Durham County Cricket Club County Cricket Club wished to return to a more traditional arrangement and have insisted on a smart dress code including jackets for gentlemen at all games. During the 2007 season the club won its first major trophy, the Friends Provident Trophy, by beating the 2005 winners Hampshire Hawks in a game which started on 18 finishing a day later due to rain. The toss between Dale Benkenstein and Shane Warne was won by the latter who sent Durham into bat. Fellow Aussie Michael Di Venuto and wicket-keeper Phil Mustard opened the batting. Mustard looked strong from ball 1 but Di
Warne–Muralidaran Trophy been four tours each in each country. Out of the 18 tests Australia had won 11 times while Sri Lanka had won only once, in 1999, and 6 Tests had been drawn. The following were all regular, not Warne-Muralidaran Tests between the two countries: Shane Warne retired from cricket in 2007 with 708 wickets against his name and Muttiah Muralitharan played the 2007–2008 series eight wickets short of Warne's tally at the start of the series. Ricky Ponting stated that he was determined to deny Murali from getting the nine wickets required to surpass Warne as the highest wicket taker