Durham v Yorkshire
Vitality Blast, North Group
Friday June 17, 2022, 6.30pm
The Seat Unique Riverside, Chester-le-Street
Toss: Yorkshire won it and elected to bat
Teams: Durham – Clark, Jones, Robinson w, Turner c, Eckersley, Borthwick, Raine, Bushnell, Coughlin, Trevaskis, Sowter,
Yorkshire – Lyth, Allen, Kohler-Cadmore w, Brook c, Khan, Fraine, Thompson, Revis, Bess, Leech, Shutt.
Match summary: Yorkshire took a significant step towards the Vitality Blast quarter-finals with a convincing fifth win in nine North Group matches – by 65 runs – with Adam Lyth leading a number of excellent personal contributions.
Harry Brook’s senior captaincy debut saw Lyth’s 81 off 46 balls underpin a commanding 201-5 before off-spinners Jack Shutt and Dom Bess impressed by sharing six wickets as Durham responded meekly with 136-8.
Shutt, 24-years-old, finished with 4-35 from four overs and Bess 2-24 from four.
Openers Lyth and excellent Finn Allen (48) shared a blistering 105 inside nine overs for the first wicket to set the Vikings on their way to a total of 201-5, also including Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s vital unbeaten 48.
Kohler-Cadmore expertly ensured momentum was not completely lost when the Vikings lost four wickets for six runs in 12 balls, slipping from 164-1 in the 15th over.
He ensured the total achieved was north of 200, and that proved to be out of Durham’s reach.
Report: Yorkshire consolidated fourth place in the table behind Birmingham, Northamptonshire and leaders Lancashire at the top of the North Group.
Lyth scored all of the first 27 runs in this before Allen caught him up thanks, in no small part, to two sixes over long-on off the leg-spin of Scott Borthwick and Nathan Sowter.
They were together on 47, by which time the Vikings were well on their way at 97-0 in the eighth over.
This was a much quicker pitch than the one which saw Durham chase 131 to beat Lancashire by two wickets here last Friday night.
Lyth was strong on both sides of the wicket and got going with three fours in a row off Paul Coughlin’s seamers in the second over and later flicked his only six over long-leg.
When Allen was bowled trying to pull Borthwick, leaving the score at 105-1 in the ninth over, the powerful New Zealander can console himself for missing a maiden Vikings fifty by two runs with the knowledge that he had contributed heavily to an exceptional start.
Lyth had reached his fifty off 24 just before Allen’s departure, but the left-hander was the first part of a collapse of four wickets for six runs in 12 balls as the score slipped from 164-1 in the 15th over to 170-5 in the 17th.
Lyth holed out off Borthwick to long-off, who then removed Harry Brook for a golden duck caught at mid-on. Shadab Khan found deep mid-wicket off the left-arm spin of Liam Trevaskis, handing Jonathan Bushnell his third catch in quick succession before Will Fraine was run out.
It was a good fightback from Durham, but the damage had already been done by some earlier loose bowling and ground fielding.
Stood watching the wickets fall at the other end was Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who was excellent with sixes over long-on and mid-wicket in his unbeaten 48 off 37.
Dom Leech (1-17 from three overs) bowled Graham Clark as his first two overs with the new ball only went for 12 amidst a tidy start to the defence, with Durham reaching 42-1 after six overs of powerplay.
Both sides played three spinners, but Yorkshire were able to stifle things much more effectively as the pitch seemed to slow up as the game progressed.
Jack Shutt, on the ground where he took 5-11 in 2019, effectively sealed the deal with two wickets in four balls as the hosts slipped to 61-3 in the 10th over.
He had opener Michael Jones (34) bowled on the cut and then got captain Ashton Turner caught at long-off.
From there, Durham’s progression was nothing more than consolatory as the victory task was insurmountable.
The impressive Dom Bess then struck twice in the 14th over, with Ned Eckersley skewing to cover and Paul Coughlin bowled – 87-5.
Ollie Robinson hit two of three sixes in four balls against Shutt in the 15th over before holing out to backward point (109-6).
Jordan Thompson struck and Shutt then bowled a reversing Trevaskis before the win was all but mathematically sealed with two overs remaining as, at 127-8, Durham needed 75.
Turning point: Yorkshire reached 50-0 in only 3.3 overs to set the tone for win number five, and Durham just couldn’t drag things back.
Magic moment: There were highlights aplenty in this game for the Vikings; Adam Lyth, Finn Allen and Tom Kohler-Cadmore all excelling with the bat.
But Jack Shutt’s two wickets in four balls inside his first two overs, leaving Durham 61-3 in the 10th over, all but sealed victory. He bowled Michael Jones and had Durham’s Australian captain Ashton Turner caught at long-off.
After his 2019 exploits here, it is clear Shutt loves bowling at this venue.
Stat of the match: Elsewhere, Birmingham Bears posted 261-2 in beating Nottinghamshire Outlaws at Trent Bridge, the highest total in Vitality Blast history.
It beat the previous record of 260-4, posted by Yorkshire in beating Northamptonshire at Headingley in 2017. Adam Lyth scored 161 in that game.
What they said – Jack Shutt: “We’re very, very pleased with that.
“The lads set a great platform up front. I don’t think it was a 200 pitch, so Lythy, Pepsi (Tom Kohler-Cadmore) and Finn batted brilliantly up top. Then, all of the bowlers did a really good job as well.
“That’s two really good wins and performances on the bounce now after the lads beat Birmingham very comprehensively last week. We have a lot of momentum now, so let’s hope we can continue it for the rest of the competition.
“I do enjoy myself bowling up here. I’ve had a couple of good performances here. It’s a nice big ground and the pitch did have something in it for me.
“I was thinking in my last over, ‘Shall I toss a couple up here to see if they’ll have a go (for my fifth wicket), but they didn’t’. But I really enjoyed it out there.”
“If we play like this at Chesterfield tomorrow, we have a great chance of winning there as well.”
What’s next: Yorkshire are straight on the road down to Chesterfield, where they face Derbyshire Falcons at the Queen’s Park ground tomorrow afternoon (2.30pm).
They will be aiming for revenge against a side who beat them in a rain-affected eight-over game at Headingley earlier in the competition.
