Durham battled their way to a nervy draw against Derbyshire at Seat Unique Riverside in a result that failed to improve either side’s hopes of propelling themselves into the LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two promotion battle.
After declaring on 398 for eight and a lead of 385, Derbyshire made a strong push to secure their third win of the season, reducing the home side to 150 for six after the tea break courtesy of two wickets apiece from Anuj Dal and Sam Conners.
Debutant Tom Mackintosh and Liam Trevaskis put forward a resilient stand of 49 to halt the visitors’ victory charge. Trevaskis saw his side over the line alongside another fledgling, Stanley McAlindon, to secure a draw for the hosts. Both teams took 13 points from the match, leaving Derbyshire in fifth and Durham sixth in the Division Two table.
Entering the day four in a commanding position, Derbyshire put their foot on the accelerator in the first hour to push towards the 400-run mark and a lead of 385. Hilton Cartwright led the way with 11 boundaries in his innings of 71 from 83 balls, recording a first first-class half-century for Derbyshire in the process.
The visitors ran into a wall in their initial burst at Durham before lunch in the form of Alex Lees. The left-hander used the aggression developed for England under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes to lead the hosts to 64 without loss, blunting the effect of the new ball, which had been vital in the previous three innings of the match.
However, the interval knocked Durham out of their rhythm, and Dal’s medium pace proved to be the undoing of Lees with a delivery that kept low removing his off-stump for 41. Dal then removed Michael Jones for 23 before Scott Borthwick got a grubber from Conners to hand Derbyshire a glimmer of hope of forcing a victory on a flat deck in the final two sessions.
Those hopes appeared to fade when Nic Maddinson and David Bedingham looked comfortable at the crease, establishing a partnership worth 41 to put the contest on course for a stalemate. However, the home side opened the door for Derbyshire minutes before the tea break.
Maddinson played a needless sweep across the line to fall lbw to Alex Thomson for 30, while Bedingham was then run out by Conners attempting a quick-single with Trevaskis. Ben Raine continued the procession after tea playing a loose clip off his legs behind to Brook Guest as Conners continued his impressive day.
Durham required resilience from their lower order, and for the second time of the match it came from debutant Mackintosh. The 19-year-old was surrounded by Derbyshire fielders in front of the wicket, but he and Trevaskis rebuffed their attempt to force the victory, defying the visitors with a stand of 49 for the seventh wicket.
Toby Pettman prised out Mackintosh for a hard-fought 28 to leave the home side with tense final 9.3 overs to see out with Trevaskis and the tail. But, even the introduction of the new ball was not enough in the closing overs as Durham held out for the draw.
Day 3: Derbyshire 283ao & 329/6; Durham 296
Centuries from Leus du Plooy and Brooke Guest worked Derbyshire into a match-winning position on day three of their LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two clash against Durham.
Du Plooy and Guest combined for a mammoth stand of 248 for the fifth wicket to take the contest away from the home side, recovering from the loss of two early wickets that had put the visitors in trouble at 36 for four in the first hour of the day.
The two Derbyshire batters were outstanding as Du Plooy scored his second century of the game, while Guest passed three figures for the third time of the campaign to leave their side in command at the close at 329 for six with a lead of 316 and the potential of an overnight declaration.
After reducing the visitors to 19 for two in the evening session on day two, Matt Salisbury ramped up the pressure on Derbyshire by pinning Luis Reece lbw for 12 after the opener opted to leave a straight delivery. Rushworth then claimed his 10th wicket of the game by ousting Wayne Madsen for nine, leaving the visitors in a precarious position on 36 for four with a lead of only 23.
The visitors were in dire need of a partnership to calm proceedings, and Guest and Du Plooy rose to the occasion in sublime manner. They ushered Derbyshire into the lunch break to stem the tide and force Durham captain Scott Borthwick to alter his plans.
After the break, Guest and Du Plooy reached their half-centuries in the same Liam Trevaskis over and continued to lay the foundations of match-winning position. Guest had been stymied in the morning session, but moved through the gears against a toiling Durham attack in the afternoon under the baking sun at Chester-le-Street. The bowlers found no life in a flat pitch, and it allowed Guest and Du Plooy to capitalise to great effect, turning the momentum of the game in the favour of Derbyshire.
Du Plooy was unfettered and continued his fine form from the first innings, offering nothing to the home side in a controlled knock. For the second time of the partnership, both men reached their milestones in the same over as Du Plooy became the 19th Derbyshire player to score two hundreds in a match. Guest followed his team-mate to three figures from 216 balls, securing his third ton of the campaign along, pushing their partnership past 200, Derbyshire’s highest for the fifth wicket against Durham.
Du Plooy’s outstanding innings was finally ended by Rushworth with the new ball finding the outside edge, but only after the left-hander notched his highest score of the campaign. Guest soon followed for 116 lbw to Salisbury, but the visitors were already entrenched in a dominant position before Anuj Dal and Hilton Cartwright worked their lead past the 300-run mark at the close.
Day 2: Derbyshire 283ao & 19/2; Durham 296
Tom Mackintosh scored a maiden first-class half century to lead a Durham fightback against Derbyshire on day two of their LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two contest at Seat Unique Riverside.
