Result: Durham (301 & 285/4; Burnham 93*, Pringle 62* Richardson 62; 22 points) beat Derbyshire (368 & 214; Hughes 108; 7 points) by six wickets
Jack Burnham & Ryan Pringle showed character as well as skill to take Durham to a six wicket win in an absorbing Division Two match against Derbyshire at Chesterfield.
The pair shared an unbroken stand of 124 as Durham chased down a fourth day target of 282 on a turning pitch against Imran Tahir and 16-year-old Hamidullah Qadri.
After Michael Richardson scored 62, Burnham made his first Specsavers County Championship half century of the season to finish unbeaten on 93 while Pringle, who finished the game with a six, ended on 62.
The opening pair of Richardson and Cameron Steel walked out with another 246 needed on a pitch that was expected to take increasing turn.
Derbsyshire skipper Billy Godleman elected to start with his seamers, perhaps hoping for some swing in the steamy heat, but Tahir and Qadri were soon bowling in tandem although there were few alarms for Richardson or Steel.
The stand-in opener reached his second 50 of the game when he drove Qadri square for his eighth four but the teenager made the first breakthrough when Steel made room to cut and was caught behind.
When Richardson followed three overs later, taken at slip pushing at Tahir, Derbyshire had two ends open but Burnham and Graham Clark, who swung Quadri over midwicket for six, went in at lunch with 137 needed.
The pattern of the game had been for wickets to fall in clusters and Derbyshire’s hopes soared at the start of the afternoon thanks to two superb slip catches by Wayne Madsen.
Clark edged a drive at Tahir and saw Madsen cling on diving to his right and then Paul Collingwood was taken one handed low down after he was undone by another good piece of bowling by Qadri.
At 158/4, Derbyshire’s hopes soared but they were soon crushed by Burnham & Pringle as they moved through the gears, with Burnham hitting three consecutive fours off Qadri before driving Matt Critchley for his second six.
Pringle finished it in style by lifting Tahir for a straight six and then driving Critchley for another.
Durham now move into the NatWest T20 Blast competition before their next Specsavers County Championship outing against Leicestershire in a month’s time.
Close, Day Three: Durham (301 & 36/0) require 246 runs to beat Derbyshire (368 & 214; Hughes 108)
Durham require 246 more runs to defeat Derbyshire after battling back well on the final session of Day Three at Chesterfield.
Five bowlers equally shared two wickets apiece as they restricted the hosts to 214, thanks largely to Alex Hughes’s century.
Paul Coughlin earlier finished unbeaten on 73 to steer Durham to a third batting bonus point after being 205/8 at one point on Day Two.
And Durham finished the day as they started it, with bat in hand, as Cameron Steel & Michael Richardson faced 17 overs without alarm to set up a tense run chase on Day Four.
Hughes ended a lean run with his first century of the season to give Derbyshire before the bowling unit battled back well.
A lead of 67 was still a handy one on a pitch where the bounce was likely to become increasingly variable & the new ball meant it was Durham who threatened to take control when Chris Rushworth & Coughlin made inroads at 31/3.
Rushworth struck with the third ball of the innings by having Ben Slater caught at first slip & Coughlin found some late inswing to pluck out Billy Godleman’s off stump.
When Wayne Madsen edged Rushworth behind, Durham sensed the door was opening but Hughes, first with Luis Reece & then with Matt Critchley, steadied the innings.
Derbyshire’s lead was past 150 when Reece was caught on the crease by Coughlin but Hughes and Critchley to add 52 in 16 overs.
Durham’s attack plugged away & their efforts brought rewards when three wickets fell in eight balls, one to a fine low catch at first slip by Paul Collingwood.
Gurjit Sandhu, promoted up the order, again frustrated his former colleagues as another 47 runs were added & Hughes completed the century before being trapped LBW attempting to despatch Ryan Pringle into the trees.
Matty Potts was again in the wickets, uprooting Sandhu’s stump before delivering similar punishment to Imran Tahir as the innings curtailed sharpishly.
