Game 1: Durham 166/6 (Harte 42, Clark 32, S Steel 31) beat Essex 103 (Pepper 36; Steel 4/11) by 63 runs
Game 2: Durham 130/6 (Adair 54, Poynter 37) beat Essex 125 (Khushi 37; S. Steel 5/20) by 4 wickets
Durham seconds enjoyed two T20 wins over Essex at Darlington Cricket Club. Gareth Harte led the way with an unbeaten 42 from 29 balls as Durham seconds secured a 63-run victory in the first fixture.
The right-handed batsman smashed just one boundary while he was in the middle, helping Durham post a competitive 166/6 from 20 overs.
Graham Clark (32) from 31 and Scott Steel (31) from 22 continued their T20 preparations backed by 25 from Sol Bell.
Jack Berry claimed 2/28 for the visitors from his four overs.
Matthew Potts struck early to dismiss Varun Chopra for six and despite a 24 ball 36 from Michael Pepper, the right right-handed batsman was eventually dismissed by James Weighell.
That wicket started the Essex collapse as Scott Steel struck to pick up four wickets for 11 runs from 3.3 overs, while Brodie Glendinning continued his fine form with the ball claiming 2/16 from two overs.
In the second game of the day, Essex won the toss and elected to bat, but lost openers Chopra (5) and Pepper (1) cheaply as Ben Whitehead and Matthew Potts struck.
37 from Feroze Isa Khushi and 23 from Rishi Patel steadied for the ship for the travelling side but Scott Steel and Brodie Glendinning bowled both batsmen, reducing Essex to 62/4.
Joe Macgregor offered some hope, but Scott Steel struck again, to round off with figures of 5/20 from four overs, as Essex were bowled out for 125 with one ball to spare. Scott’s ninth wicket of the day.
It was a similar story second innings, as Graham Clark and Matthew Potts were bowled in the opening stages as Durham found themselves 30/2.
However, Harry Adair led the way with 54 from 46 balls before being trapped LBW in the 17th over backed by Stuart Poynter with 37 from 29 balls, as Durham chased down 130 in 18.4 overs to win by four wickets.
The seconds return to red ball action tomorrow, taking on Essex in a three-day friendly at Darlington.