By Jon Steer
September 19 2005

A rain affected draw against Northants on Saturday and a 5 wicket win against Somerset yesterday were enough to guarantee first division cricket for Durham next season in both competitions. Durham could still win the national league two title if they win next weekend and Sussex don't. Promotion of any sort would have seemed a long way off at the end of last season with Durham finishing in the bottom two of both the championship and the national league and some commentators speculating on their future as a first class county should the number need to be reduced.

This season has seen a very different level of performance from the squad which has led to a real air of confidence among the players and fans every time they take to the field. A lot of credit must go to Martyn Moxon's hard work behind the scenes and Mike Hussey's leadership on the pitch - who can forget him scoring 253 in his first innings for Durham to setup an innings victory over Leicestershire.

Durham went on to win six of their first eight championship games including an innings victory over Lancashire. The second half of the season saw good results harder to come by as key players were either away on international duty or injured but the squad refused to let the hard work go to waste, winning six of their last seven one day matches and doing enough to seal Durham's first ever promotion since they became a first class county.