Durham chase down Surrey score to seal place in Royal London Cup final
Durham secured their place in the Royal London Cup final against Glamorgan after defeating Surrey by five wickets as they successfully chased down a target of 281 at Emirates Riverside.
Alex Lees and Scott Borthwick notched 75 and 71 respectively to provide the foundation with a 119-run partnership for the second wicket. David Bedingham blasted a quickfire 56 to send his team into the final at Trent Bridge on Thursday, where the club will aim to win their first trophy since 2014.
Earlier in the day Chris Rushworth claimed three early wickets to hand the hosts a perfect start. But Mark Stoneman, the former Durham captain, scored a brilliant 117 for the visitors and Jamie Smith notched a career-best 85 in Surrey’s total of 280 for eight. Their efforts were in vain, however, as the home side were equal to the chase.
Borthwick and Lees were patient in their approach as they kept their side in touch with the required rate. Lees was in total control at the crease, working his way to his sixth score of over fifty in the competition. The duo passed their century stand for the second wicket and the Durham captain soon joined Lees in reaching a half-century.
Borthwick was handed the first of two lives by Matt Dunn at fine leg, who failed to come down with a routine catch in the deep, which would cost the visitors. Tim David made a vital breakthrough to dismiss Lees lbw and then spurned a caught and bowled chance to make a double strike to remove Borthwick. The Durham captain fell to Dunn but his partnership with Lees had ensured the hard work was done.
Bedingham all but powered the home side over the line with a 29-ball fifty before Cameron Bancroft struck the winning runs with 15 deliveries to spare.
In the Hundred Eve Jones hit a superb 64 before the Birmingham Phoenix held their nerve defending 148 to beat the Northern Superchargers and to all intents secure their place in Friday’s eliminator match.
Jones, opening, underpinned the Phoenix’s 147 for four before the Superchargers captain, Lauren Winfield-Hill, matched her score to put the hosts on course at 97 for one after 60 balls on a superb Emerald Headingley pitch.
However, the Superchargers slipped to 133 for six to lose for the fourth game running and allow the Phoenix to leapfrog them into third in the table. They will now face Oval Invincibles at the Oval on Friday unless the London Spirit produce something truly remarkable against the Welsh Fire on Wednesday to turn around a huge net run rate gap.