Leader Talk

Australia Test Match - A Fitting Epitaph

03/08/2009

Last week we received the good news that Durham will host an Ashes Test Match against Australia in 2013.  This is a great achievement for Durham County Cricket Club and the whole of the North East and is a testament to the hard work which has been put in ever since my predecessor, Don Robson, had the initial vision for the Riverside Ground at Chester-le-Street.

The awarding of an Ashes Test Match in 2013 is also a first step towards our goal of winning the City of Culture for Durham in the same year.  With the range of attractions and events that we now have in this area, there is no reason at all why we should not follow up from the award of a test match to also become City of Culture.

This would also be a fitting epitaph for Sir Bobby Robson who died last Friday.  Sir Bobby was a true man of the people, born and raised in County Durham, who not only took England to within an inch of winning the World Cup, but also recently raised over a million pounds for cancer detection and research through his Foundation.  He is a tremendous loss to the whole region.