Metro Bank One Day Cup 2024 – Live Cricket Streaming, Live Scores, Match Reports and Reactions – All Matches – July 28th

Here are the Metro Bank One Day Cup 2024 – Live Cricket Streaming, Live Scores, Match Reports and Reactions for every match on July 28th.

Metro Bank One Day Cup Sunday 28th July - all matches start at 11.00 am

Gloucestershire vs Essex, Group B, Metro Bank One Day Cup

Shane Snater played an incisive role as Essex defeated Gloucestershire by 63 runs in a one-sided Metro Bank One Day Cup contest at the Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol.

Called into the side after missing the competition opener against Warwickshire four days earlier, the 28-year-old seamer took three wickets in 13 deliveries in a devastating new-ball burst that fundamentally undermined Gloucestershire's top order.

Chasing a victory target of 263, the home side lost wickets with indecent haste thereafter, five top or middle-order batsmen falling in single figures as last season's beaten semi-finalists were dismissed for 199 in 36.2 overs, Snater claiming 3-39 and Jamal Richards 2-33.

Ajeet Singh Dale struck a defiant career-best 25-ball half century and dominated a stand of 85 for the last wicket with Tom Smith, but tail-end resistance arrived too late to save Gloucestershire.

Put into bat, Essex had earlier posted 262-8, thanks in the main to half centuries from Luc Benkenstein and Robin Das, who staged a restorative partnership of 88 in 17 overs to rescue the visitors from 86-4. Das contributed 52 from 71 deliveries and Benkenstein raised a career-best 67 from 62 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes. Gloucestershire seamer Dom Goodman returned impressive figures of 4-43, his best in List-A cricket, while Singh Dale generated express pace to claim 2-50 from nine overs and Tom Smith took 2-51 with his slow left arm.

Beaten in their opening two fixtures, Gloucestershire face back-to-back away games against Surrey on Tuesday and Yorkshire on Thursday and will very likely need to win both if they are to remain in contention for a place in the knockout stages. Buoyed by their first win in the 50-over competition, Essex will attempt to strengthen their position when they embark upon successive home matches against Leicestershire and Glamorgan on Wednesday and Sunday respectively.

A heavy defeat in front of their home crowd appeared an unlikely scenario when Gloucestershire won the toss and Singh Dale removed Nick Browne in the first over. But Feroze Khushi and Tom Westley weathered the storm and mustered eight fours and a six between them in a second wicket partnership of 59 in 61 balls, their burgeoning alliance only foundering when Khushi pulled a short delivery from Singh Dale to mid-wicket and departed for a 29-ball 31. Goodman struck with his first delivery to bowl Westley for 23 and, when Charlie Allison edged behind off Smith, the visitors were 86-4, their innings in the balance.

Eschewing risk to begin with, Das and Benkenstein combined clever placement and hard running to rebuild the innings, the fifth wicket partnership realising 50 via 52 balls. Initially the more aggressive of the two, Das went to his half century from 64 balls as the innings gained crucial momentum during the middle overs. Smith eventually broke the partnership, Das hitting him high to long on where Cameron Bancroft parried the ball a split second before stepping over the rope to enable Ollie Price to complete a remarkable catch. 

Although Benkenstein raised his 50 in style, slog-sweeping Smith for six, he was unable to convert a substantial score into a truly meaningful one, lofting Goodman to deep cover and becoming part of a mini-collapse that saw Essex slip from 174-4 to 211-7 in six overs. Goodman accounted for Noah Thain and Shane Snater on his way to career-best figures, after which Essex were indebted to Ben Allison and Richards, who staged a useful unbroken stand of 23 for the ninth wicket.

Any suggestion that Essex might have fallen short with the bat was quickly dispelled as Snater took a wrecking ball to the top order, pinning Miles Hammond lbw, bowling Price and then having James Bracey caught behind to reduce Gloucestershire to 28-3 in seven overs.

The only one among the top-order batsmen to reach double figures, Bancroft then nicked a catch behind off Ben Allison as the hosts subsided to 33-4, summoning memories of the dramatic collapse that served to hand victory to Glamorgan in their previous outing. That soon became 43-5, Jack Taylor chopping on as Richards claimed a wicket with his third ball from the Bristol Pavilion end.

