

They are Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick and Stephen Harmison. Whither, you may ask, the likes of Anthony McGrath and Richard Johnson? They were England's star performers against Zimbabwe two years ago, McGrath top-scoring with 81 and Johnson taking 6 for 33. McGrath played only two more Tests, Johnson three.

Three is the least number of players retained by England between the first and second matches at a new home venue. No fewer than seven men played at Edgbaston in 1902 and again in 1909. Now, that's continuity.

Harmison books himself new date

To coincide with the match here, the first biography of local hero Stephen Harmison has been published. It might seem a trifle premature for a bowler not yet 27 who is 31st on England's all-time wicket-taking list. But Harmison's meteoric rise from unfulfilled promise to No 1 bowler in the world for a while was some story, which deserved telling. Tony Lawrence, the author of Fast Work, appears to have told it with discernment and enthusiasm for his subject. It was also in the face of some obstacles. He was denied access to the man himself and Harmison's agent, John Morris, was much displeased at the project. A more official book is apparently in the offing.

Umpires make rash decisions

It has hardly been a stressful time for the umpiring fraternity in the series against Bangladesh. Perhaps that is why new international umpires are being given an opportunity, although the decisions have not been impeccable. This match has seen New Zealander Tony Hill standing in only his second Test. But it was third umpire Peter Hartley who put the tasks into perspective. When asked how tough it was, he mentioned that it was slightly more arduous deciding how many rashers of bacon to have for breakfast.

Trescothick puts down his marker

Marcus Trescothick scored the first Test century at the Riverside, none having been made in the inaugural match. He joins luminaries who achieved the feat at other English grounds: WG Grace (The Oval, 1880, the first Test ton on English soil), Allan Steel (Lord's, 1884), Johnny Tyldesley (Edgbaston, 1902), Billy Gunn (Old Trafford, 1899, the fourth match there), Archie MacLaren (Trent Bridge, 1905) and Clem Hill of Australia (Bramall Lane, 1902, in the ground's only Test).