PRIDE more than outweighed disappointment as Dale Benkenstein reflected on a season which denied Durham its ultimate prize on its final day. Though he has tasted comparable glory twice in South Africa, the skipper rates Durham’s Double (so nearly Treble) winning season as his best ever. But Benkenstein believes international recognition for yet another product of the Riverside’s academy is an achievement as great as winning two trophies. Yet, ever the perfectionist, he insisted that two would have been three but for a mid-season mini-slump. “Missing out on the title hasn’t been that disappointing because we did what we had to do at Kent – and because of the way we did it,” said Benkenstein. “To finish second is an amazing achievement in a season that has exceeded my expectations. “I think we thought we could come top four in the Championship, but in terms of challenging to actually win it, I reckoned we were one or probably two specialist players short. “We certainly didn’t expect to challenge in every competition but one. Usually you have a good season in one of the four. But we’ve just played really solid cricket.” Solid, for all but a month in June and July which saw three now all-too-significant straight Championship defeats – one against champions Sussex. “I think we had a few weeks during the Twenty20 and 10 days just after when we fell away a little bit. That cost us in the end,” admitted Benkenstein. “But we bounced back well, finished really strongly and it’s ended up as a fantastic season. My most rewarding ever.” But he added: “Though we’ve had success as a team, one of our main priorities is to produce players every year that have played for England. “The main aim of county cricket – the main aim of any provincial side in the world – should be to get players into the international game. “We’ve never lost sight of that. We’ve got some young players now that are putting in consistent performances and starting to look like quality cricketers. “To get Phil (Mustard) into the England side is a huge bonus.” For his own part, Benkenstein is relishing future success at Durham and then a decision on where to retire to after that. “I’ve got two more years and obviously we’ll review it then. It’s been fantastic, and I’m looking forward to coming back next year. “It’s a big challenge to keep performing as we have done.” | 