Charged with the task of rebuilding, Graeme van Buuren and Ben Charlesworth added 30 runs in 7.4 overs before Gloucestershire suffered a further body blow. On this occasion, it was self-inflicted, van Buuren pushing a ball from Thain to mid-on and setting off in pursuit of a single, only to be run out by Das for 21. When Charlesworth holed out to deep square leg later in the same over, Gloucestershire were 76-7 and heading for a second defeat in four days.

Singh Dale and Smith at least restored a vestige of pride, scoring 63 and 29 not out respectively in a stand of 85 in eight overs, a Gloucestershire record for the last wicket in List-A matches, eclipsing the previous mark set by David Graveney and John Mortimore in a contest against Lancashire at Tewksbury in 1973.

Essex batsman Robin Das said: "That was a very important result for us, especially given that we lost the opening game to Warwickshire. We played well in parts in that first game, but were far more incisive when it mattered here. There was a bit of nip off the pitch with the new ball and our guys up top made the most of it, taking crucial early wickets. Although their tailenders made some runs at the end, the game was already won thanks to Shane Snater, Ben Allison and Jamal Richards. We got on top when the ball was still new and then maintained control right the way through until the finish. It was far from straightforward with the bat on that pitch and we thought that 262 was perhaps slightly better than a par score. We did really well to only lose one wicket when the ball was talking for Gloucestershire and Luc Benkenstein and I were able to build a decent partnership to get us up to something competitive. We were happy with things at the halfway stage."

Gloucestershire seamer Dom Goodman said: "It was a shame to lose those early wickets, because it left us in an impossible position. It was great to see Ajeet (Singh Dale) strike the ball the way he did,  but it came too late in the day to really help us. We spoke about the ball nipping about when it was still new and understood there was a risk up top. In the end, they bowled really well with the new ball and we lost too many wickets too early in the reply. We've often adapted to these kinds of conditions better than the opposition this year, especially in the Blast, but we weren't able to do that today. If you survived the new ball, then the wicket became quite slow and there was not a lot of lateral movement for the spinners. On a personal level, it's good to be taking wickets and I feel the pitches we have played on so far have been conducive to that. It was pleasing to get a few again today, but our focus must now be on producing a better performance when we play Surrey on Tuesday."

Hampshire vs Somerset, Group A, Metro Bank One Day Cup

Toby Albert dominated Somerset to strike a brilliant 96 not out and give Hampshire a second win from two outings in the Metro Bank One Day Cup.

Homegrown Albert arrived after a top-order wobble but took ownership of the chase of 243 with his highest List A score – with a 100-run alliance with Felix Organ getting his side over the line.

Andy Umeed had backed up his opening match century with an effective 84, but Somerset’s 242 always looked below par on a good pitch – and so it proved with last year’s losing finalists reaching the target with 23 balls to spare.

Umeed and Josh Thomas set a strong platform after Somerset had chosen to bat, with the openers comfortably notching 85 in the first 19 overs.

Umeed scored 613 runs in last year’s One Day Cup – with only Warwickshire’s Ed Barnard scoring more – and begun the 2024 edition with a classy unbeaten 114.

He was equally in control at Utilita Bowl – other than an early life when he was dropped at first slip on five. His blueprint was clear; using the leg side for easy singles and the off side for his five fours and one of his two sixes.

Thomas was also serene on his promotion to the top of the order, in place of his ill brother George.

But the partnership was ended by Dom Kelly and a juggling Joe Eckland at deep fine leg, and started an unsure and spluttering spell for the visitors against middle-over spin.

Lewis Goldsworthy never settled and chipped to mid off, James Rew was lbw attempting a paddle, and Umeed – after a 74-ball fifty – slapped a Nick Gubbins drag down to midwicket.

Archie Vaughan was bowled to give Tom Prest his second, Sean Dickson – after a pacy 19 – looked back to find his middle stump had taken a trip, Kasey Aldridge diverted a full toss to short third and Alfie Ogborne and Jack Leach had their off stumps upended.

But Ned Leonard gave the back end of the innings impetus and entertainment, a straight six was the pinnacle but his 28 ball 16 was vital in getting his side to 242, before he was the last man out in the final over.

Hampshire’s reply stuttered in the gloves of Rew, as they found themselves 20 for two and then 61 for three.

Gubbins slashed at Leonard to edge behind to the wicketkeeper for a golden duck before Tom Prest followed in identical swishing off Ogborne.

Rew made it a trio of top-order catches when spinner Goldsworthy’s introduction coerced Ben Brown to attack and sky for his opposite man to take on the dive.

