Chester-le-Street: the history of the cricket ground

Durham entered first-class cricket in 1992 and initially used a range of grounds around the region. The club’s history lists venues in Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Darlington and elsewhere, as well as Chester-le-Street’s Ropery Lane ground. The Riverside was a separate development that gave the county its own headquarters. Its first first-class fixture began against Warwickshire on 18 May 1995, with the visiting side winning. ^{[1] [9]}

That distinction matters when tracing early Durham scorecards. A match described simply as being at Chester-le-Street may predate the Riverside and belong to another local ground. The county’s early travelling years connected it with existing cricket communities before the new headquarters could take over. Looking around the modern venue, it is easy to forget how much of the initial first-class venture happened elsewhere, while the ambition for an international-standard home was still becoming reality. ^[9]

Don Robson was one of the central figures in creating the ground. Durham’s tribute to its former chairman describes his work to secure the Chester-le-Street site and raise the money needed for the project. The Don Robson Pavilion commemorates that contribution. It is a name worth recognising before finding your seat: behind it lies the effort to give North East cricket a more permanent place in the first-class game. ^[2]

Robson’s ambition also involved local players representing both Durham and England. The club’s tribute connects the building of the ground with that broader sporting opportunity. A pavilion is usually where spectators look for players emerging or returning between innings; here its name points to an earlier stage, when the county needed land, finance and institutional backing before those familiar match-day scenes could take place. It makes the building a useful starting point for reading the ground’s history. ^[2]

World Cup games arrived in 1999, followed by further one-day internationals. The Media and Education Centre later opened at the England–Australia ODI in 2005, adding another important part of the infrastructure around the field. These developments show how the Riverside grew after its first county match: facilities and international appointments arrived in stages as the ground became more established. ^[1]

The first Test, against Zimbabwe in 2003, was the major breakthrough. England batted first and reached 416, with Anthony McGrath and Alec Stewart repairing the innings after a middle-order setback. Richard Johnson’s debut with the ball then supplied one of the match’s memorable passages. His third and fourth Test deliveries removed Mark Vermeulen and Stuart Carlisle; the hat-trick ball was defended. Durham’s retrospective treats the occasion as the fulfilment of a long regional ambition. ^[3]

Steve Harmison’s presence in the England attack gave the day a particularly local connection. He, Johnson and James Anderson took 18 wickets between them in the match. For visitors, the first Test is a useful point at which to see the county and national stories meeting: a ground built to establish Durham now gave a Durham player the opportunity to represent England on home territory. ^[3]

The 2013 Ashes Test produced the Riverside’s most widely remembered international finish. Australia were chasing 299 and had moved into a strong position before England’s seamers changed the game. Tim Bresnan removed David Warner, and Stuart Broad drove the collapse that followed. Australia were dismissed for 224; Broad took six for 50 in the innings and 11 wickets in the match. England won by 74 runs. ^[4]

The match also contained centuries from Chris Rogers and Ian Bell, so the final burst should not obscure the contest that preceded it. Rogers held Australia together in the first innings; Bell gave England the substance for a defensible target. As dark clouds gathered on the fourth evening, England finished the job before rain intervened. The final catch confirmed a series-winning victory and fixed Chester-le-Street firmly in the memories of people who had watched the summer’s cricket. ^[4]

Chris Rushworth’s performance against Northamptonshire in September 2014 belongs beside the Ashes in any account of exceptional days here. After the opening day was lost to rain, Durham made 392, with centuries from Scott Borthwick and Paul Collingwood. Northamptonshire were then dismissed for 83 and 90. Rushworth took nine for 52 in the first innings and six for 43 in the second. ^[5]

His combined return was 15 for 95. ^[10] Both Northamptonshire innings were completed within a single day’s play, and Durham won by an innings and 219 runs. The result demonstrates why a county fixture can supply extraordinary cricket even without an international crowd. It also gives the Riverside story a celebrated performance by one of Durham’s own long-serving bowlers. ^[5]

Permanent floodlights were first used for a home T20 against Yorkshire in 2015. Durham’s account describes a close game and a large domestic crowd, with the home side defending 182 to win by six runs. John Hastings supplied a rapid lower-order contribution, while Keaton Jennings helped restrict Yorkshire’s chase. It was an appropriate way to introduce a feature that changed both the ground’s appearance and the kinds of evening occasion it could stage. ^[6]

The light towers are easy to notice on a visit, but their historical significance is less obvious than a named pavilion. Durham records years of planning and consultation before their introduction. The opening game links that infrastructure to a particular contest rather than leaving it as an anonymous improvement. Comparing the bright modern setting with photographs from the first county seasons reveals how much a relatively young venue can change around the same central playing area. ^[6]

The South West Terrace became the Paul Collingwood Pavilion in May 2018. Durham’s announcement explained the decision as a tribute that would involve supporters, allowing them to watch from a part of the ground carrying his name. His Durham association had begun in 1995, the same year as the Riverside’s first first-class match, making the naming particularly closely connected with the ground’s own development. ^[7]

Collingwood’s international career made him familiar far beyond the county, but the pavilion is also a recognition of his relationship with Durham. The naming sits alongside the Don Robson Pavilion as a different kind of commemoration: one honours the work of establishing the ground, the other a player identified with its cricket. Reading those names while walking around the venue gives a concise introduction to the people who helped make the Riverside more than a new set of facilities. ^{[7] [2]}

The ground has retained Riverside in everyday descriptions while carrying several commercial names. Durham’s history records the Emirates agreement in 2010. More recently the venue was the Seat Unique Riverside, before the Banks Homes naming agreement was announced on 1 April 2025. The club described Banks as a long-standing partner whose support included the nursery ground and junior pathways, while Seat Unique remained involved in premium ticketing and hospitality. ^{[1] [8]}

The Banks Homes Riverside is therefore the latest name for the same county headquarters. When you arrive, the pavilion names, floodlights and media facilities provide a short architectural guide to its development. For the cricket itself, remember the range: a debutant’s spell in the first Test, Broad’s Ashes finish and Rushworth’s county demolition all happened here. A visit can connect those famous passages with the regular Durham matches that gave the ground its purpose in the first place. ^{[3] [4] [5]}