Inconsistency costs Durham very dear
AJ TYE admits Durham have to improve collectively quickly or their Vitality Blast quarter-finals hopes will go up in smoke.
The Riversiders collapsed to a 51run defeat at home to Leicestershire Foxes leaving them eighth in the North Group, having claimed just three wins in their 10 T20 matches.
After holding the visitors to 157 for nine at the Seat Unique Riverside, Durham were skittled out for a woeful 106.
The defeat was the team’s second in three days after losing to Yorkshire on Friday.
“We just can’t seem to string a full game together at the moment. We need to find a way to perform with the bat and ball,” Tye said.
“I think there was a lot of room for improvement on both sides of the ball. I thought we bowled well in patches, the rest of the team fielded well, but I let the team down in the field.
“We’re not far away, but if we want to play in the quarter-finals we have to be better than that. I said at the half-way stage I thought it was a below-par score. They probably bowled a lot better than we did.”
South African Wiaan Mulder was the key man with the bat for the Foxes, scoring 54 from 33 balls after the visitors appeared to be in danger at 80 for six.
Durham struggled throughout their chase and were always behind the rate.
Rehan Ahmed notched careerbest figures as he tormented the home side with wrist-spin on a slow surface with figures of four for 22, while Callum Parkinson (3-16) and Mulder (2-16) were also on point to bowl their side to a crucial victory.
The visitors’ innings began poorly as a miscommunication between Nick Welch and Harry Swindells resulted in the latter being run out without facing a ball.
Tye then put down Welch at square leg and then received treatment from Rishi Patel in his first two balls, being struck for a four then a six over long-on. However, the Aussie responded by dismissing Patel before Liam Trevaskis bowled Arron Lilly to reduce the Foxes to 42 for three at the end of the powerplay.
Welch soon fell for 37 trying to turn Scott Borthwick into the legside, offering a simple return catch. Tye kept up the pressure at the other end, removing Colin Ackermann and Lewis Hill, leaving the Foxes in trouble at 80 for six in the 13th over.
A stand of 44 from Mulder and Ben Mike rebuilt the Foxes’ innings and pushed them towards a competitive total. Mulder produced an outstanding knock to score his fifth T20 half-century, drilling Tye for back-to-back sixes in the final over before being caught on the fence going for a third maximum in a row.
Tye picked up his fifth wicket when Parkinson was caught on the fence, becoming only the sixth player to take a five-wicket haul for Durham in T20 cricket.
But the hosts lost Michael Jones early in their chase after being bowled through the gate by Parkinson, which would set the tone for the innings.
Graham Clark and Ollie Robinson struggled to time the ball mustering only 35 in the powerplay. Ahmed’s introduction into the attack brought about the end of Robinson from his first ball, via a return catch.
The leg-spinner prised out Clark, who could only pick out Mike on the fence from a full toss, before bowling Ned Eckersley first ball, putting the hosts in trouble at 47 for four.
Durham needed a response from their skipper, and Ashton Turner tried to knock the ball around the pitch, but overbalanced attempting a sweep against Parkinson and was stumped by Swindells for 12.
Mulder then played a decisive role with the bat to remove Ben Raine and Paul Coughlin effectively ending the game. Ahmed returned to secure his fourth wicket by bowling Durham’s five-wicket star.
Tye added: “As a group we need to be better. Hopefully I can find a way to keep contributing and we can get a win. I would be quite happy enough to bowl four overs without getting a wicket if the team was winning, that’s more important than any personal stats.”