DAY 4 – DURHAM 311 & 249 BEAT GLAMORGAN 365 & 137 BY 58 RUNS
Matthew Potts enhanced his England credentials by claiming career-best figures to inspire Durham to a dramatic 58-run victory over Glamorgan on the final day of their LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two clash at the Riverside.Potts was in breathtaking form and took five wickets on final day, having previously claimed two in the evening session of day three, ending the innings with figures seven for 40 and match figures of 11 for 101. Glamorgan were to rue a collapse from 65 for two to 137 all out in pursuit of their victory target that began when Marnus Labuschange was out from the penultimate ball of day three.Once Potts made inroads in the early overs of the final morning, the momentum as truly with the home side. The England hopeful blew away their resistance that should surely put him on the path to be included in team-mate Ben Stokes’ first squad as captain. More importantly for Durham, it ended a run of five matches without a win in the County Championship to propel them up into third place in Division Two.Durham required a fast start to put the pressure on the visitors. Potts answered the call for his team, producing a vicious bouncer that caught the glove of Kiran Carlson. Carlson was not thrilled with the decision, but Alex Wharf raised the finger. Potts then prised out Sam Northeast, who had looked comfortable at the crease. Scott Borthwick initially spilled the catch, but managed to clamp his legs together to claim the ball at the second attempt to send Northeast on his way for 26.Potts made way after his initial burst, but Brydon Carse ensured that the intensity from the hosts did not wane. He bowled with pace and accuracy after struggling in the first innings. An array of short-pitch bowling ended Billy Root’s stay at the crease for 10 as he gloved one behind, attempting a hook shot that had previously brought him a boundary earlier in the over.Sensing another opportunity Borthwick brought Potts back into the attack for a short spell. The 23-year-old claimed his fourth five-wicket haul of the season when pinned Glamorgan skipper David Lloyd lbw, who was batting at number eight after suffering an injury on day three. Carse turned the momentum firmly in the favour of the home side when he found Chris Cooke’s outside edge before lunch, removing the last recognised Glamorgan batter.Potts sensed blood in the water after lunch, and he drove his side over the line to claim career-best figures by dismissing Michael Neser with a brilliant yorker that caught the toe of the Aussie before clean bowling Michael Hogan to wrap up the victory, sparking massive celebrations from the hosts in the middle.
Day 4 – reaction Matthew Potts
DAY 3 – DURHAM 311 & 244 VS GLAMORGAN 365 & 65/3
Glamorgan require 126 runs to defeat Durham in their LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two contest after Marnus Labuschagne inspired the visitors to bowl out the home side for 244 in their second innings at the Riverside.
Scott Borthwick and Alex Lees appeared to have put the hosts on course for a solid total with a stand of 138. However, Labuschagne was the unlikely hero with the ball to remove Lees, Borthwick and Ben Stokes before Michael Neser wrapped up the tail, ending with figures of four for 57 to hand Glamorgan control of the game.The Welsh outfit lost two early wickets to Matthew Potts in pursuit of their target of 191. Labuschagne calmed the nerves until the penultimate ball of the day when he fell for 31, leaving the game in the balance.Glamorgan had the chance to put the pressure on the hosts, who began day three trailing the visitors by 15 runs. Michael Hogan quickly made the breakthrough to dismiss nightwatchman Potts for three.The pressure was on Borthwick and Lees, but the two players provided a solid foundation to see off the threat of the first hour. Borthwick looked in particularly good touch as he found the boundary with regularity. Although he did give one brief chance on 44 to Kiran Carlson at backward square leg, the left-hander made his way to a composed half-century for the third time of the season.Whereas Borthwick made batting appear relatively simple, Lees was scratchy at the other end. He survived an lbw shout on 41 and then was put down by Neser at slip on 43 off Andrew Salter’s off-spin. The England opener managed to progress beyond fifty, even though was almost run out by Carlson. Lees’ fortune finally ran out when he played across the line to a half-tracker from Labuschagne and was given out lbw for 61, ending a stand of 138 with Borthwick for the fourth wicket.Borthwick had played extremely well to reach 90 and was on the verge of his first ton of the campaign. However, he will have sleepless nights after being bowled from a straight full-toss from Labuschagne
The loss of the two set batters caused a collapse in the Durham ranks as David Bedingham fell cheaply for the second time in the game, while Ned Eckersley lobbed a loose drive straight to Hogan at mid-off.
The pressure was on Stokes to hold the innings together, but after being put down on 13 by Neser, who almost pulled off a fine diving catch, the England captain presented a third wicket to Labuschagne. Stokes lost his balance aiming for a booming drive and the quick hands of Chris Cooke removed the bails.
Neser wrapped up the tail by prising out Ben Raine and Chris Rushworth to finish with four wickets for the second time of the match, ending with figures of eight for 124. It was a brilliant effort from the Aussie in light of injuries to Timm van der Gugten and David Lloyd, leaving his side requiring only 191 runs to win the contest.Potts made two early breakthroughs removing replacement opener Andy Gorvin and Salter to reduce the visitors to 15 for two, becoming the first bowler to pass 30 wickets in the County Championship in the process. A Labuschagne mistake from the penultimate ball changed the context of the game as Raine dismissed the Aussie for the second time to give Durham a glimmer of hope.
Day 2 – DURHAM 311 & 39/2 vs GLAMORGAN 365
Billy Root orchestrated a Glamorgan fightback on day two of their LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two match against Durham at the Riverside.