The hosts were reduced for 142 for seven in their first innings amid fine bowling from Toby Pettman, who claimed figures of three for 40 to race through the Durham batting order. However, Mackintosh led the way with 51 as he and tail provided 154 for the final three wickets. Chris Rushworth, Ben Raine and Stanley McAlindon offered usual cameos to propel the North-East outfit into a narrow lead.
There was time for Rushworth to make inroads into the Derbyshire ranks before the close, leaving the visitors 19 for two at stumps, six runs ahead of the home side heading into day three of the contest.
Derbyshire were on their mettle from the off with the ball to make immediate inroads into the Durham line-up. Ben Aitchison dismissed England opener Alex Lees on his return to the county ranks lbw for only seven, which sparked an early-morning collapse.
Pettman was on the money with his line and length to produce a snorter to remove nightwatch Matt Salisbury before Durham skipper Scott Borthwick left a straight delivery to lose his off-stump for 13. Sam Conners got in on the act to prise out Michael Jones, who played a loose drive to a wide ball and was snagged by Aitchison at first slip, reducing the hosts to 38 for four.
David Bedingham found his feet at the crease and looked fluent against the team he made a career-best 257 in the 2021 campaign. The South African combined with debutant Nic Maddinson to steady the ship with a stand of 72 for the fifth wicket.
However, the Durham innings followed the same pattern as Derbyshire’s as the two set batters were dismissed quickly after lunch. Both Bedingham and Maddinson fell in the same manner, being caught down the leg-side by Brooke Guest to Aitchison and Pettman respectively. Liam Trevaskis opted for an aggressive approach to dig Durham out of trouble, blasting off-spinner Alex Thomson for four and a six over his head, but a third attempt cost him his wicket for 30.
Mackintosh and Ben Raine stabilised the Durham innings and pushed the score beyond 200 to secure the hosts’ first batting point. Raine looked well set at the crease to record another knock of fifty plus, but his aggression against Thomson resulted in a simple catch for Wayne Madsen. Mackintosh was not deterred by Raine’ departure and displayed maturity beyond his years by grinding out his maiden first-class half-century before being bowled by Conners for 51.
Rushworth and Stanley McAlindon defied the Derbyshire attack for the final wicket, with the number 11 producing an aggressive knock of 33 from 27 balls to steer the hosts into an unlikely 13-run lead. It was the highest stand for the 10th wicket for Durham against Derbyshire, and provided a more than useful second batting point.
And, Rushworth used the momentum from his batting display to make two strikes into the visitors’ line-up, removing captain Billy Godleman and nightwatch Conners before the close.
Day 1: Derbyshire 283ao; Durham 2/0
Chris Rushworth marked his 36th birthday with his first five-wicket haul of the LV= Insurance County Championship season, taking figures of seven for 44 as Durham bowled out Derbyshire for 283 on day one of their clash at Seat Unique Riverside.
Rushworth was irrepressible after Durham opted to bowl first in sweltering conditions. He rose to the occasion to hold the visitors in check with a perfect line and length, despite a brilliant century from Leus Du Plooy. After a flurry of wickets, the left-hander rebuilt the Derbyshire innings with a stand of 166 with Anuj Dal, who produced a fine knock of 90, to frustrate the home side.
However, Rushworth returned with the new ball in the evening session to turn the momentum of the day with three wickets before debutant Stanley McAlindon cleaned up the tail to bowl out Derbyshire, leaving Du Plooy stranded on 122 not out.
Durham captain Scott Borthwick made a bold decision to field first in the heat and sunshine at the Riverside. But, Rushworth would reward his skipper and his team-mates with his best first spell of the term. The seamer found life in the pitch to trouble the Derbyshire openers, removing Luis Reece with inswinger lbw for five. Tom Mackintosh on debut behind the stumps then produced a brilliant diving catch to his left to hand Rushworth his second wicket as Billy Godleman departed for only three.
Durham capitalised on the absence of Shan Masood, who left the Derbyshire camp to join up with the Pakistan Test squad, reducing the visitors to 30 for three when Ben Raine found Wayne Madsen’s outside edge. Brooke Guest and Du Plooy stabilised matters before lunch with a stand of a 55, stymieing Durham’s charge.
A refreshed Rushworth broke the partnership by bowling Guest for 29 and then cleaned up Hilton Cartwright’s off-stump for a first-ball duck. Dal survived the hat-trick ball and endured a close shave on seven, narrowly missing his stumps with an inside edge.
Du Plooy and Dal would dig in for the rest of the session as the pitch flattened out in the baking heat at Chester-le-Street. Chances were at a premium for the home side amid solid batting led by Du Plooy, who posted his fourth half-century of the campaign. Dal was more fluent at the other end, passing fifty for the fourth time of the season from only 79 balls with six boundaries to his name.
The two players worked their way past the century partnership, becoming the first Derbyshire players to muster a hundred stand for the sixth wicket against Durham. Du Plooy’s hard work was rewarded when he notched his first century of the campaign by cutting Liam Trevaskis to the fence, but Dal could not join his team-mate with three figures following the arrival of new ball.
Rushworth bounded in from the Lumley End and claimed two wickets in two balls for the second time of the day. Dal could only fend an outside edge through to Mackintosh before Alex Thomson suffered the same fate. McAlindon would end the day with two moments to remember on his first-class debut, removing Sam Conners to claim his first scalp and Toby Pettman to end the visitors’ innings.
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