DURHAM staging a Test match should have acted as a big wake up call to those running Old Trafford and Headingley.

The Riverside did a good job of staging the second Test against Zimbabwe and it was justified reward for the hard work that has been put in by the people at Durham since their elevation to county level.

They have had to invest massively and put in a lot of hard work to turn themselves into a first class club, and they have gone on from there to ensure they have the quality of facilities to be considered a Test ground.

The only let down for them was that the match only lasted three days.

At worst you would want four days of cricket if you are to recoup as much as you can from sponsorship and attendance revenue, so it will have been disappointing for them.

But it is good for the game that they are making the distribution of Test matches a competitive affair.

For too long some of the traditional Test venues have been sitting in the comfort zone feeling that a Test match was virtually guaranteed.

But those pay-days are no longer a banker thanks to Durham in the north, and it is looking as though Hampshire are gearing up in a similar manner down south - which again is no bad thing.

Some of the Test venues were looking a little tired and they have needed modernising as well as putting on a more attractive package for the spectators.

But also it comes down to wickets too.

There have been pitches prepared that have not been up to Test standards but it is hard to blame the counties.

They are in a Catch 22 situation because they need to create tracks on which they can win championship games and one-day matches, but producing a Test pitch is a whole different situation.