Durham Second XI (278/6; Hickey 108, Arshad 47*, Richardson 41) beat Essex Second XI (277; Wheater 83; Brewster 4/33, Arshad 3/38) by four wickets
Adam Hickey scored a century & Usman Arshad returned a solid all-round contribution as the Seconds defeated Essex by four wickets at Richmondshire CC.
After being put in to chase 277, the Seconds were propped up early on by Michael Richardson, who made 41 despite the loss of three top order wickets.
His partnership of 52 with Hickey put them back on track & when Richardson went, scoring six boundaries in his 51-ball knock, the all-rounder teamed up with Arshad to haul Durham into a commanding position.
Their 149-run stand in 21 overs effectively won the game for Neil Killeen’s men, with Hickey chalking up a century including 17x4s after becoming increasingly fluent.
And Arshad finished the job with an unbeaten 47 to see his side home.
The all-rounder, who’s fought his way back from ankle surgery in pre-season, earlier took three wickets as Essex were bowled out inside their allocation of 50 overs.
Andrew Brewster was the pick of the bowlers, taking 4/33, while there were also wickets for Liam Trevaskis & Hickey.