Having put on 41 with Brown, Middleton then strode forward with Albert and to his seventh List A half-century in 62 balls but fell four balls later when he picked out deep extra cover – ending a 40 runs stand.

The run of partnerships reaching 40 before ending continued when Eckland was well caught at short midwicket after 42 with Albert.

Albert had been constantly proactive in his innings and reached a third 50-over fifty in 43 balls, but it was the smart running and putting away of bad balls with Organ that put Hampshire in complete control.

They shattered the 40s curse with an unbroken 100 stand as they simply ticked off each run, each clapped passionately by the crowd.

The only anxiety of the latter stages was whether Albert could get to three figures – ruined by Aldridge bowling a no-ball with three needed and Organ on strike – which left him on 96, and Organ on 46.

Hampshire batter Toby Albert:

“It is a nice competition to start well in and nice to continued what we’ve been doing in recent years.

“We knew it was going to be a tough run chase but we were happy with the way everyone bowled and the way we fielded, so we were happy chasing 242 but we knew the wicket was only going to get worse.

“The rate was at about fives when I came in – the boys had done well to keep up with that rate. I knew I couldn’t chew up too many balls so I just backed my options.

“When we had three runs to win in that last over I told Felix don’t worry about [getting me to a century], just hit the ball and he told me ‘I’m not good enough to worry about you, I’ll just try and get a run!’

“It is nice to be contributing and getting some winning performances together. I’ve always had all the shots it is just knowing when to play them. For example today we needed to see out Leach and in the past I would have played a big shot but now I know how to manage my options.”

“Felix is batting really well. It is nice for him to come in. He thinks it is the first time he’s won a game not out, which is what head coach Adi tells us to do. He’s chuffed.”

 

Somerset coach Paul Tweddle:

“I think in the first half we got off to a really good start and set a platform that was very well done – especially Josh who was doing it for the first time.

“We got into a good position but we weren’t able to capitalise in the middle overs against the spin, which was a combination of them bowling well and us not being able to get the ball away.

“We found it difficult and the pitch was slow but I still felt at the halfway point that it was fairly even stevens.

“We started really well with the ball and kept taking wickets for a bit but you have to credit Albert’s innings.

“From our point of view there are definitely things to learn and grew, but that innings really hurt us. I can’t fault our efforts but it wasn’t enough today.”

Lancashire vs Kent Spitfires, Group A, Metro Bank One Day Cup

Rocky Flintoff became the youngest debutant in Lancashire’s 160-year history when he played against Kent in the Metro-Bank One-Day Trophy but made just 12 in his side’s pulsating five-run defeat at Blackpool.

Flintoff, who is 16 years 113 days old, faced 28 balls for his dozen runs before he was drawn forward by a leg-spinner from Matt Parkinson and stumped by Harry Finch. And the former Lancashire spinner Parkinson was Kent’s hero when he bowled last man Ollie Sutton in the final over to finish with four for 30 off 8.2 overs

It had seemed that Keaton Jennings’ third century at Stanley Park this season would enable Lancashire to get home but Kent battled ferociously hard to defend 209 on a tricky wicket and Beyers Swanepoel’s three for 26 off nine overs was another magnificent effort. Jennings finished unbeaten on 107 off 140 balls with 13 fours and a six

Harry Finch had top-scored for the visitors with 48 and but Jennings’ one-man effort revived his side after they been struggling on 96 for five in the 30th over

Kent managed only 46 runs in their ten Powerplay overs for the loss of Swanepoel, who was caught at cover for 19 off Will Williams. Joey Evison and Ekansh Singh maintained this modest rate of progress until the 15th over when Evison was called for a single to mid-on by Singh and was run out for 22 by Jack Blatherwick’s accurate throw.

Debutant Ollie Sutton then took a wicket with his first legal delivery for Lancashire when Singh attempted to cut a very wide delivery but only skied a catch to George Lavelle at point. However, Sutton’s joy was short-lived. Two balls later, he had to leave the field with a side strain. 

Sutton’s replacement, Josh Bohannon, bowled 5.3 tidy overs of off-spin for 24 runs but left-arm spinner Charlie Barnard took the next wicket, his first in senior cricket, when Jaydn Denly lofted him to long- on and departed for a pleasant 32 that had included five fours.

