Durham lose on last ball

May 5 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

DURHAM have attached a lot of importance to their Twenty20 Cup campaign, but they are struggling to discover a winning touch in the shortest form of the game.

With the rain in Manchester slashing the number of overs in yesterday’s Friends Provident Trophy game by more than half to 23, Durham looked as though they had done enough to edge the win only to see Lancashire’s Steven Croft smash Graham Onions’ final delivery for the six needed to snatch victory.

It was tough on the visitors, who had frustrated Lancashire’s batting line-up, and Onions sank to his knees in despair as the ball sailed high into the stands.

To make matters worse, it was Durham’s second successive Friends Provident Trophy defeat after the Dynamos were piped at the post against Derbyshire last Friday.

It is a defeat which, as well raising question marks about their chances of improving as a Twenty20 side, means the reigning Trophy holders need to win against Yorkshire at Headingley today if they are going to be confident of progressing from the group stage.

It was a poor toss to lose as it gave Lancashire the chance to have a look at the pitch and the conditions while Durham had to learn with bats in hand.

They did well to pass 150, which gave the bowlers something to play with, but in Mal Loye, Lancashire have one of the most devastating limited overs batsmen, and his half-century did the damage.

The opener, who was dropped on 44 by Onions at mid-off, was eventually removed for 58 by Steve Harmison, who also had Gareth Cross caught by Paul Collingwood at gully. By that stage Lightning were in the driving seat with the help of Pakistan international Mohammad Yousuf.

Given that Yousuf had arrived in the country on Friday evening as a late replacement for the IPL-bound Brad Hodge, his 32 runs were all the more impressive.

He kept the scoreboard ticking along, leaving Loye and then Flintoff to play their shots.

The latter, though, appeared to let his excitement get the better of him as he tried to smash Collingwood and was caught by Neil McKenzie.

That appeared to shift the contest back in Durham’s favour and when Yousuf fell in the final over it looked as though the visitors would hold on to win.

Croft had other ideas and Onions will curse his decision to give the middle-order batsman the room he needed to take a swing at the ball. That wasted the work of Michael Di Venuto, whose knock of 66 had enabled the Dynamos to post a competitive target.

In difficult, overcast conditions on a pitch which offered bounce, this was not a usual 23-over ‘thrashathon’, but Di Venuto adapted well to the conditions and circumstances. He was dropped by Loye at short fine leg, but he deserved that fortune.

He was eventually undone by Flintoff, trying to steer a straight ball down to third man – justice as Loye’s drop came off the bowling of the rejuvenated England man.

Surprisingly, this was Di Venuto’s first half century of the season, but with Neil McKenzie – who is attending a wedding – and Dale Benkenstein, at the birth of his third child in South Africa, missing when Durham return to Old Trafford in the County Championship on Wednesday, it is encouraging he is finding form.

Benkenstein offered able support, but when he came to the wicket Durham were on 60-4 in the 12th over and some impetus needed to be injected into the innings. The Durham skipper obliged with 40 before Flintoff took a catch on the square leg boundary to give Croft a wicket.

Collingwood was dismissed for a golden duck by Kyle Hogg, while another of Durham’s England players, Phil Mustard, managed only six.

There was another failure for Kyle Coetzer and the Scot is the first player to find himself under pressure this season.