Bancroft, Richardson shine in RLODC opener

Durham (342/5; Bancroft 151*, Richardson 102, S Steel 68) beat Northants Steelbacks (270; Holder 86, Wakely 66; Potts 4/62, Salisbury 3/51) by 72 runs

Cameron Bancroft scored his first century for Durham to kickstart their Royal London One-Day Cup campaign with a 72-run win over Northamptonshire at Emirates Riverside

The Aussie blasted an unbeaten 151 from 130 deliveries, sharing a record-breaking fourth wicket stand with Michael Richardson, who also notched an impressive ton

Young opener Scott Steel hit a highly impressive half century at the top of the order, too, as they set Northants a daunting total of 343 to chase.

Jason Holder and Alex Wakely put forward impressive efforts with the bat for the visitors. However, Matt Salisbury (3-51) and Matthew Potts (4-62) held their composure with the ball to guide Durham over the line to get off the mark in the 50-over format.

Durham’s day did start poorly when Ben Sanderson dismissed Graham Clark and Alex Lees in the second over, but Steel counterattacked with a flurry of boundaries, including three in a row off Holder.

He reached his maiden one-day fifty with a boundary, his eighth of his innings. The 19-year-old and Bancroft put on 119 before the opener was bowled by Liam Procter for a fine knock of 68.

Bancroft took centre stage first notching his first fifty for Durham. The Aussie then began to dominate the Northamptonshire bowlers with his power down the ground.

He blasted three sixes at the beginning of his partnership with Richardson and they manipulated the field before picking their moments to find the boundary to put on a stand of 100 for the fourth wicket.

Bancroft upped the ante to record his first Durham century. He blasted a six into the County Durham Stand before nudging a single down the ground to reach the milestone in 103 deliveries.

Richardson provided more than a useful foil for his skipper at the other end, making his first fifty of the term. Durham were chasing a score of over 300 and the duo pushed their side on by reaching the 150 partnership. Bancroft and Richardson broke the north-east outfit’s highest partnership for the fourth wicket as the Aussie smashed his fifth sixth of the innings.

Landmarks continued as the stand reached 200, with Richardson notching his third one-day century in the process. He would fall for 102 in the final over, ending the stand at 208 runs.

There was still time for Bancroft to reach his 150, crunching a boundary to leg-side boundary as Durham posted an imposing total of 342-5 from their 50 overs.

Salisbury made a bright start with the ball to peg back the visitors, removing the dangerous Josh Cobb for 12, while Rob Newton followed losing his leg-stump for nine.

Richard Levi blasted three boundaries and a six as he attempted to kickstart the Northants innings. However, Salisbury pinned him lbw for 28 to put Durham in command of the contest.

Wakely and Adam Rossington dug in to provide resistance. They put on a stand of 74 for the fourth wicket, which was only broken by a good yorker from Matthew Potts to bowl Rossington for 40. Holder joined the Northants skipper in the middle, and the duo constructed another solid partnership, grinding down the total.

Wakely was proving to be a thorn in Durham’s side, earning the 15th half-century of his List A career, edging his team over the 200-run mark. Trevaskis made the crucial strike to break the partnership of 89 as Wakely departed 66 when he was caught on the fence.

Holder kept the chase alive, bludgeoning his way over fifty with ease. The West Indies skipper put forward a valiant attempt to guide Northants over the line with his innings. However, he fell for 86 to Trevaskis going for a big strike into the leg side. His dismissal was the beginning of the end for Northants, who slumped to a 72-run defeat, losing their final four wickets for just three runs.