12th over. Durham Jets 79-3: SHOT! MacLeod gets down on one knee and sweeps – the ball catches the top edge and lands beyond short fine leg before bouncing away to the boundary. A reverse sweep adds another run before Collingwood is struck on the pad. Croft appeals wildly but the umpire is unmoved. 55 to win from eight overs.
11th over. Durham Jets 73-3: MacLeod has moved on to 32, as another tidy over from Parry renders just four singles. The Jets may need to score a bit quicker soon as the Lightning have Khan to bowl two overs at the end of the innings.
10th over. Durham Jets 69-3: SHOT! AND AGAIN! Superb stuff from MacLeod, who reverse sweeps Lilley for a boundary and then latches on to a short ball and slaps it away for four more through extra cover. 65 to win from 10 overs now.
9th over. Durham Jets 59-3: The winning combination from the Jets’ last match, Calum MacLeod and Paul Collingwood, are reunited again. Pace off the ball is proving difficult to get away, just as it was in the Lancashire innings. There is a little bit of turn for the bowlers too, and Parry’s two overs have cost just 10 runs so far.
8th over. Durham Jets 53-3: WICKET. A big one for the visitors as Arron Lilley gets rid of Stokes. The allrounder tries a reverse sweep but misses and the ball cannons into the stumps. A very good set from the offspinner, although the required run rate remains at less than seven an over.
7th over. Durham Jets 50-2: Stephen Parry is the new bowler. Parry is bowling his left arm orthodox spin from the Lumley End and MacLeod seems to quite like it as he helps himself to a couple of runs down to wide long on. Another single brings up the Jets 50, meaning 84 runs are required to win.
6th over. Durham Jets 46-2: IMPISH! MacLeod shuffles across his stumps and ramps Ali over short fine leg for four. The crowd of 3,397 certainly enjoyed that piece of improvisation from the Scotland International. Mustard then creams a drive through the infield on the offside to continue a productive over. WICKET! Mustard tries to clear the ropes but doesn’t get enough on it and Smith jogs in from long on to take the catch. Mustard made 17, and Stokes is the new man in.
5th over. Durham Jets 36-1: A skip at the start of his approach to the stumps from Khan is causing great amusement amongst the crowd! The Pakistan International is a very good bowler, particularly at the death of the innings, and he concedes just four from that over. 98 runs to win, with just six balls of the powerplay left.
4th over. Durham Jets 32-1: Jordan Clark is the new bowler – he is the older brother of Durham 2nd XI player Graham Clark. Clark senior is dispatched for four as he drops the ball short and MacLeod swivels and pulls away towards The Castle Insurance Stand. Other than that, it’s a decent over from the Cumbrian bowler.
3rd over. Durham Jets 25-1: SHOT! The two left-handers pick up three singles and then Stoneman pulls the ball over midwicket for four. But then…WICKET! Junaid Khan strikes back as he wraps Stoneman on the pad and the Jets skipper departs for 12. Calum MacLeod, who struck an unbeaten 80 on his debut in the last game, is the new man in. He gets a free hit to go at as Khan oversteps but he can’t reach a ball that is angled down the offside.
2nd over. Durham Jets 16-0: Former England International Kabir Ali takes the second over and starts with a legside wide. His third delivery is almost identical so it’s an inauspicious start from Ali. Mustard then times a flick off his hip beautifully and the ball races away towards the electronic scoreboard for four. Two more singles are picked up and that over went for nine in the end.
1st over. Durham Jets 7-0: So 134 to win for the Jets. Lancashire open with a bit of off-spin from Steven Croft and Phil Mustard very nearly offers a return catch to the bowler as the ball pops up off a leading edge but lands safely. Croft then offers some width outside the off-stump and Mark Stoneman drives the ball square through the offside for a boundary. A kick of the turf from Croft displays his annoyance at that loose delivery.
Lancashire Innings: 133-6 (20 overs) Brown 61.
20th over. Lancashire Lightning 133-6: WICKET! Brown falls for 61 as he strikes a shot high into the air and Muchall darts in from long-off to take the catch. Rushworth is the bowler, and he claims another victim as WICKET! Agathangelou skies a hook shot into the air and Arshad takes a low catch at long leg. An excellent final over.
19th over. Lancashire Lightning 127-4: Stokes returns and bowls a rare yorker which is dug out by Clark for a single. A lofted straight drive from Brown brings two and it’s a no-ball too from Stokes! A free hit…which is smeared down to Arshad at long on for a single. A wide from the 22 year old means it’s a frustrating over for the England man. Just to add to it, the batsmen collect an extra run from an overthrow after Stoneman misses the stumps with a throw at the non-strikers end.
18th over. Lancashire Lightning 115-4. SIX! And 50 for Karl Brown. Impressive acceleration – he’s hit four of his last seven deliveries over the rope, mainly over the leg side. His half-century came from 44 deliveries, and his side may now get towards the 150 mark. Two overs remain.
17th over. Lancashire Lightning 104-4: SIX! SIX! FOUR! SIX! Oh dear…Ryan Pringle is now taking some tap. Brown races to 47 as he heaves the first four balls of the over away for boundaries. Brown then grabs a single off the final delivery – a rare good over the visitors.
16th over. Lancashire Lightning 81-4: Arshad returns from the Lumley End and a rare misfield from MacLeod enables the batsmen to cross for two runs. Clark then toe ends an attempted ramp shot and steals a single. Brown grabs another before Clark finally finds the rope as he strikes a firm shot over extra cover for four.
