Result: Durham (90 all out) lost to Worcestershire Rapids (91/3; Kervezee 35*; Rushworth 3/19) by seven wickets
Durham fell to a second straight Royal London One-Day Cup defeat with a seven-wicket loss to the Worcestershire Rapids in a rain-affected match at Emirates Riverside.
The hosts could only manage 90 after being invited to bat first, with captain Mark Stoneman’s 27 the highest score of the innings.
Only two home batsmen reached double figures in challenging conditions and excellent bowling by the visitors, with four bowlers each picking up two wickets.
But there was too much for the bowlers to do and the Rapids cruised home with 17 balls to spare.
The match length was twice revised after a number of frustrating showers added to overnight rain, before a break in the clouds allowed the umpires to call a prompt start at 3:30pm.
And visiting captain Joe Leach, standing in for the injured Daryl Mitchell, had very little hesitation in electing to field first.
A catastrophic run out by Phil Mustard in the fourth over, charging to the non-strikers end while Mark Stoneman stood his ground, set off a top order collapse from 24/0 to 46/5.
The visitors bowled diligently with probing lines, causing problems under the overcast conditions with the lights on at Emirates Riverside.
Graham Clark was excellently caught by wicketkeeper Ben Cox, Scott Borthwick chopped on after being surprised by extra bounce while Stoneman and Keaton Jennings fell to Ed Barnard, the former beaten by a terrific delivery which just clipped about the bails.
Paul Collingwood staged a recovery through the middle overs but soon came under pressure from the scoreboard as wickets fell around him.
Fellow all-rounder Ryan Pringle, fresh from a maiden century at Derbyshire during the week, threatened to offer resistance before he knocked an easy catch back to Brett D’Oliveira, while Calum MacLeod’s leg glance spurned high up for an easy Leach catch.
And the 40-year-old eventually holed out in an attempt to up the scoring rate, becoming the eighth wicket on 88 as they were eventually skittled for 90 in the last over.
Rushworth’s new ball spell of 3/19 did offer Durham hope, trapping Tom Kohler-Cadmore lbw in the first over before spectacularly removing the off stump of both Leach and Joe Clarke.
Paul Coughlin also returned economical figures of 0/14, the other of Stoneman’s bowlers to get five overs under their belt.
But the lack of scoreboard pressure allowed the Rapids to settle in as D’Oliveira (20*) and Alexei Kervezee’s (37*) partnership of 60 saw them home with ease.