Durham wins thanks to 50s from Alex Lees and Colin Ackermann

In Derby for the Vitality Blast, Durham defeated Derbyshire Falcons by eight wickets thanks to centuries from Alex Lees and Colin Ackermann.

With Lees scoring 72 off 60 balls and Ackermann scoring 54 from 30, Durham finished at 159 for 2 and secured the final spot in the North Group. The two batsmen shared an uninterrupted partnership of 88 runs.

Excellent bowling from Nathan Sowter, Ben Raine, and Callum Parkinson—who each took two wickets to hold the Falcons to 155 for eight—paved the way for Durham’s victory.

On a soft pitch, most of the Falcons got off to a slow start, but nobody could continue as Wayne Madsen and Alex Thomson led the team in scoring with 22.

The home team put up a valiant fight to hold onto a slight lead, but Alex Lees and Ackermann’s skill and cunning saw Durham advance to the next round.

Paul Coughlin gave out 33 runs in just two overs as the Falcons raced to 64 in the powerplay, but three wickets were lost in the process.

In the opening over, David Lloyd bowled Coughlin for four and six after Luis Reece had stepped over to Parkinson.

Parkinson was driven beyond the long off boundary by Aneurin Donald, who then top-edged a sweep to return to backward square.

Madsen clipped Coughlin over third man for six, but Coughlin answered by having Lloyd caught behind for twenty.

After making a stunning century in the Blast two years prior against Durham, they were relieved when Madsen misplayed a drive at Sowter and holed out too far away, leaving the Falcons at 65 points.

When Coughlin came back, Brooke Guest was caught behind, and Ross Whiteley edged to slip on the ball after Ashton Turner blew the opportunity.

In an attempt to tie the Falcons down, Sowter trapped Samit Patel leg before head for twenty runs. Patel had previously cut Matthew Potts over third man for six.

Falcons were 110 for 7 after Whiteley’s drive at Raine was edged, but Thomson removed Coughlin for six, and then Mohammad Amir struck Parkinson with a ball into the front of the media centre.

Durham was chasing 156 after Raine dismissed Amir and Potts after they had given up just 15 runs in the final three overs.

Daryn Dupavillon was hit for two fours by Lees, but Amir was giving nothing away. In his first two overs, he gave up just five runs, and then Graham Clark was out thanks to a brilliant catch at short third off Pat Brown.

Towards the end of the powerplay, Lees pulled and drove Amir for two fours to get Durham to 45 for 1, but some disciplined bowling was forcing them to work hard.

Durham needed another 81 runs after 10 overs, but after David Bedingham pulled Thomson for six, he dragged the following ball to mid-wicket.

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With two massive sixes over midwicket from Thomson in the 13th over, Ackermann relieved some of the pressure. from the final ball of the 15th over, he drove Reece for another.

Although Patel gave up just four runs in his last over, Lees and Ackermann did not take any chances as Durham was able to win with seven balls remaining.