Day Three
Durham 283 and 295 for 6 declared beat Derbyshire 156 and 84 for 9 by 338 runs.
An innings of the highest class from Ben McKinney backed up by quality pace bowling swept promotion favourites Durham to a crushing 338 run victory over Derbyshire in the Rothesay County Championship match at the OurCoop County Ground.
McKinney scored a fine 140 from 162 balls on the second day of the Division Two encounter at Derby.
The 21-year-old opener hit 15 fours and six sixes, dominating a second wicket stand of 157 with Will Rhodes, (52), followed by Ben Stokes who smashed an unbeaten 66 from 55 balls.
Shoaib Bashir took 3 for 77 before Durham declared on 295 for 6, setting Derbyshire a notional 423 for victory.
The hosts had earlier been bowled out for 156 with paceman Matthew Potts taking 5 for 46 and they again collapsed dismally in the face of ruthless quick bowling.
Potts claimed 3 for 22 to become the leading wicket taker in the championship with Stokes taking 3 in four balls.
The Durham all-rounder finished with 5 for 17 as promotion hopefuls Derbyshire crumbled to 84 for 9 to suffer the heaviest margin of defeat by runs in their history.
Durham ran through Derbyshire’s lower order in the morning with Potts reaping the reward for full and accurate bowling delivered at pace.
Ben Aitchison was lbw playing across the line before Anuj Dal was bowled by a beauty that dipped in late to beat his defensive push.
Brydon Carse cleaned up Nick Potts with another quick and full ball and in the next over, Shoaib Bashir lost his middle stump to one angled in.
It was the second time this season Potts has taken five in an innings against Derbyshire after he blew them away with 8 for 68 to bowl Durham to victory in three days at Chester-le-Street in June.
His latest haul put Durham in a strong position which McInney cemented with an innings of poise and calculated aggression.
The loss of skipper Alex Lees to the first ball of the innings proved deceptive as McKinney and Rhodes took the game further away from the hosts.
Apart from one wild slog early in his innings, McKinney batted with a classical elegance while Rhodes was content to play the supporting role in a stand which stretched Durham’s lead towards 300.
McKinney became more expansive, twice driving Bashir for six, on his way to a second championship century of the summer.
By the time he holed out to long off, it was a question of when Durham would declare but there was time for a punishing cameo from Stokes who motored to his second 50 of the game off 38 balls.
He reached it by launching a ball from Matthew Montgomery onto the roof of the Media Centre and once Durham pulled out, Potts tore into Derbyshire for a second time.
After Carse had Caleb Jewell caught at short leg, Potts was irresistible, angling the ball in to trap Harry Came and Wayne Madsen lbw in the space of three balls.
Stokes inevitably struck with his first ball, Brooke Guest top-edging a pull, Dal was lbw to the next and although Aitchison survived the hat-trick ball, he then edged a drive to first slip.
A Stokes bouncer felled Brett Randell who batted on for 10 minutes but retired following a second concussion check and Stokes then wrapped up a victory that takes Durham a step closer to a Division One return.
Day 2
Durham 283, Derbyshire 127 for 6 trail by 156 runs.
Ben Stokes shone with bat and ball on a pulsating second day of the Rothesay County Championship match between Derbyshire and Durham at the OurCoop County Ground.
Stokes delivered another top all-round performance, scoring 53 with11 fours and then taking a wicket with his first ball.
Ben Aitchison starred for the hosts, taking 5 for 70 to bowl the Division Two leaders out for 283 which included half centuries from Alex Lees and Graham Clark.
That looked an even better score when Derbyshire collapsed to 127 for 6, 156 behind, with Matthew Potts and Will Rhodes both taking two wickets.
Aitchison was getting the ball to nip around and he moved one in to trap David Bedingham lbw in the third over of a sunny morning.
There was warm applause as Stokes walked purposefully out although the majority of Derbyshire’s members probably hoped he would soon be heading in the opposite direction.
They almost got their wish as he edged his second ball just short of the slips but a lofted drive off Brett Randell suggested he was in the mood to repeat his hundred on this ground in the One-Day Cup last month.
Aitchison had Lees dropped on 58 by Brooke Guest diving across first slip and he beat Stokes who responded by glancing the next ball to the fine leg boundary.
It was however far from a smooth ride for Stokes with a clip off Anuj Dal just evading midwicket before an edge through the slips took him to a 56 ball 50.
Stokes was batting in what looked like a large watch on his left wrist but Dal called time on him when he pouched a leading edge in his follow through to reduce Durham to 182 for 5.
Clark mirrored Stoke’s, hitting two sixes in a 57 ball 50 and with Ollie Robinson, took Durham to 260 before the second new ball gave the game another twist.
Aitchison got the rewards he deserved when he had Clark caught at second slip to end a stand of 78 from 129 balls and then beat Robinson’s drive.
Both Brydon Carse and Potts went cheaply, the latter bowled by a beauty from Aitchison who became the first Derbyshire bowler for 61 years to take five wickets in an innings in four consecutive first-class matches.
Durham had lost their last five wickets for 23 and Derbyshire’s openers soon discovered there was plenty there for the pace bowlers.
Harry Came and Caleb Jewell were beaten numerous times by Potts and Carse but clung on until Stokes inevitably broke through.
His first ball drew Came into a defensive push which flew to third slip and in his fourth over he swung one in to beat Jewell’s drive.
There was concern when he went off feeling his lower left side but was back on after Rhodes removed Wayne Madsen.
Rhodes then tempted Matthew Montgomery into a drive before Potts struck twice as Durham again demonstrated their promotion ambitions.
Day 1
Durham captain Alex Lees showed his quality on a rain affected opening day of the Rothesay County Championship match against Derbyshire at the OurCoop County Ground.
Lees batted with patience and concentration in tough conditions to score an unbeaten 53 from 125 balls to take the Division Two leaders to 102 for 2 when bad light ended play at Derby.
He shared a second wicket stand of 61 with Will Rhodes before he was removed for 23 by New Zealand seamer Brett Randell who finished with 1 for 25 from 11 overs.
Ben Aitchison took the other wicket to fall as Derbyshire bowled with discipline but Lees battled through 38 overs to deny them.
Only 16 balls had bowled in the first two sessions after thunderstorms halted play until 4pm but there was a lively start when the match finally resumed.
Ben McKinney pulled Aitchison over wide long on for six but two balls later, went for an expansive drive and was caught behind.
A greenish pitch suggested it was a good toss to win and the gloomy conditions made it more testing for the batters.
Randell, who in March became the first bowler in the history of the first-class game to take five wickets in five balls, maintained a good line on his Derbyshire debut, conceding only 11 runs in a six over spell.
Anuj Dal and Nick Potts also commanded respect, meaning Lees and Rhodes had to earn their runs which made for absorbing cricket.
Shoaib Bashir was brought into the attack for a brief two over spell which cost only three runs and Lees and Rhodes faced 133 balls to reach a 50 stand which highlighted the accuracy of the bowling.
The stand was broken when Randell switched to the Racecourse End and moved one away to Rhodes who edged to second slip where Aitchison took a sharp catch.
Only five more overs were possible before the light deteriorated with Lees steering his promotion chasing team through a demanding opening day.