Day 4
Durham’s Liam Trevaskis and Paul Coughlin denied promotion hopefuls Derbyshire victory in a dramatic end to the LV=Insurance County Championship match at the Incora County Ground.
The sixth wicket pair batted through the final 17 overs to steer Durham to a fighting draw after they had been set 298 in 87 overs.
Trevaskis faced 57 balls for an unbeaten 42 and Coughlin was 19 not out off 53 as Durham closed on 176 for 5 from 53 overs.
Mark Watt took 2 for 37 in 13 overs but Derbyshire could not force the win that would have taken them to second in Division Two.
Durham paceman Ben Raine claimed two more wickets to finish with 5 for 43 in 22 overs before Derbyshire declared on 214 for 9.
Derbyshire had batted on for seven overs, adding 29 runs for the loss of Anuj Dal and Nick Potts before the declaration came.
With showers forecast in the afternoon, they needed to make early inroads but Michael Jones again started positively, taking three fours from the second over from Nick Potts.
Jones had scored 24 out of 26 when he tried to leave a ball from Ben Aitchison and got a bottom edge into his stumps.
Aitchison should have had a second when Dickson on 11 edged him low to first slip where Watt spilled the chance at the second attempt.
But Derbyshire had a second breakthrough in the next over when Scott Borthwick played across a low dipping full toss from Conners and lost his middle stump.
At lunch, Durham required a further 237 in 67 overs but their hopes took another blow when Anuj Dal removed Sean Dickson.
The all-rounder thought he had the opener caught behind earlier and when Dickson missed a big swing and lost his off stump, he gave him a loud and visible send-off.
Durham’s chances now rested with Nic Maddinson who drove Watt for consecutive fours before rain stopped play for 20 minutes with the loss of five overs.
When play resumed under threatening clouds, Watt broke through in the first over when Maddinson pushed forward at a ball that went on with the arm and was caught behind.
Watt struck again in his next over, tempting Jonathan Bushnell into a drive which he edged low to Wayne Madsen at slip.
It was now a question of whether the rain would stay away but as the players were leaving the field for bad light, a storm broke over the ground, holding up play for two hours.
The umpires decided the match could resume at 16.50pm which gave Derbyshire 17.1 overs or 103 balls to take five wickets.
There was drama immediately with Paul Coughlin put down at second slip on one as he pushed forward at Watt.
Trevaskis and Coughlin showed application and good judgement to frustrate Derbyshire who, with seven overs left and the light deteriorating, were unable to use their pace bowlers.
With spinners on at both ends, Derbyshire had every fielder in a catching position but the pair stood firm and the home side called off the hunt with one over remaining.
There was a touching finale as the players and coaching staff applauded umpire Nick Cook off the field in his last appearance at Derby before he retires at the end of the season.
Durham return to the East Midlands on Monday to take on Leicestershire at Grace Road, starting at 10:30am
Day 3
Ben Raine bowled Durham back into contention on the third day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match against Derbyshire at the Incora County Ground.
The 30-year-old paceman took 3 for 24 in 18 overs to restrict Derbyshire to 185 for 7 in their second innings, a lead of 268.
Liam Trevaskis also helped contain the promotion hopefuls by claiming 3 for 71 with his left-arm spin before bad light ended play early.
Wayne Madsen led the way for Derbyshire with 58 while Godleman made 43 from 141 balls, his highest score of the season in the championship.
Durham’s hopes of reducing the arrears significantly lasted two overs before Oliver Gibson sliced a drive at Sam Conners and was caught by Godleman running from mid off to give the England Lions fast bowler figures of 4 for 55.
The visitors suffered a major blow after three overs of Derbyshire’s second innings when their leading bowler Chris Rushworth left the field with a muscle strain.
Given the state of the game and Rushworth’s injury, Durham did well to keep Derbyshire in check with Godleman and Luis Reece taking 23 overs to increase the lead by 50.
Reece did launch Liam Trevaskis over the long off boundary before he was caught behind playing defensively at Raine who bowled a good containing spell from the City End.
Brooke Guest drove Trevaskis for another six but was caught at slip off the next ball as he tried to cut the left arm spinner.
By lunch Derbyshire were 145 ahead and Godleman showed more intent after the interval, straight driving Trevaskis for six before Madsen completed yet another 50, his 11th of the season, by guiding Raine to the third man boundary.
Godleman was seven away from his first championship half-century of the summer when he was caught on the crease by Raine to end a stand of 88 in 27 overs.
Durham struck twice in the next two overs with Leus du Plooy well caught by Nic Maddinson running back to long off and Madsen caught behind dabbing at Raine shortly before bad light stopped play.
Rain prevented a resumption until 4.40pm and Derbyshire’s slide continued with two more wickets falling in consecutive overs.
Harry Came’s attempt to drive Trevaskis over the top ended in the hands of cover and Mark Watt got a top edge aiming a pull at a ball from Paul Coughlin that stopped on him.
Anuj Dal and Ben Aitchison added another 24 from 67 balls before bad light ended play with 11 overs remaining at 5.30pm leaving the game intriguingly poised if the rain stays away on the final day.
