Durham fall to a six-wicket defeat at the hands of Yorkshire

Yorkshire got off the mark in the Bob Willis Trophy by recording a six-wicket victory over Durham at Emirates Riverside.

Andrew Gale's men required 68 on the final day to secure the win. Even after rain delayed the start of the action, the White Rose wasted little time in getting over the line, needing only 10.4 overs. Dawid Malan made 73 before he was dismissed, but it was

Harry Brook that delivered the win, blasting four sixes on the day to end the contest.

Durham now face a challenge to bounce back against Lancashire on home soil, leaving the game with only three points.

Malan and Brook both settled into the stride at the crease, notching early boundaries to dispel any notion of a miraculous fightback from the hosts. They reached their 50 partnership from 109 deliveries, whittling down the victory target.

Brook signalled Yorkshire's intent to end the game as quickly as possible, producing a sublime hook shot to send a Rushworth delivery over the rope. The 21-yearold lined up Paul Coughlin for the same treatment two overs later, dispatching the ball over the leg-side boundary into the East Stand. Brook reached his half-century with a sublime drive through the off-side, taking 85 deliveries to pass the milestone for the first time this season.

Malan took the attack to the part-time leg-spin of Alex Lees, blasting 12 runs off his first five balls. However, Lees would get a semblance of revenge when the left-hander was caught at long-off by Sean Dickson, who ironically dropped Malan on 32 with the game in the balance.

It was only the third wicket of Lees' first-class career and ended a stand worth 98 for the fourth wicket. Brook was undeterred and carried his team over the line with a late assault to finish 66 not out, hitting Gareth Harte for two sixes on the bounce to reach the victory target with ease.

Durham's Chris Rushworth said: "You can do all the gym work and training, but getting out on the field in a competitive game - there's nothing like it.

"Unfortunately for us we came out on the losing side in this one. Their lads bowled extremely well. Ben Coad didn't take any wickets in the second innings, but he was going less than a run an over. That spell by Matthew Fisher with the new ball blew us away and that's somewhere we need to get better.”