Latham on fire in first outing for Durham
New Zealand batsman Tom Latham staked his claim for a Durham first XI debut by hitting 241 for the Seconds yesterday.
Latham, who hopes to figure in Friday’s home NatWest T20 Blast showdown with Yorkshire at the Emirates Riverside, was the star turn as the Second XI enjoyed an excellent opening day in their Second XI Championship clash with the MCC Young Cricketers at High Wycombe.
Opener Latham hit 25 fours and nine sixes in a memorable 262-ball knock of 241 to help Durham declare on 417-4.
Brydon Carse weighed in with 13 boundaries in an unbeaten 113, in a 316-run partnership with Latham. The MCC reached 87-0 in 15.1 overs before the close.
Durham’s seconds, meanwhile, saw their hopes of progress in the Second XI T20 competition wrecked by two defeats to the MCC Young Cricketers on Monday. First up, they lost by 71 runs after MCC made 184-4, with Carse striking twice.
Durham were all out for 113 in reply, with Liam Trevaskis top-scoring on 31, while Usman Arshad made 19 and Scott Steel 18.
In the second match, their hopes of qualifying for finals day were killed off by a seven-wicket loss.
Durham made 118-8, led by Carse (42) and Steel (41 off 28 balls). MCC responded with 119-3, with Josh Coughlin grabbing 2-16.
Meanwhile, Durham all-rounder Matthew Potts received his England Under-19 cap last week, playing in the first Test defeat to India at Chesterfield.
The Sunderland-born 18-year-old took 1-81 when India made 519. He was out without scoring as England responded with 195, then managed 3-20 in India’s second innings of 173-6 declared. Potts was unbeaten on 20 when England were bowled out for a second time for 163, going down by a hefty 334 runs.