Ben Raine

Ben Raine, a combative seam-bowling allrounder, confirmed himself as the natural heir to Chris Rushworth as he led the way with the ball during Durham's 2023 promotion campaign. No one in Division Two took more than Raine's 60 wickets at 24.95 as Durham sealed a return to the top tier for the first time since 2016, the crowning achievement of five prolific seasons for the Sunderland-born seamer after his return north from Leicestershire.

Raine, an academy product, had left in search of greater opportunities and carved out an impressive record in the midlands. Nothing sharpened the appetite of potential suitors more than his maiden county hundred - from just 41 balls, the second-fastest T20 century by an Englishman at the time - against Warwickshire at Edgbaston in the Blast. He finished with 113 from 46 balls with eight fours and ten sixes.

Raine quickly settled back in at the Riverside, finishing behind only Rushworth with 54 Championship wickets for the 2019 season, as well as recording his two highest first-class scores. His returns remained consistent following the break in the Championship caused by Covid and he notched a maiden first-class hundred, too, during a record eighth-wicket stand with Paul Coughlin against Worcestershire in 2022. His white-ball form also resulted in a chance to play for Northern Superchargers in the Hundred.

He had previously made two appearances for Durham in 2011, including a first-class debut against the Sri Lankan tourists, having spent four years in the club's academy. But it was with Leicestershire that he made his Championship bow in 2013, and he advertised his all-round qualities with a career-best 72 against the eventual Division Two champions, Lancashire.

He had a breakthrough season in 2015 when he took 59 Championship wickets, as well as striking more than 500 runs, and was one of the players most capable of rallying spirits as Leicestershire headed towards a third successive bottom-placed finish. His coach Andrew McDonald predicted better things to come in 2016, only for Leicestershire to improve but Raine himself to mark time. Instead that improvement came in 2017 as he took 51 Division Two wickets at 22.47 and upped his reputation as a dangerous T20 hitter.
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