Durham Rothesay County Championship Div 1 at Chester le Street Loss 5 pts Report

19/05

DURHAM SURVIVE TENSE FINALE TO SCRAPE A WIN

Durham gained a deserved seven wicket victory over Notts today at the sunny Riverside winning an exciting contest with 10 balls to spare. The slow pitch of the first three days became slightly erratic in bounce and the Durham seamers who possess considerably more pace than their Notts counterparts took advantage of it. After Slater had scored 74 in the first 37 overs of the innings, only Joe Clarke put a sustained resistance being last out for a defiant 119 off 180 balls (15 x4). Durham had the relatively easy target of 91 off 18 overs but lost two wickets in the first over with Abbas taking advantage of the uneven surface. Lees (31) and Ackermann  (53 not out) shared a third wicket partnership of 81 in 13 overs to all but see Durham home.

Minto (Lumley End) bowled the opening over of the morning. Lord hit two offside boundaries off Raine, 9 off the 18th over. In the 21st over, Lord (15) was caught low at first slip by McKinney off Minto, 84 for 2. Carse replaced Minto for the 25th over. Raine, along with the rest of the Durham team, twice thought they had McCann caught behind, umpire Hartley begged to differ. McCann (6) though soon departed bowled by Carse for 6, 98 for three after 27 overs. A four through leg leg by Slater off Raine brought him his 50 off 69 balls and the Notts 100 in the 28th over. Yusuf came back for the 30th over. Drissell appeared for the 34th over which enabled Yusuf to change ends. Slater (74) was caught by Robinson off Yusuf failing to move his feet to the ball, 143 for 4 in the 37th over - the Notts 150 was achieved in the same over with a driven three by Clarke. Raine came back for the 38th over. Drissell came on for the last over before lunch. Notts 179 for 4 off 43 overs at the interval with Clarke on 40 and Haynes on 9.

Ackermann and Minto came on for the 44th and 45th overs respectively. After a single over off Ackermann, Drissell returned. A cover driven boundary by Clarke off Drissell brought the 50 partnership in 60 balls. The Notts 200 came up in the 48th over via a two by Haynes off Drissell in the 48th over. Clarke reached 50 off 58 balls with a two off Minto.  Carse returned for the 55th over. The ball got replaced and soon afterwards Haynes (24) was adjudged lbw to Drissell. The right hander got a big stride in and the ball appearing to be going down legside. Notts 224 for 5 in the 56th over. Next over, Clarke on 61 was dropped by Yousuf at long leg off Carse. Clarke ran a single. The next two balls were pulled for four by Verreynne,  the second of which was a no ball, 15 off the over. The Notts 250 came via an inside edged boundary by Verreynne off Carse in the 59th over. Next over, Verreynne cover drove off Drissell which took Notts into the lead. Yusuf replaced the expensive Carse for the 63rd over. Carse had bowled six no balls and conceded a total of 12 byes. The 50 partnership between Clarke and Verreynne came up in 53 balls via a single for Clarke off Drissell in the 64th over. Ackermann replaced Drissell for the 68th over. Three overs later Raine returned. In the last over before tea Notts reached 300. The score at the second interval 305 for 5 off 74 overs with Clarke on 92 and Verreynne on 38.

It was imperative that both batsmen hung around for another six overs to face the new ball. Drissell was brought on for the first over after tea to improve the over rate and accelerate the taking of the new ball. With his first delivery after tea, Verreynne (38) was caught behind by Robinson off a short wide delivery from Drissell that he attempted to cut. Notts 305 for 6, the door now ajar. Clarke took seven off the next over bowled by Ackermann and reached his century off 140 balls off the first delivery of the 77th over bowled by Drissell. James (0) lasted 12 deliveries before edging Ackermann to Robinson behind the stumps, 314 for 7 in the 78th over. The new ball by Carse and Raine was taken with Notts 314 for 7 off  80 overs. In the 86th over, Patterson-White was bowled by Raine for 3 to a ball that kept very low, 336 for 8 in the 86th over. In the 88th over Hutton lost to off peg to another skidding delivery from  Raine for a 5 ball duck, 338 for 9. The new ball playing tricks! Minto came on for Carse for the 89th over with Clarke hitting his fifth delivery to the mid wicket ropes. Yusuf came back for the 92nd and with his second delivery Clarke played on for 119, Notts 347 all out off 91.2 overs with the wickets spread around amongst the six Durham bowlers. Mr Extras helping along with a solid 51.

