Captain Ollie Robinson and in-form all-rounder Will Rhodes hit composed match-clinching half-centuries as Durham maintained their Metro Bank One-Day Cup knockout hopes beating Lancashire by four wickets at Liverpool.
Wicketkeeper-batter Robinson and Rhodes, in pursuit of 321, came together at 168 for three in the 30th over and calmly secured a third win from six in Group B. They shared 127, Robinson with 80 not out off 59 balls and Rhodes 75 off 68. Durham won with nine balls remaining.
The Red Rose’s 320 all out saw Bell – aged 22 – star and Josh Bohannon became the county’s first batter to score back-to-back List A centuries since Liverpudlian Paul Horton in 2009. He top-scored with 106 off 102 balls having done similar at Kent on Sunday. Durham seamer Ben Raine excelled with four for 34 from 9.5 overs.
This was Rhodes’ third fifty added to a century in this campaign, and Robinson is leading the side in place of club captain Alex Lees in order to build his leadership experience.
Inserted, Lancashire raced to 50 without loss in four overs but were hurt by losing their last eight wickets for 65 inside the final eight overs of the innings.
Michael Jones fell for a brisk 30 against his former county when he miscued a pull at Codi Yusuf’s seam to Emilio Gay running in from deep square-leg – 61 for one in the seventh.
In excellent batting conditions, Bell and Bohannon shared 175 inside 29 overs.
Bell was 35 when Bohannon came in, but the latter reached his hundred first, off 96 balls. His second fifty came in only 29.
And when Bell reached his ton shortly afterwards, off 113 balls, the Red Rose were 251 for two after 41 overs.
Bell and Bohannon were then both caught at deep midwicket slog-sweeping against the seam of Rhodes and Colin Ackermann’s spin as the Red Rose slipped from 255 for two in the 42nd over.
Raine claimed the last three as Durham crucially came back well, with the the suspicion of Lancashire being light on runs.
Lees and Gay made a steady start, with an 84-run partnership inside 15 overs broken when the latter miscued a pull at Tom Aspinwall’s seam out to Jones running in from deep square-leg.
While Aspinwall had been released by the Manchester Originals, Lancashire left-arm spinner Charlie Barnard couldn’t bowl having dislocated his right little finger diving to stop a boundary.
Durham’s serene progress was checked when Lees, who went beyond 3,000 List A career runs during his 64, chipped to cover off Arav Shetty’s off-spin – 126 for two in the 22nd over.
And further so when Colin Ackermann on 39 flicked Aspinwall to midwicket with the score on 168 eight overs later.
Robinson and Rhodes took Harry Singh’s off-spin to task as 22 came off the 35th over, including four boundaries, with Durham moving to 213 for three.
Rhodes reached his fifty off 48 balls, and when Robinson followed him there off 39 balls, the visitors were 258 for three in the 41st over.