Lancashire started well after winning the toss and were 39-1 after four overs but lost two quick wickets and were 55-3 by the end of the sixth over. Steven Croft (68) and Simon Katich, reaching their fifty partnership in 36 balls, strengthened the Lancashire cause. Nathum McCullum (36*) kept the board ticking over once Katich was dismissed by Plunkett on 26.
Lancashire added two to the total for the last three wickets, all of which were claimed by Stephen Harmison, who became the third Durham player to take five wickets in t20 innings for Durham,
finishing with figures of 5-41.
The Dynamos were 13-2 within two overs after Ian Blackwell was caught by Smith off Nathan McCullum’s fifth delivery for 1 with Ross Taylor becoming McCullum’s second victim the following over when he was caught by Parry on 8.
Phil Mustard was the third man to return to the dug out after he was bowled by Mahmood for 8. Ben Stokes and Albie Morkel contributed scores in the teens but the wickets in the middle order fell fairly swiftly with the Dynamos 81-8 after 13.3 overs.
Ben Harmison (24) and Liam Plunkett, who top scored with 31, put on a 50 partnership towards the end of the innings but it wasn’t enough to put the Dynamos in a potential winning position in the closing stages of the game.
Chapple picked up the last two wickets and Durham were all out for 137 with eight balls remaining of the innings. Steven Parry was the pick of the Lancashire attack, taking 4-28 in his four overs, earning him the Man of the Match award at the end of the game.
On Lancashire’s win Dynamos captain Phil Mustard said, “I think it helps when you field second and have 180 on the board. They looked like a very good fielding outfit and we just didn’t match them today. Batting wise, we always speak about partnerships, and we didn’t get any established until Ben and Liam’s and by that point it was too late. We’ll go away and have a chat over the next couple of days and hopefully we can come back, find our form and put in a match winning performance on Friday against Notts Outlaws at Trent Bridge.”
Follow the live match chat from today’s game at www.durhamccc.co.uk/live-match-chat
Lancashire Lightning v Durham Dynamos scorecard http://www.durhamccc.co.uk/scorecard/267