Smith says Durham's players remain focused

Durham captain Will Smith has played down his side's excellent form in the County Championship.

The Dynamos have won five and drawn four of their matches so far to establish a commanding lead at the top of the table.

However, Smith told BBC Newcastle a lot can change between now and the end of the season.

"We're in the middle of July now and you can never say someone's won or lost it at this stage," he said.

"We're not going to pay any attention to anyone who says we've won it, because there are seven games left and other teams have even more than seven games.

"That's 28 days of cricket and a lot of things can happen in that time."

Durham have a week off from County Championship action following last weekend's emphatic win against Nottinghamshire.

The guys looked pleased to have me back - whether they were or not, I don't know Durham captain Will Smith on his return to action

Geoff Cook's side won by an innings and 102 runs and Smith said the victory against his former side turned out to be more comfortable than he had imagined.

He said: "We went there thinking we would be in for hard-fought battle, and we were ready for such a game, but it didn't quite turn out that way.

"I guess it had been billed as something a as title decider, but it's far too early to say that."

Smith returned to action at Trent Bridge after missing the previous game because of a family illness, and praised his team-mates for how they dealt with his absence.

He said: "They were brilliant about it, they understood.

"The guys looked pleased to have me back - whether they were or not, I don't know."

Next up for Durham is a Pro40 match at Gloucestershire before they travel to Kent in the quarter-finals of the Twenty20 Cup.

Kent's St Lawrence Ground was the scene of Durham's County Championship triumph last season and Smith says they are looking forward to playing there again - albeit in a different form of the game.

"Last year we spent a good four days down there and most of the guys will have played that Championship game," he said.

"It's a lovely place to play cricket, it's a very old fashioned ground and hopefully we'll have a few more fond memories after Monday. "

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