Chris Waters seems less critical this year than he did last season and his obvious dislike of Yorkshire that came across loud and clear in 2008 is less apparent in 2009 where I would tend to agree with his views and analysis.
Apart from Joe Sayers as player of the season? Most improved - definitely, but tricky to put him ahead of Rudolph or Gale who also had one day successes to add to their 4 day games.
I agree with Mr Hughes ... buts that because I've been banging on about counties poaching players for a few years. And Durham aren't as good as everyone claimes ... yes their bowlers are mainly local (although Claydon certainly isn't) .. but the batting heavily relies on 'imports'
Thorp isn't local to Durham either, nor Blackwell.
I didn't mind Durham signing a load of players when they started out in 1992 in the CC and then a few years back I thought they had developed a fair few decent youngsters and they were then going to have a home grown policy (remember Gough (not Darren but Michael), Daley, Pratt?).
However, the game has advanced and Durham have moved with the times to chase the big pay days, hence the need for immediate success on the pitch.
They have just 3 home produced bowlers in their side in Harmison, Davies and Onions. Breese, Claydon and Thorpe are kolpacks and born in the Windies or Australia, Plunkett was born In Middlesbrough and poached from us and Blackwell was signed from Somerset.
Whilst Chapple was born in Skipton, it's incorrect to see he's "from" Skipton, as such. His family home was in Barnoldswick but the local hospital there didn't have maternity facilities and as such when the day approached Mrs. C. was ferried to the nearest appropriate hospital, which was deemed to be Skipton; it could have easily been Burnley then there would have been no doubts. This story was related by Chapple himself.
I can relate to this story from personal experience. The day before I was born I was in a local town hospital near Middlesbrough. Overnight for some reason my mother was moved to one of the bigger hospitals before my birth as there must have been some possible complications. When my father went to the local town hospital to be told his wife had been moved to one of the bigger hospitals overnight, he nearly had heart failure for fear that I had been moved to Stockton (north of the Tees and therefore outside of the Yorkshire boundaries).
Fortunately, for him, my mother had been moved to Middlesbrough (south of the Tees and in the North Riding of Yorkshire) so when I was born I was still eligible to play for Yorkshire.
Unfortunately, it was all immaterial as it turned out I was not good enough!!