Yorkshire CCC nemesis and Durham CCC legend Graham Onions set to enjoy life beside the seaside in Scarborough

GRAHAM ONIONS did not play in the famous game at Scarborough in 2013 when his former county Durham beat Yorkshire by seven wickets in what was effectively a shoot-out for the County Championship title.
Proud moment: Graham Onions, left, and Durham captain Paul Collingwood kiss the trophy after winning the 2013 County Championship. Picture: Owen Humphreys/PAProud moment: Graham Onions, left, and Durham captain Paul Collingwood kiss the trophy after winning the 2013 County Championship. Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA
Proud moment: Graham Onions, left, and Durham captain Paul Collingwood kiss the trophy after winning the 2013 County Championship. Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA

The newest addition to the cricket coaching team at Scarborough College, who was the country’s leading wicket-taker in first-class cricket that year with 73 at 18.93, missed the match through one of the many injuries that he suffered during a career that officially ended in September when his latest back problem forced his retirement.

“I was at that match (at Scarborough), but I was coming back from a side strain, I think it was,” said Onions. “It was just a bit too soon for me really. I remember prepping to play, but I hadn’t bowled for a bit and the lads were all playing really well. Unfortunately, I missed out, but it’s a game that the lads used to talk about a lot.”

Small wonder.

Durham's Graham Onions took 69 wickets in all against Yorkshire, including this one of Joe Root's in April 2011. Picture: Tony Johnson.Durham's Graham Onions took 69 wickets in all against Yorkshire, including this one of Joe Root's in April 2011. Picture: Tony Johnson.
Durham's Graham Onions took 69 wickets in all against Yorkshire, including this one of Joe Root's in April 2011. Picture: Tony Johnson.
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The star of the show was a bloke you might have heard of – Ben Stokes, who produced a memorable all-round performance four months before his England Test debut.

First, the then 22-year-old top-scored with 127 as Durham made 573 after winning the toss, Mark Stoneman contributing 122 and Michael Richardson 102.

Then, Stokes claimed Durham’s best figures of 2-32 from 14 overs as Yorkshire were bowled out for 274 before capturing 3-108 from 33 overs as the hosts scored 419 following-on.

Stokes helped to seal victory, too, finishing unbeaten on 11 in the second innings as Durham cruised to a 121-run target.

Lancashire's Graham Onions appeals against Yorkshire in July this year, the former Durham paceman finishing his career at Old Trafford due to another back injury. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.comLancashire's Graham Onions appeals against Yorkshire in July this year, the former Durham paceman finishing his career at Old Trafford due to another back injury. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com
Lancashire's Graham Onions appeals against Yorkshire in July this year, the former Durham paceman finishing his career at Old Trafford due to another back injury. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com
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It was the second of five straight victories that saw Durham pull away from Yorkshire at the death, the disappointment proving something of a catalyst for a Yorkshire side coached by Jason Gillespie, who responded with successive Championships of their own and almost a hat-trick of titles.

For Onions, 38, battles against the White Rose were always to be relished; the matches seemed to bring out the best in one of the sport’s most hard-working and tireless pace bowlers.

Onions took more first-class wickets against Yorkshire (69) than against any opponent apart from Nottinghamshire (70). He loved the cut and thrust of those Yorkshire games.

“Obviously, having played for Lancashire recently, I know the rivalry between Lancashire and Yorkshire is ridiculous,” said Onions, who coaches two days a week at Scarborough College’s Cricket Centre of Excellence, having been put in touch with the facility by Matt Parkinson, his ex-Lancashire team-mate.

RESPECT: Former Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale was one of the more difficult batsman Graham Onions bowled against. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.comRESPECT: Former Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale was one of the more difficult batsman Graham Onions bowled against. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com
RESPECT: Former Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale was one of the more difficult batsman Graham Onions bowled against. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com
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“But at Durham, too, we very much treated those games against Yorkshire as our derbies, our rivalry.

“Playing against people like Richard Pyrah and Andrew Gale, Alex Lees and Adam Lyth, all those lads… I grew up playing against those lads and it was like, ‘Right, now I’m going to prove that I’m good enough to get them out and challenge them all the time.’ It was always really tough cricket against Yorkshire, which is what it’s all about, and I absolutely loved the battle, loved the challenge.”

Onions bowling to Gale – the latter now Yorkshire’s first-team coach – was perhaps the epitome of tough northern cricket. There would be Onions hammering away relentlessly at the top of off stump, and there would be Gale endeavouring to repel all borders, his faced etched in fierce concentration.

“Andrew Gale was gutsy and he was tough,” said Onions. “You had to work hard when you were bowling to him. Any batsman that you played against from Yorkshire, you knew that they would look after their wicket and be very proud of the county that they played for.

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“I always loved to see that – pride in playing for your county – and Yorkshire have always had a really good Academy, really good players, which is credit to the guys that work at the club.”

Although he played 13 times for England (nine Tests and four one-day internationals, total 36 wickets), Onions is especially proud of having played a key role in an excellent Durham team.

The county won five trophies between 2008 and 2014 (three Championships and two one-day cups) and, when he signed for Lancashire in late 2017, to prolong his career and seek coaching experience, no-one had gained more first-class wickets for Durham than Onions’s 527.

“Playing for Durham and winning trophies were some of the best moments in my life, in my career,” he said. “Without sounding corny, it was local lads fulfilling their dreams, and stuff like that.

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“We made the Riverside a bit of a fortress; nobody wanted to go to Durham and face our seamers on a pitch that maybe did a little bit. It was great, it was lovely. You won that first session and you felt as though the other team was beaten already.

“Of course, playing for England and all the international stuff was fantastic, unbelievable, but without Durham’s help, and without the help of the coaches that I worked with over the years, it wouldn’t have been possible.”

Nor would it have been possible without Onions’s relentless work ethic and never-say-die spirit. There is no doubt that serious back problems got in the way of his international ambitions – they would have finished off lesser men – and he was unlucky to operate in an era in which England could call on two of the finest pace men they have ever had: James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

But when another back injury sustained on the morning of Lancashire’s first match of last season proved more serious than feared, Onions was finally forced to hang up his whites.

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It said much that, even at an age when most fast bowlers have already eased their weary bones into the nearest rocking chair, he was not quite ready to call it a day.

“It’s disappointing the way it all ended,” he said. “I had a contract for next year, and I was desperate to win another Championship trophy. But, now that’s it over, I’m content with what I’ve achieved because I know I put everything into the game.

“It was tough coming back from all the injuries, but I made a pact to myself that I would just give everything I possibly could and give 100 per cent every time I was thrown the ball.”

Onions would have liked to play more for England – “I’d love to have played in the Ashes Down Under, that would have been a dream,” said a man who helped England win the urn in 2009. “And, without a doubt, over my career, I did think, ‘Why haven’t I played for England a little bit more? Did I do something wrong?’, that sort of thing.

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“But I’m happy and privileged to have had the career that I had, and I’ve made some great friends along the way.”

Not that Onions is finished with cricket just yet; far from it. He is throwing himself into his new role at Scarborough, he has enjoyed coaching the Lancashire Academy, and he hopes one day to coach at county and perhaps even international level.

“Coaching is a massive passion of mine,” he said.

“I love helping the youngsters at Scarborough, I love working with Lancashire, and I just want to kick on and see where it takes me.”

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