Alex Lees appointed as new Durham skipper after new deal that will see him replace Scott Borthwick as captain.
Alex Lees is the new Durham captain for the upcoming County season after signing a new deal with the club. He replaces Scott Borthwick in the role.
Lees is not new to the leadership responsibility, having led the County’s white-ball sides for the past two years.
As for Borthwick, he is now approaching the twilight of his career and is expected to make a foray into the coaching arena as a player-coach.
When he made his debut at Yorkshire and captained their T20 team at the age of 22, Lees, who was born in Halifax, was widely expected to be a future Test regular. However, he started to lose form once Jason Gillespie departed as coach and moved to Durham in 2018. once their 4-0 loss in the 2021/22 Ashes, he performed well enough to be called up for England.
Under the guidance of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, he demonstrated enough in his debut Caribbean series to be kept for England’s first home summer, but he was ultimately discarded with an average of 23.84 and two fifties in 19 innings. Since then, he has been a productive player for Durham, amassing nine Championship hundreds over the past two seasons.
“I am delighted to be named the new men’s club captain at Durham,” Lees said in a club statement. “The move to the north east has been a good one for me. So to now be given the opportunity to captain Durham is a privilege and an honour. I believe this squad has the potential to really challenge to go on and win trophies.
“We have a great bunch of lads here and that is the thing which excites me the most. I feel like we have a group of players who can really challenge and look to win something. This opportunity to captain Durham gives me an opportunity to put some real focus into the red-ball team, building on the foundations that we have built over the last few years.”
Will Rhodes and Emilio Gay, who joined from Warwickshire and Northamptonshire, respectively, have bolstered Durham’s top order for 2025. Their seam attack will gain depth with the addition of Sam Conners, a former England Lions player who also signed from Derbyshire.
Since neither Stokes nor Mark Wood signed up for the IPL auction. Lees might be able to call upon them in the early going of the 2025 season. Albeit the ECB will determine their availability. Due to his recent mega-auction signing with Sunrisers Hyderabad, Brydon Carse will not be available in April or May.
Durham’s director of cricket, Marcus North, expressed his excitement that Lees had decided to extend his contract. It was set to expire at the end of the 2025 campaign. “Alex’s dedication, passion and ambitions for the club has been evident since his arrival in 2018,” he said. “He is a popular and respected figure in the squad who leads with tenacity.”