Root dragged his team out of trouble at 163 for seven with a fine innings of 88 to defy the Durham bowlers. Sam Northeast, Kiran Carlson and Michael Neser also scored half-centuries, but it was the visitors’ lower order that frustrated the hosts, adding 202 runs for the final three wickets.Matthew Potts and Ben Raine took four wickets apiece, but Durham’s bowling in the afternoon outside of the duo was below-par, allowing the Welsh outfit to accumulate a healthy lead of 54. Michael Hogan and Neser nipped out Sean Dickson and Keegan Petersen to leave the hosts in trouble in their second innings still 15 runs behind.Resuming on 31 for two, Glamorgan looked to make headway into Durham’s first-innings total, but were pegged back from the seventh ball of the day as Scott Borthwick took a diving catch at second slip to dismiss David Lloyd after Rushworth found his outside edge. Marnus Labuschagne took 19 deliveries to get off the mark, and did not seem comfortable at the crease. His stay lasted a further three balls before he played across the line and was pinned lbw by Raine.Northeast provided the early resistance and marched towards his fifty at a good rate, striking Rushworth for three-straight boundaries. The 32-year-old notched his fourth half-century of the campaign, but failed to kick on for his first ton of 2022, edging behind to Ned Eckersley for 51 as Rushworth had his revenge. Carlson followed the mantra of Northeast to put the pressure back on the Durham bowlers. Ben Stokes’ first three overs consequently went for 29, with Carlson racing towards his half-century from 42 balls.The lunch break came at the right time for the hosts, and Potts returned with a spring in his step to bowl Carlson with the first ball after the interval. The Durham seamer claimed his fourth of the innings as Cooke was caught down the leg-side, leaving Glamorgan reeling at 163 for seven.However, Root and Neser stabilised the Glamorgan ranks, and the Australia international led the way with an aggressive approach. Neser capitalised on loose bowling from the home side to score a brisk fifty, his first in the County Championship, reaching the mark with a firm strike down the ground against Borthwick.The stand between Neser and Root surpassed 100 before Raine removed Neser for 62 to give the home side hope of earning a slender lead. Root ensured that Glamorgan secured a third batting point and then advanced beyond Durham’s first-innings total.He and Timm van der Gugten, with runner Labuschagne due to his ailing hamstring, frustrated Stokes, Carse and company in a defiant partnership of 83 for the ninth wicket. Root was on the precipice of a deserved hundred, but gave away his wicket for 88 with a loose drive off Raine, who then claimed his fourth scalp to end the Glamorgan innings.
Hogan and Neser made early inroads to remove Dickson and Petersen, handing Lloyd and his team momentum to take into day three.
Day 2 reaction – Ben Raine
Day 1 – DURHAM 311 vs GLAMORGAN 31 for two
Ben Stokes scored an impressive knock of 82 to continue his strong start to his LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two season as Durham were bowled out for 311 against Glamorgan at the Riverside.Following his blistering innings of 161 against Worcestershire last week, Stokes fell 18 runs short of a second-straight century as he top scored for the hosts. Keegan Petersen was also in solid form with an innings of 78, although the home side will feel that they left runs on the field after being dismissed before the close.Michael Hogan was on point with the ball for the Welsh outfit with figures of four for 67, including the key wicket of Stokes, that allowed the visitors to keep Durham in check. Two late strikes from Matthew Potts began a fightback, leaving Glamorgan with work ahead of them on day two, with Marnus Labuchagne unbeaten overnight on 16.Glamorgan won the toss and elected to field, facing the leading run-scorer in the County Championship heading into the contest, Sean Dickson. However, the opener only added five runs to his total before Michael Neser found his outside edge and Sam Northeast clung on at second slip.Alex Lees and Petersen responded against the new ball by building a solid foundation with a stand worth 62. Lees appeared on the brink of another score of fifty after driving David Lloyd to the fence, but then chopped on from the following delivery to fall for 44. After lunch, Scott Borthwick and David Bedingham fell cheaply for the home side to Hogan and Andy Gorvin respectively, but Petersen worked his way past fifty for the second innings in a row.The South African was fortunate on two occasions against Neser, edging a bouncer between Chris Cooke and Andrew Salter at first slip and seeing a top edge land safely. Petersen looked to have come through a tough period, but he then presented Lloyd with his second wicket as he played a loose drive that landed in the hands of Labuschagne.Stokes made a measured start to his innings, but after the departure of Petersen he began to free his arms. His first signal of intent came with an element of fortune against his Ashes rival Labuschagne, edging his medium-pace over the slips. The left-hander then found his range with two crisp strikes to the fence against Lloyd, scattering the Glamorgan fields to the ropes.The England captain brought up his half century from a sedate 74 balls compared to his exploits against Worcestershire. However, he soon delighted the Riverside crowd by dispatching Labuschagne over the leg-side boundary with his first six innings, bringing up the Durham 250 in the process.A promising partnership of 61 between Stokes and Ben Raine allowed the hosts to push towards 300 at speed. Raine matched the intensity of his team-mate at the other end before Salter turned one through the gate, earning revenge after being struck 10 from the first five balls of the 79th over.One wicket quickly brought a second as Hogan secured the vital scalp of the England captain with the new ball, with a rising delivery that he could only fend behind to Cooke for 82. Hogan then wrapped up the tail with two further strikes, but only after Durham scrambled past the 300-run mark to secure a third batting bonus point.Potts responded for the hosts by taking two wickets to remove Salter and Govrin to swing momentum back into their favour before stumps.
Day 1 – post reaction