It is just over five weeks until Test cricket returns to the North East as Sri Lanka visit the Emirates Riverside for the Second Investec Test. As part of our countdown, every Thursday we will be reliving each of the five Test matches to have taken place at Durham – first up is 2003 and the visit of Zimbabwe.
Following the success of several limited-overs internationals at the Riverside, the summer of 2003 finally saw Test cricket come to the North East.
The opposition might have been Zimbabwe, a team ravaged by infighting and political issues, and largely seen as easy pickings for England. The first Test at Lord’s ended in a rather one-sided innings victory for the hosts.
But the dreams of cricketing people in the region, such as the late Don Robson, had come true – Test match number 1,647 would be played in Chester-le-Street, the 87th venue to hold Test cricket.
And the suffix ‘-son’ was clearly looked on favourably as England bowlers James Anderson, debutant Richard Johnson and Durham’s Steve Harmison took 18 wickets between them in kicking off England’s unbeaten Test record at this ground.
An expectant crowd nervously surveyed overhead conditions but all remained clear as Nasser Hussain won the toss. Harmison expressed his desire to bowl the first Test delivery on home turf; Hussain, however, elected to bat first.
On a brilliant wicket prepared by the ground staff, Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan made a flying start but the latter became the first Test wicket here, one shy of a half-century partnership, as Zimbabwe legend Heath Streak had him caught by Sean Ervine.
A mid-order collapse of four wickets for 47 runs, inspired by Douglas Hondo’s three-wicket spell almost from nowhere, pulled Zimbabwe back into the game at 156/5.
However, a big partnership of 149 between wicketkeeper Alec Stewart (68) and top-scorer Anthony McGrath (81) sent England north of 300 and the tail wagged sufficiently enough to take the hosts up to 416.
The score would prove enough for England to bat only once as Somerset seamer Johnson turned on the style for a dream debut over.
His third and fourth Test deliveries on the second morning removed Mark Vermeulen and Stuart Carlisle, both lbw, though Grant Flower successfully fended off the hat-trick ball.
Lancastrian bowler Anderson, then an emerging prospect in the national side, soon had him and between the opening bowlers, Zimbabwe had been reduced to an astonishing 35/7. Whether good bowling or poor batting, England put on a show in their maiden North East bow.
There was some resistance before Johnson captured his sixth wicket and the home crowd celebrated in unison as local boy Harmison swept up the final two wickets – all out for 94.
With an almost unassailable lead of 322 and having got through just 32 overs in the field, Hussain enforced the follow-on and it looked as though the procession of Zimbabwean batsman would continue into the second innings once Vermuelen departed from the last ball of Anderson’s first over.
However, a couple of sturdy partnerships ensured those who bought Day Three tickets would at least see a relatively good amount of cricket as the visitors put up a fight.
Dion Ebrahim, Carlisle and Flower put on nearly 100 over two partnerships as Johnson went wicketless, failing to reproduce his first innings performance.
But Anderson and Harmison were on hand to chip away at the top order, with left-arm spinner Ashley Giles grabbing a solitary wicket too, as they reached 131/5.
Friend and Ervine treated the crowd to some strokeplay in a sixth-wicket partnership of 54 before Harmison returned to remove Ervine as he dragged a bouncer onto the stumps.
The bowler’s luck was in as a spilled return catch off Friend deflected to run out Streak at the non-strikers end, a wicket which seemed to sum up the visitors’ fruitless tour as a whole.
It would be the Ashington-born star who curtailed proceedings too, a trademark bouncer seeing off Ray Price before Hondo was snorted by a pinpoint yorker. England marked their maiden Test victory at Chester-le-Street with an emphatic win.