MacLeod's bright note enough for Durham

Calum MacLeod thrashed a 23-ball half-century to set Durham on the way to a 41-run win against Northamptonshire under the Duckworth/Lewis method in the NatWest T20 Blast match at Chester-le-Street.

The Scot made 60 and Phil Mustard 51 as Durham reached 174 for 8 after being put in, a decision the visitors had cause to regret as they stumbled to 47 for 5 in poor light before rain halted play.

They had batted for eight overs, three more than required for a result to be declared, and when the rain stopped it was announced that they needed a further 84 runs off four overs. Not even Shahid Afridi, on 3 not out after going in at No. 6, could have been expected to pull that off and after further deliberation in semi-darkness the umpires called it a day.

The fading light was already taking effect at the end of the Durham innings as they added only 28 after scorching to 146 for 3 after 15 overs.

On midsummer nights Durham will hope both for better weather and bigger crowds than the 2,940 who turned up.

They lost captain Mark Stoneman for a four-ball duck when an excellent ball from Rory Kleinveldt nipped in to take out his off stump.

The only run off the first over resulted from a wide and there were only two off the South African's second, but MacLeod set about David Willey then Oliver Stone.

He drove three successive balls from Willey through or over the covers, then began to step across his stumps and flip to fine leg as Stone's second over yielded five fours.

There were 11 fours in MacLeod's half-century and even Afridi's leg breaks held no fears for him as he expertly bisected backward point and deep gully for another boundary.

But when another legspinner, ex-Leicestershire player Josh Cobb, came on for the ninth over MacLeod spooned one round the corner and was brilliantly caught by Kleinveldt. Mustard had been reduced to the role of sleeping partner, but with the score on 92 at the halfway stage he drove Cobb for a straight six.

He went to his 50 off 34 balls by reverse-sweeping left-arm spinner Graeme White neatly between two men posted to stop the shot, but then drove a catch to long-off to give Cobb a second wicket.

Paul Collingwood was dropped twice in making 27, including his final scoring shot, which flew for six through Stone's hands on the midwicket boundary. That denied Cobb a third wicket, but Willey and Afridi picked up two each as they stifled the tail-end of the innings.

Richard Levi struck the only telling blows for Northants as Willey sliced Chris Rushworth to backward point, Cobb drove the same bowler to mid-off and Usman Arshad nipped one back to bowl Alex Wakely.

Levi fell for 26 when he tried to pull Arshad and gloved a leg-side catch to Mustard. Finally, Adam Rossington drove Collingwood to deep cover just before the rain arrived.