Moderately placed on 100 for three at the halfway point of their innings, Kent searched in vain for the substantial partnership that is so often concomitant with acceleration. Having made 24, Jack Leaning followed Denly’s example in lofting Barnard straight to Green, who then removed Charlie Stobo, caught and bowled for five.

Grant Stewart played on to Williams for nine and it was left to Harry Finch and Matt Parkinson to put on 33 in nine overs before Parkinson was run out for 19 and the innings ended in the 49th over when Green had Finch caught by Lavelle at deep midwicket for 48 and Nathan Gilchrist was caught by Jennings at point for two. Green ended the innings with three for 38, Williams two for 41 and Barnard two for 47.

Lancashire’s pursuit of 210 began poorly when Swanepoel removed both Bell, caught at slip by Stobo for six, and Bohannon, brilliantly pouched by a diving Evison at cover for five, inside the first eight overs.

Jennings and Balderson repaired the damage with a stand of 41 in 11 overs but any thought that Lancashire’s pursuit would be straightforward were removed when Stobo removed them both in the space of three balls to leave the home side on 65 for four after 19 overs.

The Lancashire skipper then put on 31 in 63 balls with Flintoff and then 24 with Green before the Australian was leg before to Parkinson for five. Jennings was then given stout support from Jack Blatherwick, who lifted Kent skipper Leaning for two huge sixes, and the home side needed 47off the final ten overs of a compelling contest.

Swanepoel was recalled and almost immediately caught and bowled Blatherwick for 25 and Parkinson had Williams caught behind with 22 still needed off 26 balls. Lancashire needed 15 off two overs and Jennings then reached his century with a straight drive to reduce the target to ten off ten. But Barnard was run out for one and Sutton bowled second ball to spark joyous scenes among the visitors.

 

Kent leg-spinner Matt Parkinson said:

“Buzzing is the only word I can use to describe the dressing room at the moment. It’s been a tough few weeks for the lads. The Championship season is not going great and the T20 was the big hope to turn our season around and that didn’t go to plan.

“To lose a close one at Taunton was gutting but the lads have stuck at it and the environment in fantastic, led very well by Mark Dekker, so to get two points today was fantastic.

“You never quite know what the pitch is going to be like here. Sometimes it’s flat and it’s 350, other times it’s like it was today. I think we could have got a few more. I don’t think we communicated as well as we could and maybe we could have got to 230-240, but fortunately 209 was enough.

“I was pretty calm when Jack threw me the ball. We had a plan, we stuck to it and I thought all the bowlers were fantastic to be honest. I’ve bowled the last over a lot to be honest so I didn’t feel too much pressure. I was pleased Ollie Sutton was on strike rather than Jennings after he had nearly killed me when he drilled the ball back at me in the previous over. But I was pretty calm and luckily we got the win.

 

Lancashire coach, Dale Benkenstein, said:

“Gutted to have lost. It was a great game but I thought we prolonged it a little bit. I thought we could have been more positive in the middle period.

“They had a good bowling attack so even though we kept them down to a good total there was a period where I felt we could have kept them down to less given the strength of our bowling and the wicket didn’t look great.

“I was disappointed for Keats who batted through. Even though you only have a small total to chase you still have to play at your own tempo. You still want to be positive, looking to score and that intent can help get you bad balls. If you end up waiting for a bad ball you tend to get out.

“So there’s a bit of a learning there for us, but it would have been better to learn having got over the line. I feel this is an opportunity for us to have a look at some of our players. That’s why I wanted to play Sutton and Flintoff today.

“So as much as you lose, I feel that I’m gaining a heck of a lot of giving players opportunities. In the next six games I’m sure we are going to get on the right side of it, learning a lot as we go along.

“If you do get on a roll, which we have to do soon, you can get some good momentum going into the knockout stages. That is the aim and I do believe we’ve got the team to do it.”

 

   

 

Notts Outlaws v Yorkshire Vikings, Group B, Metro Bank One Day Cup

Notts Outlaws made it two wins in three days at their attractive Welbeck Cricket Club out ground, Brett Hutton taking six for 38 as Yorkshire Vikings were bowled out for 126 as the home side registered an 83-run victory in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.

Seamer Ben Coad had earlier bowled superbly for Vikings, taking three for 14 with off-spinner Dom Bess picking up three for 26 as the home side were dismissed for 209 after being asked to bat first at the picturesque venue in north Nottinghamshire.

That seemed to give Yorkshire a strong chance of maintaining their winning start to the competition following last Thursday’s defeat of Surrey at The Oval.

