Final Report

AFTER the joy of winning the county championship last season, Durham made a disappointing start to this year’s competitive fixtures when they lost by 80 runs to Yorkshire in a Friends Provident Trophy tie at Riverside.

They will need a big improvement if they are to have any hope of regaining the trophy they won two years ago.

After having their build-up badly disrupted by the weather, Durham looked under-cooked, particularly Steve Harmison, who took one for 63 in eight overs.

As he tries to regain his Test place, he was hit for three leg-side fours in one over by wicketkeeper Gerard Brophy, whose unbeaten 66 off 48 balls carried Yorkshire to 268 for seven.

On a good batting pitch 250 would have been about par, so the target should not have been too daunting for Durham. But the Yorkshire seamers bowled with more discipline and only former skipper Dale Benkenstein got to grips with them.

He was last out for 68 as Durham were dismissed for 188 with nine overs left unused.

Yorkshire Innings

STEVE Harmison came in for some stick in Durham’s opening Friends Provident Trophy match, not so much from Michael Vaughan as from Yorkshire wicketkeeper Gerard Brophy.

There was not enough pace in a good batting pitch at Riverside to suit Harmison and Brophy hit him for three leg-side fours in one over as his swift half-century revived Yorkshire.

After being put in by Durham’s new captain, Will Smith, the visitors started well with Jacques Rudolph making 73 and Vaughan a classy 43. But when Vaughan was bowled, driving at off-spinner Gareth Breese, Yorkshire declined from 109 for one to 205 for six.

They looked like falling short of their minimum requirement of 250, but Brophy completed a 37-ball 50 by lifting a Callum Thorp full toss over square leg for six.

Brophy finished unbeaten on 66 as Yorkshire totalled 268 for seven in their 50 overs. Six Durham bowlers had one wicket each until Thorp took a second in the 49th over.