Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Adam Lyth top-scored for Yorkshire with 38 in defeat at the Banks Homes Riverside this evening.
Durham v Yorkshire
Vitality Blast, North Group
Friday June 21, 2025, 6.30pm
Banks Homes Riverside
Toss: Yorkshire won it and elected to bowl
Teams – Durham: Alex Lees c, Graham Clark, Ollie Robinson w, Colin Ackermann, Ben McKinney, Will Rhodes, Jimmy Neesham, Zak Foulkes, Matthew Potts, Nathan Sowter, Callum Parkinson.
Yorkshire: Dawid Malan c, Adam Lyth, Will Luxton, Jonny Bairstow w, James Wharton, Will Sutherland, Dom Bess, Jordan Thompson, Jafer Chohan, Will O’Rourke, Dan Moriarty.
Match Summary: Yorkshire’s quarter-final hopes are hanging by a thread after another damaging North Group defeat against Durham, this by 63 runs chasing 194.
In reply to Durham’s 193-4, Yorkshire were bowled out for 130 inside 18 overs. It was their sixth defeat in eight in this campaign and their second in six days against this opponent.
Will O’Rourke claimed three wickets for Yorkshire, while Adam Lyth top-scored with 38.
New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham starred for Durham with 42 not out off 21 balls before taking two wickets with his canny seamers. The hosts have won five in eight in the North Group.
A period of play early in Yorkshire’s chase was also played against the backdrop of a ground power-cut here at the Riverside.
Match Report: Yorkshire will be sick of the sight of Durham!
They beat the White Rose on Sunday at York and then again tonight. They also triumphed in the Championship match here at the Riverside earlier in the season.
Yorkshire started nicely, conceding only seven runs in the first two overs. But Durham hit back courtesy of their captain, Alex Lees.
He clobbered four fours in five balls, pulling well and hitting down the ground, as 17 runs came off Will O’Rourke in the third over, the hosts going on to reach 50-0 from five overs.
Lees edged the same bowler behind in the sixth over, falling for 40 off 24 balls.
And O’Rourke went on to strike three times.
Every Durham batter aside from Ben McKinney, who made five before top-edging behind off Jafer Chohan, contributed.
Opener Clark also excelled, as did experienced Neesham, who crashed two sixes in his late assault, including a huge heave over mid-wicket off O’Rourke.
Clark started the 13th over by muscling back-to-back sixes down the ground off Chohan’s leg-spin before reaching his fifty off 30 balls later in the over.
Having shared 56 with Lees, Clark added a third-wicket 62 with Colin Ackermann, 28, before both holed out to O’Rourke in the 15th over – 133-4.
Neesham then ended with a bang, and Yorkshire had a serious task on their hands.
They did start well, however, with captain Dawid Malan hoisting a six over mid-wicket off Callum Parkinson’s spin as 24 came from the first two overs.
Malan, on 21, was bowled by Potts with the score on 42 in the fifth over.
The brief power cut didn’t stop play despite no floodlights or scoreboard, and it also seemed as if Yorkshire’s power was cut as the score reached 74-3 after 10 overs, with 120 more needed.
Jonny Bairstow was bowled for 19 as he tried to attack Nathan Sowter’s leg-spin before Will Luxton dragged left-armer Parkinson to long-on.
And when Lyth was run out backing up by Parkinson following a fierce Will Sutherland drive, Yorkshire were 91-5 in the 12th over and under severe pressure.
It was quickly evident that their task was too tall, and with it surely went their hopes of quarter-final qualification.
Sowter struck again to remove Jordan Thompson shortly afterwards before Neesham’s seam – 2-23 from three overs – ousted Sutherland and Chohan as the White Rose fell a long way short.
Light’s out: The power-cut came in the fifth over of Yorkshire’s chase at 49-1, and it may sound strange but it felt like the confusion sucked the momentum out of things. It wasn’t the decisive moment in the game by any stretch, but maybe it could have had an impact.
The floodlights and the scoreboard went off, but with the sun shining play continued following a brief stoppage. From there, Yorkshire just couldn’t get going.
Magic Moment: James Wharton took a superb diving catch out at deep mid-wicket to help Will O’Rourke dismiss Graham Clark for 53, leaving Durham at 133-4 in the 15th over.
Stat of the Match: The most important one. It may be that Yorkshire have to win their last six games of the group stage to have any chance of quarter-final qualification.
What They Said: Yorkshire head coach Anthony McGrath said:
“It was pretty embarrassing if I’m honest. The last two performances have not been anywhere near good enough.
“Again, we lost our way, and anytime we have a bump in the road we seem to have a bad three or four overs and can’t deal with that. We just give all the momentum away to the opposition.
“We did it a bit with the ball tonight and then with the bat. We were going well in the powerplay, but there were six or seven overs where we got behind the rate and lost wickets. Very disappointing.
“The pitch was pretty good, but maybe they were a bit over par at half-time.
“There’s no excuses. We haven’t played well enough as a team.
“You can have great individuals, and we’ve got that. But we’re just not playing well enough and are not smart enough either when push comes to shove.”
Meanwhile, McGrath also revealed that Will O’Rourke’s initial eight-game T20 stint has been extended to include the ninth and 10th group matches in July.
What’s Next: Yorkshire are back in Rothesay County Championship action against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge on Sunday. After a fortnight of Championship cricket, their next Blast match is against Worcestershire Rapids at Headingley on Friday July 4.
