Durham continue celebrations with Pro40 win
DURHAM'S County Championship title celebrations continued as they won a thrilling NatWest Pro40 League Division One contest with Nottinghamshire yesterday.
Notts' Luke Fletcher's unbeaten 40 off 25 balls took the game at Chester-le-Street to the wire.
Fletcher needed to hit the last two balls from Will Gidman for six, but after succeeding with the first he was able to follow up only with a single to deep midwicket.
In a match reduced to 35 overs a side, the Outlaws finished on 220-9 in reply to Durham's 224-6, with Ben Harmison taking the man of the match award.
After playing no part in Durham's championship triumph this season, the all-rounder hit 67 off 64 balls, then halted the visitors' brisk start with a spell of 2-14 in five overs.
Harmison has been batting increasingly well in this competition, but has tended to get out in the 20s.
Yesterday he progressed to his highest one-day score, beating the 57 he made against Nottinghamshire at Riverside in 2006.
A six over long-on was the best of several clean strikes before he departed in the 31st over, when he stepped across to work Andy Carter to fine leg and lost his leg stump.
Durham fielded only four of the side which clinched the championship the previous day, including Phil Mustard, who launched their innings with 61 off 48 balls – his fifth half-century in seven knocks in this competition.
There were two stumpings for Bilal Shafayat, again deputising for the injured Chris Read.
Durham handed debuts in this competition to 18-year-old all-rounder Ben Stokes and 6ft 7in seamer Luke Evans, while Samit Patel's brother, Akhil, made his second appearance for the Outlaws.
Mark Wagh even outpaced Mustard in a 31-ball half-century which included two straight sixes, but from being in charge on 84-1 the visitors slipped to 95-4.
When Evans bowled the dangerous Andre Adams with the second ball of his second spell it looked the end of Nottinghamshire's challenge, but it was kept alive by the Patel brothers.
They put on 28 before Samit was brilliantly caught and bowled by Liam Plunkett for 36, then Akhil was well caught by Scott Borthwick, running back under a steepler at midwicket, off Gidman.
Although Harmison was driven for two sixes by Fletcher in the 34th over, Durham hung on.
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Weather for South Shields
Saturday 11 February 2012
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