Yorkshire’s first limited-overs match in Durham was a Gillette Cup fixture in 1979 at Chester-le-Street’s club ground on Ropery Lane. That was the only game in this format in Durham until the northernmost county joined the elite in 1992 since when the two counties have met on an regular basis. Paul Dyson looks back at the Durham’s first home win against Yorkshire which was achieved after an exciting conclusion. The picture of Craig White appears by courtesy of Mick Pope.
April 15, 2000 at Chester-le-Street: Durham 178-4 in 40 overs (NJ Speak 72, JJB Lewis 55*); Yorkshire 168-9 in 40 overs (C White 45, DS Lehmann 40, PD Collingwood 4-31). Durham won by ten runs.
This match was in the group stages of the Benson & Hedges Cup and both teams were making their first appearances in all competitions for that season. Yorkshire won the toss and asked Durham to bat in a match reduced from 50 overs per side to 40. Chris Silverwood struck early to remove wicket-keeper Martin Speight and Australian Simon Katich and reduce the hosts to seven for two on what was turning out to be a slow pitch. There was then a brief rally before Gavin Hamilton had local boy Jimmy Daley lbw. Nick Speak was in the early throes of his spell as Durham’s captain and he and Jonathan Lewis repaired the innings so successfully that they put on 102 together in 19 overs. Speak’s captain’s innings consisted of 72 from 98 balls and Lewis was left 55 not out from 71 balls when the overs ran out, and Durham closed on 178 for four, Paul Collingwood’s 18 coming in the final two overs. Yorkshire employed a five-man pace-attack; four of them had already played for England and the fifth would do so later in this season. Each of them bowled eight overs. Darren Gough, who had claimed Speak’s wicket by clean-bowling him, was the most economical with one for 23. Silverwood, despite his two wickets, was the most expensive, his eight overs costing 42 runs.
Yorkshire passed the half-century mark with only one wicket down and with the score on 122 for two looked very well-placed. Craig White and Darren Lehmann had shared a stand of 69 but Neil Killeen then removed Lehmann for 40. Michael Vaughan joined White but after his departure there was a spectacular collapse. White was clean-bowled by Killeen as six wickets fell, the medium-paced bowling of Paul Collingwood being responsible for four of them, for 22 runs in nine overs. Yorkshire finished ten runs short and Durham had also employed only pace bowlers. Collingwood’s four for 31 was the stand-out performance but John Wood conceded only 23 runs but Steve Harmison was the most expensive, his figures being two for 42 in his eight overs.
Despite this defeat, Yorkshire finished their group programme in first place, having won three of their five games. Durham also won three games but lost two (Yorkshire had one no result match) and so finished third but still qualified for the quarter-finals. Each of these two teams’ games in that stage were close, but both ended in defeat: Durham lost to Lancashire by three wickets and Surrey beat Yorkshire by a mere seven runs.
Man of the Match:
Although bowlers win matches and it was Collingwood who supplied the vital spell in this regard it was Nick Speak who won the Gold Award. Born in Manchester in 1966 he attended Parrs Wood High School and played for Lancashire for ten seasons from 1987, winning his cap in 1992. That season was the first of three successive years when he passed the 1,000-run mark in first-class matches. With 1,892 runs at an average of 57.33 it was his best season, this applying also to List A cricket, his 788 runs averaging 41.47.
Speak joined Durham for the 1997 season and succeeded David Boon to the captaincy after a three-year spell in the ranks. Unfortunately he did not bring the hoped-for success and relegation from the County Championship’s first division (in the first year of two divisions) and seventh position in Division Two of the Norwich Union National League as well as lack of success in the two knock-out tournaments meant that his tenure of office lasted for only one season.
Speak appeared in only seven matches in 2001 and then left the game, not even returning to club cricket. A very promising batsman in his early years, he spent several winters in Australia and New Zealand. His final first-class figures were 9,692 runs at 35.50, the highest of his 15 centuries being a score of 232 against Leicestershire at Leicester in his annus mirabilis of 1992. In List A matches he scored 3,713 runs at 28.56, his one century – also in 1992 – coming against Yorkshire at Headingley.
SOME RECORDS
Results (home and away)
Played 32, Yorkshire won 18, Durham won 13, No Result 1. Also one game abandoned.
Highest innings totals
Durham 335-5 (50 overs) Headingley 2017
At home 281-7 (50 overs) Chester-le-Street 2015
Yorkshire 339-4 (47.4/50 overs) Headingley 2017
Away 271-7 (50 overs) Chester-le-Street 2002
Lowest innings totals
Durham 121 (30.4/40 overs) Scarborough 1997
At home 136 (32/40 overs) Chester-le-Street 1996
Yorkshire 122 (39.5/40 overs) Chester-le-Street 2007
At home 133 (39.1/40 overs) Headingley 1995
Highest individual innings
Durham 124* JP Maher Chester-le-Street 2006
Away 114 W Larkins Headingley 1993
Yorkshire 174 JM Bairstow Headingley 2017
Away 101* C White Chester-le-Street 2006
Highest wicket partnerships
Durham 139 (2nd) W Larkins (114) & PWG Parker (54) Headingley 1993
Yorks 189 (2nd) JM Bairstow (174) & JE Root (55) Headingley 2017
Best bowling
Durham 5-15 BR Lander Harrogate 1971
At home 4-31 PD Collingwood Chester-le-Street 2000
Yorkshire 4- 9 CM Old Middlesbrough 1978
Away 4-26 CEW Silverwood Chester-le-Street 1996
Most dismissals in an innings by a wicket-keeper
5 (3 ct 2 st) RJ Blakey Yorkshire Chester-le-Street 2002
4 (3 ct 1 st) P Mustard Durham Chester-le-Street 2005
4 (3 ct 1 st) GL Brophy Yorkshire Headingley 2008
4 (3 ct 1 st) P Mustard Durham Headingley 2014
4 (3 ct 1 st) AJ Hodd Yorkshire Chester-le-Street 2015
Most dismissals in an innings by a fielder
3 AP Grayson Yorkshire Durham 1994
3 C White Yorkshire Headingley 1998
A half-century and four wickets in a match
C White Yorkshire 64 & 4-18 Scarborough 1997
GM Fellows Yorkshire 50 & 4-19 Headingley 2002
