Durham v Derbyshire (Twenty20 Cup)

GARRY Park returned to haunt Durham last night as he helped to resurrect the Derbyshire one-day bogey.

The jinx seemed to have been exorcised, but returned with a vengeance as what looks a far inferior side on paper won the Twenty20 Cup tie by 59 runs.

Following victory in the opening match at Trent Bridge, defeat for Durham was as big a disappointment as the crowd of 2,625 on a sunny evening.

Park chose to leave Durham during the winter after playing in only one championship game last season and three T20 games, in two of which he did not bat. He has made an immediate impact as an allrounder at Derby, playing in every match so far in all forms of the game.

Derbyshire sent him in at No 3 last night and he contributed 50 to a stand of 95 in ten overs with Australian left-hander Chris Rogers.

Park showed what a resourceful player he is as he outpaced his partner, despite the fact that Rogers out-scored him 3-0 in sixes.

Sweeps and reverse sweeps were cannily placed wide of the fielders as Park hit seven fours to reach his 50 off 33 balls, three faster than Rogers.

Derbyshire’s 175 for six did not look insurmountable on a good pitch, but Durham batted dreadfully and even gifted Park two wickets.

They were all out for 116 in 15.3 overs, with Kyle Coetzer making the top score of 31 before his careless exit sparked the final capitulation.

With Dale Benkenstein for company, Coetzer had no need for rash strokes when Durham were 81 for four after ten overs. But he was bowled off stump when attempting an ungainly legside swipe off former Yorkshire leg-spinner Mark Lawson.

As Durham had strengthened the bowling by bringing in Steve Harmison in place of Gordon Muchall, who had batted at No 8 at Trent Bridge, there was not a lot of batting left.

When Benkenstein was bowled making room to hit seamer Tim Groenewald through the off side the tail were left with a hopeless task in the lengthening shadows, Will Smith again having chosen to put the opposition in.

As Twenty20 cricket depends for its drama on a tight finish, most of the interest surrounded the revolutionary new Mongoose bat unveiled by Stuart Law.

Having made 32 with a conventional bat, he sent for the Mongoose with two overs of Derbyshire’s innings left.

Featuring a shorter, fatter, more rigid blade with the shoulders cut away, and a more flexible handle, it was the first time the bat had been used in competitive cricket.

Law faced five balls with it, scoring four singles and smashing a Mitch Claydon full toss for a huge six over mid-wicket. After his matchwinning heroics at Trent Bridge, Claydon had figures of none for 47.

The only time Durham were in the game was when Park and Rogers both fell with the total on 102, just when the Durham spinners were taking another caning after recording combined figures of 8-0-76-0 the previous day.

Ian Blackwell’s one over cost 14 runs and Gareth Breese had conceded 28 runs when Rogers hoisted the last ball of his third over to longoff.

In the next over Park set off from the non-striker’s end when Wavell Hinds played the ball to backward point, but the West Indian refused to budge and Park was run out.

Hinds then edged an attempted pull to be caught behind, but from 104 for four in the 13th over Law classily demonstrated the art of offside play, as opposed to the predominant bashing to leg in this form of cricket.

He stepped back to stroke the ball through the covers and twice guided short balls from Harmison very fine to third man for four. Whether he could have done that with a shoulder-less Mongoose is open to doubt, but it was a very meaty thwack which saw his six comfortably clear the mid-wicket rope.

Law and Graham Wagg were run out at the end of the innings, but Derbyshire had made far too many for Durham, who are still hoping David Warner will arrive in time for Friday’s home match against Leicestershire.

SCORECARD

Durham v Derbyshire
At Riverside.
Derbyshire Innings
C J Rogers c W R Smith b Breese 50
G M Smith c Blackwell b Onions 0
G T Park run out 50
W W Hinds c Mustard b Onions 1
S G Law run out 42
J L Sadler not out 25
G G Wagg run out 1
Extras (b1 w3 nb2 pens 0) 6
Total 6 wkts Innings Complete
(20 overs) 175
Fall: 1-7 2-102 3-102 4-104 5-174 6-175
Did Not Bat: D J Pipe, T D Groenewald, M
A K Lawson, T Lungley.
Killeen 4-0-31-0. Onions 4-0-23-2. Claydon
4-0-47-0. S J Harmison 4-0-31-0. Breese 3-
0-28-1. Blackwell 1-0-14-0.

Durham Innings
P Mustard c Rogers b Groenewald 23
M J Di Venuto b Lungley 7
W R Smith b Lungley 0
I D Blackwell c Pipe b Wagg 8
K J Coetzer b Lawson 31
D M Benkenstein b Groenewald 10
G R Breese b Park 16
M E Claydon c Rogers b Lawson 2
S J Harmison b Park 0
G Onions not out 13
N Killeen b Lungley 3
Extras (w1 nb2 pens 0) 3
Total (15.3 overs) 116
Fall: 1-9 2-9 3-22 4-71 5-81 6-83 7-96
8-100 9-101
Wagg 4-0-36-1. Lungley 2.3-0-16-3. Groenewald
4-0-19-2. Lawson 3-0-29-2. Park 2-
0-16-2.

Derbyshire beat Durham by 59 runs