Durham County Cricket

There were chaotic scenes at the Three Tuns Hotel in Durham City as the county squad turned up to mark the 125th anniversary of the club.

It seemed like a good idea at the time to get the players to pose for a photograph outside of the hotel. The only problem was they had to squeeze onto a tiny pavement and room was at a premium.

The battery of photographers and camera crews wanting to capture the scene had to station themselves a few yards away – across the other side of a busy road!

So motorists and pedestrians found themselves unable to pass by for a few minutes while the picture was captured for posterity.

I suppose it’s ironic this should happen at the anniversary. According to reports the meeting which was called to set up Durham as a county side was a feisty and boisterous affair.

Back in 1882 there were a number of teams from the North East of England who were playing matches under the name of Durham County. Eventually the good fellows of Wood Terrace, South Shields, decided it was time to make the whole thing official.

They called a meeting to be held at the Three Tuns on May 23 1882 and asked any interested parties to attend.

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