Day 2
Derbyshire’s pace attack put the promotion hopefuls in a strong position on the second day of the LV=Insurance County Championship match against Durham at the Incora County Ground.
England Lions fast bowler Sam Conners took 3 for 54 and Ben Aitchison 2 for 49 to reduce Durham to 222 for 9 at the close with only Michael Jones offering any prolonged resistance with 87.
All rounder Anuj Dal claimed 2 for 18 in 10 overs as Durham lost five wickets for 26 in the final session to trail by 84.
Durham could also face a possible points deduction after Nic Maddinson’s bat was judged to be too big.
Umpire Hassan Adnan tested the bat with his measurement gauge shortly after the Australian came to the middle but it would not go through and was taken away by match referee Mike Smith.
The bat will be re-examined after the close of play and if it fails again will be sent to the ECB who will make a judgement.
Derbyshire were docked two points after Mattie McKiernan’s bat failed a measurement test in a Royal London Cup game last month.
Maddinson was one of three Durham batters who fell to poor shots after the visitors came through the morning session unscathed.
Conditions looked good for bowling under grey clouds with the floodlights on but the Derbyshire attack, with the exception of Aitchison, served up too many loose deliveries.
Jones’s first seven scoring shots were boundaries but Sean Dickson was reprieved on eight when he edged Aitchison low to third slip where Leus du Plooy failed to cling on.
Derbyshire regrouped during the lunch break which was extended by 45 minutes by rain and took four wickets in the afternoon session.
Dickson was the first to go, caught behind carving at the first ball he faced after the restart, and Scott Borthwick also fell to a casual shot when he tried to turn the fast bowler off his legs and got a top edge to square leg.
The bowlers improved line was rewarded again when the pressure got to Nic Maddinson who went for a big drive at Dal and was caught at point.
Jones had played responsibly but in the penultimate over before tea, he tried to drive Nick Potts and lost his off stump.
Durham trailed by 164 at the interval but Jonathan Bushnell and Liam Trevaskis frustrated Derbyshire for 19 overs before Sam Conners returned to shift the momentum again.
Conners found enough away movement to have Bushnell caught behind before Trevaskis, badly missed on 21 at third slip, edged to second five overs later where Wayne Madsen knocked the ball up for Brooke Guest to complete the catch.
Paul Coughlin was run out by a direct hit from Potts as he went for a sharp single to midwicket and Tom Mackintosh drove a wide ball from Dal to point.
Conners had Ben Raine caught behind before bad light ended play with Derbyshire well placed to push for victory.
Day 1
Durham bowled out Derbyshire for 306 with 5 balls to go on the first day of their LV=Insurance County Championship match at the Incora County Ground.
Derbyshire were struggling at 58 for 4 but Leus du Plooy followed his two centuries in the game at Chester-le Street in July with 82 from 123 balls.
Harry Came scored a career-best 78 sharing a stand of 143 in 32 overs with du Plooy before Anuj Dal added 56 as Derbyshire were bowled out for 306, Chris Rushworth and Ben Raine both taking three wickets.
Durham’s decision to bowl on a well-grassed pitch looked a good one when Rushworth and Raine reduced Derbyshire to 31 for 3.
Luis Reece went to the second ball of the match when he edged Rushworth into the gloves of Tom Mackintosh and Billy Godleman’s poor season in the championship continued when he played on driving at Raine in the next over.
Brooke Guest again looked the part at number three, showing good judgement in challenging conditions but Derbyshire lost another big wicket in Rushworth’s sixth over.
Wayne Madsen had to play at a ball that seamed away and was caught behind for nine and Guest, who scored a hundred at Chester-le-Street in July, was also the victim of a good delivery.
Guest drove Rushworth down the ground for four and with du Plooy, was starting to rebuild the innings when Raine nipped one away to take his off stump.
Another wicket before lunch would have plunged Derbyshire into deep trouble but Came and du Plooy negotiated nine overs and batting became increasingly easier in the afternoon.
The inevitable change of ball came after 40 overs but Durham probably wished they had stuck with the old one as du Plooy drove the first delivery from Raine back past the bowler for his ninth four to reach 50 from 73 balls
He took three more fours from the over and with Durham’s bowlers failing to maintain the consistency they showed in the morning, du Plooy and Came played with increasing assurance.
Came scored his maiden first-class 50 at Trent Bridge earlier in the season and two sixes off Liam Trevaskis got him moving towards a second.
He launched the left-arm spinner down the ground before dispatching a full toss over the ropes and with du Plooy punishing anything short or overpitched, the momentum swung towards Derbyshire.
The pair looked set to bat through the session when du Plooy aimed a loose forcing shot outside off stump at Trevaskis and was caught behind.
Durham’s bowlers could not apply any sustained pressure after tea and Came pulled Oliver Gibson for his fifth four to pass his previous best score of 70.
But Gibson, who bowled at a lively pace, yorked him just before the second new ball which accounted for the tail although Dal completed another half century to secure a third batting point before he was out in the last over of the day.