But after Lyndon James (76) had rescued Notts from 60 for five, hitting 10 fours and a six, the Outlaws’ total proved more than enough as 31-year-old Hutton trumped Coad’s efforts.

Skipper Haseeb Hameed (32) was the only batter in the Outlaws’ top five to make double figures in his side’s wobbly start, but Liam Patterson-White’s run-a-ball 38 backed up James in giving the innings some substance.

The Outlaws had laboured to 25 for three in the opening 10-over powerplay, in which George Hill was unlucky not to be rewarded too as he and new-ball partner Coad conceded just two runs between overs five and ten.

Coad - his side’s top scorer with 31 for good measure - took two wickets in the opening over, having a squared-up Ben Slater caught behind and bringing one back to bowl Jack Haynes, who offered no shot.

He also bowled 19-year-old opener Freddie McCann, picking up his fourth success when Matt Montgomery, after a tortured four from 31 balls, edged to slip. Coad delivered his full 10-over allocation in one spell, conceding only one boundary.

Hameed, joint architect with Slater in a 209-run partnership as Notts beat Sussex on this ground on Friday, made a solid start but fell caught behind off Dom Leech, leaving the home side 60 for five.

But James and Tom Moores turned the tide by adding 73 for the sixth wicket before the latter, struggling to get going as James plundered boundaries from the other end, holed out to long-on to reward left-arm spinner Dan Moriarty’s consistent accuracy.

James pulled Leech for six, hammered four boundaries in another Leech over and three in an over off Matthew Revis, going to fifty from 47 deliveries.

Pinned down in the 70s by Moriarty and Bess, he was caught at long-on off Bess, who picked up two more scalps as Brett Hutton and Luke Fletcher found boundary fielders before Hill recovered from conceding 22 in his penultimate over to bowl Toby Pettman.

Chasing 4.2 runs per over, Yorkshire lost two wickets in the first three overs as Will Luxton’s top-edged pull soared straight up, to be caught by ‘keeper Moores, before skipper Shan Masood was bowled behind his legs by Hutton.

It was at the back end of the powerplay that Yorkshire’s bad start was compounded, with Finlay Bean run out by Haseeb Hameed’s direct hit from mid-off before Hill and Harry Duke went leg before in the same Hutton over to leave the Vikings 39 for five after ten.

Things went from bad to worse thereafter. With variable bounce starting to play a part, Hutton increased his haul to six by bowling Revis and Bess in consecutive overs, before James Wharton, desperate to put some pressure back on the bowlers, was caught at midwicket.

Coad and Leech showed some belated defiance, doubling the score from 53 for eight before Coad, who hit six boundaries, was caught behind off James, who finished off by bowling Leech for 21.

Notts Outlaws bowler Brett Hutton, who took six for 38, said:

“We know this ground well and that’s a huge advantage playing at a club ground because we know what to expect from the pitch and we’ve ended up winning our two games here comfortably, putting two good performances together.

“The pitch offers you a bit of movement and there’s a bit of inconsistent bounce too. It makes you feel that if you bowl a good ball there is always a chance  it will give you a bit back.

“Ben Coad bowled really well on it and the fact we only let him get a four-for was a big part of us winning the game. We know that if you can get past that 30-over mark batting it gets a bit easier to play.

“Lyndon’s innings, that little partnership with Tom (Moores) in the middle of the innings, when Tom didn’t get that many runs but spent that time with him, was massive, and that little flurry of runs from Liam Patterson-White to get us over that 200 mark can’t be overstated for its importance. It gave us all a lift in the changing room, knowing it was a score that might be difficult for them to get.

“I’ve missed quite a few weeks with injury and it has been frustrating recently, watching the lads play when you feel like you’re ready to play but you’re not quite there, so it is just great to be playing again.”

Yorkshire’s Ben Coad, who took a List A career-best four for 13, said:

“We bowled pretty well first up and probably let them get more runs than they ought to have got in the end.  We had them 60 for five but they got away from us a little bit. There is always a partnership but I think we were thinking we should have been bowling them out for around 180, although as things worked out we got nowhere near that anyway.

“I was very happy with the way I bowled. It is a typical club ground and the wicket did a bit first thing, you just have to bowl it in the right areas and I was happy that I did that.

