10:20 PM IST, local time: Durham tame Leicestershire Foxes and register an emphatic victory in front of their home crowd.
Set 149 to win, the hosts came out all guns blazing. "Crash, bang, wallop" went Graham Clark and Alex Lees right from the word go. They brought up 50 in 3.1 overs and then, 100 in 7.3. Foxes did pull things back somewhat post it, picking up 4 wickets and stretching it out till the end of the 14th over, however, it only delayed the inevitable.
A significant, match-defining moment took place in the first over itself. Batting on 4* (5), Graham Clark hit one straight to Ben Mike at deep square leg. Alas, the fielder put it down. Clark went on to score a 26-ball-62 which included a total of 4 fours and 6 sixes, completely breaking the back of the run chase. Such was the intensity of the onslaught that the skippers' 26-ball-45 from the other end, felt like a gentle jog in a sprint race. Ben Mike redeem himself somewhat by picking two wickets in the very first over he bowled, but it was too little too late then. Liam Trevaskis was the only shining light for the visitors. The left arm spinner returned 2/19 in his 4 overs, but got no support from the other end.
Earlier in the day, Foxes' innings had moved along like an old, broken-down car; stuttering at every turn. They elected to bat first, but could never quite get going against the potent Durham attack. Sol Budinger scored 40, while Nick Kelly garnered 29 — both at a strike rate below 120. Ashton Turner's 18-ball-28 was the only bright spot in their batting card.
For the hosts, Matthew Potts led the way with 3/28. Left arm spinner Callum Parkinson was equally impressive and finished with 2/31. Ben Raine was another impressive bowler — he returned 1/17 off his 4 overs, off which one was bowled in the powerplay and two at the death. The catching and the ground fielding was pretty good too. All in all, Durham outplayed Leicestershire Foxes in all three departments.