15th over. Lancashire Lightning 71-4: Ryan Pringle gets a bowl and isn’t far from taking a wicket as Clark slices a shot just beyond the reach of Stoneman at extra cover. Timing has been a real issue for the Lightning tonight and just six runs come from that over. Where have the boundaries gone?!
14th over. Lancashire Lightning 65-4: Clark tries a ramp shot as the batsmen finally look to improvise. It’s no good though as again the pair can only manage five runs from Collingwood’s fourth over. His spell included one wicket and just 18 runs conceded. The bowling and the fielding have been top drawer tonight.
13th over. Lancashire Lightning 60-4: Jordan Clark is the new batsman but runs continue to dry up. Even a well-timed slog sweep from Brown is collected after one bounce on the boundary by MacLeod. Breese has bowled a fantastic spell – four overs, one wicket for 11 runs.
12th over. Lancashire Lightning 57-4: A single and then…WICKET! What a pearler! A fantastic catch from Gordon Muchall, who is enjoying a special week. Collingwood bowls, Croft slices a shot high into the air, and the man who scored 158* in midweek sprints in from the long off boundary to take a low diving catch.
11th over. Lancashire Lightning 53-3: It’s another very similar over! Breese is dabbed away for four singles as the Lancashire men try to gain some momentum.
10th over. Lancashire Lightning 49-3: Steven Croft is the new man in – can he break the shackles? Collingwood is proving difficult to get away and just four singles come from that over. The Lightning are at the halfway stage and are struggling for fluency.
9th over. Lancashire Lightning 45-3: These two batsmen are playing in quite an orthodox fashion and it’s not paying dividends at the moment. Breese again restricts them to two singles and then WICKET! Breese bowls a quicker delivery, Horton tries to pull the ball but misses and the ball strikes him on the pad. Up goes the finger from the umpire – another excellent over.
8th over. Lancashire Lightning 43-2: Paul Collingwood turned 38 earlier this week – can he celebrate with another sparkling performance tonight? He was superb against Worcestershire Rapids and he’s into the attack now. It’s a very decent over – the fielders are spread around now and the visitors have only hit four boundaries so far. Horton has 11, Brown 8, and just five runs were scored in that Collingwood over.
7th over. Lancashire Lightning 38-2: It looks quite a hard pitch to score on – there doesn’t seem to be much pace or bounce in the wicket here at Emirates Durham ICG. Gareth Breese bowls and concedes just three from a typically disciplined over.
6th over. Lancashire Lightning 35-2: Rushworth is back on and bowling from the Lumley End. Horton glances the ball away for a boundary down the leg side but Rushworth comes back with three dots from the final four deliveries. That’s the end of the powerplay overs and the Jets have bowled well so far.
5th over. Lancashire Lightning 30-2: WICKET! The dangerous Smith goes for 18 as Stokes bowls him with a ball that seemed to keep a bit low. Stokes then fires one into the body of new batsmen Paul Horton – not what you want on a chilly evening! Horton wisely gets off the strike and a short arm pull brings Brown a couple. Just three from the over though – good stuff from Stokes.
4th over. Lancashire Lightning 27-1: Brown profits from a misfield to grab a single and then Smith hit another effective shot into the air that goes for four. This time the tall all-rounder uses his feet and slaps Arshad over mid-off. Lancashire are steadily moving up the gears.
3rd over. Lancashire Lightning 18-1: Ben Stokes, on his return to T20 action, is into the attack. Smith can’t pierce the field with a drive but then gets back to back boundaries. A lofted shot down towards wide mid-on is convincing enough, however he then gets an inside edge to a delivery and is lucky to survive. The ball runs away quickly for four. Karl Brown picks up a single from the last ball of the over.
2nd over. Lancashire Lightning 8-1: Tidy start from Usman Arshad as Smith takes a single down to long on. WICKET! A fairly short pitches delivery doesn’t bounce as much as Davies thinks. The right hander tries a pull shot but the ball finds the bottom edge of the bat and Mustard takes a simple catch. A wicket and just one run from an excellent over.
1st over. Lancashire Lightning 7-0: Chris Rushworth opens the bowling and Tom Smith cuts the ball down to third man for a single. Alex Davies turns the ball into midwicket for another run and then the left handed Smith dabs the ball away to rotate the strike once more. It looks like a very miserly over until a stray leg side delivery brushes Davies’ pad and runs away for four leg byes.
0 overs: LANCASHIRE LIGHTNING HAVE WON THE TOSS AND WILL BAT. Good afternoon from a cool but dry Emirates Durham ICG! There are plenty of light grey clouds overhead, but there doesn’t seem to be a threat of rain and we even have a few pockets of blue sky.
Teams:
Durham Jets:
26. Mark Stoneman*
19. Phil Mustard+
14. Calum MacLeod
38. Ben Stokes
5. Paul Collingwood
18. Michael Richardson
24. Gordon Muchall
70. Gareth Breese
17. Ryan Pringle
78. Usman Arshad
22. Chris Rushworth
Lancashire Lightning:
24. Tom Smith
20. Paul Horton*
17. Alex Davies+
11. Andrea Agathangelou
14. Karl Brown
16. Jordan Clark
15. Steven Croft
12. Junaid Khan
19. Arron Lilley
4. Stephen Parry
23. Kabir Ali