Storm Dave Forces Durham Cricket Ground Closure After Overnight Structural Damage

Structural damage caused by Storm Dave overnight forced Durham County Cricket Club to close the Banks Homes Riverside ground at Chester-le-Street, with fans urged to stay away while safety assessments are carried out.

The storm, the fourth named storm of the 2025/26 UK season following Amy, Bram and Chandra, struck northern England on Easter Saturday evening, 4 April 2026, bringing what the Met Office described as "very strong winds." An amber severe weather warning ran from 7pm Saturday until 3am Easter Sunday, covering northeast England, northwest England, southwest Scotland, Wales and parts of Yorkshire. The Met Office forecast gusts of up to 80mph in the most exposed locations, with 50 to 60mph more widely across northern Britain.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist Chris Bulmer warned ahead of the storm: "Storm Dave will bring a period of very strong winds... People should be prepared for impacts with disruption to travel likely and possible power cuts."

The timing was particularly damaging for Durham. The club had only just opened its 2026 Rothesay County Championship season with a home fixture against Kent at the start of the Easter weekend, meaning Storm Dave struck in the very first days of county cricket. The ground now sits idle as engineers assess the extent of the overnight structural damage.

The Banks Homes Riverside, which took on its current name in 2025 following a principal partnership deal with the Banks Group, sits less than a mile from Chester-le-Street town centre, approximately four miles south of Durham city and ten miles from Newcastle upon Tyne, in the shadow of Lumley Castle. The Banks Group was founded in Tow Law in 1976, and the naming rights arrangement marks the company's 50th anniversary year.

Built from 1990 and opened for first-class cricket in May 1995 with a Durham versus Warwickshire fixture, the ground holds around 5,000 spectators for domestic county matches and expands to 17,000 when temporary stands are installed for international fixtures. It was awarded Test match status in 2003 and has since hosted six Tests.

The disruption comes at a critical juncture in the international calendar. Durham are scheduled to host England Women against New Zealand Women on 10 May, England Men against India in a T20 international on 1 July, and England Men against Sri Lanka in a one-day international on 22 September. With the first of those fixtures less than six weeks away, a swift conclusion to the structural assessment is essential.

Broader impacts from Storm Dave across the region included road and bridge closures, power cuts risking mobile phone outages, and the Met Office warning of danger to life from flying debris and large coastal waves. RAC spokesperson Rod Dennis cautioned that driving conditions across the north and west of the UK this Easter would be "particularly challenging."

The storm's name was publicly nominated, reportedly in honour of "my beloved Dave," and follows the Met Office convention of naming storms alphabetically, skipping Q, U, X, Y and Z.