Day 3
Durham suffered an innings and 18 runs defeat against Lancashire in the Bob Willis Trophy at Emirates Riverside.
The Red Rose controlled the opening two days and compounded their advantage by passing the 300-run mark with the bat, earning a third bonus point. Entering the Durham second innings with a lead of 128, the visitors were relentless with the ball, and Tom Bailey led the way taking three wickets to remove the home side’s top order.
Liam Hurt then took centre stage, notching his best first-class figures of 4-27.
Resuming on 284-9, Bailey took the attack to the Durham bowlers, finding the boundary. He launched two sixes to drive Lancashire over the 300-run mark to secure their third batting point of the contest. Matt Salisbury ended the innings for 308, claiming his fourth wicket by pinning Richard Gleeson lbw for two.
Durham had a challenge to fight their way back into the match, but their second innings began in the worst possible manner, losing Alex Lees for nought to a yorker from Bailey that dislodged his off-stump. Sean Dickson fell for three, edging behind to Davies from another Bailey delivery. Durham soon slumped to 5-3 as Cameron Steel as Luke Wood swung a delivery back into his pads. The home side suffered a further blow before lunch when Wood found Gareth Harte’s outside edge, putting the visitors in complete control.
David Bedingham tried to provide impetus in the Durham innings after the restart. He made his way to a brisk 25 before he became Bailey’s third victim of the innings, being pinned lbw. The visitors kept plugging away and pressured the middle order. Hurt’s introduction into the attack from the Finchale End brought the wickets of Ned Eckersley and Brydon Carse.
The Durham skipper received a ball that rose off the surface and he could only fend it into the hands of Steven Croft. Carse was then trapped lbw on the crease by a swinging delivery from the right-arm seamer. Ben Raine was left to face the hat-trick ball, but survived with a solid defence.
Jack Burnham offered resistance ensuring that Durham surpassed their lowest first-class total of 61. He played well for his knock of 27, but it ended when he got caught in two minds playing a pull against Hurt, inside edging the ball onto his own stumps. Hurt claimed his fourth wicket of the session removing Matt Salisbury after finding the outside edge. Liam Livingstone put down Bedingham earlier in the day, but atoned for his drop with a brilliant low catch at second slip to send the tailender on his way.
Raine and Chris Rushworth battled for a period to delay the inevitable, putting on a stand of 24 for the final wicket. Livingstone ended proceedings as Rushworth was the last man out. He edged behind to Davies for 11, allowing the Red Rose to complete a fine victory on the road and get off the mark in the competition.
Match Reaction
Day 2
Matt Salisbury takes three wickets on day 2 against Lancashire as the visitors close play on 284/9 in the Bob Willis Trophy at Emirates Riverside, holding a lead of 104 against Durham.
Josh Bohannon notched the fifth half-century of his first-class career, scoring a patient 75 to provide the foundation of the visitors’ innings. The Red Rose added two batting bonus points to their tally aided by a valuable knock from Luke Wood in the lower order.
Durham’s bowlers persevered throughout the day with Matt Salisbury and Ben Raine taking three wickets apiece. However, they face a major effort to launch a comeback on the third day with their hopes in the competition hanging in the balance.
The hosts made immediate inroads into the Lancashire batting line-up as Raine struck three deliveries into the morning session. Alex Davies was late withdrawing his bat on an attempted leave and could only edge the ball into the hands of David Bedingham. Chris Rushworth maintained the intensity from the Lumley End. He ended Keaton Jennings’ stay at the crease, finding his outside edge before Alex Lees claimed the catch at third slip at the third attempt.
Bohannon and Dane Vilas steadied the ship after the loss of the openers, although both batsmen were forced to be on their guard amid tight bowling from the hosts. Rushworth believed that he had notched his second wicket of the morning, nipping one back into Bohannon’s pads, only to see his appeal turned down. Bohannon and Vilas grinded their way to their fifty partnership from 112 balls before the Lancashire skipper was dismissed. Vilas survived an lbw appeal from Rushworth, but then knicked off on the stroke of lunch to Gareth Harte for a solid innings of 32.
Liam Livingstone attempted to provide impetus after the restart, scoring boundaries off Raine and Harte. However, a change in ball resulted in his downfall, driving on the up against Raine, only to edge into the hands of Bedingham. Bohannon’s resistance continued, although he did earn a slice of fortune, edging narrowly wide of gully after Brydon Carse found the outside edge. The 23-year-old passed fifty for the first time in the campaign, reaching the milestone by nudging three runs into the off-side from his 129th delivery.
Wood ensured that Lancashire added another point to their total, driving Salisbury straight down the ground to the fence. Raine dismissed Liam Hurt to claim his third scalp, while he saw a good shout for an lbw appeal turned down against Wood. The left-hander made the most of his opportunity pressing his score within sight of a deserved fifty. Salisbury returned to end Wood’s hopes, knocking out his middle stump for 46 before the close.
Day 2 Reaction
Day 1
Durham posted a total of 180 on day one against Lancashire at Emirates Riverside with Alex Lees leading the with his second half-century of the season.
Richard Gleeson was the standout bowler for the visitors, claiming figures of 3-32, while the rest of the wickets were shared around the attack. Alex Lees provided the only meaningful resistance for the hosts with a patient half-century, while Ben Raine was left stranded on 24 not out at the end of the innings.
The Red Rose had a tricky spell to negotiate before stumps, but they closed the day 33-0, trailing the home side by 147 runs heading into day two.
Despite their struggles in the first innings against Yorkshire last week, Durham skipper Ned Eckersley opted to bat first on a glorious summer’s day at Emirates Riverside. However, the home side’s top-order problems continued, with Sean Dickson falling to a fine one-handed catch from Alex Davies behind the stumps from a swinging Tom Bailey delivery.
Cameron Steel was then pinned lbw, leaving a straight delivery from Luke Wood. David Bedingham scored an impressive half-century against the White Rose, but on this occasion he gave his wicket away, playing a loose cut shot to a wide delivery from Gleeson and Davies claimed a simple catch behind the stumps.
Resistance came from Lees, who displayed the same patience at the crease as he did last week scoring a century against Yorkshire. The left-hander and Gareth Harte put on 52 for the fourth wicket, which was only ended by a run out. Harte’s hesitation cost him his wicket when George Balderson connected with a direct hit from backward point. Lees maintained his poise and notched his half-century from 151 deliveries.
After Lees reached his milestone, a clatter of wickets ensued. Jack Burnham fell lbw to Gleeson after narrowly surviving an outside edge that bounced short of Keaton Jennings. Lees was put down by Jennings on 61 after Wood found his outside edge. It only cost Lancashire five runs as Lees became the second run-out victim of the session. Dane Vilas and Davies combined to run out the opener for a well made 66. Eckersley then knicked off to Balderson for eight, leaving Durham seven down before the 150-run mark.
Lancashire enjoyed a solid start to their reply with Jennings and Davies blunting the new-ball attack of Rushworth and Carse. The latter struggled to find his rhythm following his return from England’s white-ball squad earlier this month. It allowed Jennings and Davies to settle and leave the visitors unscathed from a nine-over burst at the close.