MATCH REPORT: Lancashire win but Vitality Blast hopes rest on later result.
Three wickets for Saqib Mahmood and Shadab Khan helped Lancashire to a nervy three-wicket win and third place in the final Vitality Blast North Group standings.
The Lightning now have to await the outcome tonight’s game between Surrey and Essex at the Kia Oval before finding out if that is sufficient to qualify for the quarter-finals. Defeat for Essex would see Lancashire through as one of the best two third-placed teams.
Lancashire turned in an excellent bowling performance to restrict the visitors to 141 all out after Keaton Jennings won the toss. But the outcome of the match remained in doubt as Durham fought back well with the ball. An unbeaten 41 from skipper Jennings, who hit a decisive six off the second ball of the last over, proved vital in sealing the win.
Lancashire suffered an early blow when Ben McDermott ramped Matty Potts to Brydon Carse at short fine leg for 11 but Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone soon had the Lightning well on course towards their 142-run target in a 38-run partnership off 26 balls, Livingstone ramping Carse over fine leg for 6 and Salt swinging Ben Raine into the midwicket stand.
Raine hit back, bowling Salt for 32 off 21 balls when he attempted to repeat the shot for a second time and Livingstone was bowled by Nathan Sowter for 17 off the last ball of the 10th over with Lancashire halfway to their goal on 72-3.
Durham fought back strongly over the second half of the innings.
Shadab hit Callum Parkinson for six but then cut Carse to Graham Clark at deep cover for 17 to end a 22-run stand with Keaton Jennings at the start of the 14th over with 48 required off 41 balls.
Jennings and Matty Hurst steadily picked off 23 of the those runs until Hurst was caught at long-on off Raine for 7 who then had Joe Moores lbw for 1 leaving 23 needed off 17 balls.
The excellent Raine (4-21) made it 13 runs required from 8 balls after bowling Tom Hartley for 6 but Jennings hit a Potts’ no ball for six to leave just two needed and Lancashire were home with two balls to spare.
The Durham powerplay proved to be a mixture of big hitting and wickets tumbling as Clark hammered a couple of sixes way back into the stands and Ollie Robinson cleared the temporary stand at midwicket.
But Lancashire will have been delighted with the wickets; Alex Lees lbw for 1 to Mahmood’s second ball, Clark beaten for pace and bowled by Mitch Stanley for 18 and Ben McKinney bowled around his legs by Mahmood for 8 with the visitors 41-3 after 6 overs.
Shadab took a wicket with his first delivery in Friday’s Roses match and struck with his second in this game, Ollie Robinson plumb lbw for 7.
Kasey Aldridge pulled Shadab for six but departed tamely for 10 when giving Livingstone a return catch in the 10th over with Durham 60-5.
Shadab (3-28) struck twice more to plunge the visitors into deeper trouble when Carse found Livingstone at deep midwicket for 2 and Ben Raine drove to Keaton Jennings at short midwicket also for 2. Potts holed out to Luke Wood at long-on off Tom Hartley for 4 to have Durham 105-8 in the 16th over
It was left to Colin Ackermann to more or less fight a lone hand, reaching his half century off 37 balls hitting six fours, and adding to that by hammering Hartley for six in the 18th over before finishing unbeaten on 66 from 45 balls.
Mahmood (3-20) picked up his third wicket by bowling Parkinson for 8 with Sowter run out of the final delivery with Durham 141 all out.
It was a total Lancashire just about reeled in, with the Lightning’s progress depending on tonight’s match at the Kia Oval between Surrey and Essex.
Ken Grime
Photos: Luke Adams & Dan Adams