Durham get travel sickness

After four tough days at Hove the team bus took them to Bristol, where they arrived at 10.30pm ahead of the Friends Provident Trophy game against group leaders Gloucestershire.

The rejuvenated hosts, who completed their home win against Leicestershire at 2.30 on Saturday, amassed 301 for eight then bowled out Durham for 153.

After the humiliating 148- run defeat the only consolation for Durham was an early getaway for the return trip to Hove, where they expected to arrive around 11pm ahead of another FPT game today.

If they are in a comatose state it will be no surprise and another defeat will end their interest in the competition they won two years ago. That wonderful day at Lord’s seemed light years away yesterday.

In recording their third defeat from four games, the only bright spots were that Will Gidman marked his competitive debut by removing his brother Alex, the home captain, and Phil Mustard held a stunning catch.

Gloucestershire could even afford to drop five catches in reducing Durham to 43 for five, otherwise they looked by far the better-drilled side, which is a testament to the coaching of John Bracewell on his return from New Zealand.

The improvised flips to fine leg started early in their innings and even when they were losing wickets the momentum hardly flagged.

The Kiwi influence is strong with three in the team, including the injury-plagued left-arm seamer James Franklin, who took five for 42 in a one-day international at Riverside in 2004.

When fit he is no mean performer and once he had found the edge of Will Smith and Dale Benkenstein’s bats all hope had gone for Durham.

If they win today, however, they might still have a chance of reaching the last eight because unbeaten Gloucestershire look like strolling the group and leaving the others to battle it out for second place.

In another quirk of the fixtures, Gloucestershire will not be able to play a home quarter-final at Bristol because the ground will be staging the one-day international between England and the West Indies on May 24.

Quite why the soulless Nevil Road ground is on the international rota is a mystery, although it did at least provide a better track yesterday than the usual stodgy ones.

After winning the toss, Gloucestershire defied the second over loss of Kadeer Ali to Mitch Claydon to proceed as though 300 was their minimum requirement.

New Zealander Hamish Marshall and Irishman Will Porterfield put on 116 in 16 overs for the second wicket before both perished trying to step up the tempo even further.

Craig Spearman also surrendered going for a big hit, forcing Alex Gidman to ensure the flying start was not squandered when he came in at 152 for four.

He batted ten overs for ten and treated his 24-year-old brother’s brisk medium pace with great respect before pushing forward and falling lbw to the sixth ball he faced from him.

Gidman junior, who took Callum Thorp’s place in tbe team, came on first change with the score on 67 for one after ten overs. Liam Plunkett had bowled five overs for 37 runs and Gidman’s first spell went for 22 off four.

By the time he took his wicket in recording figures of one for 52 the diminutive Chris Taylor was well on the way to reviving the innings after its brief wobble.

He swept and cut his way to 71, and like Marshall and Porterfield he scored at roughly a run-a-ball.

Taylor was out when he tried to steer Steve Harmison from shoulder height through the vacant slip area. A four looked certain but Mustard flung himself to his right to hold a brilliant one-handed catch.

Durham’s highest total to win a 50-over game when batting second was the 252 for six they made at Northampton two years ago, when Mustard made a century.

This time he tried to launch Jonathan Lewis into the next parish in the third over and hit the ball straight up in the air.

Michael Di Venuto was the beneficiary of three of the dropped catches, all off Lewis, who put down one of them himself.

The Durham opener would also have been run out had Kadeer Ali’s shy from midwicket hit the stumps, but he still contrived to end his comical innings on 17 when he pulled Anthony Ireland’s firstball loosener straight to short fine leg.

Ian Blackwell also rewarded a bowling change after reaching 23 on his promotion to No 4. When Taylor’s occasional off spin was introduced the left-hander went down the track to the second ball and was stumped off a leg-side wide.

It was left to Gareth Breese to battle for respectability, helped briefly by Plunkett and Gidman before both holed out in the deep off left-arm spinner Vikram Banerjee.

Claydon managed some lusty blows against semi-serious bowlers before Ireland returned to have Breese caught at short fine leg for 47.

After Hove today and Headingley on Wednesday, Durham have only two days’ cricket in the next nine days.

They will be glad of the rest but might use the time to complain bitterly to whoever programme the fixture computer at Lord’s.

