2016 is drawing to a close and it has been another successful year for Durham on the international stage.
Ben Stokes, Mark Wood and Keaton Jennings have all featured for England and Emirates Riverside held another Test victory against Sri Lanka in May.
We have selected five Durham-influenced moments of success for the national side during the calendar year.
Stokes smashes South Africa
The year started with more than a bang for Ben Stokes, who blasted the South Africans around the iconic Cape Town venue.
198 deliveries, 30 fours and no fewer than 11 sixes; it was a record-breaking innings and, as Stokes himself attests, one he is unlikely to match ever again.
He was the second-fastest man to reach 200, with the 130 scored before lunch the most scored in the first session in Test match history.
It was a knock that began the year in style and cemented Stokes’ place as one of England’s true stars for the years to follow.
Super spell secures semi-final
The ICC World T20 final is certainly well documented in the history books but the final over of the quarter-final will go down as one of Ben Stokes’ finest.
With Sri Lanka requiring 15 from six balls and influential all-rounder Angelo Mathews at the crease, Stokes delivered three inch-perfect yorkers in an over that went for just four.
After a match that twisted one way and then another, Stokes delivered the telling blow.
Wood returns with a bang
2016 was a frustrating year for Mark Wood but the Durham paceman was able to show a glimpse of his enormous talent during his comeback games at national level.
Following an extraordinary performance at Finals Day, Wood was recalled for the ODIs against Pakistan and impressed immensely during the second match at Lord’s.
His eighth ball was a pearler to dismiss Sharjeel Khan before he finished with figures of 3/46.
Stokes prevails in Chittagong thriller
The tour of Bangladesh at the start of this winter proved a tough challenge and they came ever so close to defeating England in the first Test – but Ben Stokes proved the difference.
He blew away the lower order with a fine spell of reverse swing bowling and then saved England from 62/5 in the second innings, scoring a fine 85 to turn the tide back in their favour.
The Tigers went into the final day needing 33 to win but Stokes again held his nerve, taking the final two wickets to wrap up a fine all-round performance in the sub-continent.
Dream debut for Jennings
A wonder 2016 for Keaton Jennings was capped in the finest possible fashion; a century on Test debut in India.
After finishing as the Specsavers County Championship’s leading run-scorer and scoring an unbeaten century on England Lions debut as captain, Jennings was thrown in at senior level after Haseeb Hameed’s injury.
The result? Spectacular. Despite a nervy start, Jennings grafted his way through the early stages and effortlessly moved through the gears to bring up three figures at the first attempt.
His boundless confidence was best epitomised by striking a sweet reverse sweep to get there, a fitting way to cap an astounding eight months.
Catch a glimpse of England’s stars at Emirates Riverside on Saturday, 16 September 2017 as they take on the West Indies in a rematch of the ICC World T20 final; limited tickets left in the Don Robson Pavilion.