“Brett Hutton is a very good bowler and he did similar to what we were aiming for, hitting his line and length and moving it both ways. If we could have done differently, I’d like us to be a bit more positive, try to knock them off their lengths a bit more because if you just sit there you’re going to get one with your name on it.

“That said, I back our lads. Nine times out of ten we’d get those runs but today they got the better of us.

“We’ve got a good side, we played very well against Surrey the other day and hopefully this is just a blip.”



Surrey vs Glamorgan, Group B, Metro Bank One Day Cup

Glamorgan thumped Surrey by seven wickets in a Metro Bank One-Day Cup group B match at the Kia Oval after bowling them out for 121 in 34 overs.

It then took the Welsh county only 15.5 overs to knock off the runs, with Colin Ingram launching one magnificent six over long off from down the pitch against fast bowler James Taylor as he ended up on 39 not out from 26 balls in their 123 for three.

Opener Eddie Byrom, who took a six and a four from Matt Dunn’s first over, also made a quickfire 28 before being caught at mid wicket off Conor McKerr.

Only Ben Foakes, with 44, and tailender McKerr (25) made significant scores for Surrey, who have now lost both of their first two One-Day Cup games. Glamorgan, by contrast, have begun the competition with two wins.

Surrey, put in on a well-grassed surface, were soon 11 for three as Glamorgan’s new ball bowlers, Jamie McIlroy and Timm van der Gugten, found significant help from the pitch.

Ryan Patel managed one scoring shot, an inside edge for four off McIlroy, before hitting Van der Gugten to Kiran Carlson in the covers.

Ben Geddes fell first ball, cutting McIlroy to point, and Dom Sibley had made just six when McIlroy nipped one away off the seam to have the former England Test opener caught at slip.

Foakes joined Rory Burns to rally Surrey with a partnership of 53 for the fourth wicket but Glamorgan were well on top when Burns and Cam Steel fell to successive balls from seamer Dan Douthwaite.

Burns (9) was leg-before and Steel edged behind as Douthwaite found more movement away from the right-hander.

Josh Blake was run out for two, by Tom Bevan’s throw, attempting a second run and his dismissal left Surrey on 73 for six.

And all hope of posting a competitive total was shattered when Foakes, who included a pulled six and seven fours in a fine innings, was smartly caught at slip off Andy Gorvin’s medium pace.

Yousef Majid nicked Gorvin behind on seven and McKerr’s useful knock was ended when the ambidextrous Ben Kellaway switched from bowling right-arm spin to slow left arm – for the first time in a county match – and promptly skidded one through McKerr’s back-foot defensive stroke to bowl him.

Last man Dunn was leg-before to Kellaway, now back bowling right-arm, for a fourth ball duck, leaving Taylor unbeaten on 10.

Kellaway finished with two for 16 from seven overs and there were also two wickets apiece for McIlroy, Douthwaite and Gorvin.

When Glamorgan batted, Will Smale (14) helped Byrom add 43 in just 5.5 overs for the first wicket and Carlson contributed 16 before edging a spiteful lifter from Taylor to keeper Blake, to leave Billy Root to stay with Ingram until victory was clinched with the small matter of 34.1 overs to spare.

 

Sussex Sharks v Warwickshire, Group B, Metro Bank One Day Cup

Worcestershire Rapids v Durham, Group A, Metro Bank One Day Cup

Worcestershire recovered from a disastrous with the bat start to register their second successive win in the Metro Bank One Day Cup against Durham by 93 runs at Visit Worcestershire New Road.

Captain Jake Libby perfectly paced 89 from 117 balls demonstrated how to mastermind a recovery from a challenging position at 61-5 in leading Worcestershire to a substantial total.

Worcestershire’s leading One Day Cup scorer for the past two seasons was given superb support by initially Tom Taylor, then debutant Fateh Singh with his List A best 60, and Tom Hinley

Durham were then in initial disarray themselves with the bat after Tom Taylor picked up three wickets in the first over of the innings including skipper Alex Lees.

Ben McKinney’s maiden List A half century revived their fortunes but Worcestershire newcomer and former Sussex spinner Hinley then made a major impact in the latter stages of the innings.

He picked up five wickets in his first ever bowl in List A cricket as Durham were bowled out in 33.3 overs.

Worcestershire handed a debut to England Under-19 spinner Singh, who has signed on loan from Nottinghamshire for the tournament.

The game was played on the same hybrid pitch as the Vitality Blast matches with Birmingham Bears and Yorkshire plus the Middlesex fixture and there was early swing.

