Durham v Somerset 7, 8, 9 June 2015
Durham 189 (KK Jennings 49) and 314 (PD Collingwood 58, P Coughlin 54, JW Hastings 79, C Rushworth 43) Somerset 225 (JG Myburgh 61, C Rushworth 4-54) and 158 (P Coughlin 4-10)
Durham won by 120 runs
Durham 19 points Somerset 4 points
Durham pulled off a fifth win of the season to go top of the table despite a disappointing batting display after Paul Collingwood had chosen to bat first. On a pitch that offered variable bounce throughout the match Tim Groenewald and Craig Overton were a handful on the first morning. Keaton Jennings and Michael Richardson took the score to 117 for four but four wickets then fell for just 3 runs. Fortunately, Gordon Muchall and John Hastings added 52 for the eighth wicket.
By the end of the day Somerset were in a strong position at 147 for four but on the second morning the Durham seamers, supported by some excellent catches, plugged away to limit the lead to 36. The attack was led by Chris Rushworth who was having an excellent summer on his way to setting a Durham record of 88 first-class wickets in the season.
Durham found themselves in a tough position at 101 for six with the Somerset seamers well on top. However, Paul Collingwood was still at the crease, and he found excellent support from Paul Coughlin. When Collingwood was dismissed, Coughlin was joined by the popular Australian John Hastings who went on the attack scoring 79 in just 68 balls. With Chris Rushworth joining in the fun more than 200 was added for the last four wickets at more than five runs per over.
Somerset began the third day requiring 279 to win but after Graham Onions had taken two wickets in his first three overs they were never really in the hunt. The other Durham seamers, Rushworth, Hastings and Coughlin shared the remaining wickets. Coughlin completed a fine all-round match by taking what at the time were his best first-class bowling figures. There were five excellent catches behind the wicket by Michael Richardson.
Durham won their next match but then went winless until a victory in the last match of the season secured a fourth-place finish.