Durham finish 3rd in Northeast Midlands County Under 15 T20 Cup, falling short to Staffordshire Cricket Club before beating Derbyshire in the third-place playoff, at Welbeck Cricket Club.
Durham won the toss, choosing to put Staffordshire in to bat first. Staffordshire took full advantage of this with Joe Hawkins scoring 36 before he became Finley Barlow’s first victim.
Rohan Vallabhaneni was the batting side’s top scorer with 80 coming from just 42 balls, Luke Symington had him caught and bowled. Finlay Barlow’s bowling performance was a highlight for Durham as he took three for 29 in his four overs; Staffordshire posted 210 for 6.
James Minto fell first for 11 with Durham on 13 at the time. Durham’s second wicket partnership was their highest with Jacob Hindmarsh and Luke Symington combining to make 61.
Hindmarsh was out for 19 before Symington went on to make Durham’s top score of 47, to put Durham 84 for three. Owen Harwood and Rohan Vagadia produced scores of 20 and 29 respectively but Durham ultimately fell 58 runs short, finishing 152 for eight.
In the fight to finish third Durham faced Derbyshire. Durham were on the losing side of the toss with Derbyshire opting to field first. Symington’s score of 39 with support from Vagadia and Hedley Windows helping Durham to 73 for four.
This was where Owen Harwood took control of the innings for Durham as he accumulated 58 runs from just 28 balls, finishing unbeaten with six fours and two maximums. James Minto accompanied him for a partnership of 92 with Durham scoring 165 for four.
Derbyshire’s opening partnership was worth 43 when Finlay Barlow bowled Hassnain Akhtar on the penultimate ball of the powerplay. Louis Bolsover was the next to go for Derbyshire to reduce the chasers to 62 for two as he was run out on 33.
Gabriel Hughes-Piñan then took two wickets in two balls to leave Derbyshire reeling on 77 for four. Sam Cliffe and Josh Dent helped stabilise the Derbyshire innings with a 46-run stand before Dom Ward dismissed the latter for 18.
Derbyshire were given hope from Jake Green’s late cameo as he struck 26 from 10 balls; Sam Cliffe ended unbeaten on 33 as Derbyshire fell 10 runs short in the end, handing Durham a five wicket victory in addition to a third-place finish.