Mustard returns to form for Durham

Durham 244 for 5 beat Warwickshire 243 for 8 by five wickets
Scorecard

Durham captain Phil Mustard rediscovered his best one-day form by thrashing 90 off 72 balls in a five-wicket home win against Group C leaders Warwickshire in the Clydesdale Bank 40. Since making 61 in a defeat at Edgbaston, Mustard had totalled 53 runs in four innings in a competition in which he averaged 52 last season.

Put in by Mustard, Warwickshire made 243 for 8, but with legspinner Imran Tahir absent through illness they never looked like defending their total and Durham got home with 10 balls to spare. The home side had lost four of their previous five CB40 games, the only win coming against Scotland, and rested three experienced men in Dale Benkenstein, Steve Harmison and Michael Di Venuto.

Mustard hit a Keith Barker long hop over extra cover for six then whipped the same bowler over long leg for six as the 10th and 12th overs produced 28 runs. He also hit 10 fours before he tried to whip Chris Woakes to leg and skied a catch to backward point in the 24th over.

Woakes had only one over left and there was little else for Durham to fear as Boyd Rankin, Barker and Darren Maddy all bowled poorly. By the time Neil Carter returned, Durham needed only 13 off four overs and Gordon Muchall's unbeaten 49 off 50 balls saw them home.

Opener Varun Chopra made his top score in any cricket for Warwickshire with 70 off 90 balls, but his progress in mid innings in company with the out-of-touch Maddy was too slow. Chopra drove Ian Blackwell for a straight six, but hit only three fours before driving Gareth Breese to long on.

After conceding six runs an over for the first 12, Durham did well to restrict Warwickshire to 96 in the next 20 overs before a high full toss from Ben Harmison set the visitors on the way to collecting 75 runs off the last eight overs. That Harmison delivery cost six runs as it was signalled a no-ball and was steered behind square on the off side for four by Jim Troughton, who made 48 not out off 47 balls.

Rikki Clarke hit Harmison for two leg-side sixes in scoring 29 off 17 balls but Warwickshire were restricted by a good four-over spell from Ben Stokes at the end of their innings.