Durham Dynamos lost to Notts Outlaws by 43 runs, despite a second consecutive one day hundred from Mark Stoneman
The Outlaws openers started their innings pretty freely with some big hitting and reached 88 by the tenth over, at which point Mitchell Claydon made the first breakthrough, bowling Alex Hales for 22.
Michael Lumb was really building momentum out in the middle, scoring 84 including 14 boundaries and two maximums, before he too was bowled by Claydon.
Notts were 159-3 after dangerman Riki Wessels was caught by Johann Myburgh off Gareth Breese on 43.
The Dynamos continued to peg back the Outlaws, picking up another two wickets in four overs, with Scott Elstone caught behind off Stokes for 14 and Samit Patel caught at mid wicket by Mark Stoneman off Scott Borthwick, leaving Notts 191-5.
Stephen Mullaney added 19 before he was out lbw to Stokes with seven overs of the innings remaining. Chris Read made the most of any opportunities towards the end of the session and as Graeme White tried to emulate his success with the big swings he was bowled by Claydon, in his final over, for 7.
Johann Myburgh bowled Jake Hall for just 1 in the 38th over. Read was unbeaten on 71 at the end of the innings with Notts posting a total of 294.
The Dynamos were put on the back foot early on due to an early breakthrough from Andrew Carter, who had Phil Mustard caught by Wessels
Stokes, who was dropped twice in the slips by Alex Hales early on, hit five boundaries and a maximum, before he was caught on the ropes by Mullaney off Patel for 34, ending his fifty partnership with Stoneman.
The Dynamos lost Muchall, who was caught by Mullaney off White for 24 ending his 67 run stand with Stoneman, and Collingwood, caught by Wessels off Mullaney for 8, within three overs leaving the visitors 18 overs to score 150 runs.
Benkenstein added 58 in a stand with Stoneman before he fell to the same fate as Collingwood with his personal total on 37.
The Dynamos were 212-6 after Stoneman, who scored his second one day hundred in a week, was caught by Lumb off Mullaney for 102.
With eight overs remaining the Dynamos needed 82 runs with Myburgh and Breese at the crease. With a real push needed in the closing stages the remaining batsmen had no choice but to up the anti and go for some big shots. The final four wickets, three of which were bowled by Carter, added 29 leaving the Dynamos 43 runs short of their required total.
At the close Dale Benkenstein said, “We were always in the game until about the last 10 overs but from the start they got I think we did well to pull it back through the middle and got ourselves back in the game. In general we bowled a few too many loose balls, probably giving them 20 or 30 too many but 290 on such a good wicket, with the short boundary one or two special innings were needed.
“Mark Stoneman has had a great week and he was the reason we were still in the game. It’s his second hundred in one day cricket in a row and he’s proving himself to be a very good player.”