Durham boost knockout chances with narrow win over Bears

Durham gave their chances of reaching the knockout stages of the Vitality Blast a massive boost when they defeated Birmingham Bears by eight runs at the Banks Homes Riverside

Needing 183 to secure their sixth win of their Blast campaign, the Bears were restricted to 174 for 8 with Zak Foulkes taking three catches and two wickets to add to the ex-Bear Will Rhodes's 51 in his side's 182 for 7.

Having opted to bowl first in a match delayed by 70 minutes by rain, the Bears struck an immediate blow when home skipper, Alex Lees, was caught by Ed Barnard off Hasan Ali for 4 in the second over, the fielder running back from point to take a fine catch.

Ollie Robinson was the next batter dismissed when he was caught at mid-off for 7 by George Garton in Hasan's next over but Durham still got to 58 in their powerplay, thanks partly to Sam Hain dropping Clark at point the ball after the opener had hit Danny Briggs for six.

The batter celebrated by smacking Briggs' next delivery for six too but was caught behind by Alex Davies off Garton for 43 in the eighth over to leave his side three down with 75 runs on the board. Durham became a trifle becalmed after Clark's departure and reached the midpoint of their innings on 86 for 3.

But Colin Ackermann and Will Rhodes wellied 25 runs off the next 11 balls before fine work by Tom Latham and Dan Mousley ran out Ackermann for 27. Mousley then caught Jimmy Neesham on the long-on boundary for 14 when the New Zealander was trying to hit Jake Lintott for a second successive six but Rhodes reached his second T20 fifty of the season and Kasey Aldridge whacked 31 off 19 balls to steer the Bears towards what seemed a par total.

Hasan was the most successful Bears bowler with 3 for 32 but Garton was the most miserly with 1 for 25.

The Bears reply got off to a grisly start when Alex Davies skied Matty Potts to Zak Foulkes at mid-on and departed for a single in the second over but the next wicket was an all-Kiwi affair when Tom Latham was caught by Foulkes off Jimmy Neesham in the fifth over for 23.

With their side on 43 for 2 and therefore 15 runs worse off than Durham after their powerplay, Hain and Mousley sought to accelerate but their efforts were scuppered when both fell to catches to deep square leg, Hain's being taken by Potts off Parkinson for 20 and Mousley's by Nathan Sowter off Aldridge for 19.

Those wickets reduced the Bears to 65 for 4 in the tenth over and but the visitors never gave up their hopes of victory. Needing 90 off the last seven overs, they lost Rob Yates, caught by Clark at long leg off Foulkes for 17 and a fine juggling catch on the boundary by Sowter in the same over saw Garton on his way for one.

But Barnard and Hasan's onslaught on the Durham bowling saw 52 runs scored in four overs and left the visitors needing 31 off the final 12 balls. Neesham bowled the penultimate over and conceded just seven runs while taking the wicket of Hassan, caught by Lees at extra cover for 22, and Potts had Barnard caught on the deep midwicket boundary by Foulkes for a valiant 49 off the first ball of the final over, a dismissal which effectively ended the contest, despite Lintott smashing 15 off the last four balls of the game. Durham 182-7 beat Birmingham Bears 174-8

Durham 4pts Birmingham Bears 0pts

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Durham gave their chances of reaching the knockout stages of the Vitality Blast a massive boost when they defeated Birmingham Bears by eight runs at the Banks Homes Riverside

Needing 183 to secure their sixth win of their Blast campaign, the Bears were restricted to 174 for eight with Zak Foulkes taking three catches and two wickets to add to the ex-Bear Will Rhodes's 51 in his side's 182 for seven

Having opted to bowl first in a match delayed by 70 minutes by rain, the Bears struck an immediate blow when home skipper, Alex Lees, was caught by Ed Barnard off Hassan Ali for four in the second over, the fielder running back from point to take a fine catch.

Ollie Robinson was the next batter dismissed when he was caught at mid-off for seven by George Garton in Hassan's next over but Durham still got to 58 in their powerplay, thanks partly to Sam Hain dropping Clark at point the ball after the opener had hit Danny Briggs for six.

The batter celebrated by smacking Briggs' next delivery for six too but was caught behind by Alex Davies off Garton for 43 in the eighth over to leave his side three down with 75 runs on the board. Durham became a trifle becalmed after Clark's departure and reached the midpoint of their innings on 86 for three.

But Colin Ackermann and Will Rhodes wellied 25 runs off the next 11 balls before fine work by Tom Latham and Dan Mousley ran out Ackermann for 27. Mousley then caught Jimmy Neesham on the long-on boundary for 14 when the New Zealander was trying to hit Jake Lintott for a second successive six but Rhodes reached his second T20 fifty of the season and Kasey Aldridge whacked 31 off 19 balls to steer the Bears towards what seemed a par total.

Hassan was the most successful Bears bowler with three for 32 but Garton was the most miserly with one for 25.

The Bears reply got off to a grisly start when Alex Davies skied Matty Potts to Zak Foulkes at mid-on and departed for a single in the second over but the next wicket was an all-Kiwi affair when Tom Latham was caught by Foulkes off Jimmy Neesham in the fifth over for 23.

With their side on 43 for two and therefore 15 runs worse off than Durham after their powerplay, Hain and Mousley sought to accelerate but their efforts were scuppered when both fell to catches to deep square leg, Hain's being taken by Potts off Parkinson for 20 and Mousley's by Nathan Sowter off Aldridge for 19.

Those wickets reduced the Bears to 65 for four in the tenth over and but the visitors never gave up their hopes of victory. Needing 90 off the last seven overs, they lost Rob Yates, caught by Clark at long leg off Foulkes for 17 and a fine juggling catch on the boundary by Sowter in the same over saw Garton on his way for one.

But Barnard and Hassan's onslaught on the Durham bowling saw 52 runs scored in four overs and left the visitors needing 31 off the final 12 balls. Neesham bowled the penultimate over and conceded just seven runs while taking the wicket of Hassan, caught by Lees at extra cover for 22, and Potts had Barnard caught on the deep midwicket boundary by Foulkes for a valiant 49 off the first ball of the final over, a dismissal which effectively ended the contest, despite Lintott smashing 15 off the last four balls of the game.