Durham 176-9 (Thomson 3-23)
Derbyshire 180-4 (du Plooy 47, Guest 34*, Critchley 33*, Wood 32)
Derbyshire won by six wickets
It was our highest winning run chase against Durham and the first time ever we have won a match off the final ball batting second (stat courtesy of David Griffin).
It came with a professional performance, the kind that frustrates a little. We KNOW the team has that in them, but too often this year they have lapsed into mediocrity.
I was impressed by how they dragged the home side back from a flying start, mainly thanks to an excellent spell from Alex Thomson, who mixed his pace and flight to get good figures. The skipper again bowled well and so too did FHP, but there were too many wayward and poor balls from the other seamers for comfort. Good catches were held though, which made the difference in the end.
The early loss of Luis Reece was a blow and when Came went after a couple of fine shots, Tom Wood and Leus du Plooy put on a record third wicket stand against Durham of 68 runs. They ran well and found the boundary regularly enough for us to be up with the required rate at half way.
When they both went in quick succession I was not overly confident, a state of mind that continued until the third last over. But Matt Critchley accumulated well and together with Brooke Guest brought the winning total down.
A huge six over mid wicket by Guest was a game-changer, as the four overs of Potts went for 50. Eight were needed off the last, from the wily Ben Raine and it went to the last ball, when, with one required, Guest pulled him behind square for the winning four.
Critchley and Guest showed no little skill and a lot of common sense in their stand of 64 from the last six overs. It was a fine captain's effort and another example of why Guest is a player who has emerged from this competition with his reputation enhanced.
Well done guys. It doesn't change anything, but it shows what can be done when common sense and skill are harnessed together.