Durham required 91 off 18 overs at 5.05 RPO. After Lees took a single off the second delivery, Abbas bowled McKinney off stump for a golden duck. The ball once again keeping low; 1 for 1. Two balls later, Gay was caught behind by Verreynne off Abbas, 1 for 2. His third duck against Notts this season. In the 3rd over, Lees inside edged a streaky boundary off Abbas. Ackermann edged a delivery from Abbas just in front of McCann at sole slip. He hit the next ball for a four through mid wicket. Ackermann had another steady four off Abbas just alluding the left glove of the driving Verreynne. Ackermann and Lees started to accumulate runs steadily, Ackermann hitting Abbas for four through mid wicket in the 9th over. Durham 44 for 2 after 9 overs. Patterson-White came on for the 10th over, Ackermann hitting his third delivery to the extra cover ropes to bring up the Durham 50, 10 off the over. After a solitary over from the slow left armer Hutton returned from the Finchale End. After six over spell Abbas made way for Lord and conceded eight including two byes. Patterson-White bowled the 14th over, six off the over. Lees (31) skied Lord in the air, the ball hitting the splice of his bat and Verreynne came in front of the stumps to take the catch at short point almost colliding with Lord who initially went for the effort, 82 for 3 in the 15th over. Ackermann got to his 50 off 46 balls with a reverse swept two off Patterson-White. Carse lofted Lord for the winning hit a four over extra cover to see Durham home with just 10 balls to spare at 1832. Notts probably would have had to bat for another three overs to save the game. Fine margins. Notts remain top of the table albeit by only three points ahead of second placed Surrey.MAG

18/05

Day 3

HARD LABOUR FOR NOTTS

as Durham rack-up a record high

Notts trail Durham by 190 runs with nine wickets standing as the game in the Riverside enters its last day.

On a predominantly grey day with a bitterly northerly wind blowing, it was not a memorable day for Notts supporters as Durham clocked up a club record first class score with three centurions. The pitch has no pace whatsoever, very much a featherbed.

Patterson-White bowled the first over of the day from the Finchale End. Abbas and Hutton then shared the bowling. In the 101st over, Robinson was dropped on 35 by Clarke at first slip off Abbas. An expensive drop - Clarke having dropped another one of today's centurions (Gay) yesterday.

Robinson reached his 50 off 75 balls with a pulled off Lord in the 109th over. Durham were 364 for 4 after 110 overs. Only one  bowling point for Notts. Patterson-White came from the Finchale End and was to bowl continuously for the remainder of the innings for a mammoth 32 over spell. Gay reached his ton off 205 balls with a four through backward point off Lord. In the 118th over, Robinson hit Patterson-White for six over long on. The Durham 400 came up in the 119th over. It looked like Durham would bat the whole session without losing a wicket. However, Gay made a meal of a reverse sweep against Patterson-White and was bowled for 104 (off 221 balls, 10x4). Durham 402 for 5 in the 120th over. The fifth wicket partnership between Gay and Robinson was worth 127 in 33 overs. In the 121st over, Durham took the lead at 12:39 with a four through the covers off James' first over of the day which went for 11 runs. At lunch time Durham were 436 for 5 off 126 overs with Robinson on 82 and Clark on 24.

Hutton and Patterson-White were bowling straight after lunch, with Robinson and Clark were scoring freely. In the 133rd over, Clark pulled Hutton for six over square leg. Clark reached his 50 in 56 balls with a four through mid wicket off Patterson-White. Abbas returned for the 135th over and his second over of his spell a four through backward point by Robinson took him to his 100 off 141balls. The Durham 500 came up in the 139th over. In the 150th over, Robinson pulled Patterson-White for six over mid wicket. In the 153rd over, Robinson (141 off 189 balls, 10x4, 2x6) was caught by McCann at point off a delivery from James which turned him round and got a leading edge; 564 for 6. The sixth wicket stand between Robinson and Clark had added 162 runs off 33 overs. Carse charged down the pitch to short delivery from Patterson-White and was bowled for a six ball duck, 569 for 7 in the 156th over. Durham reached tea on 589 for 7 off 161 overs with Clark on 99 and Drissell on 8.

