Durham suffered back-to-back defeats in the Metro Bank One Day Cup going by down 150 runs to Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Banks Homes Riverside.
A maiden List A century from James Sales – 117 off 110 balls – set Northamptonshire Steelbacks up for a first Metro Bank One-Day Cup win in four games this season.
The young Steelbacks side kick-started their Group B campaign as they successfully defended a commanding 321 for eight total. Durham, meanwhile, suffered their third defeat in five.
Having elected to bat, Northamptonshire were advanced by centurion Sales, who was well supported by New Zealander Tim Robinson’s well-paced 63 off 69 balls and Justin Broad’s more aggressive 59 off 45.
Durham then lost early wickets and never realistically threatened. They were bowled out for 171 inside 32 overs. Indian Yuzvendra Chahal finished with three for 30 from six overs of leg-spin.
Sales, who hit his three sixes down the ground off spin and seam, was strong on both sides of the wicket as he accelerated through his innings having come to the crease at 31 for one in the ninth over.
The 22-year-old right-hander batted through until the 48th over when he holed out to wide long-on against Ben Raine’s seam.
New-ball duo Mitchell Killeen and Paul Coughlin struck twice apiece, but Durham relinquished control of the innings from 35 for two in the 10th over.
Killeen had bowled captain Lewis McManus, Coughlin had Ricardo Vasconcelos caught behind by debutant 17-year-old wicketkeeper Robbie Bowman.
Sales shared century partnerships for the third and fourth wickets with overseas Robinson and Broad en-route to his fifty off 65 balls and his century off 101.
The home side lost Coughlin to a suspected shoulder issue having bowled nine overs.
The Steelbacks were excellent having failed to reach 230 in either of the first two games played, and they continued their good work when it came to the defence, reducing Durham to 49 for four inside 11 overs.
Left-arm quick Liam Guthrie struck twice, as did Luke Procter with his seamers.
Alex Lees, Will Rhodes and Colin Ackermann all fell after Emilio Gay was trapped lbw stuck on the crease.
And when David Bedingham, on 30, miscued Broad’s fifth ball to mid-off, it felt like a decisive blow at 78 for five in the 15th over.
Debutant Bowman encouraged for 27 and George Drissell bettered that with 31. But they fell to the spin of Rob Keogh and Yuzvendra Chahal as the score fell to 150 for seven in the 29th.
Chahal forced a discomforted Coughlin to miscue to cover before bowling Killeen as he struck twice in the 31st over.
Seventeen-year-old debutant off-spinner Nirvan Ramesh then wrapped things up with his maiden first-team wicket, Archie Bailey caught behind. He bowled a tidy 4.2 overs for 23.