Durham lose narrowly at a gloomy Headingley

The only saving grace was a dramatic finish as Yorkshire beat Durham by two wickets with four balls to spare.

With two giant cranes continuing the construction of the new pavilion, and the new main scoreboard appearing as a black screen ahead of tests today, it was a fitting stage for a dour game played in gloomy weather.

At least the recently relaid outfield was verdant, but it yielded boundaries just as grudgingly as the sluggish pitch and Durham’s modest total of 166 almost proved too much for Yorkshire.

The absence of Michael Vaughan and Gerard Brophy from their batting proved a bigger handicap than the lack of four injured seamers, plus Graham Onions, was for Durham.

So slow was the pitch that the spinners proved almost impossible to get away and after Ian Blackwell took three for 26 Durham skipper Will Smith even used his own offspin and claimed a wicket.

In the end, however, he left himself on too long. After bowling four overs for 13 runs his next two cost 16, allowing Richard Pyrah and David Wainwright to steer Yorkshire home from 130 for eight in the 44th over.

Smith recalled Mitch Claydon with six needed off the last over and Pyrah played two nice shots through midwicket and cover to finish unbeaten on 43. As he had also taken three for 23 he was the undisputed man of the match.

The use of spin meant Luke Evans got to bowl only four overs on his competitive debut, despite bowling Anthony McGrath off a big inside edge with his sixth ball and conceding only 13 runs.

It was all quite a contrast from events in the south, where Durham had conceded 300 in their last two games and Surrey topped that mark to beat Gloucestershire at The Oval yesterday.

It was not the result Yorkshire wanted as it means Surrey will continue to compete with them for a quarter-final spot. Yorkshire must now win at Hove on Monday and at The Oval next Wednesday to have a chance of qualification.

Durham were left to ponder how best to rekindle their oneday spark. At the start of the season they could not have expected to field an attack including Evans, Will Gidman and Claydon at this early stage. All bowled with enthusiasm, but the batting looked dispirited.

They stayed in Leeds last night and will “bungee jump”

to London today as coach Geoff Cook put it. By the time they return to Durham they will have travelled over 2,000 miles in two and a half weeks.

“That doesn’t help, but we can’t use it as an excuse,” said Cook. “The failure of the batting in this competition has been almost inexplicable. It’s been fine in the four-day matches.”

Only Gordon Muchall timed the ball, scoring 31 off 45 balls, but when the medium-paced Pyrah removes three of the top five batsmen, it’s a fair indication that the pitch is slow.

Durham’s most powerful strikers, Phil Mustard and Blackwell, had strike-rates approaching one run every three balls.

Mustard chipped Pyrah to mid-wicket after grafting for 12 overs to make 20, which was the second highest score, and Pyrah also had Smith and Dale Benkenstein taken off the edge. It was an extremely rare duck for the ex-captain, who lasted only four balls.

Muchall went in at 43 for four in the 20th over and moved swiftly ahead of Blackwell, who was unable to dispatch a couple of long hops from left-arm spinner Wainwright because the ball came on to him so slowly.

When Adil Rashid came on at the other end Blackwell went walkabout and was stumped for 13.

Muchall hit three fours in two overs off the spinners then drove Wainwright for six, only to fall lbw to the next ball.

Liam Plunkett swept Rashid over mid-wicket for six and was then run out as soon as Durham called the batting powerplay in the 43rd over. He set off for a leg bye to short mid-off and was sent back.

Plunkett had Jacques Rudolph caught down the leg side by Mustard with the first ball of the reply, but the other opener, Joe Sayers, anchored the innings.

During his third wicket stand of 49 with Adam Lyth it seemed Yorkshire would cruise it, but after Lyth gave Blackwell a return catch Rashid recklessly charged down the pitch and was stumped off Gareth Breese.

When Sayers was bowled off his pads for 51 trying to sweep Blackwell the game had changed and after slumping from 100 for three to 130 for eight it was just as well for Yorkshire that Pyrah rose above the efforts of the rest of their brittle middle order.

Scoreboard

Yorkshire v Durham At Headingley Carnegie

Durham Innings

P Mustard c Wainwright b Pyrah ...........20

K J Coetzer c Rudolph b Naved-ul-Hasan 11

W R Smith c Guy b Pyrah ...................... 3

I D Blackwell st Guy b A U Rashid ........13

D M Benkenstein c Rudolph b Pyrah .... 0

G J Muchall lbw b Wainwright ...............31

G R Breese lbw b A U Rashid ................17

L E Plunkett run out ..............................20

W R Gidman not out .............................18

M E Claydon c & b Naved-ul-Hasan ....14

L Evans b Kruis ..........................0

Extras (b2 lb5 w10 nb2 pens 0)19v Total (49.3 overs) ...................166

Fall: 1-20 2-26 3-43 4-43 5-73 6-93 7-121 8- 131 9-154

Bowling: Kruis 7.3-1-31-1. Naved-ul-Hasan 9-1-24-2. Patterson 6-1-8-0. Pyrah 7-2-23-3.

Wainwright 10-0-29-1. A U Rashid 10-0-44- 2.v Yorkshire Innings

J A Rudolph c Mustard b Plunkett ......... 0

J J Sayers b Blackwell ..........................51

A McGrath b Evans ...............................15

A Lyth c & b Blackwell ..........................26

A U Rashid st Mustard b Breese ........... 3

R M Pyrah not out ...........................42

Naved ul-Hasan b Blackwell .................. 1

G J Kruis c Breese b Plunkett ................ 7

S M Guy b W R Smith ........................... 0

D J Wainwright not out .........................13

Extras (b1 lb6 w2 pens 0)..........9

Total 8 wkts (49.2 overs)........167

Fall: 1-0 2-30 3-79 4-100 5-108 6-114 7-129 8-130

Did Not Bat: S A Patterson.

Bowling: Plunkett 9-0-35-2. Claydon 4.2-1- 18-0. Evans 4-0-13-1. Gidman 6-2-18-0.

Breese 10-3-21-1. Blackwell 10-1-26-3. W R Smith 6-0-29-1.

Yorkshire beat Durham by 2 wkts.