In the first over after tea, a scampered single for Clark off Patterson-White saw him to his ton off 144 balls. A four through mid wicket by Clark off James took Durham passed 600 in the 163rd over. Drissell hit Patterson-White for a straight six in the 164th over. Clark, making room for a cut shot, was bowled by Patterson-White (his 100th first class wicket for Notts) for 121 (off 167 balls, 11x4, 1x6), 633 for 8 after 167.5 overs. The new ball was immediately taken. A legside single for Raine off Abbas saw Durham to 649 beating their previous ever first class score in their history which was 648 for 5 also against Notts at the Riverside in 2009. Raine (10) was caught on the mid wicket ropes by Lord with Patterson-White picking up his fifth wicket, 651 for 9 in the 172nd over. Drissell hit Patterson-White for a huge six over mid wicket in the 174th over. McCann had his first bowl of the day and Yusuf played his opening delivery to Clarke at mid wicket. Non striker Drissell sent the South African back but he was well out of his ground when Clarke's throw went straight to Verreynne who whipped off the bails. Yusuf (7) was last man to fall run out by Clarke. Durham 664 all out with Drissell 43 not out. Patterson-White 5 for 179 from a mammoth 50 over spell. Durham led by 257 runs after the first innings.

Sixteen overs remained in the day but the Notts openers failed to see Notts to the close. Raine and Yusuf shared the new ball and Slater had a few inside edges which went for runs.. Carse, bowling with great pace, came on for the 7th over and in his third over removed Hameed's (13) off stump, 41 for 1 in the 11th over.  Nightwatchman Rob Lord came in to shepherd Slater to the close. Drissell came on for the 14th over with the floodlights now on. Notts closed on 67 for 1 with Slater on 37 and Lord on 3. 

The pitch remains flat so the draw would be the most likely outcome. Durham though possess a faster bowling attack than Notts and will hope that the pitch might start to exhibit more uneven bounce tomorrow. Notts though would have to bat badly to lose this one. MAG

17/05

Day 2

HARD TOIL FOR NOTTS AS DURHAM FIGHT BACK

On a day where the Notts bowlers failed to get much out of a slow and dead wicket, Durham closed on 320 for 4, 87 runs behind the Notts first innings total.

The morning started dull cool and windy in Chester-le-Street, hopes were high amongst the large Notts travelling contingent that conditions would help the Notts seamers. However at five past eleven the sun unexpectedly broke through and the rest of the day was played in sunny and pleasant conditions.  The wicket turned out to be even slower than yesterday the ball hardly carrying to Verreynne behind the stumps. In short it proved a real featherbed.

Hutton (Finchale End) and Abbas shared the new ball but neither Lees nor nightwatchman Minto were in any trouble. With the score 34 for 0 after 10 overs James replaced Hutton. Durham reached 50 in the 12th over. After bowling 8 overs for 26, Abbas made way for Lord in the 17th over. Lord, the fastest of the seamers, presented more of a challenge to the Durham openers and his seven over spell was the best of the morning session. Hutton replaced James in the 18th over. A four through third man off Hutton saw Minto to his maiden 50  off 61 balls in the 20th over. McCann came on for the 22nd over. A single for Minto off McCann saw Durham to 100 in the 30th over. Patterson-White bowled the 31st over from the Lumley End. Durham 106 for 0 off 32 overs after lunch with Minto on 67 and Lees on 39. A session of hard toil for Notts. Minto the left handed all rounder from Billingham batted impressively and much more aggressively throughout the session. The new Ben Stokes?

Abbas and Hutton returned after lunch. Hutton picked up a wicket with his second ball, Minto (67 of 113 balls, 11x4)  caught at square leg by Hameed, 111 for 1 in the 34th over. Hutton had experimented with a number of short deliveries with a legside trap set, Minto's wicket was his rewarded with one such a delivery but the rest provided easy runs for both Lees and McKinney. The patient Lees got to his 50 off 96 balls with a single off Hutton in the 37th over. McCann returned for the 40th over. Abbas snaffled McKinney (28) caught by Verreynne diving low to his left; 156 for 2 after 43 overs. Lord replaced Abbas for the 49th over. Patterson-White replaced McCann for the 54th over and bowled a controlled economical spell that limited the Durham scoring. After five over burst, Lord made way for James. Durham reached 200 in the 61st over via a single for Lees off James. Gay was badly dropped on 30 by Clarke off James in the 63rd over. Clarke currently experiencing a bad loss of form with the bat at the moment had put down his second potential catch in successive innings. Two balls later, Lees (82 off 162 balls, 4x4) was caught behind by Verreynne off Patterson-White, 208 for 3 in the 64th over. After four left handers, the right handed fresh from his twin hundreds last month at Trent Bridge appeared Colin Ackermann. At tea,Durham 210 for 3 off 65 overs with Gay on 32 and Ackermann on 0. A better session for Notts.

