Bairstow’s brilliant 174 keeps Yorkshire flying

Jonny Bairstow hit a career-best 174 off 113 balls as Yorkshire cruised to their target of 336 to beat Durham by six wickets at Headingley.

Yorkshire maintained their 100 per cent start to the Royal London Cup with a third North Group win as they reeled in their highest chase in List A cricket with 14 balls to spare. Bairstow posted the highest List A score at Headingley, sharing 189 for the second wicket with England colleague Joe Root in 26 overs.

Stephen Cook (106) and Michael Richardson (100 not out) both hit hundreds as Durham posted 335 for five. Ultimately, Durham will be frustrated at not taking full advantage of an excellent start to their innings at 248 for one in the 40th over after they had elected to bat. They lost four wickets for 32 to slip to 280 for five and should have posted more in good conditions.

Yorkshire are already on course for a home semi-final next month after earlier wins against Nottinghamshire and Lancashire.

Durham built their innings around Cook, who shared two stands of 124 for the first two wickets with Keaton Jennings (72) and Richardson, and went on to post 106 off 114 balls.

Yorkshire lost Adam Lyth in the ninth over of their chase, but they had already moved to 60 when he was dismissed. Bairstow was in dominant mood and made Durham pay for Cook dropping him off the spin of George Harding. He hit seven sixes and 16 fours on the way to fifty off 32 balls, a hundred off 70 and 150 off 97 as he toyed with the visiting bowling attack.

Yorkshire reached the 30-over mark at 218 for one before Root reached his second fifty in three matches off 60 balls with three fours. The pair fell in successive overs – Bairstow caught behind and Root chopping on – as the score fell to 254 for three in the 36th over. Gary Ballance, who stood on his stumps against James Weighell and fell for 29, and Peter Handscomb (47 not out) put on 71 for the fourth wicket.

who had lost their first two matches, and

who had won theirs, had a thrilling tie at Northampton. The home side needed 14 off the last over to chase down Worcestershire’s 277 for nine and after Adam Rossington hit the first, fourth and fifth balls for four, the target came down to two off the last ball. He could only garner a leg bye, however, as Northants finished on 277 for seven, with Rossington making 63 off 45 balls. Rob Newton’s 123-ball 107 was the bedrock of their chase.

A century for Nick Gubbins and a devastating new-ball spell from Toby Roland-Jones swept

to their first RL Cup win in a rain-affected match against

at the Ageas Bowl. Gubbins struck 114 off 117 balls as Middlesex made 295 all out and then RolandJones blew away the top order with four for 10 in seven overs. A halfcentury from George Bailey took Hampshire, who were 34 for four, to 146 for seven – still 89 adrift of the Duckworth-Lewis target – when the rain arrived.