Howzat! David Harker's bowled over

Aug 21 2009 By Alastair Gilmour, The Journal

THERE’S one word that the chief executive of Durham County Cricket Club uses quite a lot. It’s not a cricketing term like leading edge or slog; David Harker’s favoured expression is opportunity.

It’s the mark of an optimist and a sign that he has an eye on the future. He is someone who makes things happen. "The opportunity is there," he’ll say in conversation, followed shortly by, "to provide an opportunity for young people," and then, "the opportunity to be successful". But opportunity, like luck, has to be worked hard at.

Through sheer dedication and years of persistence, Durham’s management team earned the opportunity to bid for the greatest confrontation in cricket – an Ashes Test – and secured it for the 2013 series. This will be yet another milestone in the incredible journey from minor county outfit to world stage. There is a long way yet to go over those four years, however.

"We have to complete the stadium to give us a venue to match any in the country," says David. "We’ll stage major events, provide entertainment, continue to produce players who can have a career in the game and, of course, be successful as a team in whatever competition we are in.

"What it takes to be successful in sport applies to all walks of life – ambition, dedication and determination. It’s hard work, but I feel immensely privileged to have had the opportunity to deal with those challenges.

David is well aware that achievement is far more than piling trophies on sideboards, it involves the inspiration and motivation that sporting success can have on education, health and community cohesion. He is passionate about sport – though he admits he was never particularly interested in cricket as a young man apart from it being a good place to sit outside and enjoy a pint – and he is dedicated to the success of the North East by developing one of the most efficient sports stadiums in the country.

He says: "It’s an interesting business to work in, obviously, and a proper business, not just a sports club. The people working within it are at the heart of something that features heavily on the back pages and provides so much pleasure. They buy into that and want to be a part of it but you’ve got to reinforce all the time how we are doing, where we want to be, where we’re up to. I recognise the importance of that.

"What excites me is that we have the ability to raise the profile of not only Durham County Cricket Club but the whole North East and become almost an icon within the region.

"It’s great to see crowds turning up and supporting a successful team. It’s important to them. Like anything, if you do it to the best of your ability, the rewards will come, but what’s special about being involved in something like this is you give a contribution back to the region. Most people are very proud of this part of the world and we want to see it being successful, so to be able to play a part, however small, in bringing success and reinforcing a sense of pride in people is very rewarding."

Before 1991, Durham was a minor county club with a low but rising profile punctuated by brief moments of triumph in national competitions. Today, its first-class status crowned by last season’s first-ever County Championship, the Riverside ground is working on a £45m initiative to expand seating capacity from 8,000 to 20,000 along with the construction of a new gateway building that will provide sweeping panoramic views over Chester-le-Street and Lumley Castle, with hospitality facilities to match. If that weren’t enough, an all-new, 149-room Hilton Hotel will be a world-class base from which to enjoy world-class sporting action.

England v West Indies started the 2009 season off, then came news of the successful England v Australia match in four years’ time. Other bids have been lodged to secure regular international cricket matches over the next five years and, with the speed that cricket is developing globally – particularly in the Indian sub-continent – who knows what’s next.

The vision is also timely in terms of the direction cricket is going – the Twenty20 World Cup was a terrific advert for the way cricket might look in the future and with this part of the world deeply rooted in spectator sport, putting two and two together could make significantly more than Twenty20.

"People know what attracts them to their local football club," says David. "It’s about regional pride, passion, loyalty and excitement. We can hook into that North East passion with an environment that’s family-friendly, accessible, safe and affordable and we are developing a stadium for international cricket, Twenty20 and England matches all broadcast to the rest of the world.

"We’re the only international cricket venue in the whole North East. That status and the prospect of those games allows us to do things that otherwise we wouldn’t be able to do in relation to schools and education programmes. As part of their work with us, for example, the kids might end up doing a display or demonstration in an international game in front of a full house at the Riverside.

"I’m one of those zealots who has been converted to the game. Although I don’t claim any expertise, I’m very passionate about supporting its development. It’s a really interesting time for cricket with lots of debate about where it is going and the impact of Twenty20 which has huge potential. But there is concern that it might damage some of the more longer-established long forms of the game. Our job at Durham is to try to reap the rewards of Twenty20 and the good it can bring, but at the same time protect the game’s traditions and values.

"The big impact of Twenty20 is that it not only brings in significantly increased numbers of people to the game but also new people to the game. There’s the door to international competition as well – that’s where the revenue potential will help us to compete and attract the best players, to sustain a competitive team and invest in the development of the club’s physical structure and the talent that comes through the academy.

"We’ve got a real academy production line. There was a concern that young people from the region either had to move away or give up their intention of cricket as a career, so to be able provide an opportunity for young people to have a career in cricket and perhaps go on and represent their country is a great incentive.

"In a part of the world where we struggle sometimes with the aspirations of young people, we can clearly identify those coming through our ranks who were not so long ago sitting in school assemblies wondering what they were going to do.

"They’ve found a path through sport that has provided them with incredible opportunities – to travel, to earn and to be successful."

The knock of opportunity, in other words.