Patterson-White and James continued to bowl after tea. Lord replaced James for the 75th over but was only given two overs before McCann came on from the Lumley End for one over prior to the new ball. Gay reached 50 and Durham 250 via a single off Patterson-White in the 80th over. The new ball was taken by Abbas and Hutton with Durham 251 for 3 off 80 overs. In the 87th over, Ackermann (37) got a nick to Abbas, Verreynne taking the catch; 275 for 4. The last wicket of the day. James replaced Hutton for the 92nd over who immediately changed ends. Patterson-White replaced James for the 94th over. Gay (74 not out) and Robinson (25 not out) looked rock solid and took Durham to 320 for 4 off 97 overs. 

Durham literally bat right down to number eleven and it is likely to be another long day in the field for Notts again tomorrow. The home side will be looking for a sizeable lead to put scoreboard pressure on Notts and hope the wicket starts to deteriorate. To Notts' credit they never gave up today and did their best to restrict the Durham run rate. The non selection of Farhan, particularly with the plethora left handers in the Durham line up was in retrospect a big mistake. MAG

16/05

Day 1

HAMEED CARRIES HIS BAT TO THE END OF ANOTHER ROLLERCOASTER DAY 2025

A superb unbeaten double century from Haseeb Hameed was the highlight for Notts on the opening day at sunny Chester-le-Street.

Durham won the toss and elected to bowl on a green wicket. Appearances were deceptive as the wicket was on the slow side and unless the bowlers pitched the ball up, many easy runs were on offer. Durham bowled poorly before lunch, but improved considerably in the middle session before becoming demoralised after tea when Hameed and Hutton added 122 in 28 overs for the ninth wicket.

With the wicket expecting to help the seamers, Rob Lord, making his first appearance of the season came in for Farhan. Brydon Carse returned for his first game of the season. David Bedingham was ruled out once more by injury.

Raine (Lumley End) conceded 11 off the opening over. This was a portent of things to come with Notts scoring at 4.4 RPO during their 92.3 over innings. His new ball partner was Yusuf who went for 14 in his fourth over including  three boundaries for Hameed. Carse replaced Raine for the ninth over. A four through point by Slater off Carse saw Notts passed 50 in the 13th over. Yusuf was hit for six by Hameed over backward square leg off the last delivery of his expensive opening spell (7 1 44 0). He was replaced at the Finchale End by Raine. Left arm seamer Minto came on for the 17th over and opened up with a wide. A four through long leg off Raine brought up Slater's 50 off 58 balls and Notts to 100 in the 20th over. In the following over, Slater (52) edged Minto to Robinson who took the catch, 104 for 1 in the 21st over. McCann hit three boundaries off the 26th over bowled by Raine. Yusuf replaced Minto from the Lumley End for the 27th over. Drissell replaced Raine for the 28th over. An offside single for Hameed off Yusuf in the 27th over brought up his fifty. Notts 133 for 1 off 29 overs at lunch with Hameed on 51 and McCann on 21. Very much Notts' morning after being inserted, the Durham bowlers pitching too short too often.

In the third over after lunch, McCann edged a short legside delivery from Yusuf to Robinson behind the stumps, 135 for 2 in the 32nd over. In his next over, Yusuf removed Clarke's (1) off stump, 139 for 3 in the 34th over. Clarke woefully out of form. In the following over, Haynes (1) was caught and bowled by Carse who caught the return in his right hand, 140 for 4. A three for Verreynne off Yusuf brought up the Notts 150 in the 37th over. The 50 partnership between Hameed and Verreynne took 53 balls, Minto conceding 4 boundaries (3 to Hameed) in the 43rd over. A single for Hameed off Minto took Notts to 200 in the 47th over. Hameed hit Drissell for a straight six in the 48th over. Verreynne (41) edged a delivery which failed to get up from Yusuf and was caught behind by Robinson, 226 for 5 in the 53rd over. The fifth wicket had added 86 off 18 overs. James cover drove Drissell  for four to bring up the Notts 250 in the 56th over.  

