Durham fail to light blue touch paper in CB 40 clash (From The Northern Echo)

Durham fail to light blue touch paper in CB 40 clash

10:42am Monday 26th July 2010 in

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DURHAM’S season simply refuses to ignite. While the Alex Hales factor reared its head again yesterday to underline their misfortunes, it is clear that all is not well at the Emirates Durham ICG.

Hales’ controversial boundary catch in the Twenty20 home defeat by Nottinghamshire appeared to halt Durham’s brief surge in June and on his return for the CB 40 clash he survived a chance on two to make 96 not out as his side cruised to a five-wicket win.

In an otherwise abject batting display by Durham, Gordon Muchall made an excellent 77 in a total of 181 for eight and the visitors passed that with 4.1 overs to spare.

Durham have now suffered three successive defeats in this competition after recording two wins and a washout in the first three games. Unless they come up with a batting order which works they are not going to set the competition alight.

After playing in the previous two championship matches, Muchall had to make way for Paul Collingwood against Lancashire last week. He has been in good form for South Shields, totalling 250 runs on the last two Saturdays, while Ben Harmison has not had a significant knock of any kind for some time.

Batting at three, Harmison made a seven-ball duck, while Michael Di Venuto again failed to back his case for a one-day recall.

Despite having played in nine one-day internationals for Australia, Di Venuto has always been a much better four-day player for Durham.

Ian Blackwell formed a more productive one-day opening partnership with Phil Mustard last season, but Di Venuto wanted another chance and was granted it in the previous CB 40 match more than two months ago.

He scored 17 in a miserable performance at home to Leicestershire and when he was again out for 17 yesterday it signalled a quick slide to 36 for three. Despite Muchall’s admirable effort, Durham never really recovered.

Beaten twice by Nottinghamshire in the T20 and by an innings in the championship match at Trent Bridge, they have surrendered the stranglehold they had over these opponents last season.

Even skipper Phil Mustard, the fourth man out after trying to hold things together, was never able to time the ball in making 29 off 58 balls with one four – a leg glance off Paul Franks’ first ball.

That was in the ninth over and Durham didn’t hit another boundary until the 24th, when Blackwell drove past mid-off. Shortly afterwards he offered a return catch off the first ball sent down by Samit Patel, who had come on for the last two balls of an over when Luke Fletcher limped off.

Gareth Breese was the third Durham batsman to hit one four, otherwise all the boundaries came from Muchall (6) and Di Venuto, who cut and pulled three between the third and fifth overs. He then got an inside edge into his stumps off Darren Pattinson.

Mustard lost patience in the 22nd over, when he went down the pitch and was bowled by Graeme White. In the left-arm spinner’s next over Muchall gave his only chance when deep mid-off got his right hand to a firmly-struck drive.

That signalled the start of Muchall’s acceleration and he drove two successive balls from White for four in the 26th over, adding a boundary clipped wide of long-on to his tally just before reaching 50 off 73 balls. He was really motoring when, with help from Breese, he took 15 off the 37th over, bowled by Franks.

But there was to be no blistering climax as the remaining three overs produced a total of only 15 runs as Muchall skied a return catch to medium pacer Steve Mullaney and Breese top-edged a pull to deep square leg.

As Leicestershire had scorched past Durham’s last CB 40 total of 189 for nine, a score of eight fewer was never going to test Nottinghamshire.

It didn’t help that Hales was dropped on two by Breese at slip off Chris Rushworth, who was preferred to Steve Harmison as Durham try to keep players involved.

Hales had made eight when he inside edged Mitch Claydon just wide of off stump and a fierce cut for four off the same bowler hinted at his striking ability.

Patel joined Hales at 71 for two in the 16th over and was soon timing his drives well enough to suggest Durham could not blame a sluggish pitch for their struggles.

They put on 86 in 13 overs and the target was down to 25 off ten when Patel needlessly got himself stumped for 46.

Claydon then prolonged matters with a lively spell in which he had David Hussey and Mullaney caught behind, the former falling to a brilliant one-handed catch by Mustard above his head.

Hales completed the formalities by guiding a short ball from Liam Plunkett to third man for his ninth four.

He also hit one six in an impressive 113-ball innings.

Scoreboard

Durham v Nottinghamshire At Emirates Durham ICG

Durham Innings

P Mustard b G G White .......................29

M J Di Venuto b Pattinson ...................17

B W Harmison b Fletcher .................... 0

D M Benkenstein c Read b Franks ........ 2

G J Muchall c & b Mullaney .................77

I D Blackwell c & b S R Patel ...............14

B A Stokes b S R Patel ........................12

G R Breese c Sub b Pattinson ...............17

L E Plunkett not out ............................ 4

M E Claydon not out ........................... 2

Extras (lb6 w1 pens 0)................. 7

Total 8 wkts Innings Complete (40 overs) ............................181

Fall: 1-25 2-26 3-36 4-74 5-107 6-141 7- 174 8-177

Did Not Bat: C Rushworth.

Bowling: Pattinson 8-2-24-2. Fletcher 5.4- 0-21-1. Franks 6-0-36-1. Mullaney 8-0-33- 1. G G White 8-0-42-1. S Patel 4.2-0-19-2.

Nottinghamshire Innings

A D Hales not out ................................96

A D Brown b Rushworth ...................... 8

M J Wood c Muchall b Plunkett .............11

S R Patel st Mustard b Blackwell ...........46

D J Hussey c Mustard b Claydon .......... 0

S J Mullaney c Mustard b Claydon ....... 8

C M Read not out ................................ 0

Extras (lb1 w8 nb4 pens 0)..........13

Total 5 wkts (35.5 overs).....182

Fall: 1-26 2-71 3-157 4-158 5-172

Did Not Bat: P J Franks, G G White, D J Pattinson, L J Fletcher.

Bowling: Claydon 8-0-36-2. Rushworth 5- 0-19-1. B W Harmison 5-0-32-0. Plunkett 6.5-0-35-1. Breese 6-0-34-0. Blackwell 5-0- 25-1.

Nottinghamshire beat Durham by five wickets.