“Players want to play for Durham & are fighting with everything they’ve got”

Durham bowler Chris Rushworth says players are “fighting with everything that they’ve got” after he helped secure a dramatic turnaround victory over Derbyshire at Emirates Riverside.

Rushworth took his 18th first-class five-for in a Durham shirt, with Matt Salisbury taking four as the visitors were bowled out 95 runs shy of their target in the Specsavers County Championship.

It secured a second straight home win, with the last being another come-from-behind win over Leicestershire when they were asked to follow-on after the first innings.

This match saw the Club’s first County Championship win after being bowled out for less than 100 in the first innings.

And Rushworth hailed the spirit & togetherness in the camp as Jon Lewis’ side reflect on another important win.

“It’s an amazing win and I think it shows what it means to play for this club,” he said.

“Guys coming in, whether it’s from different parts of the country or local guys, players want to play for Durham and are fighting with everything that they’ve got. They want to win and they want to wear this shirt.

“It’s a great sign for Durham. It’s wins from situations like that are amazing to be involved in.

“To come back from where we were in the first innings to win by 95 runs. It shows the amazing spirit, fightback and determination. All the cliches you can name.”

Three players made their Durham first-class debut – & a maiden first-class game in Michael Jones’ case – while Josh Coughlin was making his County Championship bow after appearing against Sri Lanka ‘A’ in 2016.

And Rushworth believes the experiences over the last four days can only be a positive & bode well for the future.

“For young lads to come in for their first game to be part of something like that can only be a good thing for this club going forward,” he said.

“You don’t have to go too far back to see a result like this with the Leicestershire game. Again we were nowhere in that game and that showed how much fighting spirit we’ve got in the dressing room.”