Robinson picked up his fourth catch, James(21), failing to move his feet and with his bat away from his body edging Yusuf , 251 for 6 in the 57th over. In the next over Patterson-White fell for a 3 ball duck bowled by a turning delivery by Drissell, 254 for 7. An offside two for Hameed off Drissell saw to 100 off 146 balls in the 60th over. Lord, uncomfortable throughout his brief innings, lost his off stump to Raine, 275 for 8 in the 63rd over. Notts had lost 7 wickets for 140 runs. Notts 278 for 8 off 64 overs at tea with Hameed on 113 and Hutton on 2. Durham and Yusuf in particular bowling much better pitching the ball up, the odd delivery inhibiting uneven bounce.

Notts had a superb last session. A four through mid wicket by Hameed off Raine saw Notts to 300 in the 68th over. Hameed reached his 150 off 186 balls with a pulled four off Yusuf in the 73rd over. A single for Hameed off Drissell saw Notts to 350 after 78 overs. Raine and Yusuf took the new ball with Notts 360 for 8 off 80 overs. A four through third man by Hameed off Raine brought up the 100 partnership in 146 balls. Drissell and Carse returned for the 88th and 89th overs respectively. In the 91st over, Hutton (32 off 94 balls) was caught at cover by Drissell off Carse, 397 for 9. Hameed got to his 200 off 240 balls with a six over extra cover off Drissell in the 92nd over. He hit the next delivery for four in the same area. Abbas was caught by McKinney at first  slip for a 4 ball duck. Notts 407 all out Hameed carrying his bat with 206 not out. The wicket was tailor made for Hameed with its lack of pace, as he played with immense concentration and his placement and timing were top drawer. This was no baby Boycott a more mature and confident player hitting 30 fours and three sixes in his 241 ball innings. The second time this season and the third time in his career that he had carried his bat. Yusuf finished with Yusuf 4 for 99 and Carse 3 for 64. Four batting points - a very good day for Notts having been put in.

Durham batted for one over, bowled by Abbas from the Lumley End. They closed on 2 for 0 nightwatchman Minto 2 not out. MAG

Why do the Highways Agency signpost football grounds using their sponsor's name?

New signs everywhere in Stoke for their venue, but the ones I saw in Derby had inserts replacing previous designations.

It would certaining lead to some brand new signage in Chester le Street if road signs took to labelling the cricket ground:

Emirates Riverside

Seat UniqueRiverside

Banks Homes Riverside

Are these dwellings prone to flooding or are Durham hoping to make the games at the Riverside " a Home banker"?

(Is the motorist indirecting playing for these sponsors' advertising, through these road signs?)

Squad:

It's a case of as you were at Durham, the emphatic winners against Hampshire plus Monty and our Lord.

Haseeb Hameed

Ben Slater

Freddie McCann

Joe Clarke

Jack Haynes

Kyle Verreynne

Lyndon James

Liam Patterson-White

Brett Hutton

Farhan Ahmed

Mohammad Abbas

Matthew Montgomery

Rob Lord

Secure in the belief that Nottinghamshire are not only Top of the County Championship, but are also playing the best cricket of any of our competitors, we travel to the northern-most First Class County, Durham for the latest round of matches this Friday.

Durham we beat in the opening round of the Championship, only the other week after a devastating spell of fast bowling from Josh Tongue totally changed the direction in which the game was flowing - from meandering to a tame, five o'clock handshaken draw to a white-water ride of a storming Notts win.

As Josh Tongue has another layer of cotton-wool wrapped around his ECB owned frame, Durham's own ECB proprietary quick bowler, Brydon Carse is set to return from injury in this game.

So Durham suffering a bowling crisis only a couple of weeks ago, are now awash with options, whilst Notts will be hoping that Dillon Pennington can make his own return from injury in this match also.

Who will stand-up and be counted for Notts in this game?

It is through the Team's efforts and contributions that Notts are in their current position, everyone is showing their worth.

Top of the Notts run scorers is Hameed 476 @ 79.3 followed by Haynes 359 @ 51.3, McCann 290 @ 41.4, Slater 285 @ 31.7, James 250 @ 41.7, Verreynne 211 @ 42.2, LPW 210 @ 70.0, Clarke 147 @ 21.0

Wickets taken: (O'Neill 21 @ 17.9), Hutton 21@ 18.5, Tongue 11 @ 24.3, Farhan 10 @ 29.5, James 9 @ 32.6, Abbas 5 @ 8.4, Pennington 4 @ 60.7, LPW 2 @ 33.5

Calvin Harrison at Northants, who we shouldn't forget, 144 runs @ 48.0 and 15 wickets @ 19.4