Durham Cricket Academy suffered defeat by 24 runs to Marton Cricket Club in the quarter final of the Macmillan T20 Cup despite two wickets each for George Gray and Ishaq Khan.
Durham were put into the field by Marton and started brightly with two early wickets as Marton found themselves 22 for two with Khan and Matthew Robinson providing early wickets.
Marton’s third wicket partnership was worth 81 by the time Chris Veazey was dismissed for 20. Ryan Gibson held the innings together as he struck 77 featuring seven fours and four maximums from just 47 balls.
Durham then began to pick up wickets at regular intervals as Marton finished 158 for eight. Gray and Khan claimed two wickets each with Zac Mawdsley, Dan Reed and Robinson finishing one apiece.
Durham mirrored their opponents, also falling 22 for two with Khan and Brett Hutchinson being dismissed early on for zero and eight.
Joe Twiddy (41) and Ryan Dobson (17) led Durham’s recovery with a 45-run partnership but struggled to produce a partnership of note beyond that.
Lee Hodgson led the way for Marton as he took 3-17 and was supported by Sam Berry’s 2-22. Despite 23 runs for Stuart Poynter, Durham’s efforts came in vein, falling short with just two wickets remaining.