'They’re very fond memories'- Former fan favourite John Hastings on his time at Durham

I can remember John Hastings from my trips to the Riverside during my teenage years, as I'd often go with my dad to watch the then Durham Jets playing in the T20 Blast and the One Day Cup winning team in 2014.

When I was researching Hastings prior to requesting an interview, I was somewhat surprised by his new profession post-cricket.

Having left the game behind after a series of injury problems, Hastings is now a Pilates instructor, becoming the first ever franchisee of Strong Pilates.

"Throughout my career I did a lot of studying, did a bachelors in teaching and human movement. I had the opportunity to start doing Strong Pilates, I was the very first franchisee, fast forward six years, we’ve got six operational studios in the UK and we’re looking to expand up North," he explained.

However, readers, I know you're not here to read about Pilates, you're here to find out more about Hastings' time in Durham, so without further ado.

When Hastings exclusively spoke to The Chester last year prior to the site's hibernation period, he had nothing but good memories to share about his time at DH3.

"They’re very fond memories. It was a really good experience, getting to understand how the English county system worked, but also my wife and I fell in love with the place and people up in the North," he said.

"I just felt it was very much similar to the place where I grew up, back in the Hawkesbury River area in New South Wales. It’s salt of the Earth people, they work hard."

Hastings' love for the area is still clear to see and during his two-year spell at the Riverside he was a fans favourite, providing several match-winning performances.

He took 83 wickets in 23 First Class matches for Durham, while he also scored 824 red-ball runs during his spell. He was also a key part of the 2014 One Day Cup winning team, taking 14 wickets.

For Hastings, he also had the opportunity to play with a young Ben Stokes and Mark Wood, as well as club hall of famer Paul Collingwood.

He added: "When I first got there, there was a very young Ben Stokes, there was a young Mark Wood, there was an older Paul Collingwood. It was a very good environment to walk into because there were a lot of very good young players, I was just in that older bracket.

"I just thought doing whatever I could do to bring my experience from Australian conditions and culture over to the North was a very special moment and the success that we had over that period while I was there was really good.

"I enjoyed it, we had such a good side, great bowling attack. Chris Rushworth was one of the most skilful bowlers I’ve ever played with. I learnt a lot from him as well. I look back really fondly on playing with Durham."

Stokes had not long made his England debut when Hastings first arrived and Wood was starting to attract attention with his pace.

"They were brilliant, Woody’s one of the funniest guys you’ll meet, I really enjoyed him as a character. I loved what he brought as a team mate, he’s tough on the field and a joker off it. I got along really well with him," he said.

"Stokesy, you could just tell at that age that he had something really, really special. Just for someone to have the raw ability that he has to bat and bowl like he does, you don’t come across those players very often."

The Australian met several 'friends for life' at Durham and he is still in touch with Mark Stoneman.

Hastings added: "Phil Mustard was a great character, a really good servant of Durham Cricket. Graham Onions, he had an illustrious career as well. There was Mark Stoneman, we’re still very good friends. You make lifelong friends."

To this day, the One Day Cup in 2014 is still Durham's last major trophy, yes we're discounting County Championship Division Two.

The one-time Australia Test player was a big part of the success but he was gutted that he was unable to play in the final.

He said: "The One-Day Cup win was really special, I was shattered that I missed the final because I had to go and play in the IPL.

"I bumped into Gareth Breese at The Oval once, he was coaching and he told me he was just telling the girls about me sending him videos from Chennai of him hitting the winning runs. I was shattered to miss that final as I really wanted to win that title.

"Even if you’re a big part of the season, it’s always one of those ones, when you don’t play in the final, you don’t really win the medal."

Despite not being part of the side at Lord's back in September 2014, Hastings was pleased to see his team mates claim the title.

"That was a really special moment to see us at Durham win a trophy at Lord’s," he added.

Hastings enjoyed a positive relationship with supporters during his time on the banks of the River Wear and he wanted to thank the fans.

He said: "I loved the supporters of the club, they were very passionate and very good. They’d tell you if you had a bad game, that’s for sure. That’s ok, they’re entitled to that because they pay their membership and they come and watch, I loved all of it really."

Hastings departed Durham in 2016 after an injury ruled him out and he later joined Worcestershire in 2017, but his time there was cut short due to another injury.

On his injury troubles, Hastings said: "I would have loved to have stayed in the game, but the way my body was and how sore I was in those last few years was how it came to an end. I fell out of love a little bit with the game."

He then moved into breakfast radio at Melbourne and tried commentary, but admitted a career there was unlikely.

"I did a bit of breakfast radio in Melbourne, I loved it. I did a bit of commentary in India, I really enjoyed that, but if you haven’t played 100 Tests it’s a really hard career move to pin down," he admitted.