Result: Durham 2nd XI (195 & 367; C Steel 112, S Steel 68; Sidebottom 3/59) beat Warwickshire 2nd XI (175 & 385; Umeed 132; S Steel 5/65) by two runs
Durham’s Second XI came out on top of a thriller & still lead the Second XI Championship North Division after a two-run victory over Warwickshire at Edgbaston Foundation Sports Ground.
With five needed to win & two wickets in hand, Scott Steel completed his five-for & Liam Trevaskis took the last to seal a dramatic victory following a long day in the field.
Andy Umeed’s century had given Warwickshire hopes of pulling of a stunning chase as the first two wickets put on 187.
But Durham stuck to the task well & Umeed fell with 270 on the board, stumped by Ryan Davies off Trevaskis.
The spinners were to have a huge say in the innings, with nine of the ten wickets falling to spin & five of those to Scott Steel.
He plugged away at the middle & lower order but a number of cameos kept the hosts well in the game, eventually reaching single digits required with two wickets in hand before the gripping finish.
Close, Day Two: Warwickshire 2nd XI (175 & 13/0) trail Durham 2nd XI (195 & 367; C Steel 112, S Steel 68; Sidebottom 3/59) by 374 runs
Another impressive day for Cameron Steel concluded with a century to hand Durham’s Seconds the chance of victory on the final day against Warwickshire in the Second XI Championship.
Off the back of scoring 90 on Day One, the opener again anchored the Seconds’ innings & finished with 112 to set Warwickshire an imposing total of 388 to win.
The score was boosted by lower order runs from Cameron’s namesake, Scott, who smashed four sixes en route to making 68.
There were also contributions from Ross Greenwell (40) in a stand of 90 for the second wicket & 34 from Academy batsman Sol Bell.
Warwickshire survived six overs to the close of play without loss after adding valuable runs to their overnight total.
George Harding took the final wicket of Daniel Douthwaite to make it five in the innings, but not before the Warwickshire man made 59 to extend the final wicket partnership to 60.
Close, Day One: Warwickshire (128/9; Douthwaite 38*; Harding 4/24, Coughlin 3/23) trail Durham (195; C Steel 90; Douthwaite 3/23) by 67 runs
Durham’s Second XI owe much of their positive position to Cameron Steel after he scored 90 on a day when wickets tumbled against Warwickshire in the Second XI Championship.
The opener was the final wicket to fall, providing the backbone to the innings as wickets fell regularly in a score of 195 all out.
But Neil Killeen’s side then responded in excellent fashion, leaving the hosts nine down & still trailing by 67 runs at the end of the day.
Steel’s opening partner, Michael Jones, made 20 & Ryan Davies later made 30 in a stand of 39 for the fourth wicket, which ended up as one of the days’ highest scores.
The highest came from Steel & Harding, who added 15 in a stand worth 48 for the ninth wicket.
Warwickshire’s openers put on 34 before a collapse to 46/5, inspired by Josh Coughlin’s three-wicket burst.
Left-arm spinner George Harding then got to work with the middle & lower order, taking the next four to fall to put Durham in a strong position.