Scoreboard

YESTERDAY

Gloucestershire v Durham At Bristol

Gloucestershire

Kadeer Ali lbw b Claydon ................... 1

H J Marshall c S J Harmison b Breese 56

W T Porterfield lbw b Blackwell ..........68

C M Spearman c Blackwell b Plunkett 11

C G Taylor c Mustard b S J Harmison 71

A P Gidman lbw b Gidman ................10

J E Franklin run out ........................... 3

S J Adshead not out ..........................39

J Lewis lbw b Claydon .......................27

V Banerjee not out ............................. 0

Extras (lb6 w3 nb6 pens 0) ......15

Total 8 wkts Innings Complete (50 overs) ...........................301

Fall: 1-2 2-118 3-138 4-152 5-196 6-210 7- 251 8-296

Bowling: Plunkett 7-0-46-1. Claydon 10-1- 61-2. Gidman 10-1-52-1. S J Harmison 10- 0-59-1. Breese 2-0-16-1. Blackwell 9-0-46- 1. Benkenstein 2-0-15-0.

M J Di Venuto c Franklin b Ireland .....17

P Mustard c Porterfield b Lewis ......... 2

W R Smith c Spearman b Franklin ..... 4

I D Blackwell st Adshead b Taylor ......23

D M Benkenstein c Adshead b Franklin ...... 3

G J Muchall c Adshead b Ireland ....... 2

G R Breese c Kadeer Ali b Ireland .....47

L E Plunkett c Porterfield b Banerjee .14

W R Gidman c Porterfield b Banerjee 15

M E Claydon c Banerjee b Franklin ...19

S J Harmison not out ........................ 1

Extras (lb2 w4 pens 0) ............. 6

Total (40.3 overs)........ 153

Fall: 1-10 2-16 3-30 4-37 5-43 6-57 7-84 8- 123 9-152

Bowling: Lewis 5-0-22-1. Franklin 6.3-1- 18-3. Ireland 5-1-12-3. Banerjee 10-0-37- 2. Taylor 10-0-35-1. Kadeer Ali 2-0-9-0.

Marshall 2-0-18-0.

Gloucestershire beat Durham by 148 runs.

SATURDAY

Sussex v Durham At Hove

Overnight: Sussex 363 (A J Hodd 101, L J Wright 67, M H Yardy 51; M EClaydon 4- 90, L E Plunkett 4-105). Durham 380 (D M Benkenstein 136, L EPlunkett 94 no) and 164-2 (M J Di Venuto 75 no, G J Muchall 51 no).

Durham Second Innings

M J Di Venuto c Hodd b Martin-Jenkins .....103

G J Muchall not out .....................106

D M Benkenstein c Sub b L J Wright .... 7

I D Blackwell not out .......................39

Extras (b3 lb4 w4 nb2 pens 0) .13 Total 4 wkts dec (95 overs) 299

Fall: 1-39 2-67 3-196 4-211

Did Not Bat: P Mustard, L E Plunkett, C D Thorp, M E Claydon, S J Harmison.

Bowling: Collymore 16-4-52-0. Martin- Jenkins 22-7-52-1. L J Wright 14-4-38-1.

Rayner 27-2-83-1. Hamilton-Brown 6-1-28- 0. Yardy 2-0-8-0. Nash 8-1-31-0.

Sussex Second Innings

M H Yardy c Plunkett b S J Harmison ... 12

C D Nash not out ........................85

E C Joyce b Thorp ............................ 3

M W Goodwin lbw b Claydon ............21

R J Hamilton-Brown c Benkenstein b Plunkett .....12

L J Wright c Muchall b Plunkett ......... 4

A J Hodd not out ...............................21

Extras (lb7 w2 nb2 pens 0) ......11

Total 5 wkts (50 overs.........169

Fall: 1-13 2-16 3-71 4-92 5-105

Did Not Bat: R S C Martin-Jenkins, O P Rayner, D G Wright, C D Collymore.

Total Bonus Pts: Sussex 7 Durham 7

Bowling: S J Harmison 13-3-41-1. Thorp 10-3-29-1. Plunkett 13-2-36-2. Claydon 6- 0-29-1. Blackwell 7-0-16-0. W R Smith 1- 0-11-0.

Sussex (11pts) drew with Durham (11pts)