Time was not a factor for Durham but the 17 overs before the close was potentially a defining passage in the game as Richardson & Cameron Steel came through unscathed to reduce the target to 246.
Close, Day Two: Durham (274/8; Coughlin 62*; Tahir 5/98) trail Derbyshire (368; Critchley 102, Godleman 98; Potts 3/75) by 94 runs
Paul Coughlin’s second first-class fifty of the season led a recovery alongside Barry McCarthy as Durham closed 94 runs behind on Day Two against Derbyshire at Chesterfield.
The all-rounder, named Durham’s T20 captain for 2017 yesterday, closed unbeaten on 62 in a partnership of 69 with the Irishman, who is 32 not out.
It is the fourth match in succession McCarthy has been involved in a partnership of over fifty as he continues to show his all-round capabilities.
Imran Tahir sparked a collapse either side of tea by taking five wickets on his debut as Durham lost 4/18 in 43 balls.
Earlier in the day, Billy Godleman fell two short of a century as he and Gurjit Sandhu took their 10th wicket stand to 102 before the home side were bowled out for 368.
Durham were going well at 119/1 but after Jack Burnham played on to Tahir and 16-year-old off-spinner Hamadullah Qadir bowled Michael Richardson for 64, the hosts asserted their authority on proceedings.
After a 35 minute rain break, Godleman and Sandhu frustrated the bowlers for another 15 overs before Godleman was caught behind hooking at Coughlin.
Richardson and Cameron Steel then added 52 relatively untroubled runs in reply before a mix-up saw Steel run out for 21 in Tahir’s first over, though the leg-spinner’s second over gave no indication of what was to come as Richardson dispatched him for two fours before Burnham drove him over extra cover for six.
But when Burnham tried to whip a ball from off stump and chopped on, Durham lost quick wickets.
Paul Collingwood was bowled pushing forward at Tahir in the first over after tea, Ryan Pringle was LBW playing back to one that swung in from Sandhu and Graham Clark was the sixth to go with Durham still 205 behind.
The threat of the follow-on loomed when Stuart Poynter sliced a drive to point and Tahir bowled Matthew Potts with the next ball.
Coughlin and McCarthy, who played out the hat-trick delivery, knucked down & denied Tahir any further wickets to keep Durham in the contest.
Close, Day One: Derbyshire (332/9; Critchley 102; Potts 3/65, McCarthy 3/87) vs Durham
Matty Potts & Barry McCarthy took three wickets each but an unbeaten final wicket stand ensured it was honours even on Day One against Derbyshire at Chesterfield.
The pair both played their part in a post-tea collapse after Matt Critchley made a century for the hosts, with four wickets falling in seven overs.
When the hosts dropped from 238/4 to 266/9, it looked as though they would struggle to reach a third batting bonus point.
But Billy Godleman was not out on 79, accompanied by Gurjit Sandhu’s first-class career-best of 36*, to see them sail past the mark.
After losing the toss & being asked to bowl, Chris Rushworth trapped Luis Reece lbw in the third over with one that kept low.
Wayne Madsen, who needed lengthy treatment after he was struck on the left elbow by Paul Coughlin, batted for another 34 overs to establish a platform which Critchley & Godleman exploited with a fifth wicket stand of 99.
A frustrating day for the visitors was compounded when the umpires reprieved Godleman on 10 after Graham Clark claimed a low catch at gully off Rushworth.
Godleman had dropped down to six in the order after feeling unwell and was in danger of being stranded short of his half century when four wickets fell for only 25 runs after tea following Critchley’s exit when he played across a ball from Potts.
That spell also saw McCarthy pick up the wickets of Daryn Smit, caught at mid-off, & a return catch to dismiss Hamidullah Qadri without scoring.
But the former Middlesex seamer Gurjit Sandhu emerged from an uncertain start to play soundly on his Derbyshire debut to help Godleman steer his side to a third batting point & easily passed his previous highest first-class score of eight.