The Durham Twenty20 skipper became the latest exodus from the Durham community after he signed a contract with Nottinghamshire ahead of the 2018 season. It came as a bitter blow for the northern county - who had spent considerable time and investment in the growth of one of their academy players and had also shown faith in the cricketer by naming him as captain at a very young age.

Having grown through the Durham system, Coughlin broke through to the main team after a string of useful performances through the various age-group levels. A stress fracture ensured a late championship debut, but he seemed to be making up for lost time with both bat and ball. Highly rated in the circuit, he was named as the captain on his debut first-class match against Sri Lanka A in 2016 and was offered a three-year contract extension at the end of that summer.