Cameron Bancroft's unbeaten 150 leads Durham to victory

Cameron Bancroft scored his first century for Durham to kick-start their Royal London One-Day Cup campaign with a 72-run win over Northamptonshire at Emirates Riverside.

The Aussie blasted an unbeaten 151 from 130 deliveries, sharing a record-breaking fourth-wicket stand with Michael Richardson, who also notched a ton to set Northants a daunting target of 343.

Jason Holder and Alex Wakely put forward impressive efforts with the bat for the visitors. However, Matt Salisbury (3 for 51) and Matthew Potts (4 for 62) held their composure with the ball.

Durham's day did start poorly when Ben Sanderson dismissed Graham Clark and Alex Lees in the second over. Scott Steel counterattacked with a flurry of boundaries, including three in a row off Holder. He reached his maiden one-day fifty with a boundary, the eighth of his innings. The 19-year-old and Bancroft put on 119 before Steel was bowled by Liam Procter for a fine knock of 68.

Bancroft took centre stage, notching his fifty. He then began to dominate the Northamptonshire bowlers with his power down the ground. He blasted three sixes at the beginning of his partnership with Richardson.They manipulated the field before picking their moments to find the boundary.

Bancroft upped the ante to record his century. He blasted a six into the County Durham Stand before nudging a single down the ground to reach the milestone in 103 deliveries.

Richardson provided more than a useful foil for his skipper at the other end. Durham were chasing a score of over 300 and he and Bancroft pushed their side on by reaching the 150 partnership. The duo broke Durham's fourth-wicket partnership record as Bancroft smashed his fifth six of the innings.

Landmarks continued as the stand reached 200, with Richardson notching his third one-day century. He would fall for 102 in the final over, ending the stand at 208 runs. There was still time for Bancroft to reach his 150, crunching a leg-side boundary as Durham posted an imposing total from their 50 overs.

Matt Salisbury made a bright start with the ball to peg back the visitors, removing the dangerous Josh Cobb for 12, while Rob Newton followed losing his leg-stump for nine. Richard Levi blasted three boundaries and a six as he attempted to get Northants going. However, Salisbury pinned him lbw for 28 to put Durham in command.

Wakely and Adam Rossington dug in to provide resistance. They put on a stand of 74 for the fourth wicket, which was only broken by a good delivery from Matthew Potts to bowl Rossington for 40. Holder joined the Northants skipper in the middle, and the duo constructed another solid partnership.

Wakely was proving to be a thorn in Durham's side, earning the 15th half-century of his List A career, edging his team over the 200 mark. Liam Trevaskis made the crucial strike to break the partnership on 89 as Wakely (66) was caught on the fence.

Holder kept the chase alive, bludgeoning his way past fifty with ease. However, he fell for 86 to Trevaskis going for a big strike into the leg side. His dismissal was the beginning of the end for Northants, who lost their final four wickets for just three runs.