Durham 150 for 4 (Clark 62, Lees 45) beat Leicestershire 148 for 8 (Budinger 40, Potts 3-28) by six wickets, Vitality Blast, Chester-le-Street
Graham Clark rattled up Durham’s quickest T20 fifty – 18 balls, all muscle and timing – as the home side cantered to a second straight Blast win, knocking off 149 with six overs unused.
Leicestershire had earlier chosen to bat, only to discover the pitch offered just enough grip for disciplined seam and leg-spin. Matthew Potts, varying pace cleverly, finished with 3 for 28 and afterwards admitted, “I just tried to hit the top of off and keep it simple – nothing fancy tonight.”
Key passages
• Leicestershire 30 for 1 after six, 148 for 8 overall
• Clark and Alex Lees 107 opening stand in 7.5 overs
• Winning hit: Michael Jones nudged a single off Josh Hull, 14th over
First, the Foxes
Sol Budinger’s 40 from 29 was the only innings that really flowed. Rishi Patel was run-out by a quick-thinking Nathan Sowter deflection, and once Budinger picked out backward point the middle faded. Potts removed Ben Cox and Ashton Turner in the same over – “the sort of double that changes a T20,” noted Sky pundit Lydia Greenway – while Ben Raine and Kasey Aldridge chipped in with neat support spells.
Then, Durham’s dash
Lees drove three fours in Josh Davey’s opening over, yet it was Clark who tore up the record book. Four sixes off the 19-year-old left-armer Josh Hull set the tone; two more off captain Ben Green pushed Clark past fifty in a blur. “I actually lost track of the score,” he laughed later. “Leesy kept telling me to breathe.”
Leicestershire briefly checked the surge when Ben Mike knocked back Lees’s off peg and held a steepler to remove Raine, leaving Durham 118 for 2. Liam Trevaskis followed Clark and David Bedingham in quick succession, Mike finishing with an honest 3 for 23, but the equation had long since tilted. Only 14 were needed from 44 balls and Durham coasted home.
Analysis – powerplay punch
Clark and Lees scored 88 in the first six overs; Leicestershire managed 30. That was the match. The visitors’ attack is youthful and talented, yet lacked an early yorker or slower-ball bouncer to disrupt rhythm. “You can’t give players like Clark a hitting zone that large,” former England batter Mark Butcher observed on radio commentary.
What it means
Durham, top of the North Group after two outings, appear well organised and calm under new coach Ryan Campbell. The Foxes, one win from three, must rediscover the control that served them so well last summer.
Numbers to note
18 – balls taken for Clark’s fifty, eclipsing Phil Mustard’s 20-ball mark set in 2010.
42 – percentage of Leicestershire deliveries classed as ‘slot’ in the powerplay, according to CricViz; Durham fed on them.
Up next
Both sides are back in action on Monday: Durham travel to Headingley, while Leicestershire host Nottinghamshire. Potts summed up the mood: “It’s a long competition – great start, but no one’s getting carried away.”
