Friday 29 August 2014 21:59, UK
Skipper Mark Stoneman's century and a resolute all-round performance from Paul Collingwood were the outstanding features of Durham's 31-run victory over Yorkshire in the Royal London Cup quarter-final at Headingley.
Former England all-rounder Collingwood contributed 38 in Durham's total of 237 and he then claimed 2-29 off his 10 overs as Yorkshire were bowled out for 206 with 11 balls remaining.
Yorkshire appeared well on course to reach their target after openers Adam Lyth (28) and Alex Lees (49) hit 58 off the first 10 overs but John Hastings (2-38) changed the picture with two wickets in two balls, Lyth edging a wild drive to Phil Mustard and Kiwi Kane Williamson failing to remove his bat in time and giving another catch to the wicketkeeper.
Gary Ballance, released from the England squad for the match, survived a return catch to Hastings before he had scored - one of several chances to go begging - but he helped to repair some of the damage in a 75-run stand with Lees, which ended when Lees smacked Chris Rushworth to Stoneman at cover.
Jonny Bairstow fell for a second-ball duck, caught by Mustard standing up to the stumps to seamer Rushworth (3-23), and although Ballance continued to hold firm no-one was able to stay with him for any length of time.
Ballance was eventually eighth out for 61 from 89 balls with three boundaries, caught by Paul Coughlin aiming a pull at leg-spinner Scott Borthwick (1-45), and although Richard Pyrah flung the bat for an unbeaten 29, Yorkshire were all out in 48.1 overs.
Put in to bat, Durham made excellent progress at the start and Stoneman went on to stroke a chanceless 102 off 120 balls with 10 fours and a six.
But the captain's departure in the 40th over sparked a collapse which saw the last seven wickets topple in nine overs for the addition of 59 runs.
Pyrah finished with 4-51 and Steven Patterson 3-39 but the most economical was leg-spinner, Adil Rashid, who gave away only 37 runs from his 10 overs and picked up two of the first three wickets to fall.
The innings was only three overs old when umpires Nigel Cowley and Martin Bodenham led the players off the field for half-an-hour in order to allow paramedics to screen off and attend to a male spectator who had collapsed in the Trueman enclosure at the pavilion end.
Upon the resumption, Stoneman and Mustard got Durham moving with a spate of boundaries with both Tim Bresnan and Jack Brooks suffering and when Pyrah took over from Bresnan his third ball was pulled over midwicket for six by Stoneman.
The scoring was slowed down by Rashid and Patterson and the breakthrough came at 57 in the 15th over, Mustard (23) bobbing up a catch to wicketkeeper Bairstow, as he attempted a reverse sweep.
Calum MacLeod (4) was bowled driving at Patterson and Borthwick (10) was caught by Bresnan at mid-on off Rashid to leave Durham on 98-3 at the half-way stage of their innings.
A stand of 80 in 15 overs between Stoneman and Collingwood gave Durham a boost, before the former pulled Pyrah to Ballance running in from the square-leg boundary and in the next over the England man took a similar catch to get rid of Collingwood.
It became three wickets for six runs off 13 deliveries as Keaton Jennings (2) patted back a simple catch to Pyrah and with their tails up Yorkshire's attack stayed very much in charge.
Gareth Breese (13) skied Patterson to Bresnan at mid-on, Gordon Muchall (26) holed out to Williamson at long-on off against Pyrah and Patterson bowled Hastings (6) with a low full toss, leaving Pyrah to round things off by skittling Rushworth (3).
Stoneman said of Durham's win: "This was my first century as captain in English one-day cricket and it was very pleasing although I was disappointed still not to be there at the end of the innings. If I had been we could have been looking at 265-270 but we knew that if we were able to apply pressure and take wickets we could defend 237.
"From a personal point of view it was nice to score runs when it matters and the lads have stepped up every time in the competition."
