Result: Leicestershire Foxes (123/4) defeated Durham Jets (120/9; Jennings 42*; Raine 3/24) by six wickets
A batting collapse inside the first six overs cost the Durham Jets as they fell to a six-wicket reverse against the Leicestershire Foxes in the Natwest T20 Blast.
Five wickets inside 5.1 overs left the Jets up against it from the beginning on seam friendly surface.
Top-scorer Keaton Jennings and Calum MacLeod colluded to add some stability in the middle order and set the base for a final total of 120/9.
Chris Rushworth began with two quick wickets to give the Jets hope of rescuing an unlikely victory.
But the batting effort left the bowers too much to do as the Foxes eventually got home with 21 balls remaining.
It leaves Jon Lewis’ side with food for thought ahead of a return to the Fischer County Ground tomorrow for the start of the Royal London One-Day Cup.
The powerplay overs were catastrophic for Mark Stoneman’s side as they found themselves five down with just 26 on the board.
One wicket fell in five of the six overs as the Jets found themselves at the mercy of Leicestershire’s seam attack.
Phil Mustard edged behind first ball and Graham Clark run out either side of the skipper’s dismissal to Ben Raine, one of three wickets for the ex-Durham man.
There was brief relief as Ryan Pringle found the boundary but once he and Michael Richardson departed, the former bowled by Raine with the South African gifting an easy catch to Mark Pettini, the Jets were in serious bother.
Jennings finished the powerplay with a pair of classy cover drives as the first seeds of recovery were planted.
He and MacLeod played diligently, relying on sharp movement between the wickets as opposed to finding the boundary on a regular basis.
The Scot launched a free hit into the leg side, via a misfield in the deep, and manoeuvred Jigar Naik for a well-timed sweep in the partnership’s only other boundaries.
But the ensuing onslaught with six overs remaining was pegged back slightly as MacLeod’s innovation proved his downfall, top-edging a reverse paddle to McKay at short third man.
Twelve of the next 14 deliveries went for singles as Jennings and Borthwick kept the scoreboard ticking over.
Borthwick started the 18th over with a boundary but it was the only one inside the final two overs as three wickets fell to close the innings.
Irishman O’Brien played a hand in all three, catching Borthwick and fellow countryman Barry McCarthy on the boundary and showing great awareness to run Jennings out for a well-compiled 42.
The Jets had to come out firing and with conditions to suit the returning Rushworth, they did just that.
Mark Cosgrove was beaten all ends up by an unplayable ball that angled in and nipped away to remove his off stump before captain Mark Pettini offered a simple caught and bowled chance.
Irish international Kevin O’Brien kept the hosts ahead of the rate with boundaries but once he and Raine departed to Borthwick shortly after the half way mark, the Jets sensed a chance at victory.
And had Pringle been able to cling on to a sensational effort to remove Niall O’Brien an over later, Durham would have been right among the game.
But the Irishman made the most of his life, seeing his side home alongside Umar Akmal as the Jets fell to a second defeat in less than 24 hours.