SUPER STOKES SPARKS JETS’ BLAST CRUISE
ENGLAND STAR THE ALL-ROUND INSPIRATION AS DURHAM GO SECOND IN NORTH GROUP
Ben Stokes put on a clinic with bat and ball to guide Durham Jets to a dominant seven-wicket victory over Worcestershire Rapids in their Vitality Blast clash at Chester-le-Street.
The England all-rounder was imperious with the ball last night, claiming career-best Twenty20 figures of 4-16 from his four overs as Worcestershire were dismissed for 121.
He then scored 43 off 24 deliveries with the bat, while fellow opener Graham Clark made 55 as the home side eased to victory with 32 balls to spare in front of an excellent crowd of 3,807.
Durham have won their last three matches and are well in contention to reach the knockout phase of the competition, while the Rapids suffered a second successive defeat.
The Jets won the toss and elected to bowl, with Stokes coming into the line-up for Paul Collingwood.
Worcestershire had England’s Moeen Ali back in their ranks and he hit the second ball of the innings to the boundary over point, but James Weighell responded to dismiss him in the next ball.
New Zealand international Martin Guptill struggled to get the ball off the square and fell victim to a Stokes delivery that kept low.
Travis Head’s form at the crease allowed his side to post 40 from their opening six overs, but Nathan Rimmington turned the momentum in favour of Durham by removing Daryl Mitchell.
Head continued his knock, although his strike rate did not get away from the home side.
But the Australian fell for 40 as he was undone by a straight delivery from South Africa spinner Imran Tahir, which sparked a collapse.
Stokes returned to the attack to have both Ross Whiteley and Ben Cox caught on the boundary, while Tahir notched his second strike of the innings as Ed Barnard was caught behind.
Luke Wood continued the procession of wickets, drilling Weighell straight to Liam Trevaskis in the deep.
Stokes claimed his fourth scalp by bowling Dillon Pennington, while a fine piece of fielding from Rimmington ran out Patrick Brown.
Clark and Stokes got the Jets off to a flying start in their chase. Both openers were able to find the boundary with regularity, putting the home side comfortably ahead of the required rate, and they reached their halfcentury partnership at the end of the fifth over.
Stokes dispatched Moeen over long-on for a huge six to reach 43, but his England team-mate had a semblance of revenge as Guptill took a catch on the fence from the following delivery, ending the partnership at 77.
Clark continued Durham’s progress, reaching his 50 off 35 balls. The opener fell before the Jets could close out the victory, with Trevaskis hitting the winning runs.
Durham – up to second place in the North Group – must wait until next Saturday for their next T20 match, at home to Notts.
Worcestershire captain Moeen said: “Stokes was good, he bowled well and batted very well. It’s always great to see an England player do that. I’m glad if anyone was going to score runs and take wickets against us, it was him.
“I’ve just said to the boys that we had a bad day at the office. We’ve played some good cricket, but these things happen in T20.”