Libby opted to bat but Gareth Roderick departed in the first over when he drove Bas de Leede into the hands of point.

Ed Pollock mistimed a pull against Paul Coughlin and was caught by Killeen running around to mid wicket.

Rob Jones was undone by a delivery from Coughlin as he edged to Scott Borthwick at first slip.

Worcestershire limped to 33-3 by the end of the powerplay and lost a fourth wicket when Ethan Brookes attempted to pull James Minto and was caught behind down the leg side.

Then Rehaaan Edavalath nicked a delivery which left him from Minto to give keeper Haydon Mustard another scalp.

Libby was content to accumulate in ones and twos while new batter Taylor collected three boundaries – a straight drive and pull off Mitchell Killeen and another to fine leg at de Leede’s expense.

The sixth wicket pair brought up the 100 in the 27th over and added 40 but then Taylor (25) was lbw to a Jonathan Bushnell delivery which jagged back sharply.

On loan debutant Singh showed his capabilities with the bat and smote Colin Ackerman for six over mid wicket and then came down the pitch to loft the same bowler straight back down the ground.

The left hander was the dominant partner in a half century with Libby in just 40 balls.

Libby completed a highly responsible 81 ball half century and Singh reached the same milestone for the first time from the very next delivery – his 35th

It contained one six and five fours and the stand was worth 89 when Singh (60) was caught at mid-on off the returning Coughlin.

The stand was Worcestershire’s highest for the seventh wicket versus Durham in List A cricket, surpassing the 68 by Stephen Moore and Steve Rhodes at New Road 20 years ago.

New batter Tom Hinley made a quickfire 24 in a stand of 48 with Libby before being run out by a direct hit from deep mid wicket attempting a second to the non-striker’s end.

Tom Sturgess then suffered the same fate after De Leede had fielded his drive off his own bowling and threw down the wicket at the keeper’s end.

The Durham innings then got off to a dramatic start with the three wickets falling to the second, fifth and sixth balls in the opening over from Taylor

Alex Lees nibbled at a delivery which moved away and was caught behind, de Leede perished to a head high catch by Rob Jones at second slip and then a superb delivery jagged back and Colin Ackerman inside edged through to keeper Gareth Roderick.

It became 16-4 when Michael Jones turned Harry Darley to mid wicket and set off for a single but was run out by Libby’s direct hit at the non striker’s end.

Ben McKinney and Scott Borthwick set about effecting a recovery and added 79 in untroubled fashion with the former completing a 57 ball fifty.

But the game swung back in Worcestershire’s favour with Hinley’s four wicket burst.

Borthwick fell to a fine diving catch by Brookes at cover, Bushnell was stumped off a wide and then Hinley bowled Mustard and trapped Coughlin lbw.

McKinney’s fine knock finally ended on 80 when he holed out in the deep off Singh and then Hinley completed his nap hand by having Minto caught behind.

 

Worcestershire One Day Cup captain Jake Libby said: “It was tough batting early on and there was some swing and we didn’t get through it as well as we would have liked.

“But we know we can cash in at the back end and we did really well and Fateh (Singh) was key to that.

“I saw my role as anchoring the innings today. The scoreboard sort of dictated that and I was just trying to get us through the 50 overs and trying to get a competitive total.

“We were looking to get up to 180-200 and anything past that was a bonus and a couple of special innings down the order meant we managed to get up to what we did.

“At the half-way stage we were about par (261) but to get up to that was really good.

“Tom Taylor bowled a sensational first over and three really big wickets as well (Lees, de Leede and Ackermann).

“He bowled brilliantly up top and got his rewards and put us in a really strong position.”

 

Durham coach Ryan Campbell said: “Very disappointed with the result. There were times when we were on top in the game but, in this competition, you are going to have lots of ups and downs.

“You are going to play your youngsters and you hope that some come through and Ben McKinney today, and young James Minto, 16 years of age, bowled beautifully at the start.

“At the end of the day, we are also about winning cricket games and we couldn’t do that today.

“I thought Libby played outstanding and showed, if you got in, there were plenty of runs to be had. It was a beautiful wicket.

“With the new ball it nibbled around a bit, but you had to show patience and you had to stay in.

“I thought young Fateh Singh came in (for Worcestershire) and really ignited Libby as well and we didn’t have the answers.

“I thought 260 was probably over the odds from once the position we had.”

 

 

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