July 7, 2024

Northants Edge Past Durham in Thrilling Finish Thanks to Sanderson’s Career-Best Performance – T20

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Ben Sanderson’s brilliant bowling figures of 4 for 15 set the stage for Northamptonshire Steelbacks to chase down a target of 141, securing a victory over Durham with just two balls remaining.

Northants clinched the win with a score of 144 for 5, led by Ricardo Vasconcelos’ 41. At the same time, Nathan Sowter impressed for Durham with 2 for 17. In a tense finish, Lewis McManus and Ashton Agar kept their cool to guide the Steelbacks to a five-wicket victory in the final over of this Vitality T20 Blast clash at Wantage Road.

Needing 10 runs per over in the last five, Northamptonshire found themselves under pressure. 

However, McManus, showcasing his improved form this season, contributed 25 runs off 16 balls. The hosts required eight runs in the final over, and a massive six from Agar, in his debut match for the Steelbacks, brought them to the verge of victory.

Sanderson delivered a career-best performance in the match, taking 4 for 15, including two wickets in three balls. Durham crumbled to 4 for 3 within the first three overs. Durham’s top three batters all departed without scoring.

Despite the regular fall of wickets, Colin Ackermann anchored Durham’s innings with a valiant 70 off 52 balls, hitting four fours and four sixes, helping his team reach 140 all out. Left-arm spinner Freddie Heldreich also contributed with three wickets for Northants.

David Willey set the tone with a challenging maiden before Sanderson took charge. He first caught Alex Lees behind and then bowled Ollie Robinson with a delivery jagged back sharply.

Durham’s troubles deepened in the next over when Graham Clark mistimed a shot attempting to hit Willey down the ground, resulting in a well-judged running catch by Gus Miller. This left Durham in dire straits at 4 for 3 after just 16 balls, with an on-drive from Ackermann being the only scoring shot in the early chaos.

Ben Raine (20) got off to a quick start, hitting back-to-back boundaries off David Willey. He maintained his aggressive approach against Ravi Bopara, striking consecutive fours before attempting a big pull shot that ended in a superb running catch by Ricardo Vasconcelos at deep midwicket.

Durham crossed the 50-run mark in the tenth over, thanks to a 41-run partnership between Colin Ackermann and Ashton Turner for the fifth wicket. Ackermann confidently pulled Gus Miller for four and then dispatched Saif Zaib for six over square leg.

Turner (19) launched Ashton Agar over deep midwicket for a six. Still, when he tried the same against Freddie Heldreich, he could only manage a top edge, leading to another stunning tumbling catch by Vasconcelos at the boundary.

Heldreich continued to wreak havoc in his next over, bowling Bas de Leede and getting Michael Jones caught by Agar at long-on.

Despite the steady fall of wickets, Durham remained aggressive. Ben Dwarshuis smashed Agar for six and followed it up with another off Heldreich. Meanwhile, Ackermann reached his half-century off 41 balls, hitting Heldreich for a six over deep midwicket.

In a critical moment, Sanderson returned to bowl the penultimate over, claiming two vital wickets: Dwarshuis caught behind off a top-edge, and Callum Parkinson bowled.

Ackermann was eventually dismissed in the 20th over, caught by Raphy Weatherall, but not before hitting another six down the ground.

Durham’s bowlers started strongly, making it difficult for Northamptonshire to find their rhythm. Vasconcelos (41) finally broke the shackles in the fourth over, scooping de Leede for a six and a four, followed by two more legside boundaries off Dwarshuis.

Northamptonshire lost their first wicket when Raine had Matthew Breetzke caught off an attempted pull shot. Still, Vasconcelos continued to dominate, hitting consecutive fours off Raine.

Willey also looked in good touch, striking two boundaries off Ackermann. Still, soon after, he gave a simple return catch to Nathan Sowter. Vasconcelos was then trapped lbw by Parkinson after reaching 1,000 T20 runs for Northamptonshire, with Zaib achieving the same milestone shortly after.

The Steelbacks lost a fourth wicket when Bopara found Turner at long-off off Sowter, leaving them at 86 for 4 after 14 overs. They still needed 55 to win.

Durham kept the pressure on in the field, but McManus eased some tension with a six off Sowter and a straight drive off Parkinson. He and Zaib added an enterprising 32 in just 3.3 overs before Zaib chipped a catch to Raine at mid-off.

McManus kept Northamptonshire in the chase with a massive legside six off Dwarshuis in the penultimate over, leaving them needing eight from the final.

Parkinson started the last over with a dot ball. Still, Agar responded by flicking him over square leg for six, leveling the scores after a wide. With another dot ball to follow, Agar ran a single to secure the victory for Northamptonshire.

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